On August 5th, I set out from Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite and headed southeast towards Mt. Whitney 200 miles away. I only had a 7 day period at the end of my summer vacation between a trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park and being back at school for our first day. I took no stove and no tent....
If I was going to hike the JMT in 2013 I knew I would have 7 days to do it....and yes....doing the math...it's about 30 miles a day.
In in end.....I did it.....
If I was going to hike the JMT in 2013 I knew I would have 7 days to do it....and yes....doing the math...it's about 30 miles a day.
In in end.....I did it.....
Audio Journal 8/5 - Day #1
Audio Journal 8/6 - Day #2
Audio Journal 8/6 Night - Day #2
Audio Journal 8/7 - #3
Audio Journal 8/7 Night - Day #3
Audio Journal 8/8 Two Rangers- Day #4
Audio Journal 8/8 Night - Day #4
Audio Journal 8/9 - Day #5
Audio Journal 8/10 - Ranger Dave
Audio Journal 8/10 - Night #5
Audio Journal 8/11 - Day #7
Audio Journal 8/11 - Trail To Whitney Day #7
Audio Journal 8/12 - Car Talk (a) ((bit of overlap))
Audio Journal 8/12 - Car Talk (b) ((bit of overlap))
Text Journal
8/5/2013
I’m sitting here right now at Thousand Island Lake after waking up at about 10 am…that I’ll explain in a minute. I’m watching a Red Hawk right now circling above the lake …I saw it hit the lake a few minutes ago…trying to catch a fish. I’m not sure if it came up with a fish or not…I don’t think it did. It’s beautiful here. I’m the only one. Last night when I got here and early this morning there were probably 30 people…but I think I’m the only one at the beach right now… Everyone is out hiking…but not me…I’m taking my break…the reason I’m taking my break started yesterday… so why don’t I go all the way back.
Saturday night at about 8:30 PM I got in my car in Lassen Volcanic National Park and drove the estimated 7 hours 29 minutes minutes (but actually took about 9 hours because I stopped a lot) to get to Mt. Mt Whitney. There I met Jeff and his two friends from Southern California (we had hooked up on the internet to share a shuttle), and we waited for Rolf to get us in his badly damaged van that he assured us looked really crappy but ran well.
From there Rolf drove us to Mammoth Lakes where he dropped us off and we waited for YARTS of the Yosemite transport bus which was another 2 hour drive up to Tuolumne Meadows and we got there at about 1. After getting off the bus, I said goodbye to the three and walked to the Wilderness station and got my Wilderness Permit which they nicely changed to the trail that I wanted to leave on…although I really didn’t think to ask if I could leave a day early since the permit didn’t start till the next day (tomorrow.)
I went out and found a shady spot and went to sleep for a number of hours. Woke up and walked to the Tuolumne Lodge. Checked it out a bit. Called home, and then I hit the trail at about 6:00PM. It took me 7 hours to reach the top of Donahue Pass 11.9 miles later. It was a tough climb. It was up about 3000 vertical feet over those almost 12 miles. In the first 6 there was probably no up…so all that up was probably in the next 5.9 miles. I passed lots of people setting up camp when it was light…and when it was dark I passed lots of campfires which was beautiful and eerie all at the same time. I saw many deer… and just before I was going to put on my headlight, something interesting happened. I came around a corner and saw something dark behind a tree right on the trail. It was about 20 feet in front of me and seemed like it was moving…so I turned on my headlight which was ready to turn on…I just wasn’t ready to use it. And lo and behold it was a bear! Not huge…probably 125 lbs. or so. It was red tagged in the right ear. I grunted and yelled. It turned and ran. I passed more campfires and deer. Then, I passed a couple that was hiking down from an assent of a nearby peak. I kept slogging to the top of Donahue Pass up over 11,000 feet.
I got to the top…rested a lot on the way up as so to not work up too much of a sweat because it was very cold…in the 40’s while I hiked and in the 30’s later…moving well below freezing closer to sunrise. I walked over to Siler Pass and though lots of interesting water and vegetation which I was still able to see very well with my headlight. There were a few shooting starts/meteors alluding to the BID Perseids Meteor shower I hoped to get to see atop of Mt. Whitney on the 11th.
From there I did another pass…Iceland Pass…. and finally reached this beautiful place for sunrise which is where I wanted to be…. I sat up on a rock at about 5:00AM and watched the sun come up---crest---rise…and took a lot of pictures and promptly found some trees and went to sleep for three solid hours. I slept hard never moving and waking up in the exact same position I had fallen asleep. Once awake, I cleaned up…went for a swim…made some water and here I sit and it’s beautiful… Yesterday was an extra day…. so all the miles I did were extra…I was planning on doing 26 miles a day---starting today. I think last night I did about 20 miles but I haven’t looked at the map and numbers yet…. My goal is to kinda try to stay ahead of that 26 miles a day and get to Whitney in the afternoon of the 11th…hang out up there. Eat all my left over food and watch the sunset followed by the meteor shower. Then, watch the sunrise and head on down.
But that’s a lot of days from now and right now I’m at Thousand Island Lake living in the present and it is beautiful. I’m the only one here still. So…signing off for now and I’m going to hike south. I have no idea where I’m going to get to today which is a great feeling and one of the reasons I LOVE hiking alone so much. Last night when it was the middle of the night, if I had been hiking with someone else I would have considered their feelings, and physical state and probably stopped because they wanted to. …I kinda wanted to stop too but I knew pushing would pay off in the end… It’s another one of my loves of walking alone. Until later…………. happy hiking.
8/6/2013
So I never recorded about the rest of the day yesterday… I’m taking a seat dna having a rest on the climb up Silver Pass right now, which is kicking my butt, and figured I could talk for a minute. Yesterday, I left Thousand Island Lake, hiked by Garnet Lake and saw TONS of people. That’s also where the smoke started from the Aspen Fire east of Fresno. Just a bit of haze. I had some snack at Garnett on the bridge before going on to Shadow Lake and by the time I got to Rosile Lake I was inside the middle of the micro-burst that happened in 2011. It’s very odd to see a forest with no dead trees left standing…only live trees. I saw hundreds and hundreds of blow downs just from the trail. Thousands of trees fell down. (Upon getting home and researching I read that “gusts on the top of Mammoth Mountain exceeded 180 mph and wind speeds did not drop below 120 mph for over three hours on that November day in 2011!”)
Then it was just a slog though the sand all the way down to Red’s Meadow. I passed Devil’s Postpile and really got a good look at it because of all the blow downs. Unlike 10 years ago when I did this same hike and had to leave the trail and take a side trail to get a view of this geologically stunning area.
I camped at the outskirts of Red Meadows at about 8:00 PM. Fell asleep and woke up couple times that night thinking maybe I’d get up and hike…but I didn’t.
I woke up this morning at 5:30 to Isabela’s lovely voice as my alarm…and then I started hiking at 6 and it was all up hill through…. first a burned area and then more microburst damage. But it was pretty much up hill from 6 AM-12 PM …relentless up hill. No lakes and very little water.
