Days 47-49:
This next section would take me all the way to top of the Sierra Nevada mountains and to the meeting place arranged with my friend Kirk from Taiwan. From here on out, it was real alpine terrain.
下一段我會走到內華達山脈的最高峰，也會走到一個地方找我台灣朋友Kirk。從這裡開始都是高山地形。
One of the biggest differences in this section compared to the desert is that there are streams everywhere and we never have to worry about going thirsty. Whereas in the desert we regularly carried four litres of water at some point during the day, in the Sierras, only about one litre was needed to get between water sources.
這裡跟沙漠最大的差別之一是到處都有溪流，不用擔心缺水了，在沙漠我們經常揹四公升的水，現在揹一公升就夠走到下一個水源。
The first major stop for me was Mount Whitney. It is not only the highest point of the Sierra Nevadas, it’s actually the highest point of the whole continental United States, and it will be the highest elevation I’ve ever hiked to. While it’s not directly on the PCT, it is only about a 9-mile side trip and certainly worth it. Our PCT permit allows us to ascend the peak, too. The night before I camped at Crabtree Meadows, whose luxurious outdoor toilet I had to share with everyone here:
第一個目的地是惠特尼峰，這座山不只是這個山脈的最高峰，也是整個美國本土的最高峰，而且也是我爬過最高的海拔。雖然惠特尼不是在PCT上，只要走一個15公里的支線就可以到而且我們的PCT許可也允許我們登頂，很值得花一天去走。登頂的前一晚我住下面的一個草地，這個露營區的公共馬桶很特別，我忍不住拍照給大家看：
The path up to Whitney goes through some pretty spectacular terrain: bright white rocks and crystal blue lakes.
上惠特尼的步道經過很壯觀的風景：白色石頭中的清澈藍色湖泊。
This is Guitar Lake, so named because of its shape:
這個湖泊因為形狀而稱為『吉他湖』：
Although this terrain looks pretty harsh, there are still mammals living up here. Marmots were running around everywhere, hiding under rocks when hikers passed too close.
雖然這裡的地形看起來很苛刻，還是有動物在這裡生活，旱獺一直跑來跑去，登山客靠得太近的時侯才會躲到石頭下去。
As the path continues upward, you can see more and more lakes and mountains in the distance. The stark contrast of grey and blue is something I’ve never experienced before:
步道爬越高我們在遠方能看到的山和湖就越多，我從沒看過今天灰色和藍色顯出的對比這種畫面。
Luckily, the PCT ascends slowly over a few days, allowing us to acclimatize to the high elevation, so today’s ascent wasn’t too difficult. Unluckily, my phone was essentially dead at this point and I discovered my camera ALSO wouldn’t charge. I had enough power left for a couple more days of pictures but that was it. That was a problem for another day, though.
PCT前幾天慢慢往上，因此我們可以慢慢適應高度而今天登頂不會很累。不幸的是我的手機差不多不能用了而且我剛發現相機也充不了電，只剩兩天左右的電量。不過今天的行程是惠特尼，電的問題之後再想。
Here is the peak of Mt. Whitney, 14,505 feet (4,421 meters), looking north.
惠特尼峰，4421公尺，向北拍攝：
It is now the highest peak I have hiked, beating out Mount Kinabalu on Borneo by over a thousand feet. Looking to the east, you can see the desert valley and Lone Pine.
這是我這一生登過的最高峰，比馬來西亞神山高三百多公尺。東邊看得到沙漠平地和附近的村莊Lone Pine。
This is definitely different than the views in Taiwan, where the weather is warmer and the treeline much higher. At similar elevations in Taiwan you don’t see so much bare rock. The view to the south from Whitney:
這裡的高山風景跟臺灣的不一樣，因為台灣的氣候比較暖和所以林木線比較高，在同海拔的地方不會看到這麼多裸露的岩石。從山頂向南拍攝：
And the view west, including the emergency shelter, still full of snow inside as of today.
往西看有一棟避難山屋，今天內部還塞滿了雪。
Even after descending from the peak, the trail today continued to impress. The PCT joins up with the John Muir Trail (JMT) below Whitney, and they run mostly together for about the next two weeks. The JMT is one of the most popular long-distance trails in the US, and I saw many people going south on this trail as I headed north.
從山頂下來後風景還是很美，PCT在惠特尼下會接到另一條有名的步道JMT，接下來的兩個禮拜跟此步道幾乎都走同一條路，因此我在這一段經常遇到往南走的JMT登山客。
The day ended with a lovely bare plateau that reminded me of Mongolia, and more pine forest. The golden sunlight of late evening added a nice touch.
傍晚前我經過一個讓我想起蒙古的高原，之後又走進松樹林，這個時侯的黃金陽光讓風景更美麗。
It was going to be hard to top this amazing day, but the next day came pretty close! The trail passed over another important marker: the highest point on the PCT. Mount Whitney is higher, but it’s a side trail, not actually on the PCT; today, I went over Forester Pass. It’s this little notch in the ridgeline:
我本來以為以後不可能有一天的風景比得上惠特尼那一天的，但是隔天就很接近了。這一天又要經過一個最高點，就是PCT本身的最高點，記得惠特尼風不是在PCT上而是在支線上。這個最高點叫做Forester Pass，是我在照片中指出的埡口。
The land below the pass was full of snow and icy lakes. This was the south side, warmed by the sun. We were expecting the other side of the pass to be even snowier. This morning I caught up to the two Taiwanese hikers I had met, Aurora and Metronome, and we went up the pass together.
Forester埡口前的平地都積雪，湖的表面仍有冰，而這是埡口的南邊，比較會曬到太陽，另一邊的雪量一定更多。我早上趕上了在小鎮認識的兩位台灣人，然後跟Aurora和Metronome一起上埡口。
Forester Pass is famous for the steep slope one must traverse just below it. This is one of the reasons people bring ice axes and crampons.
