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| The Bee hikers all made it back safe. Each spent eight days hiking with heavy backpacks and sleeping on the ground. They were tired, hungry and ready to go back -- well, most of them. "There was a lot of beauty packed in seven days," Tomas Ovalle says in this video, which also includes commentaries from the other hikers about the challenges and joys experienced on the John Muir Trail. |
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Jim takes a photo of the sun rising on Mt. Goddard as reflected in Wanda Lake. Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee |
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Mike Nickau, 51, chats with reporter Mark Grossi at Wanda Lake. He is a cancer survivor and he quit his chef job in southern California to hike the John Muir Trail. Mark Crosse/ The Fresno Bee |
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The sunset over Evolution Creek at Colby Meadow casts a warm glow on the second night of the hike on the John Muir Trail. Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee |
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A glacial erratic, a rock that seemingly came from nowhere, sits on top of a ledge with the Palisades as a backdrop. Erratics are rocks that are left behind helter-skelter as a glacier recedes. Mark Crosse/ The Fresno Bee |
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Jim applies sunscreen on the last day of his journey on the John Muir Trail at base camp below Mt. Whitney. About 50 hikers spent the night at base camp. Many people would camp at base camp and then day hike up to the top of Mt. Whitney. Tomas Ovalle/ The Fresno Bee |
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Wildflowers thrive at the base of Mist Falls on the trail to Upper Paradise Valley. From Road's End at Cedar Grove is where Tomas and Marek began their leg of covering the John Muir Trail. Tomas Ovalle/ The Fresno Bee |
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Marek, Tomas, Emily and Jim on top of Mt. Whitney. Tomas Ovalle / The Fresno Bee |
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Mark Grossi rests with trail mates Jim and Emily at the top of 12,130-foot Pinchot Pass on the John Muir Trail. From here the group continued to Woods Creek Crossing where they spent the night Sunday, Aug. 27. Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee |
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Lush greenery surrounds Evolution Lake along the JMT. The greenery and trees soon give way to the various hues of granite as hikers approach the treeline where very little grows. Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee |
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| The John Muir Trail is not an easy undertaking. Not even for a week, and certainly not the final leg, which ends at the top of Mt. Whitney. Because Marek Warszawski and Tomas Ovalle know this, they're making sure they're in shape, even if their preparations are, um, different. Watch this video to see Marek walk around his neighborhood with a backpack full of rocks, and catch Tomas in his morning routine of riding his bike to The Fresno Bee -- 15 miles from his house. |
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Jim dives in the icy-cold waters of Wanda Lake at elevation 11,452 feet above sea level. In the background is 13,081-foot Mount Goddard at right. Hurley and his hiking partners -- Emily Franciskovich and The Bee's Mark Grossi and Mark Crosse -- camped at the lake, just below Muir Pass in northern Kings Canyon National Park, on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2006. Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee |
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Emily sits on her backpack while she reads a book about Sierra natural history during a hiking break in Evolution Valley while hiking the John Muir Trail. Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee |
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| We wanted to know what happens to the body out on the trail. So we went to Fresno State and caught up with Felicia Greer, who works in the kinesiology department. She compared what our hikers are going through with riders in the Tour de France. In this video, you'll also see Emily Franciskovich share more of what a hiker has to pack to survive the elements of nature. |
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| Mark Grossi has been backpacking before, and he knows the difference a few pounds can make at the end of the day. So he decided to take the contents of his pack to The Bee's postage scale to see which items could stand to shed an ounce or four. Watch this video to see Mark weigh his sleeping bag, trekking poles and bear canister, as well as the pack itself. |
Suffering from a few more satellite phone problems. Eric and Christina logged in from the Vermilion Valley resort. Although he could just send in the following four photos, Eric promises many, many more.