I finally got to Purple Lake at about 1 and spent a LONG time there. I went swimming, ate, fixed some knotted rope…and made lots of water. From there it was up, up, up to Virginia Lake. It was a huge lake and very pretty but so smoky that I didn’t get any pictures. Then it was a HUGE down hill of many switchbacks down to Tully Hole where I crossed a wood and metal bridge.
After that…I’ve been climbing…and here I am…sitting on the trail to Squaw Lake and Silver Pass. I’m supposed to be camped a bit further up…so I’m going to try to push a bit further to give me some buffer. I’m not sure about this 26 a day. It’s gonna be rough. But it’s beautiful out here and I’m loving it. But 26 is a lot of miles if I want to swim and take pictures. The smoke made it a bit hard to breath today but every afternoon it clears out well. It’s clearing out well now. Hopefully I can get some good pictures of Squaw Lake and Silver Pass and possibly make it to the backside to Silver Pass Lake. That’s all for now…signing out on a phone that is low on batteries…
8/6---continued
Well, I’m laying in my sleeping bag at the bottom of Silver Pass, which was a butt kicker. It had 7 billion false summits. Big climb. Big climb. Only a few miles ahead of where I’m supposed to be so not much of a buffer. It looks like one huge quick up tomorrow and then in the direction of Marie Lakes and Seldon Pass. I’m really looking forward to it, as it’s one of my favorite passes. I’m supper tired. So it’s 8:37 right now and I’m gonna set my alarm for super early. I’ve got my headlight ready and am gonna get some miles done in the early morning. That’s it. Isabela…. have happy dreams…Paula I love you…. Goodnight.
8/7/2013---
Well…. I’m sitting at Marie Lakes…probably one of my favorite places on the JMT. I kicked butt to get here. I don’t know how many miles I did but I’ll figure it out later. But I know I’m within a couple miles of where I have to be tonight and it’s 1:00 PM! So I’m looking pretty good. I’m trying to get my energy back as I went a little long without food and water and it took a lot out of me. I’m now trying to replenish in hopes of feeling as good as I did earlier. And making a lot more miles. It’s beautiful here. Big puffy cumulus clouds and very little smoke. Almost none. Not enough smoke to keep me from taking pictures. Marie Lakes is super shallow…not swimming here…planning on swimming a bit lower up and over Seldon Pass that is just up ahead It’s about 10,500 to 600 feet. Maybe higher…. But I’ve climbed most of the elevation to get over that already. Not sure where I’m headed for the night. Today started super early to Isabela’s voice as my alarm signing her beautiful song. It was 3:30 AM. I was on the trail by 4 and had very low battery life on my phone so I didn’t take a lot of pictures. I walked in the dark through thick forest for the first 2-2.5 hours. Then it was down to the creek and then 2000 feet back up up up up. Crossed a lot of creeks before dropping about 1300 feet and now I’m coming up about 2000 feet to come here. So a lot of up and down today. That’s why I’m so worn out and trying to replenish. I saw plenty of people today…. more than yesterday actually. Today I met a PCT hiker that started in Sonora and is heading to Mexico. I saw a group of probably 12 men today in their 50’s and 60’s. They have been section hiking the JMT for years. I had some fun conversation with them. Got my charger working a bit better and up to about 20% on my IPhone. Hopefully I can figure this charger out.
I’m going to walk for a few more hours and then try to charge it again. The overnight charge doesn’t work real well…maybe it’s too cold.
That’s about it for now…. more later I guess as It’s only 1:30 in the afternoon. I’m going to take a few pictures and then get going.
8/8/2013---
Another big day ends with me in my sleeping bag tired but it was a good day. I saw one of my favorite places today. Evolution Valley-Meadow-Lakes, Sapphire Lake, Wanda Lake, Helen Lake and Muir Hut. It was spectacular. I saw a lot of deer in Evolution Meadow. I saw a bunch of buck with two fawns. I also saw 2 men taking a few mules and horses out into the middle of Evolution Meadow to feed. One of the mules had a bell on and the sound filled the morning air.
Evolution Meadow and Valley is amazing. It’s really my favorite places anywhere. You get to Evolution Lake and it’s spectacular. The waterfall in back coming down from four other lakes. So, at Evolution Lake I swam and it felt great. It was unbelievably cold when I got out because of a slight wind and I really never completely warmed up until I stared walking again. I had some lunch there as well.
Either this morning or yesterday I walked by a woman. Her name was Ellen and she as from EB books. She was with two other day hikers. When she found out that I was doing the JMT in such a short period of time she wanted to shake my hand, which was gross and wet and dirty. But she wanted to shake it anyway…I told her about my website as she asked about my experiences.
I took a million pictures and videos today. It was awesome and so beautiful up there. When I got to Muir Hut there were NPS workers doing a refurbish of the windows, door, fireplace and the trim. I had some interesting conversation with them as well.
After the top it was DOWN …and I’m not sure how far it was or what the elevation change was. When I’m done with this journal entry, I am going to look at the map a bit to really see where I need to be for my summit bid in a few more days.
I feel better than I did an hour ago but I’m glad I stopped. It’s nice to have a bit of light before I go to sleep. Tonight is the first night I’m camping in a spot where I see some pretty spectacular mountains all around me. The other nights I’ve been camped in the forest. So I’m really enjoying my sights.
Signing out for now. I’ll continue this crazy adventure tomorrow morning when Bee wakes me up. Bye.
8/9/2013---(recorded while walking)
So I just met a guy named Dave House. He’s hiking the Sierra High Route that mirrors the JMT but really follows no maintained trail and stays right along the crest. It was very interesting a I’ve always been really interested in the route but never met anyone that was doing or had done it. He talked about giving himself 30 days to complete the trail and all the planning that goes along with the trail. It’s so interesting. I just don’t know if I’ve got the kind of route finding experience to be able to get myself through and around. It was very interesting talking to him.. He quit his job in IT that he’s been at for 15 years. He’s hiking the Sierra High Route and then he’s heading to India. Interesting people out here.
I met a man from SLO (Grover Beach actually) a couple hours ago atop of Mather Pass. He’s camping at Marjorie Lake, which is the last lake before Pinchot Pass that I’m hoping to make it over before I’m done for the day. He started with his son…but his son had a minor injury and had to get off the trail.
This morning was a hard up. Walking along the river all morning and then starting the climb up Paradise Valley and lakes. It was hard. A big climb. I saw a big CCC (California Conservation Core) team …about 30 of them …over about a mile area. I got some video of them building and maintain trail which was interesting to see first hand. I haven’t been swimming yet today and I’m not sure where I might take a dip. My talk with Mr. House might have eaten up my swim time…but that’s just fine with me as it was time well spent with a very interesting fellow.
Right now I’m hiking into a big valley that I remember being in years ago when I hiked this trail the first time with Mike Zanetti. My thermorest popped that day…I’ve got a funny…blurry picture of that.
