Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports 2009 Summer Trek

I posted this report on High Sierra Topix but I don't know how many of you go there so i'll post it here also.

As some of you know back in 2009 I did my first long Sierra hike and it was the first time I did the John Muir Trail. I never wrote a trail report for that hike but probably a year after completing the hike I began writing a long detailed trail report which I never intended for anyone to ever read. It was a journal story and as a result has more personal elements then I would naturally write into a public trail report. But off and on I would work on it for probably over a year until just recently I completed it and I decided it's interesting enough that some of you Sierra hiking lovers might enjoy. I decided to leave it unchanged for the purity of thought.

My 2009 journey through the range of light. 39 days:

My journey began with the realization that what you never thought possible actually is. That I could actually blow off the whole world and take to the mountains for as long as I wanted providing my resources hold out. And so began the planning process to hike the famed John Muir Trail. Day and night I dreamt of the long journey through the beautiful Sierra traveling through almost entirely unvisited lands for me. Then began the adding process. What first began as idle jokes of traversing the High Sierra Trail and then doing the JMT became planned reality. Then came additions and changes one after another. First replanning the High Sierra Trail route to a new route I had not done, then came the peak bagging fever! "well this 14er is right along the way i'll bag that also!" One by one the mountains accumulated into my plans. Alta, Muir, Whitney, Tyndall, Williamson, Split, Sill, Polemonium, Ritter, Banner, Lyell, Clouds Rest, Half Dome, Eagle, El Capitan, Red, Isberg. The last being on major loops around Yosemite I had planned spanning 16 days. All the pieces moved into place with massive logistical planning until all that remained was financing and this unfortunately when the deadline came fell short. Due to prolonged wasteful spending on my part I was unable to afford to pay what bills I had to while gone, buy food and retain sufficient trail funds. This caused me to drop the entire Yosemite loops I had planned and stick with the end being Yosemite Valley and concluding the JMT. As the day for departure neared the reality over whelmed and excited me. My final plan amounted to 41 days including all mountains along the way. The notion that I would be living out in the wild for over a month was hard to grasp. The longest I had been on the trail had been 8 days. Now 41!? YES!!!

Chris which in the beginning had planned to do the entire hike with me had dropped out completely and I only need one word to describe why, "apathy". David on the other hand would have loved to do the whole hike yet could not manage so financially but still looking for a week long summer hike and long wanting to visit some of my first week locations began the hike with me with the intent to go home when we reach Whitney Portal.

[Time to go] Saturday June 27th

The trip began with Chris driving us to Sequoia National Park providing we pay for all his expenses of course. The first day was a bit up in the air on what to do exactly so I had planned the best idea would be to get our permit and hike in a mile or two to help with the burden of climbing to the summit of Alta Peak with 8 days worth of supplies, 8 miles and a 4000 foot slog away.

We arrive at Lodgepole at about 3:45 only to find that the station for issuing permits has closed at 3:30 and although the ranger was still there he would not issue us a permit so we are left with our first dilemma of the trip, what to do now? Where can we camp? Lodgepole is full! and Chris refuses to stay the night to assist us with transportation in the morning. So we are left with the reality that we must now hike to Lodgepole from our camp when it's open, get a permit, then get transportation or worse hike to the trail head adding more miles to an already grueling day ahead. Morale instantly dropped for my first day of my Sierra adventure!

Driving up the road a bit we pull into a small picnic area and decide to do some most likely illegal dispersal camping about 80 yards into the woods. this put us within easy walking distance of Lodgepole providing junk food to eat for dinner which always helps morale. Unloading the car I ask Chris where David's bear barrel is and he says he didn't bring it! "[flash back] "we are loading the car to leave and as I grab other items Chris begins messing with my spare Bear Vault barrel so I tell him that we will need it and to load it up" well apparently he was in his own world and payed no attention to what I had said to him so David now has no barrel for his trip.

Day one of setting up camp was very irritating. I set up my RainbowTarptent like I always do but for some reason I could not get the pole into the ring of the tent. I flailed and cursed and even pulled the whole tent up trying to put it in until by every muster of my strength I was successful, why this occurred I cannot say. My only logical theory is that the pole slightly came apart between sections causing the pole length to be too great. This theory despite my efforts has never been proven.

Day 2


Morning, and officially the begin of this journey. I awake early to eat, pack and prepare to be at the permit station at opening to get the most time out of this great task ahead of us. David on the other hand being his typical self slept longer and showed no signs of urgency what so ever. Seemingly oblivious to what we face before us. Of this I said nothing. Despite most circumstances I allow others to dictate the road before me such as these times. I may be irked but I always allow the scene to play out as if I was an observer conducting research on the results of others actions...

Despite the delay I believe we reached the permit station about 30 minutes after they opened. We had picked up along the way that the shuttles do not run until 10am so we were out of luck in that area for trail head access. After a lengthy permit process the ranger informs us the fastest route to the trail head is along a trail out of Lodgepole so we head out. I was not encouraged about these added miles as I have explained but Alta awaits and summit we must! Fool hardy? Yes? It's worse then you think! Our plan was not just to summit Alta today but we are meant to summit then drop down to Moose Lake! A simple task when your intel consists of satellite photos and poorly interpreted topographical data.