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Darrell, Emily, Jim and Diana get ready to hit the John Muir Trail. Eric Paul Zamora / The Fresno Bee |
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Emily, left, Diana, Jim and Darrell after coming off the John Muir Trail at the Agnew Meadow trailhead on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2006. Eric Paul Zamora / The Fresno Bee |
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Jim, left, and Emily walk across the snow as they near the top of 11,050-foot Donohue Pass feet on their way into the Ansel Adams Wilderness on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2006. Darrell Wong / The Fresno Bee |
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Diana has fun under a fallen tree on the John Muir Trail en route to the Sunrise High Sierra Camp on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006. Darrell Wong / The Fresno Bee |
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It's Day 2 and Diana walks up the John Muir Trail with Greg and Bonnie on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006. Our JMT hikers shared a campsite with Greg and Bonnie, who are from Lancaster; then Greg and Bonnie caught up with Darrell and Diana the next day and shared the trail. Darrell Wong / The Fresno Bee |
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Christina wakes Thursday morning to find ice on the wool cap that she had worn overnight. The group camped at Upper Crater Meadow and will hike through Cascade Valley Thursday. Eric Paul Zamora / The Fresno Bee |
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Christina writes a blog entry at the the first opportunity for a satellite connection while overlooking Cascade Valley on Thursday. The hikers will move on to Purple Lake for the night. Eric Paul Zamora / The Fresno Bee |
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| Christina Vance takes her coffee black. And she takes it backpacking. She says she can't go without the jolt she gets from an espresso in the morning. On the John Muir Trail, however, some items are luxuries that need to be left behind. But Christina's little espresso maker does not fall in that category. Watch this video to see Christina test out her trusty companion before her departure. |
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The JMT hikers enjoy a blissful, even walk as they pass the outlet of Shadow Creek from Shadow Lake. Eric Paul Zamora / The Fresno Bee |
Continue reading "More photos from first day of the second team" »
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Rosalie Lake is a welcome site to both teams of Bee hikers. Diana and Darrell spent their last night there before hiking out to Agnew Meadow; Christina and Eric, along with Emily and Jim made their first camp there Tuesday. It's 5.5 miles from the Agnew Meadow trailhead (where The Bee's JMT hikers handed off Tuesday afternoon) to Rosalie, which sits at 9,350 feet. Eric Paul Zamora / The Fresno Bee |
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Christina, Eric, Emily and Jim made camp Tuesday near this logjam on the northeast side of Rosalie Lake. Eric Paul Zamora / The Fresno Bee |
Communication with our JMT hikers is still spotty, but Darrell managed to crank up the satellite phone long enough to drop some photos. The first leg should be completed today with arrival at Agnew Meadow.
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Emily, left, and Diana rest in a meadow on their way through Lyell Canyon on Friday afternoon. The weather has been picture-perfect. Darrell Wong / The Fresno Bee |
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Emily and Jim have breakfast Saturday morning. Overnight, a bear climbed a tree to steal Jim's sack of scented items. Jim was able to follow the bear tracks and recover most of his belongings. Darrell Wong / The Fresno Bee |
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Hikers leave Sunrise Camp on Thursday morning. The camp is 13.7 miles up the JMT from Happy Isles and is popular with hikers who base camp in Tuolumne Meadows. Darrell Wong / The Fresno Bee |
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The JMT passes below Cathedral Peak. Like most of the Sierra high country, the peak was carved by glaciers. There's actually two "peaks:" Cathedral dominates at 10,911 feet next to the smaller Eichorn Pinnacle. Cathedral Peak is a popular climbing target because it's so close to Tuolumne Meadows; John Muir made the first recorded ascent in 1869. Darrell Wong / The Fresno Bee |
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| Diana Marcum and Darrell Wong are not professional backpackers. In fact, Darrell has never camped before. So they hit up backpack expert Shane Krogen, who works at Herb Bauer's in Fresno, for some advice. Watch this video to see just how much in over their heads Diana and Darrell may be. |
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| Four teams of reporters and photographers are getting ready to split up hiking the complete John Muir Trail. Watch this video to find out why we're taking on the task and meet the adventurers. |
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| A full-page topographic map of the John Muir Trail. Was originally published in the Aug. 6 Bee. |
Hear Christina interview George "Tin Man" Andrews as they hike on the trail
