Well it's been a while since I last posted, but I sure do have a lot to tell. So sit down, Friends.
Let's start with...it was my birthday. And wow was it glorious! And no, I didn't run. :( Jon instead took me out to a goat farm in Half Moon Bay. We also frolicked around some parks with friends, and ate at Sam's Chowder House. It was fannntastic.
We then went on a short hike up Montara Mountain in preparation for our big Mount Whitney trip that was coming up the following weekend. We decided that the trail was a bit too easy for backpacking. And that Jon sure loves the color Blue.
Fast forward to the next week, when we went to Mt. Whitney. This was quite a trek. We drove around eight hours to the portal, which was pretty exhausting for us since we don't travel very much. It was dark when we arrived, so we had to pitch our tent with just our headlamps (with the red lights to not disturb others).
It was a bit of a sleepless night since we were in the path of everyone going back and forth to use the bathrooms.
We woke up bright and early, thanks to Rini who was camping in her car nearby. She had gotten there the night before, and camped out all day to get us passes to go up Mount Whitney. Huge thanks to her for doing that, because it did not sound like a pleasant time.
Rini took us on a long 11 mile hike to Meysan Lakes to get acclimated. We hit over 11,000 feet elevation. We didn't intend on it being 11 miles long, it was supposed to be more like eight, but we got ambitious like usual. The hike was easy for the most part but there was a bit of scrambling to get to the lake where we had lunch. It was our own private lake though! Can't beat that.
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| Chilling by the lake. |
After our hike, we drove down to Lone Pine to meet up with Brandon (Rini's hubby) and have some dinner. The service was pretty awful, and it took us forever to our food. A headache began to twinge and I was wondering if it was from the altitude or just from me being sensitive since I was struggling with a few headaches during the week. I also completely lost my appetite by the time dinner came and only ended up taking a few nibbles of a gross tuna melt. Why did I order a tuna melt??
It was another sleepless night. The other campers in the area were incredibly disrespectful, and even dined at a picnic table next to us at 3am. My headache was pounding at this point, and my heart rate was much higher than normal. I began to feel panicky, and we had to take a walk to calm myself down.
Did I mention that Jon's car nearly blew up? Some piece broke when we were parked at the portal, and smoke was everywhere.
The next morning when we were supposed to be headed up Mt. Whitney, we had to wait while Jon got his car towed and fixed.
We met up with some of Rini and Brandon's good friends that came all the way from New Zealand. Talk about badasses. They had just finished hiking for five days around the Sierras, and this was just icing on top!
At last, around noon we got to hiking. Our bags were full, and I had one of the lightest at about 27lbs. Most of ours ranged between 27-35lbs.
I'll just cut to the chase, and say that it was beautiful and terrifying all at once. Brandon was a great leader and guided us up. I am afraid of heights so it was a lot of time spent beyond my comfort zone. I was also completely spent because I had taken in almost no calories at this point, and was really struggling with the lack of sleep.
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| Such an awesome view! |
I bonked, and I bonked harder than ever. I broke down into tears numerous times because I was so exhausted. If anyone even gave me a funny look I'd break out into ugly sobs. My lovely friends were quick to act, and immediately unpacked my things and divided it between them to let me hike weight free.
We hiked about four miles up...literally, nearly straight up. I have never gained so much elevation so quickly in my life! The terrain varied wildly, and we scrambled up scree, through streams, up slabs, and up cliffs.
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| Two badasses right here. |
Our camping destination was Iceberg Lake. We made it just in time before it got dark, and quickly pitched our tents. It was cold, and actually snowing at this point since we were at over 12,500 feet of elevation. That was impressive since down at the city below it was over 100 degrees.
We all ate dinner, where I tried to force some food down. I managed to get maybe 100-150 calories of food down, which was more than ever but still not enough.
Sleep was restless again. I was so freezing, and my heart was pounding. I even opened my bivvy, which is an emergency sleep sack, so that it would provide some extra warmth in my sleeping bag. Mind you, I also had pants, and a thermal shirt, and three jackets on.
I've never wanted it to be morning so bad, just so I could not lay there and stare at nothing.
The following morning, most of the crew got up to get breakfast and summit Whitney. Rini graciously stayed behind to keep an eye on me, as I was definitely not fit enough to continue. I was really disappointed with myself, but mostly humiliated for having my uncontrollable sobfest, and everyone concerned about my well being.
My only goal at this point was to see a marmot. After only a short walk, we quickly found some. SO FREAKING CUTE.
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| Marmot sighting! |
I can't thank the crew enough honestly, but especially want to thank Rini for being such an awesome friend. She really helped us on our first camping trip, and endured a lot of rookie mistakes. Her and her husband were such excellent and patient guides.
Jon and the group came back down, and had so many stories to tell. They shared them while we sat around drinking coffee and beer. I was living on Tailwind and candy at this point since it was the only thing I could seem to eat.
Before we went down, Jon suggested a group shot at camp. Then he mentioned that Brandon should show me the video they took at the top.
Enter more tears. It ended up being a proposal! Before I knew it, he was down on one knee with a carefully crafted origami tomato (that I promptly crushed in my hands in my fatigued delirious state) and a sparkly ring. I said yes, and everyone cheered.
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| Photo Credits: Brandon Riza |
This post is already too long, so I'll just say that the way down was much easier than the way up. We had a celebratory dinner afterward, where I still couldn't find my appetite, and then we drove back over 8 hours into the night back home. It was 2:30 and I can genuinely say that the driving with that fatigue was not smart. Anywho, enjoy the pretty pictures.
And in case you were wondering if I still run...I just signed up for the
North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Miler with Rini. :| There is definitely something wrong with us. Next post coming soon!
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| To the side was basically a sheer cliff. :| No joke. |
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| One of the sketchier parts that I had the pleasure of doing. |
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| Swollen fingers - now the ring is too big! |
