May 28, 2016

Guitar Lake to bushcamp (mile 768.8)

Miles: 14.4 (1.8 PCT miles + 12.6 Whitney miles)

Our story began on August 23, 2012. We both hiked the John Muir Trail and met on top of Mt Whitney on the last day of our respective hikes.

Today we summitted Whitney for the fourth time. For Laurie this was special because it was her first ascent in the snow.

For Andy it was special because we hiked from the Mexican border to get there.

For both of us it is special because the mountain brought us together.

Our alarms were set for 3am but we woke up at 2:48 am from our rustling. We had placed a space blanket under our air pads for additional warmth and the noise our air pads made was astronomical (pun intended).

Laurie was bright eyed and eager to look out the tent to check the weather. Andy was not so quick to move as he had a headache. Andy kept pleading for another 5 minutes of sleep but Laurie knew if she lay there any longer she would lose momentum and never want to get up.

We were dressed and out of the tent by 3:30am. Andy didn’t get water last night, electing instead to get water this morning. We brought our shoes in last night and Andy didn’t want to get them wet again.

In hindsight that would have been the better choice instead of scooping and filtering freezing water in the middle of the night. This delay didn’t sit well with Laurie as she secretly hoped to get to Whitney for sunrise.

We woke up earlier than we expected to but not early enough to catch the sunrise. We would have had to start hiking around midnight to make that happen.

Once we started walking we warmed up quickly. Initially we had every layer on but after 45 minutes we were hiking only in our baselayers.

The air was cool, the wind nonexistent and the snow just hard enough to not need crampons. The Brits (Josh and Tom) hiked with us briefly. They disappeared into the thin air when we stopped after the 5th or 6th switchback to put on our crampons. The temperature was dropping as we climbed and the snow was more slippery.

We loved the traction the crampons afforded us. Even Andy was enjoying himself with the added reassurance of pure grip.

We enjoyed daybreak as we hiked, stopping many times to take photos. This mountain and the views it affords does not lose its charm. It’s simply stunning.

Around 7:15 we reached Trail Crest.

“Let’s be there before 8” Andy challenged us.

We continued on, only to be slowed about a quarter mile later by tricky and narrow chutes. A few places called for practically leaning into or hugging big rocks to get around them.

Laurie did great while Andy took his time, slowly getting around the tricky crossings.

We were almost at the first Window when Laurie said to Andy “smile” as she pointed the camera in his direction.

“NO, just keep hiking will ya?”

Andy later explained to Laurie that he was not comfortable waiting on the exposed ledge longer than he needed to be and wanted to get to more stable ground.

After what felt like an hour we finally made our way across the long traverse and made the final push to the top.

We got to the top of Mt. Whitney at 7:57am! There was no one in sight. We took in the views, keeping a watchful eye on the grey clouds to the northeast. After signing the register, we went into the hut for warmth. Inside were Ruben and Sue, Josh and Tom, and Berbard – a French hiker we met a few days ago.

No one looked very happy. It was hard work getting up there and everyone was cold and tired. It didn’t help matters when we got socked in fifteen minutes later.

Most everyone decided to make their descents after the clouds rolled in, leaving the summit for just us to enjoy until 9:45am. We took photos, time lapse videos and watched the clouds cover massive mountain ranges only to expose them moments later.

We tried calling family and friends before leaving but much to our surprise neither ATT nor Verizon worked.

On the way down we passed many day hikers and other thru hikers. A lot of the thru hikers had camped at Crabtree Meadow and had a longer hike to Whitney and back.

We purposefully chose to camp at Guitar Lake to make the trip to Whitney shorter. Storms usually come through in the afternoon so we wanted to be down as early as possible.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen because it started snowing (albeit lightly) around 11:30am. We switchbacked down and down some more, saying hello to the multitude of hikers still heading up.

After our last major switchback we chose to glissade down about 300 ft. It took us longer to get ready than to actually glissade. We had to reposition the tent on Andy’s backpack, collapse our poles and get the ice axe out.

Laurie slid down the hill like a champ, managing to record her descent with phone in hand and not falling over. Andy’s descent wasn’t as graceful. He barrel-rolled and even slid right over an exposed rock, but he made it down with a smile on his face.

The snow accompanied us on and off until we got back to a Guitar Lake.