Forester埡口因為一個要走過但經常積雪的陡坡而聞名，很多人帶冰斧或冰爪就是因為要走這一段。
Luckily it was a low snow winter and there wasn’t much left when we went through. There were good footsteps in the snow already and we didn’t even need to use any special equipment to get through. At the top, we got a great view of the icy lakes below. Here’s me and Aurora at the pass, safely through the snow chute:
我們今年很幸運，冬天沒有下很多雪所以這裡剩下不多了，加上有別人走過的腳印可以踩，所以根本不需要特別的裝備就可以安全地過。站在埡口上展望很棒，看得到兩邊表面未完全融化的高山湖泊。這是我跟Aurora在Forester埡口的照片：
This is the highest point on the trail, and even though it’s actually a low point between two higher peaks, it’s still higher than Jade Mountain in Taiwan.
雖然這是兩個山頭之間比較低的按部，但是海拔比玉山主峰還高！
The north side was indeed covered in snow and everyone had a great time sliding all the way down. This was much easier than walking down and shaved probably 20 minutes off the day.
北面果然都覆蓋著雪，大家很開心地滑下去，用滑的比較不費力而且比走的快二十分鐘左右。
There was a bit of snow to walk through for the first half-hour on the other side. Here’s me and Metronome treading carefully through it:
這一邊我們走在雪上走了大概半小時才出來，照片是我跟Metronome在這一段小心地踩雪：
Forester Pass marked the entrance to King’s Canyon National Park. Seeing the massive valley stretched out before us, the park’s name seemed appropriate.
Forester埡口在國王峽谷國家公園的邊界上，看到即將要進入的峽谷就會覺得這個國家公園的名稱很合適。
I had planned to meet a friend from Taiwan, Kirk, today, who was going to join me for the next two weeks on trail. I had to take a side trail off the PCT and go over Kearsarge Pass down to a campground to meet him, and this trail ended up being well worth the walk. The Kearsarge Pinnacles above and more alpine lakes below made for great scenery:
我跟一個在台灣認識的朋友Kirk說好要今天晚上集合，他從明天開始要跟我走兩個禮拜。我們的集合點在一個離PCT13公里遠的地方，要走支線過Kearsarge埡口再下到露營區，不過這條支線很值得走。對面的Kearsarge尖頂以及下面好幾個湖泊是這一段的特色：
By evening, I had reached the campground and was met with several wonderful surprises. Not only was Kirk there, but so was his uncle Scott.
我傍晚前到了露營區，這裡有好多驚喜。第一個驚喜是Kirk沒有一個人來，他的叔叔Scott。
I had sent an urgent message to Kirk from my dying phone on top of Mt. Whitney--the only place with cell service during the past 3 days--asking him to order shoes online for me and have them shipped ahead to the next town two weeks ahead. I simply didn’t have the battery power left to order them myself on the peak. The hiker box shoes I was wearing already had 150 miles on them from me, and who knows how many miles from the person before me, and they were getting thin. Well, Kirk didn’t just order the shoes; his uncle took him to an R.E.I. and he bought them in person and brought them out to me here! Instead of waiting two more weeks, I got to wear new shoes right away!
第二個驚喜：我在惠特尼的時侯是這三天唯一有訊號的地方，在山頂的時侯我傳了訊息給Kirk請他幫我訂鞋子並寄到我們兩個禮拜後會到達的小鎮，當時我壞掉的手機電量不夠讓我自己訂。我穿的鞋子是我在hiker box撿到的二手鞋，自己已經穿著此雙鞋走240公里了，丟棄鞋子的人不知道他穿了多久，現在鞋底已經磨得很薄。Kirk沒有幫我訂鞋，他叔叔載他去登山用品店親自買，所以我不用等兩個禮拜才可以換鞋，Kirk帶了新鞋到露營區讓我能馬上換！
The next surprise was the Scott had brought a bunch of elk from his hunting trips last year, and so much other good food, too. Elk steak on the trail has to be one of the greatest things ever.
下一個驚喜是Scott帶了很多好吃的食物，包含他去年捕獵捕到的加拿大馬鹿肉。能在步道上吃到野生鹿肉排是不是太幸福了？
Yet another pleasant surprise was the one of Kirk’s USB cables would actually charge my phone, so I would be able to take pictures over the next two weeks. The phone was still useless but in a couple weeks when we got to the next town I could buy a new one.
還有一個驚喜，雖然我三條USB線都無法幫相機充電但Kirk的線竟然可以！這樣我以後可以繼續拍照了，好開心！手機還沒好不過兩個禮拜後到小鎮的時侯我可以再去買就好了。
Aurora and Metronome also got to the campground this evening, as they had to get down to a town to resupply the next day. It worked out well for them as Scott made us all eggs, elk sausage (!) and elk bacon (!) for breakfast the next morning. Scott was even able to give them a ride down into town on his way home.
Aurora跟Metronome晚上也到了露營區準備隔天早上下山補給。Scott隔天又幫我們煮東西，而且食物帶得夠讓我們五個人都吃得飽，早餐又是加拿大馬鹿肉，有香腸跟培根，還有雞蛋。Scott那天要開車回家，剛好要經過Aurora跟Metronome要去補給的城市所以他就順便載他們兩個下山。
It was time for me and Kirk to hit the trail. We will be in the high Sierra mountains, away from roads, cell service and civilization for the next 200 kilometers, or 10 days.
我跟Kirk出發了，接下來的200公里，也就是10天，都會在內華達山脈的高山區域，沒有公路，沒有手機訊號，要離開文明世界一陣子了。
