I should be on Mt Whitney

July 25, 2008

I should be summitting Mt. Whitney; instead I'm sitting in the motel room watching TV and reading. What an exciting life I lead! I so want to be out on the trail. It's painful just to walk around the room, there is no way I would have made it to Whitney. Mom and Pops will be here at some point today. I hope they find me or at least have gotten a hold of L or Kate. They know where I am. My cell is completely dead. I never thought I would need to use it. Guess I was wrong. Of course I did call my sisters, my aunt and a bunch of my friends. I also spent time texting. I guess my phone was right, I do only have about 3 hours of battery life when in use. I could have waited with some things, but it gets really boring here when there is no one to talk to and my walking is limited. I would never do well on bed rest. L and Kate have been great with calling me a couple times a day. I've also been able to talk to some friends. I think I talked to Tonya tonight for about 3 hours. SO that's a glimpse into my life in the motel.

9p: My parents found me!!! Then about 15 minutes after they arrived in my room, Mugs called and said she was at Whitney portal. I was happy to see her and Bob and Andy. I was also heartbroken and sad knowing that I wasn't able to join them at the top. I wanted to be there eating a burger and having a beer with them. Too many thoughts going through my head now. Some day I'll finish the trip.

Here are some pictures that Mugs took since the parting. Enjoy

mileage: 1 block...had to go to the grocery store

JMT Day 20: Charlotte Lake to Onion Valley

July 23, 2008--My last day

1:30p: I left Charlotte lake at 7:30 this morning and made it to Onion Valley around 1:15p. Now I'm just waiting for a ride to Independence and then hopefully into Lone Pine. I have to hitch a ride, but so far no one has entered or left the campgrounds. So I'll just sit here. I did meet some guys last night that were going to be hiking out today and offered me a ride into Independence. So If I don't get a ride before I see them, then I'll just see if then can still give me a lift. If all else fails, I can camp here. On the bright side, I don't have to wear my boots anymore!!! YAY!!!

6:30p: I made it into Lone Pine. I am very thankful for being able to hitch rides without an problems. Dave gave me a ride form OV to Independence and as I was sitting at the bus stop, Ranger George and his wife stopped and gave me a ride into Lone Pine. George was the ranger that told me I have two choices; Hike out to OV or continue on the trail and I would be leaving by Medi-vac. I'm glad I choose to walk out.

I am very grateful for the people I have met and the kindness they have shown to pick up and give a complete stranger a ride. People have talked about "trail magic" but I never had any...unless you count the two rolls of tape mugs and I found. But I believe that meeting these people is also part of the trail magic.

I am so glad I was able to do this trip. I am happy to be off my feet and to take a shower (the very first thing I did when I got to the motel.) I still wish I was hiking but I went as far as I could. I didn't give up mentally and I had to quit due to medical reasons. I'll be back someday, hopefully next summer, to finish the last 40 miles and to summit Mt. Whitney.

I didn't take any pictures from here on out. Mugs took my camera with here so I really don't know what they are of. I'll do my best at labeling them.

Picture:

4. My favorite type of trail. I was just happy that I didn't wreck a knee or an ankle. We usually encountered these trails on the passes, or on steep portions of the trial.

6. View from Forester Pass

Mileage 9.9/191.5

JMT Day 19: Rae Lakes to Charlotte Lake

July 22, 2008

5:30p: I got up on time today. Mugs didn't have to wait for me. I was actually packed up before she was. I didn't sleep very well last night. I was really hot and tossed and turned all night. I know I had a fever and it broke, which leads to the next conclusion...I have an infection. As I started to doctor them up I noticed that my sores are draining green pus and I have about a 2 inch long blister on the bottom of my left foot which is also infected (I had to drain that one also, not a pretty site.) Mugs headed up to the Ranger station to see if anyone was there. No one was but on her way back to camp she ran into Bob and Andy. They came to check out the situation and gave me some neosporen (ours was stolen by the bear.)

Knowing that I now have infections has but a damper on my spirits. I have to hike out tomorrow before they get any worse. I don't want to. I am so close to the end and I really want to finish the trip but I know I can't. Mugs told me to stop acting like a nurse and hike out. It's either damaging my pride or losing my feet. I can always come back and finish. This is seriously one of the toughest decisions I've had to make. I can't even describe how much I want to finish, not just for my self, but for the people who told me I won't make it. It's a hard decision. I think I spent at least two hours crying about it this morning and then off and on along the trail knowing that this would be my last day out here.