About a mile into this route we come across a mother bear digging in a log for grub. Her two cubs join her and they walk the trail with us for awhile which what at first was excitement quickly became more irritating. A mother and cubs is not exactly something you want to walk hastily upon and with their casual stroll along the trail our progress slowed to a near halt. "HEY MA'AM!! YES YOU WITH THE BABIES!!! SOME OF US HAVE A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB!!! CAN YOU LIKE YOU KNOW!!!! VAMOOOSE!!!"

In what was probably less then two miles we reach the road. We had actually taken the wrong path so we had to walk along the road the rest of the way to the trail head. We take a break at it's start. I gaze at the mileage sign and I could not help but be over whelmed by emotion of what lay before me. After all it's not every day that you stand on the eve of one of the greatest journeys of your life. It is by natures very own will that I shall exit this path a different person than when I began. For no one can over come the power of the Range of Light. Full of love, beauty and danger it is but as John Muir said it lays far above the haunts of the devil. I only fear that upon my return to the realm of darkness I shall have evolved far beyond compatible tolerances for coexistence. It will destroy me. For like the great glaciers that shaped the mountains in times past the mountains shape our hearts with equal power. It matters not - for destiny awaits, and I shall take the first step...

The long slog up Alta was mostly uneventful with limited views and few worth while notations. The highlight was the abundance of wild flowers along the way but what would have normally been a pleasant walk through the forest was a long and painful climb up 4000 feet with nearly 50 pounds of pack weight. As we neared the top with perhaps 150 feet to go I was hardly putting one step in front of the other with only a couple hours left in the day so I suggest to David we camp at this location. After some scouting we manage to find an acceptable location with just enough water trickling off snow fields to replenish our supplies. Despite being no where near a major water source and just out of the tree line the winged demons assaulted us in great numbers. Food, alpine glow, good sleep.

Day 3

After the morning routine we set out for the summit which couldn't have been more then 20 minutes. Unfortunately the summit offered 3 negative elements. First at this early time of the day the view is not ideal. Not to say it wasn't very enjoyable but the best way to put it is the view was not worth taking pictures of. The second and more trivial is even on the summit of this mountain the winged demons assaulted us harshly. Final and most relevant was the fact that Moose Lake was no where in sight. Although I knew the direction of the lake I had expected to actually be able to see it. Instead blocking it's view was a steep looking ridgeline outlining a bowl. It was clear that it was going to take the whole day to just reach Moose Lake. We began down the Eastern ridge which quickly turned into a very irksome boulder slog. I particularly had troubles as my bear barrel was mounted on the bottom of my pack extremely limiting my ability to maneuver down large rocks. David's attitude became grim very quickly, constantly making remarks of being lost or it taking us another day to reach Moose Lake. My morale on the other hand was only dampened by the constant attack by winged demons. The heavy saturation from lingering and melting snow fall made no location uninhabited by unwanted pests. I suppose I should note I chose to not wear any bug repellent at all on this entire trip to prevent damage to my newly bought and very costly synthetic fabrics so perhaps I should not complain as much as I will through out this story about these demons but I must, for I feel they are the destroyers of Eden. My protection includes a head net and I would wear my rain shell to prevent them biting through my clothes. So resuming this tale we navigate our way toward a steep talus and consider the route options. The route North in the bowl was a steady climb and appeared to come to steeper cliff sides. The route south would have us drop down in altitude to navigate around class 3 talus. Due to the nature of the terrain and the uncertainty of what the Northern route held we head South and begin down. Reaching a creek in the center of this area we take lunch. I admit my morale was not high. David's morale was so tainted it was not helping mine and I felt myself drained. Taking out my lunch I quickly learned the folly of my dinning ways. My primary lunch items which consisted of four large rye bread crackers and a cheddar cheese spread the only other item for lunch was a Snickers bar each day but this being only day 3 and I could not eat half of one cracker! The rye bread was dreadful stuff and no cheese could mask it's horrible taste so I sent it to the ocean and we moved on. We began to climb a slope in a North Eastern direction without much difficulty as it began to rain fairly heavily. David in his poor mood could not manage to put on his poncho properly and had no patience to bother trying, It was a pathetic spectacle to see him with a rain bag hanging half off his body providing no real cover what so ever but proceed we did until we reach the summit of this area which I thought would bring us upon Moose Lake yet before us was a larger bowl leading steeply into a canyon with Moose Lake no where in sight. This of course lead David to rant and rave with further diminished morale. We break and I study the topo which confirms that Moose Lake is just over the next ridge and that it shouldn't be very difficult to travel yet David couldn't be convinced of anything so we proceed through some nice gardens and arrive at Moose Lake without any further significant difficulties. The rain had long dissipated to nothing more then casual sprinkling off and on and we found a small yet great camp site. Moose Lake itself is an amazingly desolate place yet your kept constant company by Marmots and Pika. The remaining snow had formed rings around the lake making shore access impossible in many locations. Time to relax and sleep.