I’m hoping to get to Marjorie at 4 or 5 to get over Pinchot and then get as far as I can down the trail. That will help the next day as I need to get set up for my Whitney assent the following day.
That’s it…this walking and talking worked pretty well. Bye.
8/9 cont.---
Well, it’s 8:25 on night 5. I’m in my sleeping bag right now. It was a great day. My body felt better than it has the entire trip thus far. I only kind of bonked once today atop Mather Pass as it was the hottest part of the day and I hadn’t really timed my eating right once again. But otherwise it was a wonderful day.
Mather was tough. It was tough going up…not down but up was tough which was interesting because I’m finding that downs are a LOT harder for ups for me on this trip.
As I’m laying here I can say that I have them most beautiful campsite yet. It’s up on a bluff and it’s absolutely amazing. I can see all the mountains right now …some are shadowed and some have a bit of leftover light on them now that sunset has passed.
I finally got my rhythm. And man…I’m really putting the miles in now. When I pass people I never see them again unless I pass them and almost immediately take a break myself. In which case, they pass me a bit before I pass them for the second time in a day…then I never see them again.
People I’m meeting are gone. I’m on my 5th day and people going the same direction are anywhere from their 11th to 20th day right now. So I’m seeing a lot of new people.
I’m getting close to Whitney tomorrow…getting ready for the final push. I’ve got a big blister between my toes. I can feel it’s there but it doesn’t hurt at all. Other than that my feet are great.
Bee have happy dreams…the rest of you out there…goodnight.
8/10--- (recorded while walking)
I just spent a good 30 minutes atop Glen Pass talking to Ranger Dave. Terrific guy who is 62 years old and been doing this 38 years. He was very interesting to talk to. We talked about everything from hiking to politics. Really nice guy. He has a great life and is in great shape. He made it up Glen pass not long after me. We hiked together for about 20 minutes at the bottom and I went on has he checked a few permits here and there.
I’m going to drop him a note after the trip I think.
8/10/2013 cont.---
So now I just passed two more rangers…Erica who I didn’t know was a Ranger who I thought was Dave’s Superior that he said I might pass…. as well as Ranger Rick. Both are at Charlotte lake…husband and wife at the same Ranger Station… wow… He told what’s even cooler is that LeConte Ranger Station is staffed by another married couple with a 2 year old…
Come on does it get any better than that???
8/10 cont.---
This was my longest day. I walked from 3:30 in the morning to 8:30 at night. I just want over Forrester Pass…it was a rush…. I pushed over the top to the other side to find a tree to hang my food.
Everyone looked at me like I was crazy going up and over the Pass that late…but it worked out really well.
I’ve only got 5% left on my phone, which isn’t good, as my charger really hasn’t been working as I hoped it would.
So…I’m going to cut this short and hope I get some sun tomorrow…
Everyone have happy dreams…. bye.
8/11/2013
So…. I’m sitting here by a creek on the last day probably 10 miles from the top of Whitney and I’m pretty blown away that I was able to hike this far in such a short time. I know I had written it on paper, Id figured out all the details…made sure my gear and food were just right. But it’s nothing like getting out here. And now I sit here…10 miles from the place that I was a 190 miles ago…and I’m pretty awed by everything that I’ve seen and observed, heard and felt. I’ve met so many interesting people on this trip. And I’ve come to understand more what lightweight hiking and fast packing are. …they’re really just a frame of mind… I’m “long-day hiking” how’s that??? I’ll hike from 4 in the morning until 7:30 at night. I’m not running on the trail …I’m picking my places to have a quicker pace when the scenery is less than amazing like it is 80% of the time. I’m slowing way down in places that I know are sacred.
So…as I get some water and food in me…charge my solar charger and wash my shirt I just think..would I do it again in 7 days? I don’t think so…but I never thought I’d do it in 7 days in the first place. Would I do it again? Absolutely… This is an amazing trail with amazing sights and amazing challenges…those passes are…..you can’t put them into words. The next stop is Guitar Lake…. possibly for a swim where I’m sure I get some odd looks…but oh well…
Then it’s to the top…sunset and meteor shower baby…
8/11---cont.…
I’m sitting here on the trail to the top of Whitney to heading up to meet with Trail Crest and then on to the summit…. I thought I’d record myself a bit because my phone is almost dead and there will probably be a lot of people up there and I just don’t like pulling out my phone around others…. I just don’t think it’s respectful of their space and journey.
I’m looking back Northwest at a million mountains thinking I came over..through…around or between. Everything I can see …I hiked…which is amazing and a bit unbelievable to me.
There are two spectacular glacial sparkling lakes that I just took pictures of. There are spires behind them and big puffy cumulous clouds above.
I can’t believe I did this. I’m pretty lucky when I think about it as It’s going to be my third time to the top of Mt. Whitney. I’d venture to say that most people I know would say they’ve never been to the top and I’m gonna hit it a third an a bit.
I stopped so I could dry out and my body could rest a bit. I’m carrying a lot of water and I’ve got a lot of food left with me. I could have gone a lot lighter than I went. That’s fine as I still went supper light.
I wish I could sit right here forever…. it’s amazing. I just took a panorama of what I see as well….
Out….
8/12/2013 (Car Talk)
So my phone finally and completely died last night up on Whitney…so I wasn’t able talk about anything after my recording as I stopped and made my last recording on the assent. The climb up Whitney was very difficult for me… I don’t remember it being that difficult for me the last two times I summited…but it was very difficult to say the least.
I got up there…and just before reaching the top I met middle-aged Asian man who had lots of questions for me… He told me there was a group of hikers at the top who he said had just finished the JMT…. he had it incorrect as it’s wasn’t the JMT they had just hiked.
When I got to the top the first thing I saw was the big shelter. Half of the shelter is an emergency shelter, which is unlocked but not supposed to be used by anybody except for emergencies. The other half of the shelter is always locked and always a mystery as to what it holds. Most think it’s probably just supplies and things like that…others have more interesting ideas… But…it’s ALWAYS locked.
As I was cresting the top I saw a group standing in front of the “locked door”…. it opened and they all walked in. I thought that was a bit odd…. They were inside until I got right in front of the shelter and then they came out. They were a bit surprised to see me and I was a bit surprised to see them for different reasons. It turns out they were 5 HS seniors and one that had just graduated high school with a dad of one of the six… It was 3 guys and 3 girls. They had just hiked the High Sierra Trail from Kings Canyon National Park to Mt. Whitney for a total of 60 miles.
We talked and talked and talk…and I guess what one of the guys did was to pick the lock…. just because they had summited at 11 AM and by 5 PM he was ready to something “mentally challenging.” It was a 4 digit combination lock (with four spinning dials from 0-9) which I guess mathematically has 10,000 possible combinations.
He started with the first number to the left being a zero and got pretty high and stopped somewhere in the 900s. Then he changed the first number to a one and was going up those thousands…and got to 1864 when the lock popped open… Crazy.
It was just supplies, old trail registers, cleaning supplies, first aid supplies…things like that. I talked with the 6 for a long time (dad was no where to be seen) about their hike and experiences on the HST…my experience here and all that.
