Liz and Melinda continue to make good progress. They left Kennedy Meadows a little later than usual on Friday and covered about 15 miles. Saturday and Sunday they covered about 17 and 18 miles respectively.
They have climbed to where the air is rare, spending nights at 8,261 feet, 10,496 feet, and 11,266 feet. (Check out the PCT elevation profile and click on "section G" at the bottom to see the terrain where they are right now.)
On Saturday, I got a brief text from Melinda that they set up their tents in hail, but it passed quickly. She also said that last night (Sunday) it was very windy. It's supposed to reach around 100 degrees over much of California this week, but all bets are off at high altitude as the Sierras tend to make their own weather.
About 17 miles ahead is the junction with the John Muir Trail. Going north from there, the JMT and PCT merge and are the same trail going all the way to Tuolumne Meadows where the JMT ends. If the girls were to head east on the JMT from that junction, they could summit Whitney as a "day trip" from the PCT. Before leaving they had no plans to do this, wanting to put all of their energy into PCT miles. Of course they could always change their minds.
Communication is difficult, due to Melinda texting with a device that has only 3 buttons and an unpredictable messaging delay. (The InReach tracker) That's the only option where there is no cell service. She could connect her phone to the InReach using bluetooth for a better user interface, but pairing them is a hassle, especially with cold fingers.
Even so, she did manage to confirm that the dog needs shots before we can renew his license. I try not to bug her with these mundane issues, but she usually runs our household and there are some things only she knows. :-)
Which one is Melinda and which one is Liz in the picture on the blog? Who had the really bad blisters?
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