Day 4

During the night I notice clouds forming in the sky. This is always a clear indication of rain in the Sierra and is often a sign to expect very harsh weather in general but fortunately this was not the case this time. The morning began with light sprinkles but nothing to worry about yet I put on my rain pants in case it would be a problem later. Leaving Moose Lake was all a guessing game. I knew the general direction to travel yet I had no idea what the best route would be to take across the Tablelands and although they appear very flat on the topo they are anything but. One ridge at a time we navigated but I found my morale not all so high. I was being attacked quite ferociously by winged demons and although I had my full body shell on I didn't use my head net. Instead I put my hood on but the beasts dive into your face quite efficiently. Also I felt tired and drained. The sort of state of mind where you aren't happy with anything you do at the moment yet I pushed on. I am a man that is used to pain and I endure quite well. I do not give up easy and it is of zero ego that I keep pushing. As we moved along and planned the route as we went David once again was in his "we are lost, this is going to take days, we are screwed" sort of attitude. And yet again no words of logic could help so I did not try. I usually am not one to attempt to set right any wrongs in the operations of an individual regardless of how certain I am of the correct position. It just takes too much energy but I digress. The Tablelands themselves were in an early season mess. Constant snow fields, lots of tarns, bogs and bugs. It offered little in the way of raw aesthetic beauty but never mistake my apparent grim opinion on something for general conclusion. I find beauty in all nature and I could still live my life on these lands. We generally passed 3 or 4 ridges before we approached the edge of the Tablelands showing a large canyon before us. This at first I had mistaken for Deadman Canyon but quickly found my bearings and set our next route. I had knew before getting here we would have a narrow area to head for looking for the route into Deadman Canyon. To the North you had this unnamed canyon and to the South you have the bowl containing Big Bird Lake. Our goal was in between into a small basin with a couple unnamed lakes. My energy reaching this location hit bottom most likely due to lack of sufficient calories. Finally reaching our goal we take lunch and start down. And let me say this decent was no fun at all. It was a large section of head wall that consisted largely of solid granite slabs that demanded allot of friction climbing. Where you did not have this you had snow fields and running water every where making it even more dangerous. Bit by bit we descend and make some very difficult and dangerous maneuvers. At one point I slipped on a snow field and slid down a bit into the dirt. Upon reaching the bottom one had to admire the scale of the face we had just descended. Unfortunately we were greeted at the bottom by mass swarms of winged demons! The head net went on and we moved out along this very beautiful lonely basin . Our goal was the outlet that would lead us down into Deadman Canyon and as I round a bunch of trees just about to begin the decent I walk straight through what must have been a cloud of 200 winged demons! MY GOD I thought! I was covered! But I found myself quickly distracted by the amazing beauty which was Deadman Canyon! It was the most grand sight yet on the trip and morale was returning at the thought of getting back onto the proper path. This decent though was horrible. It went from boulder climbing to granite slab friction to fighting through thick bush and down steep slopes avoiding flooded forest floors. Never for a moment was it easy and most of the time it was steep enough to keep your toes smashed to the front of your shoe in a manor that you worry about blisters. Both David and I were suffering and to make it worse as we moved through the forest we seemed to be picking up more and more winged demons! I often had to stop and gasp at the shear number of them! I had never seen anything like it in the Sierra! I would swat my gloved hand to kill 20 at a time! After the long slog we finally pick up the trail again and begin North to Ranger Meadow and oh my what a meadow! Covered in Shooting Star! The whole view around me was nothing short of Eden. Perhaps that's why I was under assault by demons! Moving down the trail our goal in planning had been Roaring River. It was clear we were not going to make it so as we passed a massive water slide cascade we find a spot just large enough to make camp. As I set up my tent David laughed at me because my entire body was covered in mosquitoes. I wish I had got a picture thinking back. After a bit of a wash and some laundry there was little time to eat before we went to bed. The sun had long been setting on us. So far we were steady behind schedule and every day had been a brutal journey!

Day 5

Continuing down Deadman Canyon was a perfect bit of tranquility as the trail was a garden populated by half a dozen different species of wild flower amongst the grass. I found myself in a trance as a moved through such a paradise but it could not last as we hit our first creek we must ford. I quickly found it is a good idea to leave your gloves on as you cross for if you don't your hands will pay the price from the demons and it is no fun as you hold your shoes and trekking poles while you attempt to balance on rocks and against the roaring stream. Suiting back up on the other side I find one of my gaiters is missing. I could have sworn I stuck it in my shoe with the other but it was gone. If I had left it on the other side damned if I was going back for it so that was the end of my gaiter protection for this trip. The rest of the trail to Roaring River was a fairly standard trek through the woods. David had wanted to find the Deadmans grave and detoured on a trail to try and find it but it was little more then an access trail for the Ranger huts needs. We did not see a soul at the Ranger Station and we moved across the bridge to take lunch on the other side. At this point I had given up eating any rye bread at all. I resorted to just eating the cheese packets and my snickers bar. Not the worst mix, YET!. Continuing along now moving up Cloud Canyon I was feeling very drained and even strained to keep up with David as my rain shell was too hot and making me sweat very badly and was taking so much out of me to keep it on so I remove it and continue along. Like going to Roaring River this section of this canyon was a basic slog through the forest although it had many flooded sections of trail that were irksome to navigate. We made it perhaps 5 miles up the canyon when we came to a nice camping area and decided to just call it an early day and camp out which officially removed the possibility of layover at Junction Meadow. I set up camp and went for a dip in the creek which was horribly cold. Much too cold to enjoy in any fashion beyond the cleansing effects. I built a fire and did laundry while David prepared to do some fishing. He of course was instantly successful as it was all too easy to catch them. I tried to do some fishing but could not enjoy myself as I was under heavy assault. A bit later we both took a bath in the creek which was a miserable experience. After my first dip earlier I could not bring myself to get all the way in once again. Eventually the night fell and we went to sleep but this night was quite uncomfortable for me as I had a grass bump under my tent from poor placement.