They then went and started making their dinner while I set up my things on a flat table rock.
There was a group I had passed earlier…man, woman and daughter it looked like. They were stopped at Crabtree Ranger Station, just before Guitar lake…and the wife said that the husband went to look for more fuel because they were low on fuel…. I thought ok…good luck…I’ve got no fuel with me or even a stove. She said they were going up Whitney for the night also.
After I got to the top later…the arrived about an hour after I did… Long story short…they were out of not “fuel” as I had though they meant “fuel” but they were out of food…. so I proceeded to give them he vast majority of all the food I had not eaten on my trip.
We talked for a long time…it was a mom-dad-daughter. The daughter was 16 and they had just through hiked the John Muir Trail which was pretty amazing to me.
They are from Davis, CA. They were very interesting and grateful for the food…they gave me a ½ liter of water since I was a bit low…. It helped a lot. They went their way and I went mine. It was getting close to sunset and I couldn’t take pictures because the camera in my phone was dead which was a real bummer ((pictures from the summit are from the “Easter Sierra 2008 trip I took) So I set up my sleeping bag…. got in and got warm while watching the amazing sunset. Towards the end of the sunset…. the dad with the HS students walked over and said, “The kids said you were going to head out in the middle of the night tonight.” I told him how my plan was to watch the sunset ….get a bit of sleep…. then wake up and spend a few hours of the watching the meteor shower before packing up and heading down.
He asked, “Do you like coffee?” I was a bit taken back and told him that I really do. He went on to say, “I’ve got plenty of extra coffee, can I set you up for the morning with a cup?” I responded by telling him that it would be great…but I literally had nothing to heat the water. …drink out of…no spoon to stir with…and actually not enough water to even make it at all. He said “No problem!”
I literally didn’t get out of my sleeping bag as I watched him return to his tent and come back to the rock slab right next to my set up. He put his entire coffee creation on the next slab consisting of a stove, and pot of water ready to go…with a couple sleeves of instant coffee and a mug while saying, “Kids told me you were a teacher and I think it’s so great what you do and that you can bring this all into your classroom…. just go ahead and leave all this on the rock before you leave and I’ll pack it up in the morning.” He told me how happy he was to be able to do it for me. We talked about how many kids never get a chance to experience things like this…. Very nice gentleman.
So I thanked him. A few minutes later I realized I didn’t have any kind of alarm to wake me up because my phone had completely died…. so I actually borrowed a small digital watch/alarm from one of the high school girls and told her I would leave it right next to the stove before leaving…. because I was thinking I wouldn’t see or talk to them again…
I set the alarm for 1:00AM and kinda dozed off at about 9… and didn’t sleep a lot till about 12…. more rested my body, which really needed it. That last day it seemed like all the miles had come back to me. I only did 16 or 18 miles on that last day but I was beat going up Whitney and knew my body needed a good rest. So rest is what I got as I dozed a bit here and there as well…
About 12:00AM I looked at the watch and thought…ok…I’m just gonna get up now and make that coffee. As I was trying to light the stove, I saw a headlight flash from behind me…then another…then more… It was the group of high school kids who had set their alarm to come out and watch the meteor shower with me.
They sat on the rock next to me as I drank what was probably the best coffee I’ve had in my life…. the first warm thing I had put in my stomach in a week…. it was delicious. We sat and watched the show for the next 3 hours…all the while talking about our adventures during our trips. They ware a quite extraordinary group of “kids” as they had a wide array of very interesting life experiences…. Three hours seemed like minutes as we ooooed and awwwwwed the fiery balls shooting every which way leaving luminescent trails fading in the sky.
At 3:00AM I bid farewell to my new friends and packed up what little I had before heading off the mountain back towards Trail Crest which is a bit tricky in the light much less the pitch black with a headlight. So I took it really slowly. When I got to Trail Crest there were a few other hikers just arriving at the crest from the JMT or Guitar Lake side. We talked for a few and each went our own ways… I went back towards Whitney Portal where my car was waiting. The trail got a lot less technical so I was able to make better time than when I was hiking the 1.9 miles of Trail Crest.
But…I’ll say right now…I’ve been on that mountain three times now…once in the all dark…once as the sun was setting and once in daylight…. It’s the longest 11 miles in the world. I don’t know why anyone would climb Mt. Whitney from the eastern side. But that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.
Finally, about an hour into my decent I saw people coming up and passed people with headlights and super cold weather gear…as I was stopping every so often to take off yet another layer of what I was wearing….because it wasn’t very cold. The majority of climbers I passed were dressed like it was an assent in the Himalayas. That altitude can get pretty cold…but it really wasn’t that day. I talked with many all the way down…all with questions like, “Why/how are you already coming down as we are going up? How much further is it? Did you decide not to climb today?”
At the very bottom I met Roleigh Martin…the head moderator of the Yahoo JMT Forum…. He was a very nice fellow and seemed like 20 years ago he really liked backpacking and discussing backpacking and gear with anyone interested and hiked a lot…and now in his 60s still loves it as much as he did years ago…but his body just won’t cooperate with him any more. Ironically he lives just outside Albany, NY…a place he says is one of the best places to train for the JMT.
I got down to the car…thought I’d make it somewhere between 8-9… I opened my car trunk at exactly 9:00 AM. I drove straight to Lone Pine to the store to get a tooth bush (my packing one works but my teeth felt…. well I needed a new and full size toothbrush)…got some Band-Aids and Neosporin for some cuts and scrapes…. and a bunch of juice before heading to the Mt. Whitney Café. I walked in and asked if they could make a to go order and she asked what I wanted. I told her that I knew it was early…but I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough with a fried egg in the middle and avocado cut up and put inside. She said….”Ok…. do you want hash browns with that?” I told her that the sandwich alone was perfect. I waited for a while and it finally came out of the kitchen. I ate it driving north and making phone calls to my loved ones….
The plan was to hit the Mammoth Hot Springs and go to lunch in Mammoth Lakes because I was craving a burrito. Unfortunately, when I got to the hot springs…the 3-4 tubs I do know about were all empty and not ones you could fill with a valve. So I had to skip the hot springs, which I was really bummed out about. I told Paula on the phone I would probably take a long bath when I get home and that Bee would get a good laugh about that one. She did.
Then I went to the Co-Op and got some juice and fruit and to ask where the best burrito was. The checker told me about a place called Roberto’s. I headed there next for a BIG meal with a BIG salad that was awesome. That was fun.
Then I got back on the road…I couldn’t seem to get enough to drink…I had to keep stopping for juice and soda. I didn’t really want the soda…but I was super sleepy so I’m hoped it will help.
That’s it in a nutshell…. I can’t believe it’s over and that it went as smoothly as it did. I can’t believe that I enjoyed it as much as I did, even though it was one of the physically toughest things I’ve ever done in my life. I know others will ask me if it was harder than this or that trail and I just think you can’t compare one trail to another or one day to another…it’s all so different. It depends on the weather, the weight of your pack, your nourishment or undernourishment, your hydration or lack there of, your current fitness level, your mental state as well. So I can’t really compare it to any other trail. But when it came to sheer miles…doing that many miles a day (about 30) it was one of the challenging millage hikes I’ve ever done. 200 miles in 7 days is motoring.
