My Guardian Angel - Days 44 - 51

Day 44

Zero Day

So I ended up buying new shoes at the outfitter in Kennedy Meadows. With the recent injuries and the fact that I have already hiked 700 miles on my old ones it’s about time. The shoes I bought are the same company, La Sportiva, but a different model. So hopefully I won’t experience any shoe nightmares with these new ones.

Tomorrow I am heading out into the Sierras. It’s a surreal feeling and there is definitely some nerves that come along with it. I am very excited and ready to take on the challenge. I did catch wind that there is a storm rolling through on Friday/Saturday so that should be a great welcome present!

Day 45

Kennedy Meadows to Mile 719.2 ~ 17 Miles

Today I headed into the Sierras! What an amazing feeling walking out from Kennedy Meadows and into the wilderness. When dreaming about hiking this trail this is the stretch that always was in the forefront. There is a great big meadow, rivers along the trail and lots of climbing. The fresh pine trees and running rivers turn me into my best self. I am on cloud nine and I’m hoping to never come off.

I am heading into the mountains with a group of 5 hikers. Not sure if we will all stay together throughout the snow but it is nice taking on this challenge with others and having each other to lean on. There won’t be any snow for the first couple days unless this storm that we may hit dumps some on us. So we get to slowly ease into the mountain hiking.

After spending 2 zeros my shin feels soooo much better! I’m so relieved and hopeful that it will continue to improve. My new shoes treated me very well for the most part. I did get a little blister on my left heel but it’s to be expected with a new unbroken shoe.

Day 46

Mile 719.2 to mile 743.9 ~ 24.7 Miles

This morning I got to spend time with my Guardian Angel. As I was climbing I felt my big sister with me. This is a feeling I have had many times in my life but none more powerful than this. I had a rush of emotion, chills that covered my whole body and this feeling that I just can’t explain. I know it’s her. As I was walking the views opened up and I was over looking a breathtaking meadow. During this time I could not help but feel tears slide down my cheek. These feelings lasted about an hour or so. It was so amazing to spend time on this wonderful trail with my big sister. I think this was her way of letting me know that she was here and anything I face going forward she will continue to be here. I was so thankful for this moment that I had to stop hiking sit down and take it in.

Later in the afternoon I hit my first patch of bad weather on the trail. From about 4-6pm it was lightly hailing. It was fun to put all my rain gear on and hike in the hail. I’m sure the next patch of nasty weather I hit I won’t be so cheery but since it was the first this one was kinda fun!

As I get closer to Mt. Whitney and Forester Pass the hikers I am with seem to be trying to make up their minds on how they are proceeding and it is making it difficult to coordinate hiking together. I really hope it works out where I can hike the summit and then hike the dangerous Forester Pass with some hikers, but we’ll see!

Day 47

Mile 743.9 to mile 766.3 ~ 22.4 (1 off trail Mile)

Snow!!! I hiked today for hours in the snow today. I woke up this morning knowing that today was supposed to be a really nasty day and it lived up to it. I hiked from 7:30am to about noon with good weather. As I went to stop for lunch the snow started to come down. So I figured I’d hike on because sitting in the snow alone while it’s freezing cold is not ideal. The weather was nasty for the rest of the afternoon so I hiked all the way until my finish point without eating. Once I made it to camp I ate a ton! Hiking in the snow was one of my worst fears coming into this experience. I had zero experience with it. I have always hated being cold and the snow just freaks me out! Today I made myself proud. I hiked and hiked and tried my best to enjoy the cold flakes falling from the cloudy sky.

I made it all the way to the base of Mt. Whitney at the ranger station. Tomorrow morning the plan is to wake up at 4am and start the accent to the highest peak in the lower 48. I am feeling excited and nervous, mostly for how cold and snowy it will be.

Day 48

Mile 766.3 to mile 774.1 ~ 7.8 Miles (16 off trail miles)

Today I hiked to the tallest point in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney! I woke up at 4am and let me tell you... waking up in a freezing cold tent before the sun has risen is about the hardest thing to do in the world. It took everything I had but I got out and started hiking around 4:30.

The first thing I had to do was cross a river. This took me about 20-30 minutes because I could not find a safe place to cross. There were a couple possibilities but the frost on the rocks or logs made it too risky. After I finally found a decent place and crossed the river I had roughly a 7.5 mile climb to the top of Whitney.

