Stats

Start: Dorothy Lake – Mile 996.4
End: Bridgeport – Mile 1016.9
Elevation Max: 10,781
Elevation Min: 9,531
Elevation Change: 4.249 up & 4,103 down
Average Heart Rate: 122
Walking Time: 6 hrs 44 minutes
Date: 6/13/2022

The Walk

I might have slept two hours. I woke up at 4:30 with snot all over. What to do with a runny nose in a tent? Normally I don’t think twice about using my sleeve, but it wears on you in the middle of the night.

I tried to sleep for a few more minutes and gave up at 5:30. I felt worse this morning with 20 tough miles to go. A lot of elevation and I needed to climb over Sonora Pass. But it was possible. I did 27 miles yesterday and knew I could do 20 miles today.

I packed up my gear. My clothes were wet from the day before. Wet clothes combined with weather just above freezing set a shitty mood for the morning. Especially my wet shoes. For a minute I considered wearing my clean sleep socks, but realized it would be useless with my soaking wet and a little bit frozen shoes.

Welp. Might as well get going. On the bright side no mosquitos were around. I put on crusty socks, pulled my shoes on, and headed out. The trail was still wet, but I could see the sun. It was peaking over the mountain tops as I started the day and I was thankful for the rays of direct sunlight I got. Another rainy day may have broken my spirit.

I took one last look back at Dorothy Lake. It was gleaming with the morning rays and I felt odd. For the first time on my hike I didn’t enjoy it. I was out here feeling like crap and just trying to get done with the day.

I acknowledged it and pushed on. Within an hour I was knee deep in a river crossing. And the only thing on my mind was putting in miles. I quickly got over Dorothy Pass and the mile of snow / slick rocks from the night before. Then started a descent down to walker meadows.

I wasn’t hungry but ate a few more bars. Mile 1,000 came and went without any celebration. I’m happy to have passed it, but still have a long ways to go. I’ll celebrate at the halfway point! I focused on cruising through the rest of the downhill and making good time. This was the easy part of the day.

Soon I was in walker meadows. 14 miles left and 2,500 feet to climb. The last 8 miles were high in elevation, between 10,000 and 11,000 feet. Thankfully my body is accustomed to the altitude, but it still takes extra energy. Energy I didn’t have.

My only thought was to keep going as fast as possible while I could. I needed to catch a 30 mile hitch from the road and had no idea which hotel I would stay at. I hadn’t had cell service in days.

I made good time climbing up the pass. Including a steep climb up to Levitt Trail Junction at 10,500 feet. This stretch had steep snow fields with a long ways to slide down. I didn’t put in microspikes because the snow was fairly slushy. With the footprints I could get a decent grip and felt pretty safe as I crossed.

I made it up and took a minute to appreciate the views. 8 miles left! As I crossed over the ridge wind blasted me. It got quite cold and I ended up stopping to put on my puffy. It must have been 30 mph. Not exactly what I wanted for the next 8 miles. But I had to keep moving.

I ate another bar. My throat was sore and I had no appetite. My body was weaker than normal, but my legs felt okay. The 1,000+ miles of walking has turned them into machines, even without fuel.

I walked through wind and snow the next 5 miles to get over Sonora Pass. It was a unique pass. Most passses you climbed up then down right away. But this one you stayed on the ridge for miles. On a different day I would have really enjoyed it. But today I just wanted it to be finished.

Finally I got to the descent. 2.5 miles left. There werr some sketchy steep snow walks and I saw someone’s trekking pole had fallen. I focused and made it across. When I got through the sketchy part I went zombie mode and finished the rest. I could see the road and saw a few cars drive by. A hitch would be possible!

The rest of the descent went quickly and I was at the road around 2:30. Two days in a row without taking a break. Not a receipe for success, but it’s what I needed to do.

I waited for an hour. Eventually a guy pulled over and gave me a ride. He was headed to mammoth. On the way down the mountain my ears wouldn’t pop. It had never happened before. I got to the Bridgeport inn and got my room. But my left ear still wouldn’t pop. I’m fact it didn’t pop all night.

I went to the store, got food and went straight back to the motel. I was exhausted, filled up with cold meds and thankful to be there. I went to bed with an ear that still hadn’t popped. Hopefully it will be back to normal in the morning.