I feel good and think that once I get a night of sleep in my own bed I’ll be ready to go to work tomorrow…and I’m really ready to start school. It’s going to be a great year in which I plan to have a good work/family/self balanced life. I’m excited to take control of that making sure my priorities are what I want them to be not what others think they should be.
Signing off…. that’s about it… I love you all!
I’m sitting here right now at Thousand Island Lake after waking up at about 10 am…that I’ll explain in a minute. I’m watching a Red Hawk right now circling above the lake …I saw it hit the lake a few minutes ago…trying to catch a fish. I’m not sure if it came up with a fish or not…I don’t think it did. It’s beautiful here. I’m the only one. Last night when I got here and early this morning there were probably 30 people…but I think I’m the only one at the beach right now… Everyone is out hiking…but not me…I’m taking my break…the reason I’m taking my break started yesterday… so why don’t I go all the way back.
Saturday night at about 8:30 PM I got in my car in Lassen Volcanic National Park and drove the estimated 7 hours 29 minutes minutes (but actually took about 9 hours because I stopped a lot) to get to Mt. Mt Whitney. There I met Jeff and his two friends from Southern California (we had hooked up on the internet to share a shuttle), and we waited for Rolf to get us in his badly damaged van that he assured us looked really crappy but ran well.
From there Rolf drove us to Mammoth Lakes where he dropped us off and we waited for YARTS of the Yosemite transport bus which was another 2 hour drive up to Tuolumne Meadows and we got there at about 1. After getting off the bus, I said goodbye to the three and walked to the Wilderness station and got my Wilderness Permit which they nicely changed to the trail that I wanted to leave on…although I really didn’t think to ask if I could leave a day early since the permit didn’t start till the next day (tomorrow.)
I went out and found a shady spot and went to sleep for a number of hours. Woke up and walked to the Tuolumne Lodge. Checked it out a bit. Called home, and then I hit the trail at about 6:00PM. It took me 7 hours to reach the top of Donahue Pass 11.9 miles later. It was a tough climb. It was up about 3000 vertical feet over those almost 12 miles. In the first 6 there was probably no up…so all that up was probably in the next 5.9 miles. I passed lots of people setting up camp when it was light…and when it was dark I passed lots of campfires which was beautiful and eerie all at the same time. I saw many deer… and just before I was going to put on my headlight, something interesting happened. I came around a corner and saw something dark behind a tree right on the trail. It was about 20 feet in front of me and seemed like it was moving…so I turned on my headlight which was ready to turn on…I just wasn’t ready to use it. And lo and behold it was a bear! Not huge…probably 125 lbs. or so. It was red tagged in the right ear. I grunted and yelled. It turned and ran. I passed more campfires and deer. Then, I passed a couple that was hiking down from an assent of a nearby peak. I kept slogging to the top of Donahue Pass up over 11,000 feet.
I got to the top…rested a lot on the way up as so to not work up too much of a sweat because it was very cold…in the 40’s while I hiked and in the 30’s later…moving well below freezing closer to sunrise. I walked over to Siler Pass and though lots of interesting water and vegetation which I was still able to see very well with my headlight. There were a few shooting starts/meteors alluding to the BID Perseids Meteor shower I hoped to get to see atop of Mt. Whitney on the 11th.
From there I did another pass…Iceland Pass…. and finally reached this beautiful place for sunrise which is where I wanted to be…. I sat up on a rock at about 5:00AM and watched the sun come up---crest---rise…and took a lot of pictures and promptly found some trees and went to sleep for three solid hours. I slept hard never moving and waking up in the exact same position I had fallen asleep. Once awake, I cleaned up…went for a swim…made some water and here I sit and it’s beautiful… Yesterday was an extra day…. so all the miles I did were extra…I was planning on doing 26 miles a day---starting today. I think last night I did about 20 miles but I haven’t looked at the map and numbers yet…. My goal is to kinda try to stay ahead of that 26 miles a day and get to Whitney in the afternoon of the 11th…hang out up there. Eat all my left over food and watch the sunset followed by the meteor shower. Then, watch the sunrise and head on down.
But that’s a lot of days from now and right now I’m at Thousand Island Lake living in the present and it is beautiful. I’m the only one here still. So…signing off for now and I’m going to hike south. I have no idea where I’m going to get to today which is a great feeling and one of the reasons I LOVE hiking alone so much. Last night when it was the middle of the night, if I had been hiking with someone else I would have considered their feelings, and physical state and probably stopped because they wanted to. …I kinda wanted to stop too but I knew pushing would pay off in the end… It’s another one of my loves of walking alone. Until later…………. happy hiking.
8/6/2013
So I never recorded about the rest of the day yesterday… I’m taking a seat dna having a rest on the climb up Silver Pass right now, which is kicking my butt, and figured I could talk for a minute. Yesterday, I left Thousand Island Lake, hiked by Garnet Lake and saw TONS of people. That’s also where the smoke started from the Aspen Fire east of Fresno. Just a bit of haze. I had some snack at Garnett on the bridge before going on to Shadow Lake and by the time I got to Rosile Lake I was inside the middle of the micro-burst that happened in 2011. It’s very odd to see a forest with no dead trees left standing…only live trees. I saw hundreds and hundreds of blow downs just from the trail. Thousands of trees fell down. (Upon getting home and researching I read that “gusts on the top of Mammoth Mountain exceeded 180 mph and wind speeds did not drop below 120 mph for over three hours on that November day in 2011!”)
Then it was just a slog though the sand all the way down to Red’s Meadow. I passed Devil’s Postpile and really got a good look at it because of all the blow downs. Unlike 10 years ago when I did this same hike and had to leave the trail and take a side trail to get a view of this geologically stunning area.
I camped at the outskirts of Red Meadows at about 8:00 PM. Fell asleep and woke up couple times that night thinking maybe I’d get up and hike…but I didn’t.
I woke up this morning at 5:30 to Isabela’s lovely voice as my alarm…and then I started hiking at 6 and it was all up hill through…. first a burned area and then more microburst damage. But it was pretty much up hill from 6 AM-12 PM …relentless up hill. No lakes and very little water.
I finally got to Purple Lake at about 1 and spent a LONG time there. I went swimming, ate, fixed some knotted rope…and made lots of water. From there it was up, up, up to Virginia Lake. It was a huge lake and very pretty but so smoky that I didn’t get any pictures. Then it was a HUGE down hill of many switchbacks down to Tully Hole where I crossed a wood and metal bridge.
