May 24, 2016

Miles: 0

We woke up Tuesday morning at 5:10am eager to catch the sunrise. Andy has spoken many times of the glorious view from Lone Pine of the Sierras (including Mt. Whitney) when the weather is clear in the morning.

Unfortunately this morning the mountains were nowhere to be seen, blanketed by dark grey clouds. So instead we got hot water from the lobby and went back to our room.

Andy tried to sleep some more (unsuccessfully) while Laurie worked on postcards and other tasks.

Around 10am Andy’s family arrived in the familiar blue van.

We drove a few blocks down Main Street to a park with picnic tables and a river that runs through it!

Before long, the table was set and we were enjoying another delicious feast. Rice with kale, grilled onions and cauliflower; potatoes; pasta with ground beef; chicken kabob courtesy of Mini Kabob; fresh salad; hard boiled eggs; veggie soup; and fruit. YUM!

After our first meal we drove to Alabama Hills. Andy loves the Alabama Hills and led everyone on a short walk to two arches – Eye of the Alabama Arch and Mobius Arch. The mountains were still hiding behind the clouds but it was sunny where we were.

On our descent jet fighters put on an impressive display in the sky which provided a nice distraction. It was like watching a private Blue Angels show.

Then the real work began. We sorted our gear, switched out some gear (like our rain jackets), tried on our boots and gaiters, and bought crampons (thanks dad!!).

All this work and the walking before made everyone hungry so we went back to the park for another meal. Afterwards we took what was left over for the next day or two so we minimize our spending in town while eating better food.

We chatted with other hikers on the way back to the Dow Villa, then relaxed the rest of the evening – watching Pretty Woman and checking the weather a few times hoping it would change from stormy to sunny.

We will be in town at least one more day waiting out the storm and waiting for our warmer sleeping bag. It was shipped overnight via FedEx but never arrived. The hotel staff isn’t surprised as FedEx is unreliable here.

We’re glad to not be in a major hurry or this delay would not have been pleasant. Hopefully it arrives tomorrow.

Tonight we are grateful for home cooked meals and UPS.

May 23, 2016

Miles: 0

We slept in this morning, waking up around 7:30am. Laurie woke up in go mode, ready to cross things off her to do list.

We posted pictures on Instagram, published our blog posts, requested additional gear from Andy’s parents, and did laundry twice (because we forgot to wash some clothes the first time).

Secretly Andy thinks Laurie (who had never been to a laundromat before) wanted to wash all our clothes again to use Tide so they would smell good.

Already Andy can’t wait to smell like a hiker again.

Finally, at 10:30am we went for breakfast at Alabama Hills Cafe. It’s a staple in Lone Pine. We felt rushed to order and except for warm avocados in our omelette, we enjoyed our food, especially the peach crumble pie.

We came back from breakfast, showered and worked more on our blog posts.

It still surprises Andy how quickly time goes by in towns. By the time we crossed a few more things off our to do list it was 3pm.

Even though we did lots, we still found time to laugh a lot.

Fifty days in and we’re still having a blast together. Both of us are grateful to be where we are, sharing this experience with one another.

Around 4:30pm we finally left our room again for an early dinner. But first we went to the gear store Elevation. We’ve decided to buy crampons and be fully equipped for the Sierras.

They also gave us the number to a local who might possibly give us a ride back to Horseshoe Meadow on Wednesday, along with a recommendation for dinner.

It’s chilly here today. At least 10 degrees cooler than yesterday. Lots of grey clouds. There’s supposed to be weather coming in tomorrow again, which has driven some hikers out of the mountain and into town.

For the rest of the evening we relaxed – Laurie watched TV while Andy blogged some more and crossed more things off the never ending to do list.

Town days are exhausting. But we appreciate the rest they afford our bodies.

We’re sleeping early tonight (9pm) actually we slept around 10:30pm to wake up for sunrise tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Tonight we are grateful for fresh vegetables and cold avocados.

Below are a lot of videos we took in the desert on the PCT.

If you can’t view the videos from your email, open this post in your browser to view them.

Enjoy!