Week 14: Kennedy Meadows to Mt Whitney

 Day 94 ( July 3 ) Sometimes being late is good

I got a late start because it took a long time to recharge my electronics.  I left Kennedy Meadows at 1 PM. There were two hikers who spent the night and three others that came in from Grumpy Bear's Resort. The 3 from Grumpy's started hiking before I did, but I was able to catch up to them before we reached the trail ( Kennedy Meadows is 0.5 miles from the trail ).

 They are Doug, Blaine, and Greg. They were happy to accept me into their group. Greg had hiked the trail from the border. Doug and Blaine are from Humboldt County on the coast and are hiking a short section of the PCT.

We made good time initially as the trail passed through fairly flat ground.

As the trail got steeper, Doug started having problems with leg cramps. I stayed with him out of principle,  just to make sure he was OK. We finally reached camp 10.5 miles down the trail at dark.

We quickly set up camp, cooked our meals and called it a day. I slept in my sleeping bag and sleeping bag liner, but my toes got a little cold.

Day 95: Knights of the Middle Ages

We got a late start ( 8:45 ), but made fairly good time to the bridge over the South Fork of the Kern River.

As we filtered water from the river we wondered whether the cows nearby ( and the stuff they dropped ) made it unsafe to drink

and how they got the bridge pieces to the river as there are no roads. Fortunately, the water was safe to drink after it was filtered. We took a rest break and watched the Barn ( or as Doug called them: Bridge ) Swallows swooping in and out of their nests under the bridge.

Doug had a Junco for company as he filtered his water and I was buzzed by a Hummingbird.  I have been buzzed by more Hummingbirds during this hike than I have in all my years of birding. I don't know why,  maybe they think I'm sweet. 

The next 6 miles were steep and hard. Doug is doing better today, but is still a little sore. A comment I heard prompted me to call our group "The Knights of The Middle Ages" because we are all ( more or less ) middle-aged. Doug is 61, I am 58, Greg is 48 and Blaine is 37. 

As we were resting on a steep uphill, we were passed by Ella ( aka Red Riding Hood). She had tried to do an FKT ( Fastest Known Time), but left the trail due to injury. She is still trying to hike the trail in 75 days.

A few miles before camp, Doug insisted that the rest of us go ahead, saying he would catch up. As we hiked on,  Greg ( Sir Gregory )

found a very expensive Arc'teryx jacket ( worth about $200 ) on the side of the trail. Thinking it belonged to someone, he picked it up. A short while later, he did did our first Knightly deed by returning it to it's owner, man who was struggling more than Doug was. Doug is having problems due to the elevation change. Humboldt County is at sea level ( or very close to it ) and we are hiking at elevations of 8000 feet or more and it's hard for the body to adjust, especially when you are hiking with a 35 pound pack.

Greg. Blaine and I made it to camp at about 6:30, but Doug never showed. Blaine and I went back about half a mile at sunset but didn't see him. Hopefully he's OK and camping at a different site. This time I will sleep with warmer socks.

Day 96: How did these places get their names 

Greg, Blaine and I were up and packed at 8 AM. A passing hiker told us he had seen Doug about a mile behind on the trail. Doug arrived at 9 and explained that he thought that we had camped somewhere else and that he might have passed us. He also told us that he had a close encounter with a bear cub but didn't see the mother. We left camp at 9:15 and made good time downhill to " Death Canyon Creek ", where we stopped for water. I will admit, the water at the creek looked nasty ( and possibly deadly if drunk unfiltered ), so Doug, Blaine and I went upstream to the spring that is the source for the creek. The spring water was good, coming straight from the rock.  We were almost tempted to drink it unfiltered,  but decided not to. We weren't the only ones who liked the water. As we filled our bottles several Mountain Chickadees, Northern Juncos ( Oregon Race ) and a few Hummingbirds flitted in and out to get a drink. Greg decided to hike ahead. After a relaxing lunch, we resumed our hike.