After that…I’ve been climbing…and here I am…sitting on the trail to Squaw Lake and Silver Pass. I’m supposed to be camped a bit further up…so I’m going to try to push a bit further to give me some buffer. I’m not sure about this 26 a day. It’s gonna be rough. But it’s beautiful out here and I’m loving it. But 26 is a lot of miles if I want to swim and take pictures. The smoke made it a bit hard to breath today but every afternoon it clears out well. It’s clearing out well now. Hopefully I can get some good pictures of Squaw Lake and Silver Pass and possibly make it to the backside to Silver Pass Lake. That’s all for now…signing out on a phone that is low on batteries…
8/6---continued
Well, I’m laying in my sleeping bag at the bottom of Silver Pass, which was a butt kicker. It had 7 billion false summits. Big climb. Big climb. Only a few miles ahead of where I’m supposed to be so not much of a buffer. It looks like one huge quick up tomorrow and then in the direction of Marie Lakes and Seldon Pass. I’m really looking forward to it, as it’s one of my favorite passes. I’m supper tired. So it’s 8:37 right now and I’m gonna set my alarm for super early. I’ve got my headlight ready and am gonna get some miles done in the early morning. That’s it. Isabela…. have happy dreams…Paula I love you…. Goodnight.
8/7/2013---
Well…. I’m sitting at Marie Lakes…probably one of my favorite places on the JMT. I kicked butt to get here. I don’t know how many miles I did but I’ll figure it out later. But I know I’m within a couple miles of where I have to be tonight and it’s 1:00 PM! So I’m looking pretty good. I’m trying to get my energy back as I went a little long without food and water and it took a lot out of me. I’m now trying to replenish in hopes of feeling as good as I did earlier. And making a lot more miles. It’s beautiful here. Big puffy cumulus clouds and very little smoke. Almost none. Not enough smoke to keep me from taking pictures. Marie Lakes is super shallow…not swimming here…planning on swimming a bit lower up and over Seldon Pass that is just up ahead It’s about 10,500 to 600 feet. Maybe higher…. But I’ve climbed most of the elevation to get over that already. Not sure where I’m headed for the night. Today started super early to Isabela’s voice as my alarm signing her beautiful song. It was 3:30 AM. I was on the trail by 4 and had very low battery life on my phone so I didn’t take a lot of pictures. I walked in the dark through thick forest for the first 2-2.5 hours. Then it was down to the creek and then 2000 feet back up up up up. Crossed a lot of creeks before dropping about 1300 feet and now I’m coming up about 2000 feet to come here. So a lot of up and down today. That’s why I’m so worn out and trying to replenish. I saw plenty of people today…. more than yesterday actually. Today I met a PCT hiker that started in Sonora and is heading to Mexico. I saw a group of probably 12 men today in their 50’s and 60’s. They have been section hiking the JMT for years. I had some fun conversation with them. Got my charger working a bit better and up to about 20% on my IPhone. Hopefully I can figure this charger out.
I’m going to walk for a few more hours and then try to charge it again. The overnight charge doesn’t work real well…maybe it’s too cold.
That’s about it for now…. more later I guess as It’s only 1:30 in the afternoon. I’m going to take a few pictures and then get going.
8/8/2013---
Another big day ends with me in my sleeping bag tired but it was a good day. I saw one of my favorite places today. Evolution Valley-Meadow-Lakes, Sapphire Lake, Wanda Lake, Helen Lake and Muir Hut. It was spectacular. I saw a lot of deer in Evolution Meadow. I saw a bunch of buck with two fawns. I also saw 2 men taking a few mules and horses out into the middle of Evolution Meadow to feed. One of the mules had a bell on and the sound filled the morning air.
Evolution Meadow and Valley is amazing. It’s really my favorite places anywhere. You get to Evolution Lake and it’s spectacular. The waterfall in back coming down from four other lakes. So, at Evolution Lake I swam and it felt great. It was unbelievably cold when I got out because of a slight wind and I really never completely warmed up until I stared walking again. I had some lunch there as well.
Either this morning or yesterday I walked by a woman. Her name was Ellen and she as from EB books. She was with two other day hikers. When she found out that I was doing the JMT in such a short period of time she wanted to shake my hand, which was gross and wet and dirty. But she wanted to shake it anyway…I told her about my website as she asked about my experiences.
I took a million pictures and videos today. It was awesome and so beautiful up there. When I got to Muir Hut there were NPS workers doing a refurbish of the windows, door, fireplace and the trim. I had some interesting conversation with them as well.
After the top it was DOWN …and I’m not sure how far it was or what the elevation change was. When I’m done with this journal entry, I am going to look at the map a bit to really see where I need to be for my summit bid in a few more days.
I feel better than I did an hour ago but I’m glad I stopped. It’s nice to have a bit of light before I go to sleep. Tonight is the first night I’m camping in a spot where I see some pretty spectacular mountains all around me. The other nights I’ve been camped in the forest. So I’m really enjoying my sights.
Signing out for now. I’ll continue this crazy adventure tomorrow morning when Bee wakes me up. Bye.
8/9/2013---(recorded while walking)
So I just met a guy named Dave House. He’s hiking the Sierra High Route that mirrors the JMT but really follows no maintained trail and stays right along the crest. It was very interesting a I’ve always been really interested in the route but never met anyone that was doing or had done it. He talked about giving himself 30 days to complete the trail and all the planning that goes along with the trail. It’s so interesting. I just don’t know if I’ve got the kind of route finding experience to be able to get myself through and around. It was very interesting talking to him.. He quit his job in IT that he’s been at for 15 years. He’s hiking the Sierra High Route and then he’s heading to India. Interesting people out here.
I met a man from SLO (Grover Beach actually) a couple hours ago atop of Mather Pass. He’s camping at Marjorie Lake, which is the last lake before Pinchot Pass that I’m hoping to make it over before I’m done for the day. He started with his son…but his son had a minor injury and had to get off the trail.
This morning was a hard up. Walking along the river all morning and then starting the climb up Paradise Valley and lakes. It was hard. A big climb. I saw a big CCC (California Conservation Core) team …about 30 of them …over about a mile area. I got some video of them building and maintain trail which was interesting to see first hand. I haven’t been swimming yet today and I’m not sure where I might take a dip. My talk with Mr. House might have eaten up my swim time…but that’s just fine with me as it was time well spent with a very interesting fellow.
Right now I’m hiking into a big valley that I remember being in years ago when I hiked this trail the first time with Mike Zanetti. My thermorest popped that day…I’ve got a funny…blurry picture of that.
I’m hoping to get to Marjorie at 4 or 5 to get over Pinchot and then get as far as I can down the trail. That will help the next day as I need to get set up for my Whitney assent the following day.
That’s it…this walking and talking worked pretty well. Bye.
8/9 cont.---
Well, it’s 8:25 on night 5. I’m in my sleeping bag right now. It was a great day. My body felt better than it has the entire trip thus far. I only kind of bonked once today atop Mather Pass as it was the hottest part of the day and I hadn’t really timed my eating right once again. But otherwise it was a wonderful day.
Mather was tough. It was tough going up…not down but up was tough which was interesting because I’m finding that downs are a LOT harder for ups for me on this trip.
