High Sierra Topix

I haven't run into too many strange people, but I was visibly surprised when I came down off Bishop Pass earlier this month and ran into three guys carrying kayaks on their heads. The initial sight was much more surprising than the eventual explanation: they were porting their kayaks over to the Middle Fork of the Kings, at which point they were then going to kayak all the way down to Rodgers Crossing. Still an incredible trip, but not quite as odd as when I first saw these guys straining under their huge yellow kayaks.

Something truly strange did happen to a hiking partner of mine this summer. She was heading up toward Bishop Pass as a thunderstorm was rolling in, and she was debating with herself whether or not to turn back. Suddenly she saw a black cat scamper across the trail in front of her and vanish into the rocks. Seriously unnerved, she took this as an omen and decided to head back to the trailhead!

It turned out that a guy had been backpacking with his pet black cat and the cat had gotten lost along the way. Another group of hikers had also found the cat wandering around, so they brought it back to the trailhead and he eventually showed up to claim it. On another trip over Bishop Pass, we actually saw the same guy with his cat's head poking out of the top of his backpack!

Matt

This one really got me....

After four days in the Emigrant Wilderness without seeing a soul, our last couple of miles back to the Crabtree trailhead seemed like Grand Central Station. But one young man really stood out. He was hiking out from the trailhead, with no backpack, and only a bottle of water in one hand.

"Where are you headed?" I asked.

"Back to my campsite," he replied. "I just had to hike out to my car to charge my phone, so I had something to wake me up tomorrow morning on time."

The nearest campsites were about four miles up the trail...

Did this really happen, or are you pulling our legs. I got a real laugh out of that. That's ludicrous.

True Story. WE laughed too!