Day 6


My alarm chimes and I cannot get myself up so I linger in bed while David shows no signs of getting up either. Eventually I muster the strength and eat my cereal in bed. "This cereal isn't all that appealing" I thought to myself. The morning was a slow mover. David lingered about and had done little while I was mostly packed. The day was our latest yet as we started at 10am. Moving along the trail was a swamp that often needed us to leave the trail and tromp through the bushes to find a way around but it was not long before we came upon a patch of forest and a small meadow that was completely covered in shooting star! Never have I seen so many! A true gem of the forest which picked up my morale as we moved on. Reaching Big Wet Meadow gave us our grand highlight that is Cloud Canyon. The impressive open expanse of a meadow with the Whaleback being the most dominant element of the back drop. Shooting Star littered the area making for an all around serene place to be. I had heard horror stories about the winged demons that protect this location and that they took no prisoners. Although assault us they did their attacks seemed pathetic to the warriors of Deadman Canyon. Moving along and passing Big Wet Meadow we move back into the forest and are forced to ford another creek as we began our climb up to Cloby Lake. This section didn't offer much for views until your near a basin before Colby. From here you get a nice view back down on Wet Meadow but you quickly round the bend and enter this unnamed canyon. We came upon another stream you must ford and we took lunch and enjoyed a high alpine view in all it's glory. I of course only had my nasty bread crackers to eat which I once again sent to the ocean. David began the ford first and he was only a few feet into the creek when his sleeping bag suddenly slipped off his pack and fell into the water. I quickly extended my trekking pole out to try and stop it from going down stream while I shouted wildly for David to get it as the weight of the water pressing on the bag began to be too much for my fully extended arm, luckily he was able to recover it before I lost control of it because only 20 feet down stream the creek took to a violent down hill cascade that would have claimed his bag for good. After making the ford we keep climbing once again and come upon yet another ford. By this time David gave up on taking his shoes off after about 5 different fords for the day so he bails off into the water shoes and all. This area was a magnificent display of cascades. About 4 of them dove down into the creek below surrounded by a beautiful garden. The sort of place a person could live their whole life and it would not be wasted. After all the beauty the trail took to switch backing once again which was to our dismay that the lake was so much higher then we had thought but up, up, up we go until Colby Lake finally shows it's beautiful face. We pick a camp sight that although used was clearly illegal due to it being about 15 feet from water. It was a more fair illegal spot though being solid granite and at least 5 feet above the lake. David prepared his pole and did some fishing which was just too easy in this lake. I fished for awhile myself and finally we ate our catch and relaxed until the night fell.

Day 7

Waking early it was cold, very cold, but I took to this opportunity to eat and get packed up before the winged demons began their assault so as a result we made the trail by a reasonable hour. As has been typical it was not long before a roaring creek was flooding our trail making for a very tricky crossing but we managed to stay dry. It did not take very long before we were at the base of Colby Pass and we had lost the trail. We began our slow and tricky ascent to the area we figured was the pass. The snow was hard packed and icy and as David followed me up I often heard whimpers of fear coming from him at our precarious ascent. Further and on steeper slopes it became clear we were not on the right track and that if we were even going to take the proper way we would have to go way back down and start up once again but our dangerous situation had already broken David's morale and he had already shifted into anger mode shouting loud rants of "F**K!" "I DON"T WANT TO DO THIS!" "I DON"T WANT TO DO F**KING MOUNTAIN CLIMBING!" This of course only served to annoy me more than anything. Our situation was bad I knew. I was standing on wet muddy scree at probably 50 degrees and was sliding down. I was one wrong move away from death yet this meant little to me other then annoyed at the possible choices that lay ahead. In the end I tell David we could do an escape route over Avalanche Pass and it would probably be a 3 day hike. He agrees to this idea and we begin our descent. By this time the snow was soft enough that I was falling in knee deep. Moving back down to Colby Lake we pass a lone hiker and inform him of our failure on the pass and he is disheartened to learn his own plans may be affected as he had some sort of 4th of July plans. Moving back down was of course a repeat of all that had happened before except that I began getting really irritated that David kept loosing the trail over and over again. I counted him doing it 10 times in one day and he did it on switch backs that made us often climb back up looking for the trail. I was irked for sure but I did not think it would be a good idea for me to take the lead as I always walked faster then David and splitting up could be a bad idea if something went wrong for him. For this day we went back down to the same camp site we had stayed in at the end of day 5.