As I’m laying here I can say that I have them most beautiful campsite yet. It’s up on a bluff and it’s absolutely amazing. I can see all the mountains right now …some are shadowed and some have a bit of leftover light on them now that sunset has passed.
I finally got my rhythm. And man…I’m really putting the miles in now. When I pass people I never see them again unless I pass them and almost immediately take a break myself. In which case, they pass me a bit before I pass them for the second time in a day…then I never see them again.
People I’m meeting are gone. I’m on my 5th day and people going the same direction are anywhere from their 11th to 20th day right now. So I’m seeing a lot of new people.
I’m getting close to Whitney tomorrow…getting ready for the final push. I’ve got a big blister between my toes. I can feel it’s there but it doesn’t hurt at all. Other than that my feet are great.
Bee have happy dreams…the rest of you out there…goodnight.
8/10--- (recorded while walking)
I just spent a good 30 minutes atop Glen Pass talking to Ranger Dave. Terrific guy who is 62 years old and been doing this 38 years. He was very interesting to talk to. We talked about everything from hiking to politics. Really nice guy. He has a great life and is in great shape. He made it up Glen pass not long after me. We hiked together for about 20 minutes at the bottom and I went on has he checked a few permits here and there.
I’m going to drop him a note after the trip I think.
8/10/2013 cont.---
So now I just passed two more rangers…Erica who I didn’t know was a Ranger who I thought was Dave’s Superior that he said I might pass…. as well as Ranger Rick. Both are at Charlotte lake…husband and wife at the same Ranger Station… wow… He told what’s even cooler is that LeConte Ranger Station is staffed by another married couple with a 2 year old…
Come on does it get any better than that???
8/10 cont.---
This was my longest day. I walked from 3:30 in the morning to 8:30 at night. I just want over Forrester Pass…it was a rush…. I pushed over the top to the other side to find a tree to hang my food.
Everyone looked at me like I was crazy going up and over the Pass that late…but it worked out really well.
I’ve only got 5% left on my phone, which isn’t good, as my charger really hasn’t been working as I hoped it would.
So…I’m going to cut this short and hope I get some sun tomorrow…
Everyone have happy dreams…. bye.
8/11/2013
So…. I’m sitting here by a creek on the last day probably 10 miles from the top of Whitney and I’m pretty blown away that I was able to hike this far in such a short time. I know I had written it on paper, Id figured out all the details…made sure my gear and food were just right. But it’s nothing like getting out here. And now I sit here…10 miles from the place that I was a 190 miles ago…and I’m pretty awed by everything that I’ve seen and observed, heard and felt. I’ve met so many interesting people on this trip. And I’ve come to understand more what lightweight hiking and fast packing are. …they’re really just a frame of mind… I’m “long-day hiking” how’s that??? I’ll hike from 4 in the morning until 7:30 at night. I’m not running on the trail …I’m picking my places to have a quicker pace when the scenery is less than amazing like it is 80% of the time. I’m slowing way down in places that I know are sacred.
So…as I get some water and food in me…charge my solar charger and wash my shirt I just think..would I do it again in 7 days? I don’t think so…but I never thought I’d do it in 7 days in the first place. Would I do it again? Absolutely… This is an amazing trail with amazing sights and amazing challenges…those passes are…..you can’t put them into words. The next stop is Guitar Lake…. possibly for a swim where I’m sure I get some odd looks…but oh well…
Then it’s to the top…sunset and meteor shower baby…
8/11---cont.…
I’m sitting here on the trail to the top of Whitney to heading up to meet with Trail Crest and then on to the summit…. I thought I’d record myself a bit because my phone is almost dead and there will probably be a lot of people up there and I just don’t like pulling out my phone around others…. I just don’t think it’s respectful of their space and journey.
I’m looking back Northwest at a million mountains thinking I came over..through…around or between. Everything I can see …I hiked…which is amazing and a bit unbelievable to me.
There are two spectacular glacial sparkling lakes that I just took pictures of. There are spires behind them and big puffy cumulous clouds above.
I can’t believe I did this. I’m pretty lucky when I think about it as It’s going to be my third time to the top of Mt. Whitney. I’d venture to say that most people I know would say they’ve never been to the top and I’m gonna hit it a third an a bit.
I stopped so I could dry out and my body could rest a bit. I’m carrying a lot of water and I’ve got a lot of food left with me. I could have gone a lot lighter than I went. That’s fine as I still went supper light.
I wish I could sit right here forever…. it’s amazing. I just took a panorama of what I see as well….
Out….
8/12/2013 (Car Talk)
So my phone finally and completely died last night up on Whitney…so I wasn’t able talk about anything after my recording as I stopped and made my last recording on the assent. The climb up Whitney was very difficult for me… I don’t remember it being that difficult for me the last two times I summited…but it was very difficult to say the least.
I got up there…and just before reaching the top I met middle-aged Asian man who had lots of questions for me… He told me there was a group of hikers at the top who he said had just finished the JMT…. he had it incorrect as it’s wasn’t the JMT they had just hiked.
When I got to the top the first thing I saw was the big shelter. Half of the shelter is an emergency shelter, which is unlocked but not supposed to be used by anybody except for emergencies. The other half of the shelter is always locked and always a mystery as to what it holds. Most think it’s probably just supplies and things like that…others have more interesting ideas… But…it’s ALWAYS locked.
As I was cresting the top I saw a group standing in front of the “locked door”…. it opened and they all walked in. I thought that was a bit odd…. They were inside until I got right in front of the shelter and then they came out. They were a bit surprised to see me and I was a bit surprised to see them for different reasons. It turns out they were 5 HS seniors and one that had just graduated high school with a dad of one of the six… It was 3 guys and 3 girls. They had just hiked the High Sierra Trail from Kings Canyon National Park to Mt. Whitney for a total of 60 miles.
We talked and talked and talk…and I guess what one of the guys did was to pick the lock…. just because they had summited at 11 AM and by 5 PM he was ready to something “mentally challenging.” It was a 4 digit combination lock (with four spinning dials from 0-9) which I guess mathematically has 10,000 possible combinations.
He started with the first number to the left being a zero and got pretty high and stopped somewhere in the 900s. Then he changed the first number to a one and was going up those thousands…and got to 1864 when the lock popped open… Crazy.
It was just supplies, old trail registers, cleaning supplies, first aid supplies…things like that. I talked with the 6 for a long time (dad was no where to be seen) about their hike and experiences on the HST…my experience here and all that.
They then went and started making their dinner while I set up my things on a flat table rock.
There was a group I had passed earlier…man, woman and daughter it looked like. They were stopped at Crabtree Ranger Station, just before Guitar lake…and the wife said that the husband went to look for more fuel because they were low on fuel…. I thought ok…good luck…I’ve got no fuel with me or even a stove. She said they were going up Whitney for the night also.
After I got to the top later…the arrived about an hour after I did… Long story short…they were out of not “fuel” as I had though they meant “fuel” but they were out of food…. so I proceeded to give them he vast majority of all the food I had not eaten on my trip.
