Day 25

Rae Lakes over Glenn Pass to Kearsarge Upper trail

I woke up from my zero day ready to go. A day of rest for my feet and my ankles was good. I felt like I had a lot of energy.

I got up and made one of the coffees I had left. Then started to pack up. Since I had a lot of time the previous day, I re organized and was packed up in 45 minutes, almost 30 minutes faster than I normally am.

My plan today was to hike over Glenn Pass and then see if I could find an epic camp site.

Once everything was done, I headed to the lake to get water. As I looked back… I began to giggle.

My pack (which was named “Baby Beluga” by Marilyn) looked a mob boss with two skinny side kicks (my trekking poles). I decided to name them.

Baby Beluga and the Walken brothers, Trekopher and Stixs.

I laughed at myself … clearly I had spent a lot of time alone if I’m starting to personify the inanimate objects around me.

I decided to slow down a tiny bit and not rush off right away. This morning is different than yesterday.

I hadn’t spent time at the lake before the afternoon and this morning, I was noticing the fish. They were jumping out of the water eating the bugs! It was entertaining to watch little 8 inch fishes leap out and land free willy style.

I was packed up with water and was ready to hike.

I was in the lower part of Rae Lakes and got to see the rest of them as I hiked out. All I could think about was how much I wanted to have a packraft (an inflatable boat/kayak) but then couldn’t think of how I would paddle the thing. There needs to be a trekking pole paddle attachment for light pack rafters like myself. There’s a business idea to research.

The hike up Glenn Pass was straight forward. There were a few snow patches ending in a strange scramble at the top. Normally scrambles don’t intimidate me but, because of the density of people watching me, I got nervous. It’s really interesting to me how I change when I feel I’m being watched. It’s like I shift from being myself to some performance version of myself. I stopped to bookmark the feeling.

I got to the top and was welcomed by s large crew of people. I smiled, thanked them, asked one of them to take my summit pose photo and found a spot to sit down. I fished out sunscreen and my summit snack.

While I was sitting there an older woman started to talk to me. She was up on the summit from Vidette Meadows (North of me). She was from the area and got into backpacking because of her husband. She mentioned her husband several times and I asked her why he wasn’t out with her.

“He died a few years back.”

“Oh goodness, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.”

We sat there in silence for a while.

“How long were you guys married?”

“38 years.”

“That has to be hard.”

“It is, I miss him a lot. That’s why I come out here.”

“That sounds like a beautiful way to honor his memory.”

“Yeah, he shows me all of the heart shaped rocks when I am hiking… and I hear him when I am doing something I shouldn’t.”

“That sounds lovely.”

We sat in silence a bit and she got up to get ready to go down. I noticed she had tears in her eyes.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” I said.

“You are welcome. Thank you for letting me.”

We smiled at each other and she headed down.

It was only after she left, I realized I didn’t get her name or her husband’s.

I was thinking a lot about how losing a loved one is like being forced to reshape your identity. It’s a trauma in the emotional space of your mind/heart. I love how other cultures have spaces to sit shiva, or the prayer for the mourners… but American culture is toxic when it comes to loss. We feel compelled to DO something about someone who is hurting rather than letting their hurt exist.

I was deep in thought on my way down Glenn when I noticed a man behind me.

He introduced himself as “Legs”. He was a PCT hiker that did a “flip flop”, which means he started the PCT on one end and decided to jump around on the trail. He noticed my hat and wanted to ask me if I was from Minnesota. I laughed and explained the significance of the North Stars and why it was a gift when I left.

He shared that he had just been in Washington with 5 of his childhood buddies from the Boston area. The story sounded familiar. Before I came on the JMT, I did a major hike in the Enchantments and Ryan, Eric and I picked up a PCT hiker and took him into town. That guy had 5 buddies that were from the Boston area that were doing Washington first. We pulled our phones to compare dates and it was highly probable we picked up one of his friends. We laughed about the small world and he zoomed ahead of me.

Less than half a mile later, I ran into him again.