A few miles up the trail, we passed "Poison Meadow Spring", but because we had enough water we didn't have to try our luck. Doug did well the first few miles,  but the steep grades at the end wore him out.

Looking down at Owen's Valley

You are probably wondering why Blaine isn't suffering. Yes, the fact that he is younger has something to do with it, but mostly it's because he trained by running 15 miles a day with a 40 pound vest. Doug trained by hiking with a 30 pound pack and unfortunately he wasn't able to train as much as he wanted. We finally reached camp in at 5:45. During the last push to camp, a Navy F-35 flew overhead.

Day 97 : What is with the names ?

Doug, Blaine and I  got an early ( for us ) start and were on the trail at 7:20.

We made good time at first, making it to Diaz Creek ( named for Rafael and Eleuterio Diaz a pair of local  Ranchers in the 1860s. )

As we hiked from the creek back to the trail, a pair of Navy F - 18s flew overhead.  We continued to make good time, reaching Trail Pass ( what a name: a pass named for the fact that a trail runs through it  ). We stopped for lunch and a group photo at 1:30. 

After lunch at Trail Pass, we continued on towards Chicken Spring Lake ( I'm not making it up, that is the actual name of the lake ). The first two miles went OK, but the last three were hard on Doug. He was stopping every 50 to 100 feet to catch his breath. 

We finally reached the lake at about 6 and set up camp.

After setting up camp and having dinner, Doug and Blaine asked to have a talk.  Doug is getting better, but he's concerned about how his cardiovascular system will function at 13,000+ feet. Blaine has been having bad headaches and an erratic heartbeat, both of which are signs of altitude sickness which can strike anyone anytime they are above 10,000 feet. They told me they would see how they felt in the morning.  To be honest, I am thinking I will be hiking on alone. Oh well, it was good to have company for a while. 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I didn't see a Chicken or a Spring at Chicken Spring Lake. I will admit, the lack of a stream flowing into the lake means it is probably spring fed.

Day 98

Doug and Blaine are feeling better this morning after a good night's sleep, so we hiked on. I went down to the shore and photographed the lake and the reflections in the lake while Doug and Blaine slept it. 

We finally left camp at 10 AM, which was very late, even for us. Before we left, Doug and Blaine gave me enough food to make it to Kearsarge Pass ( before I  met them, I  only had enough food to get to Trail Pass, as I had planned on going to town from there to resupply). 

We didn't push too hard because we only planned on hiking to Rock Creek Camp. The first  two miles were a 600 foot climb from Chicken Spring Lake ( I still didn't see a chicken. Maybe it chickened out ? ). At Noon we entered Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks, where all food MUST be stored in Bear Cannisters ( or Bear Cans for short ). 

At 3 PM. We met our first Park Ranger. Matt Zussman. Matt has been a Park Ranger for 13 seasons.

At first all he asked ( quietly and deferentially ) for was our names,  but we quickly and happily showed him our permits ( which we are required to do ). After that we had a pleasant 10 minute chat with him and he gave us lots of good information.  I gather he gets a LOT of grief from prople who feel entitled to do whatever they want.

PLEASE: For the Love of God, and a favor to me, if you ever visit a National Park and you meet a Park Ranger be nice and kind to them. They are overworked, underpaid and stretched so thin you can see daylight through them. At Midnight on a cloudy day. 

We made it to Rock Creek Camp around 4 and set up our tents. We all soaked our feet in the stre and I  rinsed out ( no soap in the creek thank you ) my socks and underwear.  Hopefully they will be dry by morning. After dinner I  walked out into a meadow to photograph the evening light on the nearby mountains.

  As I walked out into the meadow, I startled a pair of browsing Mule Deer. Later on, I was able to get some photos of them browsing near camp.

My "Knightly duty" was removing some trash ( including a leaking rusty C cell battery ). I also showed Doug how to send and receive messages via his Garmin Inreach  ( Blaine doesn't have one )

Day 99: To the base of Mt. Whitney

We took it easy today, as we were only hiking 7 miles to Crabtree Meadow so Blaine and I can hike up to Whitney Summit for sunrise tomorrow.  We left camp at 9:30, making our first stream crossing of any significance as we left. After crossing Rock Creek, we did a 1.2 mile, 1,000 foot climb.

