The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
- Robert Frost
3am the alarm went off in Lone Pine and I struggled to get up. I forced myself to eat some oatmeal and a banana and off we went to the trail head. I was trying to get going around 4am. It has been about 15 years since I'd been up Mt. Whitney so we fumbled around in the dark looking for the trail head. At 4:08 I gave Ryan a goodbye kiss and told him I'd see him on the other side.
The temperature was perfect for climbing, and I felt good. About 2 miles up the climb I felt a hot spot on my left heel and decided I should stop and check it. Crap... a blister already. This isn't starting well. I never blister on my heels. I sat down and pulled out the tape. I used KT tape on the blister (which had already popped) and put a patch of duct tape on the heel of my shoe. I'm not sure why this happened, but I think it's carrying 20 pounds versus my normal super light hydration pack. I got up and continued on up the climb thinking that at least it's not smoky.... yet. I passed MANY day hikers on the climb. I stopped and filtered water once on the climb knowing that the second half of the climb was dry. Shortly before 10am I got to the summit. I sat down and ate a bit and chatted with some south bound hikers. I asked about the smoke and was told it wasn't that bad, but varied each day with the wind. One lady said she was glad they kept going. I tucked this in the back of my mind and off I went.
It's all downhill from here right....
On the down hill heading into Guitar Lake I ran into a guy (Oly) that was trying to to the trail in around 7 days before flying home. We chatted a bit and then he headed off when I stopped to filter water. I ended up seeing him later on in the day when he had stopped to set up camp as I carried on into the night.
It did get a bit smoky on the first day on the climb up to Forester Pass, but it was never so bad that I thought I needed to stop. Talking with all the south bounders the afternoons were the worst time. Heading up Forester I couldn't imagine how the mule trains get over that pass. I couldn't imagine how I was going to get over it. I don't have a fear of heights, but I was definitely paying attention. I pushed on towards Glenn Pass still feeling good with the full moon coming out to light up the night.
On the descent towards Rae Lakes I started getting sleepy. Looking back I should have pushed on to a lower elevation to sleep, but I found a nice soft spot and curled up for a couple hours. I woke before my alarm feeling fresh and was off. Descending towards Woods Creek bridge I saw the first set of eyes looking at me. Crap. What is that? I couldn't quit tell in beam of my headlamp. Then it started running.... away from me. It was a deer. The first of many I would see in the dark.
The smoke had settled overnight into the Woods Creek area, but as soon as I started climbing I was above it again again. Sunrise was spectacular as I climbed up Pinchot Pass. I remember thinking that I wish Ryan was here to share it with me.
Coming down Pinchot Pass... I think... the days are a bit jumbled together.
Reading others trail reports I was expecting technical trail, but I didn't expect the amount of technical trail. I thought I'd be able to jog a bit more that I did, but between pack weight and rocks I ended up mostly hiking.
Mather Pass went by in a blur. I stopped at the top and took a break to enjoy the view and took my socks off to let my feet air for about 15 minutes. I re-taped the heel and headed off.
As the sun was dipping lower I passed Palisade Lakes suddenly jealous of all the people setting up camp for the night and hanging out in such a beautiful spot. Darkness hit somewhere after Deer Meadow and I began to think about camp spots for the night. I didn't want to spend another night up high so I decided that I'd start the climb to Muir Pass but still try and stay below 9000'. Just before the Bishop Pass Trail turn I found a nice spot and fell asleep quickly. I slept though my first alarm, and woke up on my own about 45 minutes later. I think I got about 4.5 hours of sleep. It was cold and I quickly got moving. Muir Pass seemed to take forever to get up. This is where my lack of experience on the trail was getting me. I would think I was almost there and then I'd come around the corner and see how much further up the pass actually was. Fatigue was starting to kick in.
The view behind me as I climbed Muir Pass.
Helen Lake
Sunrise on Muir Pass. So beautiful!!
Muir hut. You can see the smoke up high in the back ground.
Clear skies behind me on Muir Pass
I could see the smoke up high as I headed north. I was hoping that I could skirt through it before it had a change to build over the day.
Just above Evolution Lake
Descending into Evolution Valley.
Still the only blister I had. I kept my shoes dry crossing Evolution Creek and let my feet dry on the other side and re-taped.
As I descended along Evolution Creek I did get stuck in the smoke, but it wasn't too bad and quickly faded as soon as I made the turn at Goddard Canyon Trail.
I
had a long low period during this time and just wanted to take a nap.
Sleep monsters were closing in. I ran into my first ranger after passing
the Florence Lake Trail cutoff. He said I need to see your permit and
there's no way you have a bear can in there. With a smirk on my face I
produced both my permit and bear can. I then got quizzed on where I'm
going to the bathroom and where my toilet paper. I replied, "burying it
and using rocks and leaves". He asked about camp set up, and I
explained about my bag and poncho/tarp/bivy set up. I got a "nice work" and "that's the smallest pack I've ever seen" and then was allowed to carry on.
Darkness set in as I climbed over Seldon Pass and the moon was once again lighting my way. The sleep monster was again attacking and I was a little uncoordinated as I descended the other side. This was my first super low time on the trail, but I pushed through wanting to get to a bit lower before sleeping. I finally couldn't take it anymore and stopped somewhere around the Lake Italy Trail. I didn't get a great sleep with leg spasms waking me up over and over again. After a couple restless hours I finally just got up and started moving. I didn't feel good climbing over Bear Ridge or descending towards Edison Lake. Lack of sleep and general fatigue were starting to wreak havoc. Roller coaster emotions were setting in, and maybe just too much time in my own head. I took a short break on the climb to Silver Pass and felt slightly better..... for a while.