Mugs and I decided this morning that we were only going to go to Charlotte lake and I would hike out to Onion Valley from there. We made it to Charlotte lake about 4:30 and talked to Ranger George. I was also able to get a big basin to soak my feet in. I'm just glad that I made it this far. Even after today my feet are looking worse then they did this morning and I only had to hike 6 miles. I think it's a good thing I'm hiking out tomorrow.

Pictures:

1. Me taping up my feet. My feet are really swollen and didn't fit in my boots. Fun Times!

2. & 3. Middle Rae lake with the painted Lady in the background. Pix 2. you can see the frost on the ground. 32 degrees when we woke up

4. Fin Dome

5. Me standing next to South Rae Lake

6. South Rae Lake

7. Mugs on Glenn Pass (11,978 ft)

8. View of the lakes (north). We just came from there

9. View to the south of Glenn Pass. Whats to come

10. Me soaking my feet at Charlotte Lake

mileage: 6.5/ 182

JMT Day 18: Pinchot Pass to Middle Rae Lake

July 21, 2008

9a: 4 more days left! Where has the time gone? So far we've hiked about 2.5 miles from camp. Mugs is not feeling well. Very nauseated and crampy. I think she has a little dehydration. She didn't drink much yesterday. I just glad that I drink about 5 liters a day. My biggest fear is dehydration and then the chance kidney stones increases and I really don't want to deal with that. I actually feel pretty good so far, but then again I've only been hiking for about an hour. We need to make it to Rae lakes tonight. It should be a nice 11 mile hike. I'll be dead by 5p, but no passes to go over today. We'll make it. We always make make our deadline. I also don't want to start hiking over 11 miles a day. It gets long, especially the last 2 -3 miles.

My blisters are starting to turn in to pressure sores. They really started to bother me last night and I really don't notice them unless I'm going downhill. My goal is just to keep them from getting larger and infected. By Friday night i won't have to wear my boots anymore. My feet can be free in sandals.

I still can't believe that we'll be done on Friday. I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bed and seeing my doggie on Monday, I really miss her. I just hope she doesn't yell at me too much or that she holds a grudge against me. She's probably enjoying life with Nana and Papa and getting fat. Well Mugs is ready to hike again, so off we go.

8p: My feet look horrible. I think I'm getting infections. I cleaned them really well tonight and soaked them again in salt water. I guess I'll just have to wait until morning to see how they are.

We have a beautiful campsite tonight by middle Rae lake. WE can see the Painted Lady from our tent. I can't wait to see what it looks like at sunrise.

Pictures:

1. Clouds rolling in over the Mountains

2. Where we stopped so Mugs would rest and rehydrate

3. Me crossing the "golden gate bridge" of the sierra

4. The castle mountains

5. Flowers

6. More flowers

7. And more flowers

8. Giant mushroom

mileage: 13/175.8

JMT Day 17: Upper Palisades lake to Pinchot Pass

July 20, 2008


Today we hiked about 12 miles. We made it over Mather Pass and Pinchot Pass. Nice accomplishment. I was very tired by the time I got into camp at 7:30p, but I don't have to go over Pinchot. My feet are really bothering me tonight. All I want to do is sleep.













Pictures: (out of order)
1. Half way up Mather Pass looking north. Can barely see Palisade lake
2. Pinchot Pass looking north (12,130 ft)
3. Pinchot pass looking south
4. Pinchot pass again
5. Sunset over the mountians
6. Me on the south side Mather Pass (12,100 ft)
7. Mugs on the north side of Mather Pass
8. Mugs on the trail heading south after Mather Pass
9. Sunset on the mountians south of Pinchot

mileage: 11.9/162.8

JMT Day 16: Middle Fork Junction to Upper Palisades Lake

July 19, 2008

We were up at 7 and on the trail by 8:45...not to shabby! The first couple of miles sucked when I had to hurdle downed trees. Not an easy task when you have a 40lb pack and short legs. It took some creative maneuvering. I also managed to get lost during this time. Well not really, just off the trail. I was just happy that I have a good since of direction and can remember odd things. I knew that as long as I stayed to the east of the river I would be ok. After about 15-20 minutes of trying to find the trail rather then blazing my own (I'm all about leaving the wilderness as is and not disrupting it too much) I thought it might be a wise idea to actually find the trail. So I climbed up on a rock to get a better view and found what looked like the trail about 50 yards to the east. Once again I had to climb over more downed trees and headed towards the trail. My sense of direction was right and I was once again on the right path. Not a detour I would advise or would ever want to do again. It was my most adventurous morning by far (other then looking for the lost bear keg.)

