Sonora Pass to Echo Lake.....fail

Last week marked the one year anniversary of my new career as a stay at home dad. My wife had chosen to take a week of vacation to allow me a little vacation of my own. I had decided I would go backpacking for an extended trip. After several months spent debating all my destination options I chose section J of the Pacific Crest Trail. For those not familiar with the PCT it is a trail stretching from border with Mexico all the way to Canada.  I would be doing a section from Sonora Pass to Echo Lake. The trip would involve 76 miles of rugged mountain terrain, several mountain passes over 10,000 feet and over 24,000 total feet of elevation change.Its so remote and rugged the military uses this area for mountain warfare training.

Sunday morning is when my first sign of thing to come should have hit me. At 3:30 am my wife and I awoke to a very loud crashing noise. I don't typically sleep well when I am excited and this just sealed the deal. The day I would be starting this long journey I woke a 3:30 and would not fall back asleep. After some quick breakfast burritos we were off on our 3 hour drive to the trailhead. When we pull into the parking lot Kaelin quickly informs me "were here dad, bye now"

After a  short hike with the family I was off into the wild. The first 2 hours were spent hiking up and over Sonora Gap at an elevation well above 10,500 feet. I enjoyed a snack at the top and after opening my pack I found a note from the girls complete with a tracing of Leah's foot. I got quite the kick out of a misshapen foot tracing. After reaching the top you descend into the valley where the East Carson River starts.  It was the most pleasant part of the day, with each passing mile bring different scenery. I can't recall ever hiking in a place that seemed to change as quickly or as often as the area I hiked through this day. I came to the place I had thought I would camp at 2 in the afternoon. Instead of calling it a day and resting I pressed on. At 3 I found myself at a creek taking a rest and preparing to fill my water up. I was advised by a gentleman and his wife hiking the other way not to bother there were several more areas higher up. Unfortunately I listened and when I came across said water source I wasn't comfortable getting water from it. Again I press on. At 5 I rested and cooked a Mountain House meal for dinner and enjoyed a Crystal Light and Jack Daniels cocktail. After dinner I was completely out of water and really wanted to find some. I hiked until I came to a barbed wire fence, after passing through the fence I was greeted by lots of cattle. I thought I could hike through the pasture quickly and find a camp hopefully near water. Well niether happened and I twisted my knee on the cow battered trail and was forced to keep hiking on a very sore knee. These cows seemed especially skidish and were spooked very easily. At one point I watched a dozen cows take off in a pack of angry beef. Not exactly where one wants to camp. After over 2 more hours my knee finally gave out and I could walk no more. I made camp without water and still amongst cow in the worst spot I've ever had to camp. My feet were at least 4 inches below my head.

After a very poor night of sleep thanks to my newly injured knee I was ready to tackle day 2. Still without water and in quite a good deal of pain. I set off shortly after 7 am and was on a mission for water. I grew very tired of passing good sources of water that were unsafe due to cattle. Finally at 9:30 I found a very nice spring. While setting down my pack I rested it on my very sore knee and "down goes Fraiser"  my knee buckles and i'm now on the ground in stabbing pain. After picking myself up I got to drink water for the first time since dinner the night before. I then packed up and struggled towards Ebbetts Pass. I had already come to terms with the possibility that my trip might over. I had been walking in a lot of pain since 7 am and my knee was starting to swell up pretty badly with the growth of a second knee cap(It ended up looking much worse than the picture). I finally made it to the trailhead a 3 in the afternoon. Much to my disappointment it appeared someone had just left after washing the bathrooms. That might have been my only chance to get out. I then found myself at the mercy of strangers as I was hitch-hiking in hopes of getting to a pay phone or cell range.

I had set a cutoff of 4pm for finding a ride. My wife is not very comfortable on mountain roads at night and I did not want to put her in that position. But I was also not comfortable committing to the additional 30 miles of packing I would be committed to if I kept hiking. At 10 til I said a little prayer and thought to myself I should have enough good trail karma after helping as many people as I have. At 4:01 my savors appeared from out of the woods. A very nice couple from the local town of Markleeville were given the rundown of my current state and I laid it on thick hoping for a ride somewhere that had a phone. They were kind enough to drive me all the way into Markleeville and even pointed to the bar. I called a very surprised wife and then bellied up to the bar while I waited for my ride.

Who wouldn't give this guy a lift?

If anyone reading this likes fine art the gentleman that gave me the ride is an artist and blues guitarist. I certainly can't afford his wonderful work but you might be able to. His sites are http://www.ketenjian.com/ andhttp://ketenjianfineart.blogspot.com/.

While the trip was less than successful I was able to see areas I have never seen, packed heights I've never packed and met some wonderful locals. My knee looks more like a cankle than a knee currently and I am glad that common sense won out over stubbornness. Once healed I will be back and I will finish my hike. Thanks again to my trail angels Russell and Sandra Ketenjian you really saved my bacon. There really are some amazing places to see if you just get out of the car and walk. Just watch out for cow pies.

Sorry the pics are screwed up. I'm not very happy with Blogger at the moment. I'll try to fix it.