I am beat!

Sunday, July 23

Day 15

First tree stand below Forester Pass to Upper Crabtree meadow

~10 miles

“The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.”

`J.R.R. Tolkien

I awoke up and got at 6 AM to answer the call nature and was greeted by flat gray sky. Not a good promise for the day. I crawled back in the sleeping bag for another half hour or so then finally arose a little after 7 a.m. Even after a good night’s sleep I awoke very tired today.

The last two days of big miles has caught up with my body today. It was all I could do to make it here this afternoon. Both legs felt like lead all day. I arrived into camp at 1 o'clock, put the temp tend up and the rested inside for two hours. I'm feeling a little better now, but not much stronger. I knew I had a relatively short day to make it to Guitar Lake today, 11 miles, so I slept in the took my time getting on the trail. I finally left camp at 8 a.m. Ten minutes later Z came up behind me, and another 10 minutes we had made James' camp. As all three of us headed out I told him not to wait for me as I already knew I was beat.

For some reason I thought this was going to be an easy day. Turns out I was wrong! It probably would not have been that bad if I was in my usual condition. The trail roller coastered today going up-and-down, up-and-down. I think I am finally to the point with only ups left to go to Whitney. I was surprised when I made it to the Big Horn Plateau. I did not think I would hit it so early in the day. It was not as large as it as I had imagined either. But it was fairly desolate. However, it did give me my first great view of Mount Whitney.

Mt Whitney

Cloud cover and a breeze kept hiking cool today. Everyone says we are in for scattered rain the next two days. Great! Hoping I can get a break in the weather and be able to summit Whitney. I will not risk it if the weather looks iffy. I briefly met up with James and Z right after the Plateau. They're planning to head to some other like a little higher up and off the trail from Guitar Lake, then will zero there tomorrow. This will probably last time that I actually get to see them on the trail.

After a quick break I continued along the roller coaster ride. Light rain sent me in the full raingear for the rest of my hiking day. Rain went from light sprinkles to a heavy drizzle. I even had small hail for about five minutes.

By this time my plan for the day begin to change. I was just hoping to make it to Crabtree Meadow and the rest the remainder of the day. Then I figured I'd leave for Whitney from here or just go up to Guitar Lake and summit on Tuesday. I'm still not sure what plan I will follow. It all depends on how my legs feel in the morning.

After my nap I crossed the street to check out the meadow area. There are nice campsites over there and seems to be a number of tents set up. There is even an open air toilet. That's right no squatting! Bring your own TP. I walked up to see the ranger’s cabin, absolutely beautiful. I ran into Don who I had met with Karen at the Reno airport at the cabin. Both summited Mt Whitney today. She went down to Lone Pine, and he turned around to do the trail again. When he left me he was still going to try and get another 5 miles in today. Wow! Go man go!

It was still only 4 o'clock and I toyed with the idea of packing up and hiking up to Guitar Lake. But the small hill I had to climb to get back to my tent, put an end to that thought. My legs were still beat. Instead I sorted through by bear can and prepped for dinner and food for tomorrow. I still have food left for one extra day if I decide not to go past Guitar Lake tomorrow. The weather will determine what I do, along with my legs. I am hoping that today's short day will give them a break; they need to feel better tomorrow. I also heard that there is great fishing at Guitar Lake.

Evening -

I just got back from visiting the “luxury” toilet and into the tent when the rain started. Heavier than earlier. Maybe it will rain itself out tonight. I can only hope. The wind has also picked up a bit too, and the temperature feels like it is dropped 5 to 10°. Looks like I am in for the night. Maybe I will treat myself to a song or two on the iPhone before turning in for the night. My watch is set for 5 a.m. Let's hope the weather is good!