Destination: Onion Valley Road (off trail)
Starting Location: Kearsarge Pass Trail
Today’s Miles: 0.00
Trip Miles: 790.50
Nero
Kearsarge Pass Trail Head to Onion Valley Road 7.4 miles off trail ascent (1,430) descent (2,920)
My shoes froze inside my tent last night & I actually thought they might break as I pulled them apart enough to push my foot in. They were like wearing wooden shoes until I found some flowing water to walk through & thawed them out.
Getting over Kearsarge was pretty straight forward as I knew the route well. Lots of snow with some good & very fun glissading. Going back up with 6 days of food will likely be more interesting (hard). We easily caught a ride down the road to Independence & ran into go BIG Daddy (Bob, Dad) as he was heading up to pick us up. As we got out of the car we hooked up with the Europeans (who got a ride first because they needed to get to the post office before it closed) and some locals immediately flagged us down and gave us what appeared to be the remains of a huge birthday sheet cake. They said we were doing them a favor & saving their lives by taking the leftovers. How could we refuse? ¼ sheet cake gone in 30 seconds as we shoveled in handfuls. Then we went to lunch.
Rooms in town were hard to find as a fishing derby was taking place. We went to the Mt Williamson & totally lucked out. The owners were Swiss & German & we got royal treatment. Laundry, room, sewing, all for a very reasonable rate.
While Pang & Swiss Miss (formerly Claudia but we named her yesterday) were walking down town Independence (about the size of Mayberry) a car pulls over and it is Pang’s best friend from Switzerland who is on a 3 week holiday headed for Mammoth Mountain. We all had a good laugh about what a small place the USA is especially compared to Switzerland.
Heading down yesterday we met “Story”, Herman (from Belgium) & Mike who were headed up. They had spent 4 days in Independence in the hope of rapid snow dissipation. We informed them there was still plenty for their next leg enjoyment.
On my pack I have an international “no whining” button that was given to me by thru hiker & Southern California Region Volunteer Trail Maintainer Pick Axe Pete. Upon presenting me the button Pete told a story about how his grandson (about 6 at the time) was required to wear the button when he was acting up. Then one day when Pete was preparing for his thru hike, his grandson said “Here grandpa, you are going to need this more than me”. While hiking people would ask Pete if the button was meant for them & he would always reply “no it is for me”. I look at that button every day & remind myself that it is “for me”. And every day thus far it has brought a smile to my face.
Destination: Onion Valley Road (off trail)
Starting Location: Kearsarge Pass Trail
Today’s Miles: 0.00
Trip Miles: 790.50
Nero
Kearsarge Pass Trail Head to Onion Valley Road 7.4 miles off trail ascent (1,430) descent (2,920)
My shoes froze inside my tent last night & I actually thought they might break as I pulled them apart enough to push my foot in. They were like wearing wooden shoes until I found some flowing water to walk through & thawed them out.
Getting over Kearsarge was pretty straight forward as I knew the route well. Lots of snow with some good & very fun glissading. Going back up with 6 days of food will likely be more interesting (hard). We easily caught a ride down the road to Independence & ran into go BIG Daddy (Bob, Dad) as he was heading up to pick us up. As we got out of the car we hooked up with the Europeans (who got a ride first because they needed to get to the post office before it closed) and some locals immediately flagged us down and gave us what appeared to be the remains of a huge birthday sheet cake. They said we were doing them a favor & saving their lives by taking the leftovers. How could we refuse? ¼ sheet cake gone in 30 seconds as we shoveled in handfuls. Then we went to lunch.
Rooms in town were hard to find as a fishing derby was taking place. We went to the Mt Williamson & totally lucked out. The owners were Swiss & German & we got royal treatment. Laundry, room, sewing, all for a very reasonable rate.
While Pang & Swiss Miss (formerly Claudia but we named her yesterday) were walking down town Independence (about the size of Mayberry) a car pulls over and it is Pang’s best friend from Switzerland who is on a 3 week holiday headed for Mammoth Mountain. We all had a good laugh about what a small place the USA is especially compared to Switzerland.
Heading down yesterday we met “Story”, Herman (from Belgium) & Mike who were headed up. They had spent 4 days in Independence in the hope of rapid snow dissipation. We informed them there was still plenty for their next leg enjoyment.
On my pack I have an international “no whining” button that was given to me by thru hiker & Southern California Region Volunteer Trail Maintainer Pick Axe Pete. Upon presenting me the button Pete told a story about how his grandson (about 6 at the time) was required to wear the button when he was acting up. Then one day when Pete was preparing for his thru hike, his grandson said “Here grandpa, you are going to need this more than me”. While hiking people would ask Pete if the button was meant for them & he would always reply “no it is for me”. I look at that button every day & remind myself that it is “for me”. And every day thus far it has brought a smile to my face.
Destination: Onion Valley Road (off trail)
Starting Location: Kearsarge Pass Trail
Today’s Miles: 0.00
Trip Miles: 790.50
Nero
Kearsarge Pass Trail Head to Onion Valley Road 7.4 miles off trail ascent (1,430) descent (2,920)
My shoes froze inside my tent last night & I actually thought they might break as I pulled them apart enough to push my foot in. They were like wearing wooden shoes until I found some flowing water to walk through & thawed them out.
Getting over Kearsarge was pretty straight forward as I knew the route well. Lots of snow with some good & very fun glissading. Going back up with 6 days of food will likely be more interesting (hard). We easily caught a ride down the road to Independence & ran into go BIG Daddy (Bob, Dad) as he was heading up to pick us up. As we got out of the car we hooked up with the Europeans (who got a ride first because they needed to get to the post office before it closed) and some locals immediately flagged us down and gave us what appeared to be the remains of a huge birthday sheet cake. They said we were doing them a favor & saving their lives by taking the leftovers. How could we refuse? ¼ sheet cake gone in 30 seconds as we shoveled in handfuls. Then we went to lunch.
Rooms in town were hard to find as a fishing derby was taking place. We went to the Mt Williamson & totally lucked out. The owners were Swiss & German & we got royal treatment. Laundry, room, sewing, all for a very reasonable rate.
While Pang & Swiss Miss (formerly Claudia but we named her yesterday) were walking down town Independence (about the size of Mayberry) a car pulls over and it is Pang’s best friend from Switzerland who is on a 3 week holiday headed for Mammoth Mountain. We all had a good laugh about what a small place the USA is especially compared to Switzerland.
Heading down yesterday we met “Story”, Herman (from Belgium) & Mike who were headed up. They had spent 4 days in Independence in the hope of rapid snow dissipation. We informed them there was still plenty for their next leg enjoyment.
On my pack I have an international “no whining” button that was given to me by thru hiker & Southern California Region Volunteer Trail Maintainer Pick Axe Pete. Upon presenting me the button Pete told a story about how his grandson (about 6 at the time) was required to wear the button when he was acting up. Then one day when Pete was preparing for his thru hike, his grandson said “Here grandpa, you are going to need this more than me”. While hiking people would ask Pete if the button was meant for them & he would always reply “no it is for me”. I look at that button every day & remind myself that it is “for me”. And every day thus far it has brought a smile to my face.
Robert Francisco 
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