We are back in civilization

Hello All,

Moose here... We have arrived safe and sound in Independence, California after a decent nights sleep at around 8000 feet. Hot hike from the trailhead to Shepherd's Pass out toward Independence. Saved from too much agony by 3 dudes in a mini-truck with a camper shell... cut around 6 miles off the walk into town. Thanks, dudes.

Tracy has done well expressing what has happened so far. Thanks, honey! I had a case of mild hypothermia on the morning after summiting Mt. Whitney. I spent 30 minutes of hiking in the sun trying to warm up that morning. It was the second night without much sleep, and there was no way I could make it over Forester Pass and down to a low elevation to get some warmer air for sleeping. Not worth continuing... Travis was cold at night also and Keith had trouble sleeping with the altitude... Uncle Tom can relate to that one.

Anyway, when I can get to a computer where I don't have to pay by the minute to use it, I will pass along more info...

Thanks for following this short endeavor, and thanks for your donations to Camp SOCK.

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}:[: ( <---(a dejected moose)
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going down

I'm back again to report on the Psycho Hikers!


It would appear that being "psycho" does not impair the ability to use common sense, which makes me very glad. Unlike me, those of you that can actually read a map may have noticed that they are no longer following the plan. Stalker was able to locate another one of mother nature's phone booths and called around 4:00 this afternoon. He stated that they were all okay and that it was very cold at night. Since they are traveling very light, their sleeping gear is not up to snuff for the weather. They have not been able to sleep at night because of the low temperatures. So they are heading east towards Independence, California...a mighty warm deserty place!



I looked up where they are as of 8:37 this evening. I notice their altitude is currently about 9,000 ft. so they have come down quite a bit from yesterday's summit of 14,497 ft. Ironically, this descent is only a bit more than the elevation of Klamath Falls, give or take a thousand feet.

Another happy omen is that they are camping next to Mt. Keith! How can one go wrong with a name like that?

Stalker has promised his Dad will call tonight or tomorrow. I will update you more after that phone call. They have requested that we do not call our the Calvary (yet).

So, Grandpa Eric, sit tight and don't get your worrier going. Thanks for the phone call...I'm not surprised that an old boy scout, pilot, and ship navigator was the first to notice they had gone astray!

Thanks for checking in on the boys,everyone.

Love,
Tracy

Hi fellow lowlanders. Here is a new song for you to hum:

On top of Mt. Whitney,
All covered with rocks,
The three Psycho Hikers,
All climbed to the top!

Yes! They have summited, as of today (which is Friday).

I, the little wife, received a phone call from the Mooseman right before they summited. He called from the "usual" spot, where I have been receiving these calls for the last few years. Apparently mother nature was kind enough to put a "phone booth" area up there near the top where one can actually get a cell phone call through.

Moose wanted to be sure you know that they are ahead of schedule right now. They decided that they would press ahead, since it was a beautiful day with no thunderstorms or any other such weatherly nonsense. He and Stalker both sounded in very good spirits and I could hear JarJar and Moose talking in the background while I told Stalker he was required to yell from the mountaintop "I love you Mom" when they summited. Wonder if he did? What would you do if you were 18 and you mother had asked that of you?

Anyway, Moose hopes you are enjoying following along vicariously on the psychohikers big adventure. They are by no means finished yet. They still have very ambitious goals for each day. Will they keep up the pace? Will they meet each day's goal? Will they encounter bears? Will the Whitney Marmot eat all their moosegoo? Will the Marmot die a terrible death? Stay tuned for further updates as they progress. As long as the batteries last and they can locate more natural phonebooths along the way, I will keep you updated. Next update may be when they hit Red's Meadow...probably after that nice hot geothermal shower.

In case you did not know, our whole family went to camp SOCK this year with our friend Charlie McGonigle and we each came back with a wonderful, life-enhancing experience. The mother of my camper said that she was so glad we were there for her child. Last year my camper's family drove all the way to Washington state so their child could go to camp! It is truly a unique summercamp. Please look at the website for just a peek at what it is all about!

