Tony's Hiking Adventure

A Big Climb to Manter Creek

PCT Map Miles 694.7
Miles Hiked 634.5
Elevation 5,846 feet
Miles Hiked Today 12.4

My alarm did not go off again.  I have got to figure out what’s going on with it. Nevertheless, I wasn’t in any hurry to leave, and I did wake up about 5:30 AM.  I was on my way at 6:45 AM.

Today was going to be a short day.  My target was just over 12 miles.  Many of my destination targets when I’m hiking are due to location of water.  While there was water a few miles north of where I spent last night, after that point there was no water until my intended campsite.

So, the day started out with, guess what, a big climb.  I don’t even look at my navigation application anymore to check for the day’s elevation gain.  I just know first thing in the morning I’m going up.

This particular morning I was going from about 5,300 feet to 8,000 feet.  The good news is that it started in a heavily treed forest.  That appears to be a unique occurrence rather than the norm here in California.  While the climb was difficult as sections of it were very steep, the trees provided shade from the early morning sun. 

Late morning, a little bit after I had replenished my water supply, I walked out of the forest.  There was still about 7 miles to go until my next water source and camping for the night.  The area that I was now in is scarred by a fire.  That means no trees and no shade whatsoever.  While the temperature wasn’t that bad, I estimate it in the high 80’s, the sun was relentless. 

California’s state tree – any dead tree.

I had planned to stop for my afternoon rest as had been my habit during this section of my hike.  However, there was no shade, so I just kept going.  Finally at 1:00, I did find some shade and stopped for lunch. That shade that I found turned out to be the only shade until I got to the campsite.

I arrived at the campsite about 3:30.  Arriving early is something that I haven’t done lately.  I took advantage of it, and stuck my feet in an ice cold creek. Boy did that feel good! 

Tomorrow, it’s Kennedy Meadows. It’s only 9 miles away, and I’m looking forward to finally reaching it.  Kennedy Meadows is the symbolic end of the desert.  Call me a skeptic, but I doubt the desert ends there. The latter part of the day was definitely desert like, and I’m only nine miles away from Kennedy Meadows.

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2 responses to “A Big Climb to Manter Creek”

  1. Sam Wilson says:

    Thank you for your posts, I have enjoyed the pictures and your writing! I ran across this while hunting for Uncle Fester’s cabin. Jackie Coogan supposedly had a cabin near the confluence of Manter Creek and the South Fork of the Kern. I am scouring the web for clues and aerial images, that is how I came across your adventures. I wager the South Fork was a welcome view after all that desert hiking !

    • Hi Sam. Thanks for stopping by my website and looking around. Yes, you are correct. The South Fork was very welcome. A few days after this I was at 10,000 feet and higher and finally got some relief from the heat. I’m probably one of only a couple of crazy people hiking the California desert in July.

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