Day 8

This day was fairly uneventful, branching off at Roaring River we began our climb up Avalanche Pass which was a very long very hot and very dry trail. I was hurting allot the whole day and just kept a tune in my head as the monotonous climb took it's toll on me. Nearing Avalanche Pass I was getting pissed off. You would reach a clear crest to go over and down yet the trail would turn and keep climbing for no good reason. My morale hit I think an all time low for this whole trip. I began questioning the only other option I saw in my life other then death. Perhaps it's not worth it I thought to myself. perhaps death is the best choice after all. We reached Sphinx Creek after a good 14 or so miles on the trail and called it a night.

Day 9

As I slipped on my shoe for the morning I thought it felt tight and thought my heel was swollen. This lowered my morale first thing in the morning because I thought damn! What if this sort of thing gets worse and I am off the trail already when I am only 9 days into a planned 41 day trip! This was only a thought though as I never had anymore to consider from that heel. If it had been swollen it went down and never came back. The day was straight forward, less then 10 miles to hike all down hill to Roads End. This area gave me a chance to really see Kings Canyon in it's glory. I had gone to the South Fork Canyon a couple months earlier for the first time and was unimpressed with what I saw but the views you get from this section of the trail changed all that. It was a grand view to compare with the Yosemite Valley. Reaching the final major push of switch backs David had taken to such a major down hill speed that I decided I had to slow down. This sort of stomping down hill is what can cause stress related injuries and maybe he was reaching the end of his journey but mine had along ways to go! When we finally reached Roads End it was to our dismay that there was no shuttle system and it was 6 more miles to Cedar Grove but two ladies took pity on us enough to give us a ride and we checked into the Sentinal Campground. Time for burgers and soda! Being there so early gave me a chance to rest up as I enjoyed the great food and got a shower. I called my grandmother and aunt to come get us. I suggest we take the road through Yosemite and around to Whitney and they agree to meet us in the morning.

Day 10

After an absolutely awesome breakfast at the diner our ride arrives around 10:30am and off we go. Not before David got us a warning from a Ranger for leaving all kinds of food items on the table as we went and ate! Passing through Yosemite we decide to make a stop by Glacier Point but what looked like a controlled burn gone wrong had the whole valley smoked out and ruined the view. It was probably already 5PM leaving Crane Flat when my grandmother asks how much further it was going to be? "oh maybe 5 hours" "5 HOURS!?" We did a bit of a detour to Lee Vining for dinner and we start South down 395. By this point my aunt which had done all the driving was quite irked and I can't blame her after all the hours already spent on the road. She was driving at times 100 miles an hour which got us to LonePine fairly fast. Finally at 11:30PM after they had been on the road since 8AM we arrive at Whitney Portal. They decide to get a motel room but I knew that was going to be impossible. Lonepine is not a place to ever attempt to just show up and get a room and it turns out they had to drive back to Bishop to get a room. As for David and I my original plan was to stay in the packers camp at Whitney Portal but since it was so late I did not want to tramp around camp sites trying to find a place to stay so we both go down to a campground out of Lonepine we had stayed at many times.

Day 11

A big day! It was time for me to go off solo and begin the big haul up Whitney with a full pack! Something I had not been looking forward to. After some quick fast food breakfast David drops me off at Whitney Portal at about 7:30am. Now I had made a few changes to my plan. First from how grueling the trip had been so far I decided that climbing Williamson and Tyndall was just going to be too much so I decide to drop one day of food and keep one extra for my other change in plans. I was supposed to summit Muir and Whitney on our way down but since that was not possible I decided instead of going up and to Guitar Lake which was what I had planned I would hike up to Trail Camp and spend the night then summit both and stay at Guitar Lake. Beginning the trail I had tons of energy and was making great progress. Only one person with a day pack on passed me up. My morale was high the whole day and one man commented that I was climbing up like a billy goat! I reached Trail Camp in 4 and a half hours and was left to just relax for the rest of the day. That layover in Kings Canyon was just what I needed. All those steak dinners gave me all the energy I needed for this climb!

