After a great night’s sleep at the Independence Courthouse Motel we were packing up and getting ready to go back into the High Sierras. Just before 8:30am several of us walked to the post office to send out postcards and journals and other mail. Back at the motel, some trail angels (a retired couple, 68 and 70, who spend their leisure time backpacking and climbing high peaks) were getting their van ready to shuttle us the 17 miles back to the trailhead. There were 12 of us who needed a ride, so they took the first six who were ready on the first shuttle. Gloves, Pepper Jack, Bloody Knuckles, Jackhammer, Intruder and I all piled in the back of the van, along with our backpacks.
The ride was gentle and slow up the curvy road and at 9:20 we were back at the trailhead with a 2,500 foot climb through snow fields the last 1,000 feet up to get up and over Kearsarge Pass, back into the heart of the Sierras. I didn’t feel well once we got to the trailhead and while hiking along I started feeling sick (nauseous, dizzy, weak). I plodded along and for the first time wondered if I would make it to Canada, let alone through the rest of the rugged Sierras. I contemplated turning around to go back to Independence and even thought about quitting. A lot of my thoughts were centered around not being a burden on our hiking group.
After I had climbed 1,500 feet I waited on the others who had ridden up with me in the van, as I had started hiking immediately once we got out of the van to get a little head start. We were in snow fields once they caught up and we had to do some bushwhacking through the snow, straight up the steep mountainside to get to bare switchbacks of the trail. Then we hit a long stretch of snow fields while ascending several hundred yards. Just before I sluggishly reached the top of the pass, the group from the second shuttle almost caught up to me. By then I was really feeling sick, and on the ensuing descent and even on level trail, my dizziness and weakness was causing me to stumble on rocks as I hiked.
Once we reached the junction of the side trail back to the PCT/JMT I told my fellow hikers of my situation and they said they would stay with me while we began a long, steep ascent to go over Glenn Pass. I labored for a couple miles, not wanting to burden the group, and I was actually doing better on the snow where I could place my foot in the step of the hiker in front of me than on clear trail. At one point, around 3:30pm, I said to Bloody Knuckles while we were crossing a snow field, that I felt so disoriented that I wasn’t sure where the foot steps went. She convinced me to stop and sit down and there was general concern from my whole group of hiking buddies.
Intruder prepared me some emergency Vitamin C drink and I sat for awhile. The group and I discussed my symptoms and decided that the greatest likelihood of my trouble was the change in elevation from 4,000 feet in Independence back to 11,200 feet where we were when the group made me sit down. After another 20 minutes I got back up, still felt dizzy, and we decided that I didn’t need to go any farther today. So at 4pm we stopped short of the pass, which is very steep from where we are tonight to the top and very steep on the other side.
Batteries and Intruder took an afternoon hike farther up the mountain to take a look at the pass. Freight Train and Pepper Jack climbed up to a steep snow field and practiced self arresting with their ice axes. Bloody Knuckles sat with me while I rested in the sun and then we began cooking dinner. I didn’t feel like eating, but did anyway, then found myself a little flat spot, removed several rocks to make it cozy, then put out my sleeping bag for the night. Intruder and Batteries came back down and all six of us sat together as they cooked and ate dinner. Pepper Jack had retrieved extra water so I could filter from camp and Batteries prepared some Aqua Mira (purification chemical) for me for another liter of water. Intruder had some peppermint tea bags and Bloody Knuckles boiled water and made me tea to help settle my stomach.
Basically I was pampered and parented this afternoon and evening by my wonderful trail buddies who have accepted and embraced me into their hiking group since day one out of Kennedy Meadows. Hopefully tomorrow morning I’ll wake up feeling better and will be acclimated to the high elevation. For now, I am thankful for the kindness and care of good new friends. 8:50pm, time for sleep.
Today’s weather: sunny, high 70 once on trail. Today’s non-PCT miles: 9.0. Today’s PCT miles: .8; cumulative miles 791.0.