Our plan was to pack up our tent and hike to Wallace Creek but just as we got to Guitar Lake the wind picked up and it started snowing heavily.

Tired and hungry we decided to wait out the storm. The last few days it would snow for a few minutes and stop. Today though, the snow just kept comin’.

We hunkered down for about an hour and a half until we got restless. We packed up and waited for our window to pack the tent up and go. Laurie sat with backpack packed, shoes and gaiters on with her feet sticking out of the tent for 10 minutes. Finally, we gave up and emerged despite the light snow.

We’re glad we did though because we didn’t want to be at Guitar Lake any longer than we had to be given the conditions.

We hiked down around 4:15pm, still running into many thru hikers making their way back to camp from Whitney. These guys had a really long day.

At the Crabtree Meadow junction we continued on for another 1.8 miles, where we decided to stop for the night. We were tired, hungry and cold.

Just as we set the tent up, we saw a few flakes of snow. An hour later lightning and thunder passed through, bringing more snow.

We’re cozy in our tent and happy with how today went. We are confident we can make it up and over Forester Pass in two days time. For now though, it’s time to rest our tired bodies. Goodnight.

Tonight we are thankful for sunny mornings and crampons.

May 27, 2016

Rock Creek (mile 760.5) to Guitar Lake

Miles: 10 (5.8 PCT miles + 4.2 miles to Guitar Lake)

We woke up a little after 6. We were in no hurry knowing that we only had to walk 10 miles today. The sun kissed our tent as we stuffed our sleeping bags and rolled up our sleeping pads.

Both of us slept well. Andy was toasty in Big Red (the new nickname of the zero degree bag) and Laurie with her silk liner inside her bag. Initially both of our toes were cold but they eventually warmed up as we slept.

We shared a luxurious Talenti filled with hot water to warm our fingers and were walking by 7:45 am. (We eat our dinners in pint size Talenti screw top ice cream containers.)

We crossed Rock Creek on 2 logs 200 ft upstream from the trail. Eventually we will have to ford a river but not yet.

The trail switchbacked up 1400 ft and then dropped into Guyot Flat. It was beautiful!! Snow covered parts of the trail but it was easy to follow the dirty footprints. We dropped down into Guyot Flat and took in the view – a sandy meadow at the base of pine trees and Mt Guyot.

We spotted the trail across the sandy meadow and walked towards it. It felt like we sank half an inch with every step over the snow.

The weather was beautiful this morning and we are hoping for the same tomorrow. We plan to summit Mt. Whitney and want a clear weather window.

We hiked uphill for 15 minutes only to drop back down moments later. This ridge was north facing and very snowy. Instead of walking the traverse we sat down and glissaded 50 feet to the rocks below. Andy went first and was surprised by how much speed he picked up immediately.

We took an early lunch to dry out our socks and pants.We watched two other hikers approach the traverse and hoped they would slide down too but they didn’t.

Shortly after lunch we crossed Whitney Creek and took the side trail to Mt. Whitney via Crabtree Meadow. Snow adds another dimension to the beauty of the Sierras, and the views heading up toward Timberline and Guitar Lakes didn’t disappoint. In any direction we looked we had stunning views.

Andy stubbed his toes and tripped over rocks more today than on the whole hike thus far, probably because he was looking around rather than looking at the trail.

Past Timberline Lake there were a few tricky snow patches to navigate – mostly because the snow was mushy and the steps were steep – but with teamwork we got past them safely.

On one occasion Andy poked Laurie in her butt with his hiking pole to help her up a steep step and in return Laurie took Andy’s hand and pulled him up. Except that when she turned around to continue she hit Andy with her backpack and almost knocked him over, back over the ledge we had come up.

We enjoyed a good laugh and kept going. Timberline Lake was still mostly frozen and so was Guitar Lake.

There were a few people already set up when we got to Guitar Lake around 3pm, with more parties going the opposite direction after summitting Mt. Whitney earlier in the day.

We can see the snowy switchbacks high above us and feel confident about our chances of summitting tomorrow. We just hope for good weather.

Ruben and Sue are also here tonight, along with Josh and Tom. We’re not sure of everyone’s plans for tomorrow as we are camped far from one another and we are too cozy in our tent to walk to them and find out. We trust we will see them on the summit.

