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This is a collection of my blog entries about hiking
You can find all the pictures I've taken here, and read below for the more recent trips that I have recorded in blog entries

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2021/07/16 Kings Canyon: Alta To Silliman with Arturo and Johannes
π 2021-07-16 01:01 in Hiking

Thanks to Arturo for planning the trip and Johannes for getting the permit. This was a challenging hike, a bit over 50 miles in 4 days, including some cross country that was quite tough (steep elevation, progress of half a mile per hour was not unusual). I'm always a bit self conscious because I like not to be the weakest link, but they are both stronger hikers than me, and I managed to show up with a cold that got worse and turned into a bacterial infection due to exertion and high altitude.
It took a lot of caffeine pills and bags of energy goo to get through most days, and especially on the first day, my body really rebelled at the end as I pushed it way beyond what I should have (but we had to make camp, so that was the only way out). The other days were a bit less tough but still kicked my butt, and I was quite thankful to have antibiotics on the 3rd day.

Here are the stats:

                        Move Ovrl      Avg Max
     Dist    Time  Move Avg  Avg  Cal  HR  HR  Climb  Desc
Day1 10.30   8h04  6h21 1.6  1.3  2859 129 162  3300   807
Day2 11.79  10h13  7h36 1.6  1.2  3113 113 141  2123  4113
Day3 16.55   9h45  6h21 2.1  1.9  2859 112 142  2936  2551
Day4 13.07   6h13  4h47 2.2  2.4  1668 114 142  1654  3891
Tot  51.71  34h15 25h05 1.8  1.7 10499 117 146 10013 11362

I still tried to be lighter, this is what I had:

  • 5lbs Fanny pack
  • 22lbs backpack without water or food (33lbs with water and 6lbs food)
  • total load was 38lbs, probably too much but the lightest I've been
  • But it was still overweighed compared to Arturo and Johannes, so I was the weakest link, before adding the part where I got sick. Ooops.

    Day 1: Wolverton to Alta Peak Cross Country Short of Moose Lake

    Arturo and I drove to Fresno the day before to be a lot closer for the next morning:

    very low water level
    very low water level


    That next morning, we drove from Fresno to Kings Canyon and had a look at the visitor center and some big trees:











    We then started the hike early enough as it was going to be a long day.






    We joined the High Sierra Trail
    We joined the High Sierra Trail




    It was all nice and good, so sine we were doing well enough (although I wsa already using caffeine and energy gel), so we climbed Alta Peak:









    By the top, my body was kind of running on fumes, but with a few breaks, I made it up there. Unfortunately, by then we got some bad intel and the people with more of a brain than me, From there, going cross country, which was quite tough when I was:




    terrain was tough
    terrain was tough


    day was getting late, and I was really exhausted with the cold
    day was getting late, and I was really exhausted with the cold

    going down was tough
    going down was tough

    I was the slowest in the group
    I was the slowest in the group

    finally arrived
    finally arrived

    I tried to smile, but damn, I was exhausted
    I tried to smile, but damn, I was exhausted

    this is what we came down from
    this is what we came down from

    home sweet home
    home sweet home

    OMG, such a cute pikka
    OMG, such a cute pikka


    Dinner time
    Dinner time






    Day 2: Alta Peak Lake to Roaring River

    The next morning, we had a quick breakfast and ready for a long hike day and another tough cross country:

    basic accomodations for Johannes :)
    basic accomodations for Johannes :)


    another Pikka came to see us
    another Pikka came to see us






    Johannes raced us to the lake
    Johannes raced us to the lake









    found a nice frog
    found a nice frog


    I was still sick, my SPO2 was pretty low, I hope it was not that low
    I was still sick, my SPO2 was pretty low, I hope it was not that low

    found this weird thing slithering in the grass, what is it?
    found this weird thing slithering in the grass, what is it?

    multiple fires, one of the planes fighting the fires
    multiple fires, one of the planes fighting the fires





    still more cross country
    still more cross country




    beautiful lake after lake
    beautiful lake after lake


    time for another swim
    time for another swim

    lovely valley
    lovely valley



    finding the trail back was a bit rough at the end
    finding the trail back was a bit rough at the end


    day was getting long, but I wanted to push on to catch up on the time we lost the previous day and my being slow
    day was getting long, but I wanted to push on to catch up on the time we lost the previous day and my being slow



    finally setup camp
    finally setup camp

    Day 3: Roaring River to Lost Lake

    good morning
    good morning



    roaring river ranger station, we hung out for a bit
    roaring river ranger station, we hung out for a bit





    astronaut ice cream snack
    astronaut ice cream snack



    he got to lost lake
    he got to lost lake

    time for swim
    time for swim

    long day
    long day









    Day 4: Lost Lake

    Last day, I was on antibiotics, which helped a bit, but I was happy to get out. It was my fastest day, except for losing the trail and going backwards for a while:












    back to civilization
    back to civilization

    yeah, I'm done!
    yeah, I'm done!


    Thanks a ton to Arturo and Johannes for making this happen, and putting up with the slowpoke that I was :)


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