This climb was no ordinary climb, there was snow and lots of it! As I start to make my accent the snow became more and more prevalent. There was some sections where there was nothing to step on but a snow covered ridge. One careless step could be extremely dangerous. I used what are called micro spikes on my feet which are almost like snow chains that you’d use on your car. I slowly but surely climbed myself higher and higher. Then at about 12,000ft, which is over 2000ft from the top I felt sick. This sickness felt like a really bad hangover. Nausea, headache, loss of appetite, the whole 9. So my last 3 miles or so I had doubts if I could physically make it to the top. I pushed and I pushed and I told myself I was getting to the top of that mountain if it’s the last thing I do. Lone behold after a 5 hour climb I was standing on top of a 14,505ft mountain! Even though I was still feeling extremely sick, I took in the beauty of this summit. What an amazing experience, one that I will never forget. I can now say I have climbed to the top of the highest peak in the lower 48 states!

Day 49

Mile 774.1 to mile 778.6 ~ 4.5 Miles (then back to mile 770.4)

I pushed an extra 8 miles after Mt. Whitney yesterday to position myself in a prime spot to get over Forester Pass. I had 5 miles all uphill to get up an over the highest pass on the pct, at 13,124ft. The plan was to wake up at 4:30am and hike by 5. At about 4 am I heard the sounds of thunder and the pattering of snow on my tent...

A quick glance at the weather on the satellite device showed that it was going to be snowy all day and even into tomorrow. I was with 3 other hikers, 8-Ball, Prince and Wifey. We all thought about it and decided we needed to get up and over this pass as quickly as we could. So we started up the mountain and the snow got worse and worse. To the point where it was hard to see in front my face and the trail had been completely wiped away with white powder. We made it about 2 miles up and decided to set up a tent and wait. Well two of us did... Wifey and 8-Ball went on. We waited about 30 minutes and the sun started to peak out of the gray clouds and the snow slightly subsided. So Prince and I hopped out and started hiking on. Just as we did so we saw House and the 3 of us hiked on together. Not 30 minutes into the second try the weather turned again. Pouring down snow to the point where we were afraid for our safety. So once agin, about .9 mile from the top of the pass we set up our tents. The last mile of the pass is by far the most difficult. It goes straight up and there is some dangerous ledges. Our hope was to wait it out and maybe the snow would subside again. It didn’t...

So after about 2 hours in the tent and the snow piling we decided it was the safest and smartest decision not to risk it and go over the pass. So we started to hike back. The plan was to try and get out a side pass called Shepard’s Pass. This was a 13 mile side trail to get to the nearest road. As we got near the side trail some hikers told us it was very dangerous and would not advice us going through that pass with the weather. So after lots of conversation and a few other hikers being included in the plan we decided to head back 30 miles all the way back to Cottonwood Pass. So now with limited food, and a long hike backwards my spirits have been shot.

I am having a very hard time emotionally trying to come to grips that I didn’t make it to the top and over that pass. It’s so hard to hike backwards, especially 30 miles. But I know that I made the right decision and it was best for my safety. I was so uncomfortable and need to remember that. The other hikers I am hiking back with have done a really good job of keeping a positive attitude about this tough decision we made. They told me making a safe, responsible decision sometimes really sucks. I am going to chalk it up to that and get over it. Mother Nature wins this round.

Day 50

Mile 778.6 back to mile 750.2 plus side trail ~ backwards 24 miles

It’s really difficult walking the wrong direction. Mentally it’s just not a good feeling walking up hills that you went down just a few days ago. Nonetheless it was what needed to be done to get out of the Sierras. We made it all the way back and got to a campground at about 6:30 at night. I texted down to a trail angel that gives rides for $60 down to Lone Pine. It’s about a 22 mile road from the campground to Lone Pine. We shared the ride between 7 hikers and got down into town. We were all so relived to be out and safe!

I heard a quote from an older gentleman that I passed as I was walking backwards and I told him my story about getting so close to the pass and having to turn back. He told me this quote - “making it to the summit is optional, making it back down to hike another day is mandatory”. This quote made me really think and realize I know I made the right decision.

Now I may be waiting for a bit for good weather and the snow to clear before heading back up the mountains.

Day 51

Zero Day

I woke up in Lone Pine and had breakfasts with some other hikers and the big topic of the day is what is the plan from here? With all the snow in the Sierras and the forecast showing more snow upcoming all us hikers are trying to come up with a strategy. I could wait a week or so and see if the weather gets better and try and hike on. I could skip up to Oregon and hike south so that way when I get back to the Sierras they have thawed out. It’s really hard to decide but I am going to try and figure it out in the next couple days. I am battling the idea of doing this hike the way I intended doing it with being able to enjoy myself as much as possible while hiking this trail. Hopefully my path becomes clear and I can be at peace with what I do going forward.