Day 36
“The primary vibration in the air was one of high adventure”
Almost immediately as I started hiking this morning, a large boulder dislodged itself from the side of a not so distant mountain, and came crashing down. The sound was like thunder. A cloud of dust rose up everywhere it made contact as it tumbled.
My first thought was the line from the mountaineering textbook that Aron Ralston carved into the sandstone wall while trapped in Blue John canyon: geologic time includes now. Which is to say- be careful, the rocks are still moving.
Snow travel is tedious. At best, your feet get a bit wet and maybe you slip or slide a few times. At worst, your foot breaks through the snow, called post holing, and you scrape your leg against rocks and sharp, gravel-like snow.
In extreme and deadly circumstances, such as crossing a snow bridge, the whole ground under your feet collapses and you fall through into frigid, fast moving water. This kills people, as does slipping and sliding down a steeply angled slope into rocks below.
Timing is everything. Early morning the snow is frozen the most solid, and is less likely to slip, slide, slush, or collapse.
No need to reinvent the wheel either- step on the footprints left by previous hikers. Boot packed snow is firmer, and less likely to collapse- but still can and will, once adequately melted.
You can use micro spikes to get a better grip in the snow, but be careful using these on rocks. Then the closer you get to a rock, the more likely the snow is melted away around it and will collapse. Hazards galore!
As if all that wasn’t enough, snow also does an excellent job of obscuring the trail. The time you waste losing, searching for, and rejoining the trail over and over again can really cut into your mileage.
Snow bridge over troubled waters
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My hiker hunger has REALLY ramped up. I’ve gotten to the “dropped an m&m in the mud, wiped it off and ate it anyways” level. Or, dropping a cookie crumb in the dirt, scanning for it, and eating it greedily.
Licking the inside of wrappers, getting every last spec of peanut butter or chocolate or crumbs from the packaging. Eating a cracker, chewing it into a paste, and holding that in my mouth until I just can’t help but swallow it, morsel by morsel.
In between when I allow myself to have one of my limited daily snacks, I suck on Annie’s fruit gummies. I let them dissolve in my mouth one at a time. Each one lasts about 5-10 minutes like this.
I can trick my mind into thinking I’m not so hungry, as long as I’m eating constantly.
Even so, the hunger is always there. Relentless. Who cares about future Pretzel? Eat that second rice crispy treat NOW.
Then tomorrow comes, and you desperately wish you had yesterday’s second rice crispy treat. Rice crispy treats have been a favorite of mine on this hike. I tear apart the crispy treat nibble by nibble, savoring the crunch, the mouth feel.
I can stretch one rice crispy treat out for over half an hour like this.
I fall asleep picturing the food I’ll have once I get to town again. This drives me over mountains, through marshes and all the way to the next warm meal. Toward the feeling of a full stomach.
Someone gave me a packet of ramen today, and it’s the first I’ve felt full in days. Carried on hiking until I finished every snack, and did a nice big day.
Stepped on my left foot funny, and should keep an eye on it- some blisters too from wet shoes following a creek crossing. One of the biggest in the Sierra but even so, a bit underwhelming. Maybe that’s a good thing.
John Muir pass was full of snowfields but overall decent, with a cool shelter at the top! Lots of downhill today- and my knees feel it.
Re-listening to Dharma Bums, since it’s one of the few things I have downloaded. Need to prioritize downloading more in town. Helps get through the slogs.
Mosquitos were awful today again, but I seem to be finding some sort of peace with it. I still occasionally lose my shit at them.
Dinner and bed time- don’t know which I’m more excited for.
John Muir shelter
Day 37
“Prolong not the past, invite not the future”
I love aspen groves- they get the name quaking aspens from the way their leaves dance and shimmer in the breeze. I’m in awe of afternoon golden light reflecting off the bright green, almost translucent leaves.
The sunlight making each individual leaf glow.
I’m considering how those leaves quaking is something the whole universe is doing. The sunlight, the wind. The branches reaching out from each tree. It all comes together to create so much beauty.
