Mammoth to Independence, Part 1

c) Andrew Carter, 2021

Here are some photos from the last Pacific Crest Trail section I hiked this year.

I had been forced off the trail at Mammoth at the end of August by the closure of all National Forests in California due to the on-going risk of wildfires. When the National Forests were reopened, I got back on the trail on 9/17 with the hope of making it to Walker Pass by early October. If I’d succeeded in that, I would have hiked 1985 miles this year and would have left to hike in 2022 a 15-mile section near South Lake Tahoe, which I skipped due to the Caldor Fire, plus the 650-mile section from Santiam Pass, OR to the Canadian border.

I ended up getting off the trail near Independence due to smoke from the active fires in Sequoia National Park. On several days during the last week, visibility was less than 1/2 mile. The picture-perfect views one expects in the Sierra were either non-existent or transformed into depressing grays and browns. More important, I had developed a smoke-induced cough and I didn’t want to permanently impact my health.

The trail will be there next year. Let’s hope that most of the green forests it passes through will be there as well.

Smoky haze the morning of 9/18
No, I’m not a hunter.
The wind direction changed the afternoon of 9/18 and the skies cleared
Threatening skies, but it didn’t rain
Picture-perfect views on 9/19
Split rock
Muir Hut on Muir Pass
The view north from Muir Pass
On 9/21, the smoke returned
Mather Pass
The view north from Mather Pass
The view south
Looking back to Mather Pass
Interesting rock
The view west from Taboose Pass
Looking back to Taboose Pass
The Owens Valley north of Independence
Looking back to Taboose Pass
I stayed at the Courthouse Motel in Independence. That’s the Inyo County courthouse across the street.

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Andrew Carter

I just completed a multi-year thru hike (MYTH) of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). It took three years. I hiked 1840 miles in 2021, 733 miles in 2022, and 122 miles in 2023. The only reason I had to hike in 2023 was a wildfire closure at the north end of the PCT in 2022. During the past two years, I've also thru hiked other, shorter US trails. I hiked the Benton MacKaye Trail (GA, NC, TN) and the Tuscarora Trail (VA, WV, MD, PA) in 2022 plus the Ozark Highlands Trail (AR) in 2023. I hope to hike the Long Trail (VT) next year and the Colorado Trail at some point in the future. Please note, all content on this site is copyright.

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