My day started with tripping over a concrete step in front of my room when I tried to dodge a green mantis sitting on the floor. After resupplying on energy bars and coffee, I checked out and Nate (the employee I met at the gear exchange) picked me up from the motel. We drove up …
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Day #23 Climbing in Pine Creek Canyon
I was ecstatic when I saw a message coming in after I posted in the Bishop climbing group on facebook. A photographer from LA named Clayton asked if I was up for sport climbing in a famous area – within fifteen minutes we met up, loaded our gear (mine consisting only of my harness and …
Day #22 Hitchhiking into Bishop
Hitchhiking from the campground into Lone Pine was super easy – a hiker (who couldn’t get a Mt. Whitney permit and returned) picked me up. At the gas station I drew a sign and after waiting five minutes a huge RV stopped. Two brothers / fishermen in their 50s called Richard & Stanley offered me …
Day #21 Defeated by the Desert Heat
Today I wanted to check out Alabama Hills and its‘ egg-shaped boulders but on the way down the street I started to feel really sick and tired from the heat so I turned around. It was over 100 degrees again before noon and it became painful to walk up the hill. That’s when a rancher …
Day #20 The (Happy) End
It‘s over!!! It feels almost surreal but I‘ve hiked the last two miles down from beautiful Lone Pine Lake to the parking lot and exited Mt. Whitney zone! I‘m so happy I did it – hiking High Sierra Trail! The brothers I met, Evan and Phil, came shortly after me to the small hikers’ café …
Day #18 Mount Whitney
High Sierra Trail Part 7/8 – from Guitar Lake to Trail Camp (8.6 Miles) The air was still cold when I rose at 5.30am (a personal record so far) and got on to the trail at 6.50am. I noticed some headlamps way up on the steep track that wound itself up the mountain pass in …
Day #17 Sunburn & Success
High Sierra Trail Part 6/8 – from Junction Meadow to Guitar Lake (11 Miles) I made it to Guitar Lake – an alpine lake shaped like a guitar above the treeline. The view is incredible! But as it was a long hike in full sunshine and I got sunburnt. Feeling woozy now, laying in camp, …
Day #16 Trail Philosophy
High Sierra Trail Part 5/8 – from Kern Hot Spring to Junction Meadow (7.7 Miles) I left camp in record time this morning, thus making a good start before sunrise. Lots of river crossings demanded all my attention, my shoes got wet and I had to climb over fallen trees again, but otherwise I made …
Day #15 Hot Spring & Bonfire
High Sierra Trail Part 4/8 – from Moraine Lake to Kern Hot Spring (6.3 Miles) It‘s Monday! I‘m not having a blue Monday at all – although my feet hurt really bad again. I hope the long rest, a good stretching and the hot spring will ease the pain. Hot spring? Let‘s start where we …
Day #14 Obstacles
High Sierra Trail Part 3/8 – from Hamilton Lake to Moraine Lake (12.6 Miles) I am so tired. Everything hurts. Especially my feet hurt. If you need more details – my ankles, heels, toes, soles and ligaments hurt. I think I hit a new record for my body today. I‘ve never hiked 12 miles (19 …
Finn Goes West - Hiking & Climbing in the South-Western USA 