I thought the TST would be hard.
It has a lot of steep climbs, and some stretches of trail are poorly maintained.
What I didn’t plan on was the heat, and that all the trails are bad and some are worse. There have been no cruising stretches on this hike, at least not since I crossed the Kern River.
Bushwhacking through miles of manzanitas in the way to Farewell Gap
Although the air temps are not so high, the cloudless days and sparsely forested hillsides make hiking intensely hot, requiring many cool-down and water breaks.
Looking back at the Kern River country from Farewell Gap
But the sparkling clear skies also make for some amazing views. From Farewell Gap I could see the mountains of Yosemite, probably a hundred miles away, sailing serenely above green waves of foothills below. That’s worth a hard hike.
Approaching Farewell Gap
Looking north from Farewell Gap
Stopped to chat with a hiker heading up out of Mineral King. He hoped I had enjoyed my hike; and I told him I was just getting started and was headed to Yosemite.
“Are you hiking the TST?” He asked, much to my amazement. It was Jeff Cannon, a TST hiker and member of the TST Facebook group. He wished me well and advised against fording the Middle Fork of the Kings River.
Snow all the way down from Farewell Gap
I put in 21 miles today to make up for the short day yesterday. Heat, the rough and overgrown (and sometimes non-existent) trail combined to wear me out. I am dull and sleepy, much too sleepy to keep journaling.