I better stop, or Moose will never tell me the password to his Blog site again.
With love to all,
Tracy

THIS WILL BE THE LAST BLOG UPDATE PRIOR TO THE END OF THE TRIP. PLEASE CHECK HERE EACH DAY, THOUGH, TO COMPARE HOW WE ARE DOING WITH OUR PLAN VS. OUR ACTUAL TRACKING AT THE SATELLITE LINK.

THANX, Moose

Please donate to WALK 4 SOCK HERE AT THIS LINK.

Options include pledges for LoanMeADime, a dime per mile, or $21.10. Donate more, or donate whatever you can. Click the link and give a great kid a great experience !!!

Hope you enjoy the trip… And THANKS FOR YOUR DONATION !!!

Starting August 7^th, follow the Psycho Hikers along the trail with our SPOT tracker at this link: FindMeSpot Link

…Or this address

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl.jsp?glId=0bpFSTsmiONMJXbMgUo5Wt2yWk2xVWAtD

If your email splits this line, be certain that EVERY letter, number, and symbol is typed in correctly.

HERE IS THE HIKE, Beginning August 7th.

Approach hike – This part of the trip will consist of 2 days, hiking from Horseshoe Meadow to the base of Mt. Whitney on the west side at Guitar Lake.

The first day goes from Horseshoe Meadow (10,000 ft.) up and over Cottonwood Pass (11,140 ft) and then back down to Rock Creek at 10,000 ft again. This part of the trail is HEAVILY traveled by horse/mule/donkey teams. Because of this stock use, the trail is very sandy and dusty. The only consistent water along the route is off-trail at Chicken Spring Lake (4 miles) or at our destination for the night at Rock Creek, 14 miles. This will be a good acclimatization day.

The second approach day takes us up and over Guyot Pass (not on map, 11,000 ft.) and across some more sandy trail to Lower Crabtree Meadow, and then a short leg to Upper Crabtree. Here, we join the John Muir Trail (JMT) and hike toward Mt Whitney, enjoying some great views on the approach of the awe-inspiring granite cathedrals surrounding the highest peak in the lower 48 states. We will camp at Guitar Lake on the night of August 8.

August 9, the GO day… this is the day we start our 30-mile-per-day push. We will start early in the morning, hike to the summit of Mt. Whitney, and then… off we go!!! We will officially call this “DAY 1”.

Day 1 – We hike down hill from Mt. Whitney, grab some water passing Guitar Lake, and then traverse the JMT toward Tyndall Creek Ranger Station (little cabin symbol on map). From Tyndall Creek, it is up and over Forester Pass, the highest pass along the JMT at 13,480. From there, it is all downhill to our destination for the night, Bubbs Creek. A 36-mile day, IF we make it all the way.

Day 2 – Up and over Glen Pass, down to Woods Creek, up and over Pinchot Pass, down to Kings River, then up and over Mather Pass to Palisade Lake.

Day 2 will most likely be our toughest day if we can pull it off. 3 passes – whew. We’ll see…

Day 3 – Down the “Golden Staircase” and its 100+ switchbacks from Palisade Lake to Deer Creek; this was the last section of the JMT to be constructed in 1938. We drop into Le Conte Canyon for the L-O-N-G approach up to Muir Pass. From the pass, it is all downhill to Evolution Lake, a long day, but doable.

Day 4 – From Evolution Lake, we go into Evolution Valley, past McClure Meadow Ranger Station, and then downhill to the San Joaquin River. We depart Kings Canyon National Park at Piute Creek and then traverse up to Seldon Pass. A descent to Bear Creek follows, and the another traverse to Bear Ridge. 26 switchbacks up and 63 switchbacks down… I counted them all in 2006. No view, just back and forth among the pine and aspen forest groves. We will try to stop at Mono Creek. Many JMT hikers head across Edison Lake at this point to the Vermillion Valley Resort at the west end of the lake, accessible via a twice-daily ferry. WE WILL try to resist this temptation… we will, we will, we will.