 As we rested at the top of the climb, we were joined by a group we would call "The Gang of 4" ( three guys, one of whom is a guide, and a young lady ) and Purple Rain. I was very surprised to see Purple Rain, as I thought she would be at least a day ahead of us. She left Kennedy Meadows almost a day and a half ahead of us. It turns out she made the mistake of taking 2 Zero days in Lone Pine. Zero days are good and sometimes they are essential, but if you take two or more in a row you lose your trail legs, which slows you down a lot in the mountains. Doug commented that he thought she was in a lot of pain.

We continued on, reaching Crabtree Meadow at 3 PM and set up camp. After setting up camp and having dinner. Doug and Blaine told me that they plan to leave the trail when we cross Kearsarge Pass.  BUMMER ! MAJOR BUMMER !! This has been the best 6 days of my hike. I will really miss them. They hope to get a ride to Grumpy Bear's at Kennedy Meadows to pick up Blaine's car so they can take me to Bishop for resupply and back to the trail.  Blaine and I  need to sleep this evening as we plan to start our hike up Mount Whitney at 10:30 PM.

Day 100: To the top of the Lower 48

I didn't get much sleep. I am feeling a little bit of ( altitude? ) pressure and a little anxious.  Hopefully it will be a good hike. Blaine and I  are only taking some food, water,  rain jackets and my camera. Doug is staying behind to watch the rest of our gear.

Blaine and I left camp at about 10:15 PM and made good time for the first 4 or 5 miles ( out of 8 total ). At mile 5, the trail started to get steep. At mile 6, we switched to the Whitney Summit trail and started the final 1.9 mile push to the summit. Most of the Whitney Summit trail has you either scrambling and/ or jumping from rock to rock to rock, or hiking a trail of shifting rock. Neither of which is fun in the dark. Halfway up the summit, we stopped for a few minutes to get out of the wind.

 Let me tell you it was COLD !! Oh my God was it cold ! I had on a long sleeved hoodie, an insulated hoodie over that and a rain jacket over that and I was still COLD !! My advice, for anyone wanting to hike up Mount Whitney ( the views are gorgeous) is to either hike up for a mid day view ( check the weather forecast: Thunderstorms can pop up anytime on the afternoon) or better yet, hike up for the sunset views. Either way it will be warmer than sunrise. Two interesting facts about Mt. Whitney.

1. It is the highest point in the Lower 48 states and the lowest point in all  of North America,  Death Valley, is only 82 miles to the East Southeast.

2. Mt Whitney has one of mildest, sunniest climates of any mountain in the world.

We reached the summit at about 4:20 and took what shelter we could in the hut at the top. It wasn't much. The door was missing and there was snow on the floor. As soon as the sun came up, I went outside and took some sunrise photos. Then we took photos of each other holding the Mount Whitney sign and skedaddled down the mountain. 

As we descended we encountered several groups and couples totaling maybe 30 people climbing to the summit. About 2/3 of the way down, we spoke with Christine Googh ( I might have the last name spelled wrong). When I suggested that a door on the hut might be nice, she told me ( nicely and politely ) a few things.

1. The hut is not intended as a shelter ( in fact there is a sign stating: Don't use the hut as a shelter during a thunderstorm ( it has a metal roof ).

2. Because it is a Historical Building, "modifying" it ( to include replacing a door that used to be there ) requires a TON of paperwork. 

3. Airlifting a door up the mountain is very expensive.

4. Day hikers have removed and used the last 15 doors the Park Service installed as firewood.

NEVER MIND !!

About halfway back to camp, we met Sir Gregory, who was going to hike up Whitney. Closer to camp, we met Doug, who was hiking to Guitar Lake to take photos. Blaine and I made it back to camp at 10 AM, cooked a meal and crashed.