Day 12


After a windy and cold night at Trail Camp I hit the trail although I could not say very early which would be a theme for the remainder of the trip. I always had a hard time getting up in the morning. Moving up the 99 switch backs was going very well and I was catching up with a hiker on his way up and had a conversation with him. He made a comment on how well I was doing considering I had a full pack on and he did not. I bumped into him another time or two on breaks and gave him encouragement on making it to the peak as he was having his doubts. I left the trail for the Muir summit at the end of the switch backs beyond the junction but this turned out to be a mistake. I had to do some sketchy down climbing to get onto the proper path. Reaching the last bit of Muir I find it's class 4 . I left my trekking poles at the bottom and found a route up. I had some trouble at first as I needed to get closer to the rock then my camera pack would allow so I had to sling it over my shoulder onto my back. It did not take long to make the summit. I enjoyed the view and moved on. In not all that long I was on the summit of Whitney with almost no one on top. I was happy to have met the hiker I talked to on the 99 switch backs on his way down from the summit. He thanked me for the encouragement and proceeded down. The view was wonderful as always but I did not linger for along time. The day was pressing on and I wanted to get to Guitar Lake. Reaching the Junction I talked to a girl doing the PCT. She started down for Guitar Lake just before I did but she blew me away with her speed. I had already been told that Guitar Lake was packed and that camping above it would be better and I found a nice place with few people and ended the day once again. I was now officially on the JMT!

Day 13

After enjoying the morning with a Marmot friend I set out down the trail and saw just how many people were at Guitar Lake. Every space available to place a tent had one! I was on familiar trail once again but once I had reached Wallace Creek I took my first step onto trail which I had never traveled. Not one location between this spot and Reds Meadow had I ever stepped foot on! oh what glory lies in the great unknown! Climbing up onto the Big Horn Plateau was an interesting start. Like entering into a desert that even had an oasis! Among all the lifelessness lay a large pond of water completely surrounded by green grass and wild flowers! And the Marmots were steady at play in their own little Eden! From here you drop steady down to Tyndall Creek. A crossing I had read can be quite dangerous in early season. This how ever I can not imagine to ever be true. I did ford the creek even though I felt I could find a place to cross. I did not mind because this was my destination for the day and I was happy to be here. Upon finding a nice camp and getting set up I took to the creek for some bathing. The water was pure like most Sierra creeks but this one left me feeling unusually clean. More so then I ever feel at home!

Day 14

I awoke to be bothered heavily by the attacking demons. Some near by hikers as they passed laughed when I did not notice them and I cursed the beasts! For the first time on this trip I took out a Cito Max packet and added it to my water. A boost that would help the rest of this day. Less than an hour out I began feeling the sharp pain in my upper back and as I recall this moment I do not believe I have mentioned this problem yet in this story. Hiking the year before I had this problem where I would get sharp pain in the middle of my back just below where my neck meets. What caused it I did not know but on this trip it had been bothering me off and on up to this point and my camera pack on my chest has straps that cross over and apply pressure right where the source of pain is so when it showed up this early in the day I declared I will fix this problem because the pain is too bad to endure. It's like having a knife poking into your back so my solution was to route my straps over my pack on onto the back. Problem solved and no more pain for the rest of the trip! Moving through the plateau above Tyndall creek opened a vast area before me. A piece of beauty that stopped me dead in my tracks. When I would begin again I would not make it 10 feet before I had to stop and take in more of this view. For some reason the winged demons where not here. No disturbances of Eden. For some reason standing there a vision of a mountain community entered my mind. Visions of high buildings offering birds eye views of the area. This of course I would never want to see but it came to me anyway. A vision of the future perhaps... Moving on my morale was so good I felt sorry that I would not be climbing Mt Williamson today like I had planned. It's peak showed itself from out behind Tyndall and it was calling to me. Looking back I think I should have answered the call but resume I did and up I went. The snow started to show itself but was never more than a few scampers across short fields. Up I go and was greeted near the top of Forester by a thriving population of Sky Pilots. More in fact than I have ever seen together. A magnificent sight indeed! As I approached the top I noticed a number of hikers on the peek of all ages and as I reached the summit I declared victory! I sat and enjoyed lunch with the hikers and we all had a nice chat. While eating one of them asked if I had plenty of food and although the food I was eating for lunch was barely edible the truth was that I did and even though I told him he began giving me more and more food. Salami, cheese, tortillas and more. It was a wonderful treat after such a miserable lunch each day so far! One of the other men gave me some crisp green beans which got a few poor comments from the others. One man declared "wha? you gave those to him!? you wont even give them to your friend and you give them to him!" Apparently those green beans where a great desire and source of bickering among them. The whole matter amused me greatly. After more than an hour they departed leaving me with a whole pack of tortillas a block of cheddar cheese and a block of Parmesan cheese and a pack of teriyaki tuna! I gave them what ever I could before we parted ways but their kindness would keep me enjoying my lunch for at least two more days. Moving down Forester was a bit irksome as the snow was soft and at times I fell in thigh deep but I only had about 600 feet of snow to cross. From here it was a fairly basic down hill trek. Closing on the canyon below I pass a trail crew that had been working the area and even though I was making a good pace down the hill this group passed me up like I was moving slow. Once I had dropped down into the trees the winged demons assault me with much fury and I had to quickly get out my shell and head net in order to save my skin from the onslaught. As I passed the sign that said no fires beyond this point I saw a nice camp site and decided to set up camp and light my first solo fire out on the trail on this trip. The winged demons continued their assault on me as I went about my business. While gathering water at the creek I saw some light green growth that I thought might be wild onion. Despite all my searching on this trip I had yet to find any. I dug to retrieve the bulb of the plant but failed. I was however able to get enough worth eating. My oh my what a great taste that was after two weeks on the trail! After a nice dinner boosted with my find the day came to a close and a nice day it
was.