By 6pm and we had eaten dinner and sorted out food for tomorrow. Laurie took a nap as the sun warmed the tent.

At 7 pm it was snowing. The clouds moved in very fast but the snow was wet and didn’t stick.

We hope to be asleep by 8pm to wake up around 3am, and be on the trail by 3:30am. We don’t think we’ll make it by sunrise but we want to give ourselves plenty of time to go up, relax and come down safely. We also hope to hike the 4.2 miles to rejoin the PCT and maybe even get to Wallace Creek. We’ll see.

For now, we have to get mentally prepared for the challenge that awaits us on Mt. Whitney.

Goodnight.

Tonight we are grateful for heart pounding challenges and snow free tentsites.

May 26, 2016

Horseshoe meadows (mile 750.2) to Rock Creek (mile 760.5)

Miles: 14 (10.3 PCT miles + 3.7 miles to PCT)

Our alarms went off at 6 am. Andy had pulled the curtains shut so the room was dark. It is much easier waking up with natural light. We stirred and eventually started moving around 6:30am. We had scheduled a ride for 8:30am.

We both took showers, ate our last 4 hard boiled eggs, checked the weather for the umpteenth time and packed our backpacks.

We were excited to be getting back to the trail. Our time in Lone Pine and the rest it afforded us was nice but 4 nights in town felt excessive.

Although the weather called for 50% chance of snow showers, the mountains looked clearer than they had in 3 days. We were happy to see blue skies and hoped they’d stay around for the day.

Sue and Rueben, the couple from Korea we have seen frequently since the Wrightwood area, shared the ride up to Horseshoe Meadows.

The air at 10,000 ft today felt warmer than when we had left 4 days prior. Rather than retracing our steps back up to Trail Pass we choose to take the trail to Cottonwood Pass. We would meet the PCT at mile 750 meaning we would skip 5 miles.

We are ok with this. When there is snow in the forecast we want to do our miles and get to camp before the weather rolls in.

The trail started off flat, meandering through pine trees on sandy gravel for about a mile to a stream crossing. From there we started to switchback up to Cottonwood Pass.

The marmots murmured as we walked by. Although sometimes covered by snow, the trail was easy to follow. The air was crisp but the sun was shining. It was beautiful and it felt great to be hiking again.

The trail was gently graded but the Sierra steps definitely let us know we were back in our favorite playground. They are sizeable steps that can take a toll on your knees going down or give your quads a heck of a workout going up.

About two hours after we started hiking we reached Cottonwood Pass and the PCT. The views were jaw dropping. The mountains staggeringly beautiful.

We continued climbing once back on the PCT toward the still frozen Chicken Spring Lake. There were more patches of snow but all very manageable.

After a short snack break near the top of the climb, we got back on trail and entered Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park (SEKI for short).

It really felt good to be here. We’ve missed the Sierras. And we get to experience them in a different dimension than we’re used to – because of the snow and the lack of crowds.

At 2pm we stopped for lunch near the junction to Siberian Pass. Much to our surprise two familiar faces made their way towards us. They were Josh and Tom (aka Etch a Sketch and Quite Nice).

We thought they were way ahead of us since they got a ride up to Horseshoe Meadows last night. They are great guys and we enjoy bumping into them.

After lunch we continued descending 2,000 ft to Rock Creek. We’ve all planned to camp here tonight. Andy was looking forward to being more social and getting to know everyone a bit more.

Around 4:40pm we rolled into camp. It’s really hard stopping this early but it worked in our favor today because it started to snow lightly just as we put up the tent.

Ruben made a fire and Josh and Tom carried in firewood as they arrived. They were here a few days ago and knew that the place had been picked clean of wood and were very proactive.

Andy doesn’t like to make fires because he’s too lazy to put them out and Laurie doesn’t like smelling like campfire for days on end. But tonight it was worth it.

All 6 of us ate dinner around the fire sharing stories. The temperature started to drop around 7pm so we crawled into our sleeping bags a half hour later.

We are camped next to a very strong flowing creek. We’ve missed the white noise of rivers. What we don’t miss are the mosquitoes. It must still be too early for them here as there were none out this evening.

We might have company when we attempt to hike to Mt. Whitney and Forester Pass. We’ll see how everyone’s plans shape up. As for now, it’s time for bed.

Tonight we are grateful for warm glove liners and cozy sleeping bags.