Little fun fact: each aspen tree in a grove is connected to all the rest. Its a single organism, all taking care of each other, sharing their water and nutrients. When a tree is weak or sick, the rest send it extra nourishment so it can recover. What a beautiful system.
People could strive to be more like that.
Wish y’all could see this picture move
Day 38
Left, right, left, right, left
Right left right left right left right
Left, right, left, right, left
One day, all memory of misery and mosquito bites and pain and tiredness will be all gone; all I’ll be left with is an overwhelming gratitude for having been here, doing this, and seeing it through.
Slow morning- cold outside, warm in bed.
Free dehydrated chorizo breakfast from someone that found it in a trash can. Score. After the long process of cooking that, I started walking by 8:45. I love slow mornings and free food.
Ran into this Australian guy I met in Bishop, Howl. We yapped a long while and took breaks together throughout the day. Super cool dude, hope to keep seeing more of him.
Also walked and chatted with another fella, Stomp, for a while through the downhill to camp. Had a really long and really awesome conversation with him as well.
That’s something I just love about thru hiking- sometimes you meet someone, and then just talk and talk. You bare your souls and share your secrets. Sometimes I don’t even get someone’s name until after hours have passed like this.
You get to peer through a window into a strangers world for a little while, just walking along and swapping stories and perspectives. It makes the time FLY by, your feet hurt less, and you feel like you could just keep walking like that forever.
Excited for town tomorrow!!
Day 39
I love me a long, gentle downhill series of switchbacks. When I go around the corners, I put out my arms like I’m in an airplane and go nyoooom.
I also love when my pack is unburdened by food as I get within a day or two of town.
This will be my last seven day resupply if I can help it, five or less so that I only have one or two hard days instead of three or four. I’ll be able to go into town more often, meaning I’ll get to eat town food more often while simultaneously lowering the weight burden on my body.
Speaking of dropping weight! I’m so very excited to send home my cold weather gear, and a lot of it. Microspikes, mid layer, puffy pants, gloves, and more.
I will, however, miss my fallen comrade, the sun umbrella. It’s already been broken and repaired twice with straws and duct tape, but this time it’s beyond repair.
It flipped inside out again today, and when I tried to fix it, all of the prongs tore loose and poked through the top of the umbrella, tearing the fabric. 1,500 miles isn’t too shabby for a $40 piece of gear, and I’ll definitely be replacing it. In the meantime, that’ll be another 5 to 6 ounces off my back.
Adding to today’s list of things I love, I’m so grateful that I had enough phone power and service today to talk to my parents as I walked. I can’t thank them enough for all the support they’ve provided during this hike, but I can certainly try. Thanks guys!
I hiked to the Horseshoe lake trailhead, and took the trolley ride to town. First stop was Subway for sandwiches, and then endless chores.
I’m exhausted.
One last thing I love for the day- public libraries. I loved them when I was young for so many reasons, and now as a nomad, I love them in a totally different, but equally special way.
They really are a treasure of society.
Thanks for the wifi, charging, bathroom and air conditioning!
Camped on the outskirts of a campground in Mammoth Lakes with Howl and Stomp.
Day 40
Listening to “A Court of Thorns and Roses” audiobook, getting REALLY into it. It was an overcast day out of town, with plenty of uphill. I packed out a footlong from Subway, and I’m not ashamed to say that it was the highlight of my day.
I got my first rain on this trip today! It was cold and stormy in the high mountains, but nothing too terribly sketchy.
Loving the irony that on my first day hiking without an umbrella, it rains. Reminds me of a saying in outdoor work that when you forget to bring your rain gear, it’ll almost certainly rain.
Also, since I didn’t want to pull out my phone much during the storm, I accidentally went .5 down the JMT instead of the PCT at the end of the day. Suppose it’s better to have noticed before going too far, but I think that intersection should be better marked.
Oh well. At least it’s a flat and beautiful .5, and the view of the lake makes it worth it.
Getting to Yosemite tomorrow!! Half Dome the day after! I’m so EXCITED!!
Day 41
“Defeat is simply a signal to press onward.”