He was filtering water and counting. I asked him what he was doing and he mentioned that it was Friday and he would likely not make it to the post office before it closed in Kearsarge (9 miles away). The post office would be closed all weekend long, so he was trying to see if he could scrounge up enough food to skip the resupply and go straight to Kinedy Meadows. I thought about my bear can. I probably had three Pro Bars I could give him. Those were substituting my breakfasts but I could easily eat a dinner for breakfast. I offered him those. He enthusiastically accepted them. Those three bars would basically get him half way. He had a friend, “Glide” he was meeting at the Kearsarge junction that had extra food he was going to give him.

I wished him luck and decided to filter water myself. He took off as I was filtering.

It turned out to be a good choice to filter there because for the first time on the trail, there was no additional water sources for 5 miles. I hadn’t had to worry about water the entire time I was hiking. I normally carry 1.5 to 2 L in two bottles. When my 1 liter runs out, then I know it’s time to filter water.

The whole time I was hiking to the junction it was hot and dry. When I got to the campgrounds around the junction several different hikers asked me if I saw any water sources. I only knew the one I had filtered at 3 miles back. Apparently there wasn’t any for 2 miles forward.

Thankful I had water, I contemplated sharing until I realized I only had half a liter myself. I wasn’t sure where I was camping but I was sure if couldn’t be at the junction with just half a liter and I needed the water if I was going to hike anywhere else. It was 2PM and the heat of the day, so I decided I needed to find shade, rest and eat before deciding my next move. I looked over and saw Legs and someone I am assuming was Glide on a shady log. I decided to go join them.

I ended up talking with them for over 2 hours and not even noticing. We talked gear, bear stories, where to go in Yosemite and dehydrating beans. I learned about a tent I wanted to try and how each of their journeys had been going. At 4PM I realized I needed to move and said goodbye.

Typically I like to be done hiking by 4, so it was a new experience to begin hiking so late. I had about 3 hours of sunlight and needed to find a place to camp.

The next day I was exiting Kearsarge which was a 7 mile trek out. Most JMT hikers either skip this resupply or find a way to get food brought to them (mule or a friend). I had decided that after 10 days, it was worth the hike out to get a shuttle, shower, laundry and resupply. The Mt. Williamson hotel came highly recommended and I was able to get the reservation.

I decided to make that 7 mile trek shorter and find a camp spot along the trail. Guthooks (the navigation app) didn’t have any tent sites or water listed, but according the the paper maps there was potential creeks and it looked like there could be flat places. I decided to take a chance. The worse that could happen is that I had a half liter of water to last until the next documented water source, which was 4 miles up the trail.

I set out hiking.

After a mile, I heard water!

I stopped and filled my Katadyn (my filter) and filtered into my smart water bottles. I picked up my pack and noticed the terrain. The rocks were very smooth up high and there was a potential there was a flat spot I could squeeze my tent into. I decided to look and was rewarded.

1 flat, sandy spot overlooking the valley and Bullfrog lake.

Epic.

I set up the tent quickly. I had about 30 minutes until sunset.

Then boiled water to rehydrate my beans to eat.

As I was sitting on the smooth rocks looking out, I was filled with such gratefulness.

The day before (when I slipped) and my zero day were low points in my trip. But this very moment, could be one of the most beautiful and life giving.

Phrases came to mind —

Moment by moment.

Don’t let the precious day dictate the current one.

It’s daily bread… not the weekly allotment or 5 year plan.

I paused in my eating and just said Hallelujah that my fears don’t win every moment.

I then had a thought…

When God puts a calling or plan in action, He already factored in my bellyaching/resistance. He already knew that I was going to have a low couple of days, but this was around the corner.

Some reason that was comforting.

As those thoughts came to mind, the sun began to set.

The sun’s rays got long and played out on the mountains in front. I loved how it painted the mountains with orange and red light and the way the lake sparkled. Everything felt so ordered, peaceful… shalom.

I got my bear can packed up and found a good place to store it. Then, I snapped some photos of the sunset, checked my hiking plan for tomorrow and went to bed.