June 17, 2018 Mission to Mission Control

Mission called home today and sent Granny Hat some beautiful photos.  She is speechless with relief and gratitude that he is well and safe.  So, she has decided to let his beautiful photography tell most of the story.  That first photo was taken on top of Mount Whitney, 14,505 feet above sea level!  Mission reported that the Western trail that runs from the PCT up to the summit was only lightly dusted with snow thanks to prevailing winds but that the Eastern trail from the Portal was thickly covered with ice and snow.  This has caused several accidents with hikers over the past several weeks.  One of the incidents is being called a “hit and run” because a hiker slipped and fell, careened down the path causing several other hikers to fall and ended up injuring one girl badly but didn’t stay to help.  Instead he beat it down the trail as if to get away and hasn’t been found. Mission spoke to several hikers who were on the mountain when it occurred just a day or two before Mission made the summit. Here is another beautiful shot of the summit taken from the trail.  Mission passed the 800 mile marker several days ago and is now 1/3 done with the PCT!

Crabtree Meadows is at the base of Mt. Whitney and provides beautiful campsites for PCT and JMT hikers. Note the Coyote just nonchalantly strolling along at bottom left.

Then, a stunning view of Trail Crest, Bighorn Plateau and Forester Pass.  Mission sent a video of him sliding down the ice chute on Forester Pass but it may not load here. Yep, that’s only for upgrade customers.  Granny Hat is so cheap!

And then some gorgeous views of Glen Pass and the nearby Painted Lady Mountain:

Pinchot Pass, a full and furious Kings River that had to be crossed and a view from Mather Pass:

The beautiful Palisades Valley with Palisade Lake, Grouse Meadow and LeConte Canyon:

Muir Pass and Muir Mountain:

And then perhaps Granny Hat’s favorites are these pictures from Evolution Valley, especially the first one of Wanda Lake with the winter’s ice breaking up.  Spring comes very late in the high country but look at that green grass.  Aslan must have come to the woods and winter is over.

Granny Hat apologizes for the feast or famine approach to photo downloads.  She was going to save some for tomorrow but Red’s Meadows, Mammoth and Tuolumne Meadows are just around the bend with new views and adventures.  And this way, you can enjoy the PCT and JMT from the comfort of your armchair far away from snowfields and oxygen-deprived mountain passes. Mission wants Granny Hat to tell everyone that he feels and appreciates the encouragement and prayers.  He is experiencing severe foot pain (is it any wonder?) due to snow hiking and heavier shoes.  Those 700 mile shoes I posted about a week ago were more comfortable and he wishes he had never traded them in.  So, he plans to take the bus to Mammoth to buy another pair just like them.  He has had to slow down a bit to give his feet a rest and one day was hurting so bad that he was very discouraged but just knowing you all are cheering him on gave him courage to massage those feet and keep going. He told us that he had a little talk with his feet, thanked them for trekking well over 800 miles and he promised to try to take better care of them.  Granny Hat begs you to keep praying and following.  Mission is very brave, Granny Hat is very proud of him. Tonight’s check-in was at Silver Pass, 37.45908, -118.91882.