Day 15

Before beginning the trail the demons assaulted requiring me to suit up in my defensive gear. As I began the climb to Onion Valley the heat from this armor was taking it's toll on me. I was sweating heavy and my pace was slowing. The winged demons were faltering in number so I took the opportunity to take off my armor and continue. As I neared the top of this climb an amazing vista opened before me and the valley which Bubbs Creek flowed through showed itself in all it's glory. As I entered into Onion Valley endless beauty showed itself. First breath taking tarns surrounded by shooting star then glorious sights such as Bullfrog Lake. It's no wonder this lake was once heavily camped. My pace was more than poor as I had to constantly stop to marvel at all that was around. As I began the climb to Kearsarge Pass the Kearsarge Lakes showed themselves proving once again of the extreme beauty that this Valley offers. Easily one of the most beautiful I have been to. Reaching the pass there was at least 10 people on top and I enjoyed lunch, the views, good company from fellow hikers and chipmonks. I began down and ran into the girl I had seen 4 days ago on the Whitney Crest. She had been hiking the PCT and I was surprised she was not long ahead of me but after talking with her for some time she convinced me that a layover day in Independance is a good idea so I planned to go for it. When I reached the trail head I was happy to find my resupply box where I had left it. I decided to leave two days of food behind in the box since I would not be climbing Mt. Sill but I still had 10 days worth of food which was a major burden and I was loaded to capacity! Hitch hiking is not something I had ever done and I didn't know how to go about it so I decided to just walk down the road a bit and put up a thumb. While I did this I couldn't help but feel stupid and uneasy and as some time passed I began thinking about what I would do if I did not get a ride and the thought of me having limited money anyway lingered on my mind. After only about 30 minutes of thumbing it I decided to hell with it and just began back up the trail. The first lake did not offer any camping so I kept on up the trail to the second and found a nice area to set up. While I was doing so I heard strange noises that sounded like it was coming from the bushes. Like something was moving heavily through the rocks but then I looked up and saw tons of dust and rocks falling off a near by cliff. What an awesome sight it was to see such a collapse close up!

Day 16

Although starting out was endless switch backs to the top of Kearsarge Pass I did really well. After all these days on the trail I was in good shape despite the horrible food I had been eating. 1500 calories a day offers little energy but on I went back up to the beautiful views of Onion Valley. Taking the high trail back to the JMT I had thought this would be a viewless slog perhaps completely within the trees yet it was anything but! The trail offered amazing high views of the entire Onion Valley area. Meeting up with the JMT I took lunch and finished off the rest of my tortillas and cheese given to me by the nice hikers on Forester Pass. Back to cheese packs and Snickers bars for lunch "gag!" As I neared Glen Pass I was really starting to slow down. It takes allot of energy to cross two passes in a day but finally I reached the top and enjoyed a break alone this time as I gazed out at the beautiful sights that await below. Moving down Glen Pass had some snow to navigate but nothing too much to worry about. Getting down the Rae Lakes were living up to the hype of their beauty. Unfortunately the winged demons began their assault on me as if I had damaged their home land by my mere presence and well I suppose I was. As I moved along I scanned for a place to set up camp and found a nice location with a one person spot next to a tree. After setting up I did a bit of scouting and was not surprised to find a sign indicating the location of bear boxes about a 100 yards ahead which led down to a massive camping area. I was not surprised because this has happened many times before that I would set up camp and find something better just up the trail although in this case my camp sight was very nice and I had no complaints. I however was surprised that there was no one at all camping any where I could see. Besides the occasional hiker passing through I had the lakes to myself and this fact would remain through the next day.

Day 17

This was my first official layover day on the trail so I did not get out of my tent until about 10am and I went for a hike around the lakes to explore and take pictures. I visited the Ranger Station to find it was a crappy little cabin with a note on the door that no one was home and if you need a ranger you can find one on the other side of Glen Pass so if someone needs emergency help your screwed! After just relaxing more I mustered the courage to go for a swim which wasn't more than fighting my way into the water and I just stayed in up to my neck for a bit. The water was too cold to enjoy really so I got out and took a nap on a rock in the sun to dry out while the winged demons attacked me in a futile manor due to my armor. The demons were probably the worst here since leaving Deadman Canyon. At one point I smacked my hand and killed about 18 of them at once. The rest was an uneventful day that was mostly boring but offered endless beauty.

