North From Walker Pass

For a northbound PCT hiker, Section G contains three great milestones: the end of Section F (which my Mum says is well-named), Kennedy Meadows, and Mount Whitney. Apart from it being the official handoff to alpine wilderness, Kennedy Meadows is regarded by most hikers as a special – and fun – spot. Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, standing at 14,505 feet. That’s 95 feet *more* than the majestic glacier-capped Mt. Rainier that looks over my hometown. Considering the to-do that’s involved with summiting Rainier, I can’t believe Whitney is even a part of my PCT adventure!

When Nohawk returned us to Walker Pass, armed with our new fuel canister and food resupplies, I started to feel pretty certain we were going to make it to Kennedy Meadows without getting sick. I think Dad was starting to relax more too. He’s a really experienced hiker from Washington state, but the heat and wind and long water carries of the Southern Californian desert is new for him. The closer he was to getting me through that had to take a weight off his mind.

The hike out of Walker Pass is a pretty steady 4-mile climb up to nearly 7000 feet. The spines of the mountains are sharper than the rounded shape of the Scodie Mountains we had just left behind in Section F, and it seemed everywhere I looked there was another sign confirming that we were now in the Sierras. Even the water seemed to be easier to deal with!

The trail was over towards the eastern side of the Sierras, so our view ‘down’ was to the desert and Death Valley National Park. We seemed to get higher and higher, and as we did, it was like looking down at a picture book.

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