My ultralight tent is only a single wall tent, which had very little ventilation compared to a standard tent. So when it rains, the inside gets soaked in condensation. Dripping down the walls, puddling on the floor, soaking my sleeping pad and quilt.
So I started late today, drying out my tent, pad and quilt in the early morning sun. Later I stopped to lay out my tent and ground sheet for a bit, but everything was still a little damp when I stashed them and kept walking.
There was a short pass in the morning. Nothing like some of the earlier ones at the beginning of the Sierra, but still a climb.
Most of the rest of the day was down or flat, and I was ready to cruise into the park and get my Half Dome permit. After having my PCT permit checked by a Yosemite park ranger, I was informed that the permit office closed at 5. That was at around 3:15. I still had 6.5 miles to go, and less than two hours to get there.
So, I practically ran. Went fast and steady on the uphills, jogged or fully RAN and VAULTED myself with my poles to go faster on the downs and flats. A small miracle I didn’t get hurt.
It was one of those situations where, if I pushed myself really hard, I KNEW I could make it to the permit office on time. But I would have to PUSH, and for a sustained amount of time. You almost want to decide it’s not worth it.
At one point, I checked how far I had to go. My map hadn’t updated, and showed I was one mile farther than I actually was. 3.5 miles, and it was 4:15. Too far and not enough time I decided, and slowed down to a normal pace.
Then the app location updated, and I saw that I only had 2.5 miles left. I decided I could still make it in 45 minutes, and kept running.
I caught up with Howl and we made it to the permit office together right before 5 o’clock.
When we got there, they said they only had one permit for Half Dome the next day. Of course, it’s 4th of July weekend in the most popular national park.
I told Howl he should take it, but in the end he let me have it. I was so excited, I kissed the permit.
Got my resupply from the post office, a delicious double cheeseburger and Dr Pepper, and had a reunion with some old friends from the Aquaduct. Moss, Mule, Skull Crusher, and Undercover were all there!
I’ve been pushing hard to catch up with them, and I only arrived an hour or so after they did to Tualomne Meadows.
I’m really looking forward to a rest day soon, especially after the mad dash at the end of today.
That last 6.5 miles today reminded me of my pack test for Search and Rescue in Zion. To qualify for the program, they have you hike 3 miles, in 45 minutes, with 50 pounds on your back.
I was able to do it with time to spare, but it was incredibly painful. On the final lap, my left leg went numb from a compressed nerve in my hip, and every footstep felt like slapping dead meat on pavement. But boy howdy, if I could do that, I can sure as heck jog a few miles with just a day of food on my back. And I did.
A full hiker with a light pack can really move.
Caught a ride with some park rangers to Sunrise trailhead, where I’m starting my approach to Half Dome. They had to pat us down before we could get in the car, which might be the most physical contact I’ve had in ages. I felt bad for how smelly we must have been to them.
Hiked a mile into the trail and set up camp. Not sure how far it is to Half Dome from here, as I have no maps and no service.
I’ve never pushed my body this hard for this long before, and I need a rest day desperately.
Day 42
Hiking without a map is very interesting. Thru hikers these days are so accustomed to relying on Far Out that without it, you feel lost.
Not being able to check how long the uphill is, when the next water source is, how far you’ve come today. It’s a little disconcerting.
I can imagine Grandma Gatewood on the Appalachian Trail, not knowing when the next water source, road crossing, or food will be. I in awe of all the people who have done this for so long without the technology I’ve become so dependent on.
Making plans to find and meet up with people, without maps and mile numbers to reference, is also very hard and frustrating. I ended up camping in a different spot than my friends, have a sore ankle/ shin on my left foot, and had a real slog of a day.
Getting up real early tomorrow to meet them at the top of Half Dome for sunrise! 3am should be early enough for the less than 6 miles to the top. After all the stress and hassle, it’s all gonna work out.
A squirrel chewed up the zipper on my snack pocket, so that’s great. I’m ready for a good long sleep, but not tonight. Need a rest day soon.
Side view of Half Dome!
