Now entering SEKI NP – The Trek

We are up here. Today we reach just 11,500 feet in altitude.

Last night I was so warm and cozy. I was nervous about the cold nights in the mountains, but so far we’ve been lucky and my team is pretty warm.

Straight Up, Rascal, Jug and I walked together for much of the day. I like to go backwards, and from this perspective we looked like a line of ducklings walking through the forest. The views today were stunning. We caught glimpses of snow-capped mountains and even thought Mount Whitney itself came into view.

Around noon we reached Cottonwood Pass, which leads to the town of Lone Pine. This was our last rescue point before Kearsarge Pass. We had a group discussion about our food as a group and whether we had enough to keep us going. Unfortunately, Rascal was short of food. She didn’t want to put herself or our group in a dangerous situation, especially at the elevations we will reach, so she decided to take the exit. We’re sad she won’t do this section with us, but we’re proud of her for making a smart decision.

After a slightly sad see you later, the three of us walked to Chicken Spring Lake. Some people jumped, but I lay down on a rock to sunbathe before the clouds appeared. There was a team of about 15 hikers at the lake. We all aimed to camp about 4.5 miles beyond the lake. In the last section I began to feel the height. Nothing more than a very slight headache and difficulty breathing on the way up. Good reminder to drink more water than you normally would. Everything was fine when I got to camp, I drank some more water and ate a nice dinner (Mac’s pizza again!).

The lake crew arrived a little after us. It’s a fun group! I’m glad we’re all at a similar pace. I believe we will all walk through Whitney together. I’m equal parts excited and nervous.

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