Day 18

Moving out of the Rae Lakes area offered beautiful sights such as Arrowhead Lake and the classic shots taken near the outlets with Fin Dome. Moving on was an uneventful hike though very pleasant. As I got closer to Woods Creek I saw sights I had not encountered before such as mature blooming Wild Onion and Tiger Lilly which were both a beautiful sight as I moved through wonderful gardens. As I reached Woods Creek I was really in need of a break and I enjoyed this interesting bridge. Leaving here I knew it was going to be all up hill. Although the area was filled with beautiful cascades and gardens the heat and up hill battle really began taking it's toll on me. I also reached an old sheep gate which had two wires going across it which you were forced to climb through. Well doing so with a large pack on your back is not so easy and I became stuck in it and pissed off I was bouncing the wire up and down over my head in an attempt to get free and I could only imagine what other hikers would have thought had they come upon me in this aggravating situation. Further up the trail I began to grind to a halt. I was just so drained with the lack of proper food energy and the heat beating down on me but on I pushed. Nearing the Woods Lake junction trail I saw a single place to set up a tent and decided to take this opportunity while I had a nice flowing creek near by thus ending a very hard day.

Day 19

This day started unusually hard. It was all up hill and it just seemed very hot and I was having a hard time but as the grade decreased and I began to take in the wonderful sights of this area I regained my pace. The mountains were all colored with red minerals giving a more unique look. I named a ridge "Chess Ridge" as it's rocky features looked like chess pieces. Moving for Pinchot Pass I was held up talking for awhile with a guy from Oregon but finally I moved on. As I neared the top of Pinchot Pass I thought the pass was much higher then it was so I gave in and took lunch which was the typical awful experience. When I resumed I was dismayed to find that the pass was just up the trail so I took another break with a group of people so I could enjoy the view. As I moved down the trail I ran into Peter and his kids which I had expected to see on this day. After enjoying their company for a bit I resumed down the trail and took in the amazing beauty of Lake Majorie but because I had spent so much time talking to people the day was quickly wearing on. I reached the South Fork of the Kings River and it looked like it would have to be forded but I saw some rocks that I thought I could make it across but to my great dismay I slipped off the rocks and both feet fell in. As I climbed out with cement blocks as shoes very annoyed at my blunder the winged demons took the opportunity to attack me like they were bees and I had smashed their hive which forced me to put on my top shell and head net and I started up hill out of there with my moral at zero. It was not long until the heat of wearing my coat was draining my energy so probably less than a mile beyond the creek I set up camp. It had been 6 days since I had a decent bath and I wanted to take advantage of the creek here but the winged demons patrolled the area too fiercely and I just couldn't bring myself to take on this burden. Baths in the high Sierra are more often than not an exercise in courage and endurance with the freezing cold water. The act is miserable. Only the result is desirable.

Day 20

Leaving my camp was a pleasant gentle up hill climb that had me in less than an hour outside the reaches of the winged demons. As I moved further into Upper Basin and could see Split Mountain looming on the range I felt exhilarated and energized. I felt that I could conquer that beast before me. Before leaving the trail I ran into a group of people and one woman almost couldn't believe I had been out here for 20 days. She commented how clean I was. Other than my heart and soul I didn't feel clean and indeed I was not but I guess my constant washing of clothes kept me looking that way. Leaving the trail I made my way to Lake 11,598 and ate lunch and while I was looking up trying to spot what sounded like a commercial aircraft an object of some kind darted over head faster than any object I had ever seen. It made no noise and was small, round and white. It remains a U.F.O for me but was an interesting site. As I began the climb up Split I was amazed to find among the rocks a massive field of Shooting Star. Not a sight I was expecting to see on such a barren slope but a treasure none the less. Continuing up the slope was a simple class 2 matter but was agony and I kept having to question what I had got myself into as my energy drained from my body with every step I took but fight on I did and rewarded I was with such an amazing mountain peak with it's all expansive views. My entry in the register was the only one for that day. It's an odd sort of special feeling knowing for that day in time you were the only one to conquer this mountain. But there was a problem and that was I expected to be back down off this mountain several hours before this time so that meant I was not going to make it to my destination for the day and being behind would take my layover day from me. I reached my pack and found a camp site just as the sun set so I decided to skip once again taking a bath. My tent zipper showed the first signs of breaking as one of the two zippers no longer worked, the idea of a complete failure was horrible to me because it would mean little defense again the winged demons.

Day 21

Leaving my camp it was a short distance before the switch backs of Mather Pass which offered little difficulty since it was early and I had plenty of energy. Reaching the top I was alone and enjoyed the beautiful views of the Palisades but as I moved on I followed a path in the snow which led me to an extremely precarious situation as the snow was hard packed and it was very steep which took me some time to safely navigate down to where I could find the trail. I had been warned of the dangerous nature of Mather Pass and the reports were accurate! Moving through this region was a tranquil experience as amazing beauty showed itself in every form. Gardens, cascades, high peaks, beautiful lakes, even as the clouds had covered and as I neared the Golden Staircase rain began to fall the beauty around me was over whelming! I floated down the switch backs like a giddy child with fits of rain and thunderous booms of thunder. As I floated along I kept hearing the sounds of Pika and to my joy found one happily munching away on the trail. I stopped and began to whistle a gentle tune which quickly caught the ears of this little ball of cuteness. It seemed to enjoy the moment as I did until I had to say goodbye and continue to the bottom. Just above Deer Meadow I found a nice camp site which had such powerful energy. All around me I could feel it but not explain what it was about this location that made me feel so good. After enjoying a nice fire and eating dinner I had to retire this day and look to tomorrow.