Today we headed back into the hills to begin our ascent of Whitney, the highest peek in the contiguous United States. Our checkout time out of the Dow Motel was noon so we had some time to kill before we hit the trail also we were just far enough away from the Whitney access trail to prevent us from summitting tomorrow. Therefore we just needed to cover a few trail miles plus the 2.5 miles to the trail.
In the morning I caught up on my blogging until Sherpa was awake. Then Sherpa met me in the hotel lobby we went to the Lone Star Bistro for breakfast while we waited on the post office to open up. At 9:30 we grabbed our packages which included the ice axe our friends Chuck Drew and Evan Horst so graciously sent to us. We also got a gift package from Kaleigh and Gretchen with new socks!
We went back to the room, prepped our bags, and checked out. Yote and 2.Toe joined us back at the cafe and we just chatted and downloaded movies for the road. Around 1 we began movements towards getting a ride to the trail we were apprehensive about the hitch back up Whitney Portal road because it climbs 6,000 feet to a Horseshoe Meadow campground.
Our fears, as is often the case, were unfounded. We first tried to gather enough people to pay for a ride from a Elevation Outfitters driver but the driver was taking so long so we decided to face the 100 degree heat and hitch. Of course we got a ride in 5 minutes. I have many lessons still to learn on this trail!
Our kind driver was an avid hiker and often takes PCT hikers to the trailhead. We arrived and found many hikers lounging and snacking. We wanted to get a few miles in so we started hiking right away. The meadow was so beautiful it was an enjoyable first mile or so then a hard push up to Trail Pass.
After Trail Pass we started hitting our first big patches of snow and I was getting really excited. I am maybe different than many other hikers in that I look forward to the wintery parts of our adventure. The snow, steep mountains, and stream crossings seem like a big playground to me and exactly embody the types of adventures I seek out in my off trail life. As always Sherpa has more nuanced feelings about the challenges ahead.
Soon we reached Chicken Springs Lake and I spied a flat dry spot off of the snow and away from the trail so the four of us decided to pitch camp early. We were all excited about being able to turn in early having only done a few miles and a short day ahead tomorrow to reach the base of Whitney. I looked at Sherpa and asked her if she wanted to cowboy camp. She said yes and at that very moment a cloud hanging above rumbled and cracked. “Well I guess not. ” Sherpa said.
We set up our tent and all ate dinner together and chatted. It was very pleasant.
After dinner we got into bed and slept like little hiker babies.
These pictures were breathtaking and so much different than the others. Enjoy the snow and be safe.
love u big