And They’re Off!

Trekkers, it’s time, this is really happening! Tomorrow, my dad and I set off for California and (eventually) the High Sierra Trail.

The last several days have been a flurry of preparing food, placing last-minute Amazon orders, spraying our clothes and gear with Permethrin (in front of my parents’ house, confirming once again all their neighbors’ suspicions that the Harveys are officially the crazy family of the neighborhood), printing and annotating maps, updating apps and Garmin plans, checking lots of things off of spreadsheets and lists, and of course today we have to finish up the actual packing.

Looking good! • photos by me

We’ll be flying into LAX, picking up two rental cars, and heading for Lone Pine, where we’ll base ourselves for a few days to get organized, start acclimating to the elevation (ah, the joys of living <10 feet above sea level…), and doing some day trips around the area to see what there is to see. It will be very hot, and I have comically low heat tolerance, so hopefully I will survive this initial phase unscathed.

When the time comes to actually head for the trail, we’ll be leaving one of the cars at each end. Yes, that means an awful lot of driving, but it also leaves our transport entirely in our own hands, rather than relying on public transportation or shuttles.

If we’re organized and timely enough, I’m hoping for a quick visit to the Giant Forest, since it’s in the same general area as Crescent Meadow.

Big fans of big trees • Sierra National Forest, 2017 • photos by us

Then, on the 17th, onto the trail we go!

I won’t be posting updates from the trail, but stay tuned for posts like recaps, final gear lists, things we learned, likes and dislikes, and so on and so forth once we get back! I will, of course, also have a lot of photos.

Thanks for following along with us to this point, and we’ll see you on the other side!

Feature image: Sierra National Forest, 2017 • photo by me