Day 5 is up and over Silver Pass and then along the upper bench of the Cascade Canyon, up-and-down, and finally to Reds Meadow. This is our resupply. We hope to give the Mulehouse Café a little business. There are hot geothermal showers here, too. Ahhhhh!

Day 6, up into the Ansel Adams Wilderness for some picturesque views of Mount Ritter and Banner Peak in the backdrop of Garnet and Thousand Island Lakes. I failed to get my pictures to transfer over so I can show you these views, but I’ll get them on the BLOG after our trip. Ultimately on this day, we will cross over Donahue Pass and drop into Yosemite National Park via Lyell Canyon.

Day 7 – THE LAST DAY (we hope). From Lyell Canyon, we will pass through Tuolumne Meadow and then up to Cathedral Pass. One last uphill remains as we get up and over the hump into the Merced River drainage. Smooth sailing from here, it is all downhill to Nevada and Vernal Falls, followed by a short jaunt to Happy Isles, where I predict we will have HAPPY FEET because the trek is now OVER.

Wish us luck, and please follow along if you can at the satellite tracking site:

FindMeSpot Link

…Or this address

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl.jsp?glId=0bpFSTsmiONMJXbMgUo5Wt2yWk2xVWAtD

If your email splits this line, be certain that EVERY letter, number, and symbol is typed in correctly.

Please donate to WALK 4 SOCK HERE AT THIS LINK.

Options include pledges for LoanMeADime, a dime per mile, or $21.10. Donate more, or donate whatever you can. Click the link and give a great kid a great experience !!!

Hope you enjoy the trip… And THANKS FOR YOUR DONATION !!!

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}:[: ) Moose

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No updates for a bit...

Hello to all...

we can'tc do much updating right now... more in a few days when we get to Mammoth Lakes or Bishop, CA soon. thanx4 yer patience.

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}:[: ) Moose
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Aug. 2, 2008

WALK 4 SOCK donations HERE AT THIS LINK. Click it and help send a kid to camp !!!
Go to http://www.campsock.org/ for more information on this accessible camp experience.

Psycho Hikers Daily Update, Aug. 2nd, 2008
Last day for getting ready. Departure tomorrow, early Sunday morning, for Yosemite. Moose will be driving east of the Sierras… Stalker and Jar-Jar will drive with Yeti, Jar-Jar’s dad, down the west side through the Central Valley and we will all meet up in Yosemite Valley, the "Ditch", sometime Sunday evening. Moose will secure a campground at Tuolumne (pronounced Too-Wall-uhm-ee) Meadows Sunday morning before driving down to drop the truck at the trailhead.

Starting August 7th, follow the Psycho Hikers along the trail with our SPOT tracker at this link: FindMeSpot Link
…Or this address
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl.jsp?glId=0bpFSTsmiONMJXbMgUo5Wt2yWk2xVWAtD
(f your email splits this line, be certain that EVERY letter, number, and symbol is typed in correctly.
Please donate to WALK 4 SOCK HERE AT THIS LINK.
Options include pledges for LoanMeADime, a dime per mile, or $21.10. Donate more, or donate whatever you can. Click the link and give a great kid a great experience !!!
Hope you enjoy the trip… And THANKS FOR YOUR DONATION !!!

Charlie
A Camp SOCK lifer

Psycho Hikers... Ready to Roll !

Departure time fast approaches, lots to do, nerves are starting to jangle... Just when we think we are ready, something more comes to mind.


Training has been fun, preparation is very important. As mentioned in our emails, we went on a long hike, including some night hiking, earlier in July. The "Walk 4 SOCK" video below offers a glimpse at that experience...

Please help us support Camp SOCK... go to this link to make a donation... or type the link into your web browser: https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d2/default.aspx?wid=22240

Thanks for your support of Camp SOCK, a great adventure for some great kids.

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}:[: ) Ken "MOOSE" Muller
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