Squaw Lake. I was feeling pretty low here and just wanted a nap.
I pushed on, but the descent was starting to hurt, and I had no energy. I felt more and more uncoordinated on the descent and finally lay down in the dirt. I was going to pull the plug. I set up camp and texted Ryan on the Delorme. My right knee hurt. I had no energy. I had sores in my mouth from ??? crap food? braces? stupid wires were poking holes in my lips? the sun flower seeds made my tongue feel swollen? I couldn't I looked at the map and saw that McGee Pass was going to be about a 16 mile hike out over 1 pass where Reds Meadow was about 19 miles. My text to Ryan was that I was done and was going to nap before hiking out and I'd send him another message when I woke up. I napped for about 45 minutes and woke up feeling sluggish. I ate before packing up and then started hiking again. There was about a mile before the turn to McGee. By the time I got to McGee I felt really good. I quickly shot Ryan a message letting him know that I was going to keep going. I felt so bad and I could feel the stress in his messages. He was super worried even though he was supportive.
My pity party nap spot that ended up saving the day.
Not a bad view to wake up to
On the climb to Lake Virginia.
I felt like I was flying on the climb to Lake Virginia. The views were amazing and the skies were clear. As I got to the top I suddenly found runnable trail. I think it was a combination of my now much lighter pack (I'd eaten most of my food) and more dirt than rocks on the trail.
Virginia Lake. Need to camp here next time (on a fun trip with my husband)
This section of the trail seemed to fly by and before I knew it I was passing Reds Meadow. Coyote howls sounded out throughout my descent. I felt more awake than the previous night which was surprising so I decided to on going. I found the Devils Postpile section challenging on route finding with some of the intersections poorly marked. I'd have to warm up my phone to get it to power on so that I could use the Gaia app to make sure I picked the right trail. Going the wrong direction at this point would have been incredibly demoralizing. I took my time at trail junctions and slowly picked my way through the dark. I ran out of water here briefly due to dried up creeks. This was also my first night of hallucinations. Rocks and tree stumps all became creatures with weird faces. Things were moving that weren't. Finally around 6am I was descending towards Garnet Lake. I was super tired and uncoordinated again and decided it would be good to sleep for a couple hours. I slept HARD for 3 hours. I had tied the top of my sleeping bag mostly closed to keep out the cold and when I woke I couldn't get out of my bag. Panicky sweaty moments later I escaped my bag to look around startled. I said, "They must have moved me". I had no idea where I was or how I got here. I took me about 5 minutes to figure out what was happening.
Packing up my camp spot above Garnet Lake
I slowly packed up while wishing I had a cup of coffee to sip and enjoy while taking in the view. I was also eager to wrap this thing up. I was ready to be done.
The climb to Donahue Pass was long and hot. Finally I was at the top and entering Yosemite!! The end was in sight but still so far away.
The view into Lyell Canyon
The descent was uneventful other than everything was hurting. My feet were sweaty and blistered this day despite desitin. They were done with me. 4+ days in the same shoes with 2 pairs of socks on a very dusty trail will do that. A nap would have done wonders by this point, but I just wanted to finish. I was also worried that if I lay down and took my shoes off I would never get them back on my feet. I decided to keep moving until I couldn't anymore. It started to get dark as I got to Tuolumne Meadows and again needed to pull my phone out to do some more route finding. No wrong choices at this point. Hallucinations solidly set in as night fell. Creatures were living in the rocks and logs beside the trail. I ran out of food on the climb to Cathedral Pass. No big deal, right? Only one more painful downhill to go. I was having some solid type III fun by this point. See here for explanation of type III fun. http://www.tetongravity.com/story/adventure/the-three-and-a-half-types-of-fun-explained
My emotions were super labile and all I wanted to do was sleep. The descent seemed to take forever, but finally I was at the Half Dome Trail!! I was invigorated at the sight of day hikers on their way to Half Dome at 2am. Seeing other people would give me some momentary energy highs and I looked forward to seeing more and more people as I descended. After crossing over the bridge at the top of Nevada Falls I started hiking.... up?? I got confused and sat down to try and figure the route out on my phone. Again I had to stick the phone in my sports bra for about 5 minutes before it was warm enough to power on. I wasn't sure if I had passed the turn off or had missed it and continued up to the Panorama Trail. While sitting I fell asleep for a minute. It was a good thing it was cold and I hadn't put my jacket on or I might have slept until morning or at least until another hiker had stumbled across me. I figured the route out and slowly made my way down to Happy Isles. I was cursing the downhill and every switch back at this point. Finally I saw headlamp flashing in the distance that belonged to Ryan. I burst out in tears. No use holding back at this point.
I had been on the lowest lows during my time on the trail and pushed through. Such an amazingly difficult journey. It's hard to describe the emotions felt on this journey. I learned so much about myself during this adventure. Thanks so much to Ryan for believing and supporting me on this journey.
Now back at work (wearing compression pants under scrubs) I yearn to be back in the wilderness. Next time will be at a slower pace and sharing the memories. Off to Tanzania next week to climb Kili!!
Portal to Happy Isles 5 days 37 minutes
Mt Whitney to Happy Isles 4 days 19 hours 50 minutes