This afternoon we hiked up the Golden Staircase, which as the last section of the JMT to be built. Not a bad hike if you consider it was 1500 ft of elevation over 1.5 miles of switchbacks. Little did I know this part of the trail was full of trickery. There is nothing like hiking up the side of a mountain and think you are getting close to the top because the sky getting closer and you are running out of rock, only to get to the top and realize that what you thought was the top wasn't the top at all and now you are hiking up switchbacks again but now you are heading west instead of east. At this point all I could do was utter a few bad words, curse the trail builders and continue upwards. I tried my very best to stay pleasant, but you can only sing "just keep swimming" so many times before the bad words begin to fill your brain again. This positive side of the Golden Staircase is that I enjoy hiking uphill rather then down hill...and the views are breath-taking.

Mugs and I decided to camp at Upper Palisades lake rather then try to summit Mather Pass tonight. We could have summitted, but we weren't sure how far we would have to hike past Mather to get to set up camp and more then likely we would have been doing this in the dark.

We found a nice little area that was sheltered by trees and a stream not to far. Almost like it was calling our names from the tail to stop for the night. I just wanted to get out of my boots and eat. My feet really don't hurt to bad tonight. Two more toe nails fell off and I noticed that I have two red and tender areas below my great toes on the side of my feet. I think they are the cause of yesterdays 11 mile down hill hike. More mole skin and tape for me!

Mugs just pointed out to me that we are on our last week out here. Only five more days to go! This past week had just flown by. It seemed like it took forever to hit the 100 mile mark and today we are close to completing 150. Still seems unreal to me that I have come this far and the trip is almost done. By the end of the week I'll be sleeping in a bed. That's what I'm looking forward to the most...well actually what I'm looking forward to the most is indoor plumbing.

Pictures:

1. Where I'm headed...Deer meadow

2. Trees left after the Palisades fire...this is the part of the trail where I got lost and had to climb over a number of trees

3. Hiking the Golden Staircase looking back at where I just was

4. At the top of the Golden Staircase looking east. Palisades Mts in the background. First peaks over 14,000 ft

5. Bruce striking a pose

6. about one mile to go to Upper palisades lake. Lower palisades lake in forground

7. Mugs at camp

Mileage: 8.4/ 150.9

elevation: 8070 ft to over 10,000. I lost the page with the rest of my elevations for the trip. However for the rest of the trip we don't drop much below 10,000 ft

JMT Day 15: Sapphire Lake to Middle Fork Junction

July 18, 2008

My feet hurt! We hiked about 14 miles today. Granted most of it was down hill. It seemed like it took us forever to to walk from Big Pete Meadow to the Bishop Pass junction. 2 miles down hill took us almost 3 hours to hike, then we turn around and hike 3 miles in an hour and a half. Somewhere the mileage had to be off. It just doesn't make sense. It almost reminded me of when we went over Donohue Pass to Garnet Lake. That was a long down hill also.


Muir pass was cool. It's weird to see pictures in books of the Muir hut that's on the pass and then I am really there. Same with when I was checking out the JMT website and saw the hut. I guess I never really thought I would have a picture of me in front of the hut also. It just make me more excited to summit Whitney. I am so looking forward to that. Only one more week left. Hard to believe that it's a week away.


Time to read the trashy novel and hit the sack. I made an awesome supper tonight; beef strogenoff with real beef (thanks to the hiker bins at muir ranch) and fresh wild onions. Good stuff!!














Pictures:
1. Wanda Lake, north of Muir Pass
2. Me taking a break on the steps of the Muir Hut (11,980 ft)
3. Mugs looking for the trail in the snow. Helen Lake in the background
4. Helen Lake
5. Looking back (north) to Muir Pass

mileage: 14.9/142.5
elevation: 11,000 to 8070 +980/ - 3910