Acclimatization in the Sierras

Morning above Onion Valley

Though we are in Tanzania (wonderful and amazing, but that is for a future blog post), we decided to not skip the first stage of our trip, acclimatizing in the Sierras.  Due to Adrienne’s procrastinator ways, we did not make it to Onion Valley until after 1AM. For those of you that have been to the eastern Sierras, it will come as no surprise that we woke to a gorgeous view.  The eastern Sierras are truly a magical place.  We had three beautiful hikes and four nights to begin adjusting to altitude.  We spent our final day visiting Mammoth Lakes and Mono Lake.  A few observations from our trip:

Kearsarge Pass - one entrance into Kings Canyon NP

Kearsarge Pass, overlooking King’s Canyon National Park, is gorgeous; we will be back for a much longer backpack, or, better yet, an extended trip on the PCT.

We did get dirty too.

In addition to HUNGRY and stinky, most through hikers on the PCT seemed both friendly and lonely.   It’s pretty customary to say a cheerful hello on the trail, but not as typical to stop and have extended conversations.  The PCT folks wanted to chat, particularly ‘the Storyteller’ as he’s been dubbed on the trail.

It is not supposed to be 90+ degrees at 10,000 feet, BUT it was and we have sunburns to show for it.  It also prompted us to invest in sun hats for our trip.

Mono Lake is as interesting as advertised and must be in all of the European Guidebooks. There were no other Americans, but we did see tourists from France, Germany, Scotland, and more. Dina has been wanting to visit for years, unfortunately we hit the lake mid-afternoon with terrible light for photography.  We will certainly be back.