Father and Son on the Trail

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We are back from hiking a piece of the Pacific Crest Trail! It was the most scenic hike I will probably ever be on. We went over Forester Pass (pictures to come), which is over 13,300 feet in elevation. Forester Pass is the highest point of the PCT and in view of Mt. Whitney (we did not hike Mt. Whitney, the highest Mt. in the continental U.S.) We camped above tree line among snow and mountain lakes. We crossed over ice and walked through rivers. We saw and climbed mountains upon mountains all in the High Sierra Range of mid-California, part of the Kings Canyon National Park and the Inyo National Forest.

What a memorable trip and huge accomplishment!

I limped through most of it, to tell you the truth. It was surprisingly harder than I thought it would be. While in our final two miles I mentioned to Janet, my sister, that I was limping on both sides and she said, “Well you can just say you are tip-toeing down the mountain.” Imagining what I looked like, not wanting to put weight on either foot, I probably looked like I was trying to sneak off the PCT.

Rob, Janet, Ben, Nathan, and Garrett, Adam, Curt, and I hiked 56 miles!

Duncan and J.D. hiked 93 miles! and Duncan hiked more after we left…

We are grateful to be alive (and recovering – speaking only for myself, since the boys are bouncing off the walls here at home and Janet ran the last few yards of the trail)!

Enjoy this first and personal favorite photo that Janet took of Duncan and Curt. (Road Atlas and Skipps are their trail names. Mine is Rocksy.)