Stats

Start: Whitney Creek – Mile 766.3
End: Tyndall Creek – Mile 774.7
Elevation Max: 14,505
Elevation Min: 10,498
Elevation Change: 6,263 up & 6,269 down
Average Heart Rate: 128
Walking Time: 7 hrs 54 minutes
Date: 5/20/2022

The Walk

Woke up at 12:40. 2.5 hours of sleep. My bag was packed up from the day before. So I threw the rest of my gear into Water Baby’s tent and headed out. It was a chilly morning. Everyone else left 10 minutes earlier. So Jack rabbit and I started the hike.

It was 8 miles with 3k-ish elevation gain. A lot of climbing. I looked up and saw a beautiful night sky. Adrenaline fuels the morning when I wake up this early and start walking. It’s new and fresh since I don’t often walk at night.

We hiked by headlamp for a few miles of mild elevation gain. The miles went by quick. It was pitch black. I had no idea what was around. We were headed for sunrise, so we couldn’t see any views on the way.

As we climbed the breeze got stronger and colder. The wind advisory was getting real. It was tiring, but I kept plugging away. We heard running water and got some freezing cold water at a lake. Then kept moving. We made it to the switchbacks. That’s where the trail starts to climb up the mountain and gets steep.

About halfway up the rocky switchbacks we caught up to water baby and grahm. Grahm and I kept climbing while Jack rabbit and water baby took a short break.

The climb was rocky and we were hoping around. The energy was high even as the morning got more fridges. Apparently the wind advisory was no joke. A gap in the mountain must have been 30-40 mph winds ripping though. My fingers were frozen from snapping pictures.

Every few minutes I’d look up at the starts or take a moment to appreciate what we were doing. Climbing the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states! Wild!

About 4am we made it to the top! As the reality set in I realized how freezing it was. Wind was blowing strong enough to knock you off balance. But we made it! There was a litttle hut that we ran behind. It blocked the wind pretty well. Alaska was already there! I was the second person on top of the Mountain and was excited to see her.

I took off my shoes and got into my sleeping bag as fast as possible. We huddled up close and warmed up. Jack rabbit and the rest of the crew came up and piled in. Eventually we had 7-8 hikers piled up for warmth.

We could see the morning glow. The brightness befor me the sunrise. The sunrise was at 5:22 and 10 minutes before water baby went out to the summit. To hide behind a rock and check out the view.

I was finally warm, but decided to try the same. I got up with no shoes and hopped over. The wind caught my sleeping bag and almost pulled it away from me. I had to be careful! I squeezed it into a ball and kept moving.

A few hikers were huddled behind a rock with a pretty good view. But I wanted a better view. I hopped over rocks to the edge of the mountain and saw a rock shelf seat. I called over and water baby joined. We were on the edge of the mountain! It was cold but not too windy. It was the best spot!

We watched the sunrise for 20 minutes. I snapped a few more photos and ran back to the pile of hikers.

I stayed up there for a few hours until the sun came up and warmed a few degrees. But it was still flipping windy. I grabbed a summit photo and headed down the mountains.

The view was beautiful. I hadn’t seen anything on the way up because it was night. So many mountain peaks and views with lakes. I marveled as I passed through the mountain gaps and walked down the switchbacks.

As I descended, the wind died down and I warmed up. At the bottom I passed a small lake and decided to jump in. I jumped in and this one didn’t quite take my breath away. But hey, 3 alpine lake plunged in 3 days. Why not?

After that I laid in the soft grass and warmed up with a few other hikers. A few hours later I walked back to the campsite for lunch and rest. We hung out until 3 trying to nap. Then I decided to head out and keep walking.

I didn’t get any rest and I knew if I got farther today I could sleep in. Tomorrow was a big day. Forester pass, the highest point on the PCT. We had 11ish miles to go. Quest and I decided to do 7 miles so we’d be close for the climb in the morning.

We headed out and walked and chatted the whole hike. It was a beautiful, relaxing walk through the Sierra mountains. I was tired, but the hike wasn’t too taxing. 5 miles in we stopped for lunch and a deer casually ate next to us. It wasn’t bothered at all by us. It ate and crept closer for the next 20 minutes.

Then we headed out for the last two miles of the day. We walked past a beautiful mountaintop filed with rocks. A lot of marmots lived here and I saw a few. It was a landscape I hadn’t seen all trip! And was also framed by towering, jagged mountains. Snow capped and beautiful.

We made it to camp and saw water baby. Set up and had a dinner then passed out. Tomorrow would be the first major pass and the highest point in the PCT. We planned for one more big day of hiking then an easy day into town. I’m excited for what’s ahead. And so tired that I’ll fall asleep in 2 minutes.