Finally! It is Wednesday evening and I am actually writing today’s entry on the same day, after staying two days behind since arriving at Kennedy Meadows. Last night before going to sleep, we all took a guess as to the low temperature for this morning. None of us was correct as we all guessed numbers in the 20’s since we were camped so high. But since we were more on the mountain side rather than on a valley floor, the temperature actually bottomed out at 33, which is still cold for first morning of summer! And I have never camped in snow on the first day of summer, either.
I was first out of camp this morning and only made it 100 yards up the mountain back to the PCT before I began hyperventilating. I stopped and calmed myself down before taking another step. Batteries Included caught up to me after half a mile and we walked together, ascending to the Sequoia National Park border where we hiked up and over a large snow wall. Up and over, the views across the expanse of large open high meadows with jagged snow covered peaks all around was magnificent, just as the Ansel Adams photos, except now in real life. The next 5.8 miles were almost all descending and easy hiking, except for occasional snow drifts across the trail.
Our group of six all rejoined at Rock Creek crossing where the stream was a raging, whitewater torrent of snow melt. Batteries led us upstream where a large tree had fallen on a high rock on the other side. We gingerly crossed. All but Bloody Knuckles had arrived at the crossing, so Batteries and Pepper Jack waited while Freight Train, Intruder and I all hiked on. The next 1.5 miles was a very steep climb in the tradition of the AT in Maine. I labored hard making the climb and felt as though I was having to almost stop with each step, but once up to the creek crossing, I checked my watch and was pleasantly surprised to see that I still was hiking at 2.7mph.
All six of us stopped at the creek for lunch. Batteries and Intruder and I washed some clothes and faces, heads, legs and feet in the ice cold water. It was warm in the sun where we laid our clothes to dry. The ladies also did some laundry and Freight Train took a nap in the sand/dirt as he often does when we take a break. After lunch we climbed another steep mile, after which we had a candy bar break and spent some time talking to a trail crew working on trail maintenance and improvements. We had hiked on nearly a half mile after the break when I realized I had left my sunglasses back at the break point. Freight Train volunteered to watch my pack while I retrieved the glasses, a very important piece of gear with all the snow reflected radiation we will face over the next 150 miles.
Soon we arrived at the junction to Crabtree Meadows. Another 1.2 miles in late afternoon brought us to the Meadows where bear boxes are located for food storage. Remy and Heather and a guy named Tyvek were relaxing by the bear box when we arrived. Tyvek had been to the summit of Mt. Whitney and shared his story of spending the night up top in cold and high winds, losing his two sleeping mattresses this morning when the wind picked them up and carried them away. Soon four more thru-hikers arrived while we were cooking dinner in the meadow. We made a group decision after listening to Tyvek, then to Hiker Bum (Brian, from Oregon) tell us that camping options 2.7 miles up at Guitar Lake were slim and none due to snowpack and high winds.
We opted to stay at Crabtree Meadows for the night. So the six of us are here with 5 other thru-hikers. All but Bloody Knuckles and Intruder plan to get up at 6am tomorrow morning for the hike 3,000 feet up to the summit of Mt. Whitney, highest mountain in the lower 48 states. I am excited and nervous about tomorrow morning’s climb and return descent. But my crampons and ice axe are ready and tomorrow should be truly an adventure to remember. Time for bed. We’re all cowboy camping tonight (too cold for mosquitoes!). My hands are freezing as I write.
Today’s weather: sunny, low 33, high 65. Today’s mileage: 13.6; cumulative mileage: 766.3.
