More than one month after leaving the Pacific Crest Trail, we’re sitting down to recount our last few days in the backcountry during the 2015 season. — July 8 (continued) Start location: Bishop Pass Trailhead End location: ~1-2 miles west of Bishop Pass, on the Bishop Pass Trail Miles hiked: 6-7 miles (on the Bishop Pass Trail)   Our last entry left off with

We spent July 6-8 taking care of hiker errands and relaxing at the Creekside Inn, which is one of Bishop’s nicer hotel properties. Outside, the Creekside Inn has an actual creek running through the property, along with well-manicured green spaces, ample creek-side seating, and a nice pool and spa in a brick-lined courtyard. Inside, the rooms are exceptionally comfortable and

We hiked nearly 20 miles, our longest day in quite a while. Only the first ~8 miles were on the Pacific Crest Trail, however; we spent the rest of the day on the Bishop Pass Trail, heading back into town. — July 5th Start location: Mile 823.2, 37.05463, -118.51474 End location: Bishop, CA via the Bishop Pass Trail at PCT

After staying the night of the 26th in Independence, CA, we hitchhiked up to Bishop (~40 miles away) and spent June 27-30 recovering from the last week of hiking.   —– Start: Independence Inn, Independence, CA Stop: Bishop, CA (first night at Bishop Village Motel, next nights at EconoLodge) Miles hiked: 0 Miles hitchhiked: ~40   Because we spent June

We finished the climb up Forester Pass in the morning and then descended alongside an alpine lake-fed creek. At the end of the descent, we climbed up toward Kearsage Pass and the Kearsage Pass Trail, our route out of the mountains and into town for another resupply. ….. Start: Below Forester Pass Stop: The Independence Inn in Independence, CA Miles

We hiked from the foot of one giant to the foot of another, starting at the base of Mt. Whitney and stopping just 600 ft below Forester Pass. We camped out well above treeline at around 12,500 ft, and our highest campsite elevation to date. …. Start: Crabtree Ranger Station (on the Whitney Spur Trail, PCT mile 7XX) Stop: mile

Our toughest “zero day” of the trip so far, we hiked 16 miles round trip on the Whitney Spur Trail to summit and descend Mt. Whitney. Although we made no northward progress on the Pacific Crest Trail this day, climbing Mt. Whitney was well worth the effort. ………… Start: Crabtree Meadow (PCT mile 7XX) Stop: Crabtree Ranger Station off the

Day 51: June 8 Start: mile ~699, near South Fork Kern River Stop: Irvine via Kennedy Meadows Miles hiked: 3.8   —   We got off to another late start this morning; we didn’t hit the trail until 9:30 am. It didn’t really matter though, as we had less than 4 miles to hike before arriving at our destination for the