While on this (rather lengthy) vacation I found myself in the Las Vegas airport waiting in the 103 degree heat to be picked up by one of my dearest friends in the world, to go on what soon turned into one of the most epic backpacking trips of my short life. My vision of the trip was quite different than the reality. In my mind the plan was to go backpacking for about 8 days in the eastern Sierras. I envisioned the trip as relaxing affair with enormous amount of trout fishing interrupted by brief periods of walking just to get to other suitable locals for more fishing. The reality was quite different. I don't know how many miles were hiked the whole trip but suffice to say it was more than I bargained for. After my body acclimated to both the altitude and the abuse it was recieving what commenced was the most beautiful and epic journey into the wilderness I have ever been on. Per Ben's request most of our traveling was cross country or off trail meaning we just look at the topo map and say "That looks pretty...let's go there." and off we would go. We fished in some beautiful lakes and streams and climbed some amazing peaks including on the last day a somewhat insane 1 day ascent of Mt Whitney (the highest peak in the continental United States) that left me limping on my bruised and swollen feet for days. For about 6 days we saw no other human. Just the deer, fish, and ten million mosquitos (I forgot the bug spray in the car). What follows are a few pictures of the trip.
Disclaimer #2: If you will be offended by the unclothed behind of my of my cohort as he launches himself off a massive cliff into Lake Relfection please do not proceed. You've been warned!
