- Today’s miles: 18.0 miles
- Ascent: 3,668 ft
- Descent: 3,884 ft
- Total Miles on Trip: 209.6
When I wake-up this morning, I feel depleted. My stomach gnaws at me indicating immediate hunger and maybe fatigue? I think of the last time we took a zero, which means not hiked at all that day. It’s been 9 days since our last zero all the way back in Mammoth and I wonder if it’s catching up to me. I hear Kevin roll out of his sleeping bag and I look at my watch- 5:45 A.M. Well, with the sun out and Kevin already up, there’s really no point in staying in my bag. With a small sigh, I unzip myself and exit the tent.
We’re out hiking by 6:35 A.M. and I begin to feel myself loosen up. I put the first calories of the day in my body with a swig of coffee and a mouthful of nut-butter. I can literally feel the endorphins from the food and exercise running through my body. It’s like a jolt of electricity and in these moments I feel like I can do anything. Man, I think. It’s not bad out here. 12,000 feet out in the high Sierra surrounded by nothing but mountains and air.
After a couple of hours of morning hiking, we come across our first group of people. Three ladies are coming the opposite direction of us and they look to be in their early to mid-50s. I think they must have already summited the top of Forester today, making for a pretty bad-ass morning. One of them has the same lightweight umbrella as myself, and I compliment her on it. She seems excited about the mention of the umbrella and said she has gotten a lot of use out of it on the trip. Also, she gives me a pro tip. “Not many people know this,” she tells me with a twinkle in her eye, “but you can also use it if you are in a pinch and need to go to the bathroom.” She mimics opening the umbrella, shielding herself from any unwanted eyes.
Kevin and I depart with a smile and proceed to climb higher and higher. I check Guthook for our elevation, which reads 12,500 feet. The top of Forester is another 700 feet. The last section requires us to do some slight rock scrambling and alternative routes. This is due to the icy snow that is cemented on the mountain, blocking what I assume to be the more traditional route (if that exists?) up Forester.
We reach the top at last. I take stock of my surroundings and see nothing but the usual mountains formed by seemingly loose rock and scattered cold blue lakes. But wait! Almost impossibly, I notice a couple of bunches of bright purple flowers. But how? How do they grow and survive in this harsh and bare terrain? I don’t know but the vivid colors pop in contrast to their surroundings.
I check my phone and see….. two bars of service! Maddeningly though, when I try to make a call or send a text, nothing goes through. I spend a considerable amount of time and effort trying to climb to higher points to get service but have no luck. Finally, I concede defeat and climb down to where Kevin is waiting for me with a grin on his face. He excitedly tells me that another hiker had some extra food and offered it to Kevin. “I hit the jackpot,” Kevin tells me. “I got two protein bars, two nut butter packs, and a candy bar.” Although it may not sound like much, to a hiker in Kevin’s situation with a dwindling food supply, it makes a world of difference.
With a spring in our step, we descended Forester. During the descent, we talk about possibilities. One possibility is to hike 8 more miles today and summit Mt. Whitney tomorrow, effectively ending our trip a day short. That would give us 17 steep miles today and a similar day tomorrow. The challenge is enticing but the plan is somewhat faulty, as Kevin’s parents are planning on picking us up from Whitney Portal on the evening of July 8th, not July 7th. We could always change the hotel reservation, Kevin and I reason. Alright, well it’s decided. We’re going to do a big day today and a big day tomorrow, which will put us at the finish line. I send a silent and premature thank-you to Kevin’s parents, who have already changed our hotel reservation twice and are making the long drive from Santa Maria to Whitney Portal to pick us up.
After we make the decision, I mull it over in my head (because what else is there to think about?). Am I in a rush to get off the JMT? Would it be better to hike short days and spread it out over 3 days instead of 2? Can my body hold up over these next two days with the big miles? It’s impossible to find “true” answers to these questions. I come back to the fact that I like hiking, getting to camp at 2 P.M. has not been my favorite thing on the trip, and I’m feeling reasonably strong for being this far into the hike. I also enjoy making decisions on the fly, based on what’s happening in the now. It’s easy to make the perfect itinerary on your couch a month before your hike, and without a doubt having a plan has its benefits. But to become attached to it or hold it as some ultimate truth makes little sense. You can never predict what’s going to happen out here or what tendencies you will fall into on your hike. For example, Kevin and I start hiking much earlier than anticipated (often on trail before 7:00 A.M.), which allows us to hike more miles throughout the day.
Kevin and I take our normal one hour break at lunch and then begin the last 9 miles of our day. We begin an ascent on a section of trail that is barren and hot, as the terrain seems to be changing noticeably. It’s much more exposed and the high ridges that overlook thousands of pine trees are absent. Rather, there are scattered gnarled junipers, that sit powerfully and somewhat ominously in the distance. It seems more like desert than forest. I check on Guthook and see this area is called “Bighorn Plateau”. It seems fitting that we would experience such a change in scenery for the end of our trip.
The terrain is flat (relatively speaking!) and we reach a camp spot at 6 P.M. I sit down at a cold stream and soak my aching feet. By the time dinner rolls around, Kevin and I eat as much food as our stomachs can handle, liberated by only one more day of hiking rather than two.
After dinner is eaten, I sit and wonder if this is really our last night out on trail. I think of all of the things I will miss out here. Sleeping under the stars on my foam pad. Jumping in lakes and rivers at every chance. Having food taste delicious because you’ve done nothing but hike all day. Meeting interesting people. Amazing views. But it’s all good, I think. Hiking will still be here when the JMT is over and we still have our biggest day in store tomorrow- Mt. Whitney.
