On July 4th, we got up in the morning expecting a downhill climb out of the Sierra to a trailhead. We failed to read the trailhead name until we finally saw Kearsarge PASS. The morning was downhill at least. But then a brutal 1,000 foot climb up in a little under a mile. Mackenzie and I were both gassed but the mosquitoes have always provided us strong motivation to keep moving. We stopped briefly at Bullfrog Lake and then kept moving up towards Kearsarge which sits at 11,760 feet. We started the morning at 10,500 feet, dropped down to 9,300 and then right back up towards the pass.

We passed the Dutch couple Dennis and Jackie taking a break next to the trail. They’re pretty awesome people and we always enjoy catching up with them for a while before heading on. Tomorrow is their anniversary so they are taking a couple days off to experience Independence Day in the town of Independence, CA and then to Bishop for their day. After passing on through, we made it to the base of the climb up to the pass. Another set of wild switchbacks. You’ll practically look straight up and see people 150 feet above you. It’s a wonderful reward on the top of the pass. The Sierra lakes reflecting the mountains behind them creates such an amazing scene. Given it’s the fourth, it’s a pretty crowded trail. Mackenzie and I got asked for our permits for the first time on the trail and were told we have 35 days to be out of the lower Sierra range.

We made it to the trail head after a five mile downhill climb all the while knowing we’d have to be making this same climb back up. There’s something about me sitting down on a stump or a bench at these spots evokes a ride almost immediately. Like five days ago going into Lone Pine, I sat down and within two minutes, a lady by the name of Sam from Lone Pine offers us a ride. She said she’s doing the John Muir Trail on the 7th so needs some good hitch karma. After getting dropped off in Independence, we then got a hitch to Bishop from a lady that hiked the the PCT in 2022 by the name of Blender. She told us her experience and enjoyed hearing some tips she had to offer. We then got to a Motel 6 thinking this would be the cheapest option for stay but were rudely reminded it was the fourth by the rate we were given.

Mackenzie and I met up with Samson in the park in the evening to watch some fireworks. A pretty awesome showing for the town. Everyone turned out and seemed to really be celebrating.

On our zero day the next day, we got to sleep in very late. It was a blissful feeling getting a bed after having a rough couple night sleeps given the incredibly high elevation we were sleeping in. We went straight to a German bakery by the name of Schatt’s Bakkery and enjoyed sandwiches, coffee, sweets, and this cinnamon pull apart bread that was unbelievable. After picking up some packages we loafed around until it was time for a late Dennys run and then it was bedtime. We’re all excited to get back out on trail but are absolutely not looking forward to the tough climb back up.

Happy fourth…

We got up this morning, packed everything up, and headed out of the Motel 6 and went straight back to the Bakkery to grab sandwiches. We passed by this converted airstream that sold coffee by a nice shaded lawn in front of a house/hotel and decided to divide and conquer as Tiber went to grab sandwiches and the rest of us stayed to get coffee and relax. We soon realized that this place we were relaxing at is for hikers and has all these awesome amenities curated for us. We were bummed we didn’t find this place sooner but still enjoyed an awesome couple hours of relaxing before finding a hitch to the trailhead.

Several coffees, some ice cream and a beer later, we got up to grab some last minute things and get a ride. After some time, we got a hitch by a quirky intelligent guy that went into monkhood for a period and was later a humanities and literature professor. We had an incredibly thoughtful conversation with him before getting dropped off in Independence at the road that leads up to the trailhead. The hitch up to the trailhead proved to be a bit more difficult. We met up with another hiker by the name of Flex and all worked on getting a ride until a guy by the name of Sparky walks up and enthusiastically says he can fit us all in his tiny Subaru.

We all managed to climb in and his energy immediately brought some excitement. He was the most stoked person we’ve met and couldn’t have been happier to give us a ride. We exchanged numbers and he said if we ever needed anything down here to give him a call.

When we finally got out, we began the climb up to the pass. Maybe it was the extra rest and calories we had in town, but the climb wasn’t too bad. We made it up before sunset and then headed down to the valley as the golden light lit up the trees off on the horizon. I failed to get photos of this moment but I did grab an awesome video of Mackenzie reaching the pass.

The walk down went great and we’re now camped by Kearsarge Lake. Big day tomorrow.

Happy trails…