After a windy night at Heart Lake we wake up to a clear sky! The view and the panorama is sooooo much nicer without the smoke!
Today is a special day on our JMT hike: Half way! We will pick up our resupplies at Muir Trail Ranch which is about the same distance from the trailheads in Yosemite Valley and Mount Whitney! The John Muir Trail is now officially the longest hike I’ve ever done!Continue Reading
After enjoying the amenities of civilisation (a shower, beer, real food…) at Vermillion Valley Resort for a night we take the first shuttle boat back through a half-dry Edison lake.
There is still some smoke from the nearby fire hovering over the lake, but it seems to be less in the direction we will be heading today.Continue Reading
On another cloudy morning about 800 ft remain to climb to the top of Silver Pass.
The rest of the day should be downhill to Lake Edison. From there we will take the ferry to Vermillion Valley resort where we will spend the night. That is, if the ferry operates…
We are way ahead of schedule so we can easily afford making the detour.Continue Reading
My trail guidebook promises that now follows what most JMT hikers consider the most monotonous part of the entire trail. Unfortunately it does not go into details about the reasons.
After crossing Deer Creek the trail continues to ascend slowly until it reaches the 10000 ft mark and then stays at about this elevation for a while. The area is forested, hence the views are rare.Continue Reading
Waking up to a nice sunrise in a barren landscape below Donohue Pass a decision is waiting to be made: Shall I stick with Kevin’s “slower” pace or should I carry on alone?
I usually hike faster than he does, but also enjoy the resulting longer breaks. And of course he’s nice company! When we set out in the morning, I say Good Bye to him – just in case – we might not meet again.Continue Reading
For the first four days on the John Muir Trail we have been hiking from one backpackers campground to another. Today will be the first day we’ll be camping in the “wilderness”, most likely also away from other people. Good!
So there will be no handy tap water or bear boxes in the coming nights…Continue Reading
After yesterday’s long day some short and easy hiking is very welcome. We only need to get over Cathedral Pass and then down to Tuolumne Meadows, which should be a matter of a couple of hours of nice walking.
Having just reached the southern end of Long Meadow yesterday before camping we now continue north on this nice piece of grassland that definitely deserves its name.Continue Reading
Auch heuer verbringe ich meine letzte Urlaubswoche in der Venedigergruppe, um dort einige schöne Hochtouren zu unternehmen. Orotl, Werner, Hannes, unser Guide Gerald und ich ersteigen einige lohnenswerte 3000er: Simonyspitze, Dreiherrenspitze und Großer Geiger stehen am Plan.
Treffpunkt ist der letzte Parkplatz im Virgental und Gerald begrüßt uns mit den Worten: Die Runde wird ein schönes Abenteuer!
Was das wohl bedeuten mag? Continue Reading
Nach dem gestrigen Regen- und Ruhetag wartet heute die letzte größere Etappe unserer Hochtourenwoche: Der Große Geiger steht auf dem Programm!
Von der Warnsdorfer Hütte steigen wir 500 Höhenmeter hinauf zum Gamsspitz am Krimmler Törl, dem Übergang vom Krimmler Achental ins Obersulzbachtal.Continue Reading