Climbing is much more fun with nice views. Wow. The downside to having to use a bear can is that drinking coffee and eating breakfast in bed is a little more difficult than in the desert. So I packed up my tent and joined Jug for breakfast. This morning I made protein, chocolate, peanut butter, banana, oatmeal, and coffee. I’ll have to look into the Kodiak Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal because they are quickly becoming my favorites.
We had a nice walk through the meadow before starting climb 1 of 2 for the day. The first climb didn’t seem so bad to me. I noticed the extra weight on my hips, but I felt strong. At the top, Rascal, Straight Up, Jug and I met up and hiked together. We took a nice lunch break and talked logistics for the next few days.
Our goal is to get to Bishop in 6 days but I’m a little worried. After today we have 73.5 miles to Onion Valley Campground, including a side mission to Mount Whitney. Over 4 days, the average is 18.4 miles per day, but logistically it can be difficult. We have 2 more days to Crabtree Meadow, 1 day to Mt. Whitney, which leaves us 1 day to overcome both Forester Pass and Kearsarge Pass. That last day may need to be split up, meaning we’ll arrive at camp on Friday morning. It’s not the end of the world, but we will have to be aware of our diet. I may need to split one of my dehydrated meals in half to have enough for dinners and save some of my snacks.
Our second climb of the day was much less fun. I moved slowly. I tried listening to a podcast and then playing music to cheer myself up. Although slow, I finally made it to the top where I found Jug taking a break. We ran into a broker with a PCTA shield who was checking permits. I dug mine into the bottom of my backpack and listened to their latest trail update. He said Forester Pass has some tricky boot marks in the snow, so you have to watch out for them. But otherwise, the trail is in safe and passable condition.
Rascal and Straight Up caught up to us and the 4 of us walked together the last few kilometers to camp. We set up next to a stream and had a quick dinner before retiring to our tents as soon as possible. The only drawback of the mountains is the mosquitoes. Plus, after today’s climbs I’m exhausted. I might fall asleep before the sun sets.
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