We talked for a long time…it was a mom-dad-daughter. The daughter was 16 and they had just through hiked the John Muir Trail which was pretty amazing to me.
They are from Davis, CA. They were very interesting and grateful for the food…they gave me a ½ liter of water since I was a bit low…. It helped a lot. They went their way and I went mine. It was getting close to sunset and I couldn’t take pictures because the camera in my phone was dead which was a real bummer ((pictures from the summit are from the “Easter Sierra 2008 trip I took) So I set up my sleeping bag…. got in and got warm while watching the amazing sunset. Towards the end of the sunset…. the dad with the HS students walked over and said, “The kids said you were going to head out in the middle of the night tonight.” I told him how my plan was to watch the sunset ….get a bit of sleep…. then wake up and spend a few hours of the watching the meteor shower before packing up and heading down.
He asked, “Do you like coffee?” I was a bit taken back and told him that I really do. He went on to say, “I’ve got plenty of extra coffee, can I set you up for the morning with a cup?” I responded by telling him that it would be great…but I literally had nothing to heat the water. …drink out of…no spoon to stir with…and actually not enough water to even make it at all. He said “No problem!”
I literally didn’t get out of my sleeping bag as I watched him return to his tent and come back to the rock slab right next to my set up. He put his entire coffee creation on the next slab consisting of a stove, and pot of water ready to go…with a couple sleeves of instant coffee and a mug while saying, “Kids told me you were a teacher and I think it’s so great what you do and that you can bring this all into your classroom…. just go ahead and leave all this on the rock before you leave and I’ll pack it up in the morning.” He told me how happy he was to be able to do it for me. We talked about how many kids never get a chance to experience things like this…. Very nice gentleman.
So I thanked him. A few minutes later I realized I didn’t have any kind of alarm to wake me up because my phone had completely died…. so I actually borrowed a small digital watch/alarm from one of the high school girls and told her I would leave it right next to the stove before leaving…. because I was thinking I wouldn’t see or talk to them again…
I set the alarm for 1:00AM and kinda dozed off at about 9… and didn’t sleep a lot till about 12…. more rested my body, which really needed it. That last day it seemed like all the miles had come back to me. I only did 16 or 18 miles on that last day but I was beat going up Whitney and knew my body needed a good rest. So rest is what I got as I dozed a bit here and there as well…
About 12:00AM I looked at the watch and thought…ok…I’m just gonna get up now and make that coffee. As I was trying to light the stove, I saw a headlight flash from behind me…then another…then more… It was the group of high school kids who had set their alarm to come out and watch the meteor shower with me.
They sat on the rock next to me as I drank what was probably the best coffee I’ve had in my life…. the first warm thing I had put in my stomach in a week…. it was delicious. We sat and watched the show for the next 3 hours…all the while talking about our adventures during our trips. They ware a quite extraordinary group of “kids” as they had a wide array of very interesting life experiences…. Three hours seemed like minutes as we ooooed and awwwwwed the fiery balls shooting every which way leaving luminescent trails fading in the sky.
At 3:00AM I bid farewell to my new friends and packed up what little I had before heading off the mountain back towards Trail Crest which is a bit tricky in the light much less the pitch black with a headlight. So I took it really slowly. When I got to Trail Crest there were a few other hikers just arriving at the crest from the JMT or Guitar Lake side. We talked for a few and each went our own ways… I went back towards Whitney Portal where my car was waiting. The trail got a lot less technical so I was able to make better time than when I was hiking the 1.9 miles of Trail Crest.
But…I’ll say right now…I’ve been on that mountain three times now…once in the all dark…once as the sun was setting and once in daylight…. It’s the longest 11 miles in the world. I don’t know why anyone would climb Mt. Whitney from the eastern side. But that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.
Finally, about an hour into my decent I saw people coming up and passed people with headlights and super cold weather gear…as I was stopping every so often to take off yet another layer of what I was wearing….because it wasn’t very cold. The majority of climbers I passed were dressed like it was an assent in the Himalayas. That altitude can get pretty cold…but it really wasn’t that day. I talked with many all the way down…all with questions like, “Why/how are you already coming down as we are going up? How much further is it? Did you decide not to climb today?”
At the very bottom I met Roleigh Martin…the head moderator of the Yahoo JMT Forum…. He was a very nice fellow and seemed like 20 years ago he really liked backpacking and discussing backpacking and gear with anyone interested and hiked a lot…and now in his 60s still loves it as much as he did years ago…but his body just won’t cooperate with him any more. Ironically he lives just outside Albany, NY…a place he says is one of the best places to train for the JMT.
I got down to the car…thought I’d make it somewhere between 8-9… I opened my car trunk at exactly 9:00 AM. I drove straight to Lone Pine to the store to get a tooth bush (my packing one works but my teeth felt…. well I needed a new and full size toothbrush)…got some Band-Aids and Neosporin for some cuts and scrapes…. and a bunch of juice before heading to the Mt. Whitney Café. I walked in and asked if they could make a to go order and she asked what I wanted. I told her that I knew it was early…but I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough with a fried egg in the middle and avocado cut up and put inside. She said….”Ok…. do you want hash browns with that?” I told her that the sandwich alone was perfect. I waited for a while and it finally came out of the kitchen. I ate it driving north and making phone calls to my loved ones….
The plan was to hit the Mammoth Hot Springs and go to lunch in Mammoth Lakes because I was craving a burrito. Unfortunately, when I got to the hot springs…the 3-4 tubs I do know about were all empty and not ones you could fill with a valve. So I had to skip the hot springs, which I was really bummed out about. I told Paula on the phone I would probably take a long bath when I get home and that Bee would get a good laugh about that one. She did.
Then I went to the Co-Op and got some juice and fruit and to ask where the best burrito was. The checker told me about a place called Roberto’s. I headed there next for a BIG meal with a BIG salad that was awesome. That was fun.
Then I got back on the road…I couldn’t seem to get enough to drink…I had to keep stopping for juice and soda. I didn’t really want the soda…but I was super sleepy so I’m hoped it will help.
That’s it in a nutshell…. I can’t believe it’s over and that it went as smoothly as it did. I can’t believe that I enjoyed it as much as I did, even though it was one of the physically toughest things I’ve ever done in my life. I know others will ask me if it was harder than this or that trail and I just think you can’t compare one trail to another or one day to another…it’s all so different. It depends on the weather, the weight of your pack, your nourishment or undernourishment, your hydration or lack there of, your current fitness level, your mental state as well. So I can’t really compare it to any other trail. But when it came to sheer miles…doing that many miles a day (about 30) it was one of the challenging millage hikes I’ve ever done. 200 miles in 7 days is motoring.
I feel good and think that once I get a night of sleep in my own bed I’ll be ready to go to work tomorrow…and I’m really ready to start school. It’s going to be a great year in which I plan to have a good work/family/self balanced life. I’m excited to take control of that making sure my priorities are what I want them to be not what others think they should be.
Signing off…. that’s about it… I love you all!
Part 1 and 2 of JMT Video |