Day 62
June 19
zero

I sought out a breakfast place in town that I thought would be healthy, bypassing the place that most of the hikers were eating at. There were only a few other patrons there, and I felt a bit lonely sitting by myself. I asked for soy creamer in my coffee, which did not look or taste as good as coffee with cream. It was a disappointing feeling not to be able to enjoy my normal treats. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to hike without being able to have my morning coffee to boost my mood in the morning. After looking through the menu, I ended up ordering the artichoke omelet that they had listed as one of their specials. Being new to a lactose-free diet, I was learning what I could and could not eat. The omelet had cheese in it, and I did not realize until a few hours later that I had made a big mistake in choosing what I did for breakfast.
I walked back to my room and gathered my clothes to put in the washer, started cleaning my stove and other gear that needed washing and began to sort through my resupply. I headed over to the healthy cafe after a couple of hours and ordered a latte with almond milk and a gluten and dairy free strawberry coconut muffin. A group of hikers were seated around a table and one of them, a young guy that I recognized from the yoga class I taught at kick-off, motioned me over. I thought he was going to say something to me about the class, but instead said “Hey, did you have the scariest ride of your life from that guy that took you up to Onion Valley?” I smiled. Somehow, he was far more terrifying to the guys than he was to me. We exchanged stories about our rides with him, and then I just sat at the table next to them sipping my latte while they tried to figure out how to get to a music festival that was beginning tomorrow.
I headed back to my room and skyped with my Swiss friend. My stomach was already hurting and the pain continued to increase throughout the day. The only thing I could do was lie down in my bed.
I thought that a sushi dinner might be good for my stomach, so I headed out across town, stopping in the natural foods store again to find out if they sold a non-dairy powdered milk alternative for my coffee. I ended up buying some soy milk powder and a few more lactose free snacks. I ran into Hermes and Lotus on the way to the sushi place and told them about my injured achilles and painful stomach. I was not able to enjoy the sushi at all, and had to practically force it down, while the pain in my stomach increased. My breakfast had done me in for the day. As I attempted to walk back to my room across town, I had to keep telling myself that I only to make it 10 minutes more before I could lie down again. I focused on each step and continued to tell myself that I didn’t have much farther to go.
Once back in my room, I lied down and texted a friend who was not sympathetic to my pain. He told me it was time to quit and go back to Boston. I tossed the phone down. I had hoped to get back on the trail tomorrow, but right now, all I could do was rest and hope the pain in my stomach would subside.

Day 61
June 18
mile 894.7- 906.7
12 miles

I saw a couple walk by on the trail while I was still getting ready in the morning. The man was moving slowly uphill and I quickly caught up to him and saw that it was Sharky from Silver Pass. His wife, Bibo, was waiting for him up ahead. I continued on alone in the forest until a hiker I had never met caught up to me during a pack break. He said his name was Prophet and was intent on getting to Red’s Meadow in time for lunch. I had no such goal. Twelve miles was still a good distance to hike and I just wanted to get into town.
When I caught back up to him as he was taking a break, he asked me if I had gotten a ride up to Onion Valley from a really scary man. He realized after I said that my name was Wendy, that I was the same person who had gotten a ride up to the mountain from the same man that had given him and Sagi a ride down. “Did you leave your snow basket in his car?”.
“Yes, I told him that, but he said that I didn’t.”
“Well, he found it and was shouting your name up the mountain. Wendy…! Wendy…!”
I shrugged. He said that that was the scariest ride he had ever gotten. He kept slamming on the breaks and driving in the middle of the road and was telling them the strangest stories. He asked them for money before they got in his car, as well. Only Sagi had a few bucks to give him.
I found it interesting that the guy drove them down the mountain and did not camp there after all. He obviously knew that we needed rides and was on the lookout for us. I was disappointed that he lied to me.
I took a break and let Prophet move on as Bibo and Sharky caught up. I dug into my food bag for some candy, which boosted my mood for the moment.
It didn’t take long for that pleasure to turn to immense pain, however. I crossed a creek where Bibo and Sharky sat on the other side eating and stood there, holding my stomach, unable to move. My face expressed the pain I was feeling in my stomach. I didn’t know how I was going to make it. One of the two asked me if I was okay and I said no. I told them the antibiotics had made me lactose intolerant and that I was in great pain. Bibo asked, “Do you want some cheese?”.
No! (I just said I was lactose intolerant…!).
I moved away until I found my own space and went to the bathroom. Then, I continued onward, walking mile after mile in the forest as the trail gradually descended. A southbound hiker headed towards me and told me I was almost there. (I still had about 4 miles to go. “Almost” means different things to different people..). He tried to boost my spirits by telling me that the restaurant had really good milkshakes. I frowned and said that I was now lactose intolerant and couldn’t enjoy a milkshake.
Later on, I ran into three day hikers. One lady exclaimed, “You look like you’re ready for anything” based on the size of my pack. I smiled and nodded. The man said that I had a challenging creek crossing coming up. My eyes grew wide. “Yeah,” the other lady said. “You get to walk across a big log!”. I smiled, wishing they could know half of what I had gone through in this last stretch. To them, this creek crossing was the big challenge of their day. For me, it was one of the easiest crossings I had done. It’s all about perspective.
I soon entered one of the ugliest parts of the trail I had seen. A massive storm had blown through, cutting through hundreds of thousands of trees, leaving a scene of destruction behind. The wind picked up and the sun glared overhead, and the walking became quite unpleasant. My sickness was making my mood decrease, as well. I walked past downed tree after downed tree, slowly descending towards Red Meadow. It felt like it was taking forever to get there.

Finally, I reached an intersection at which I got a bit confused. I saw the sign to Red’s Meadow, but couldn’t figure out where the PCT continued north. I followed the side trail, still not knowing if the buses were running or not. A hiker headed my way. It was Drama! “Well, hello, hello!” I said. I told him that I was still sick and he made a joke about it. I didn’t find it so funny. Our interaction was brief. He told me that a bunch of people were in the parking lot getting ready to hitch and I asked if I should hurry to try to get a ride with them. He said no, and we parted ways.

As I headed to the store to ask about the buses, I saw a group of thru-hikers standing in the area between the restaurant and store. One of them was the hiker who had told me to stop the psychosomatics. I did not want to be near him! The others I did not know.
I went into the store and upon asking, was told that the buses would start running on Saturday. Really? It was a low snow year and on a normal snow year, they were supposed to start running on June 15th. I went back outside and saw an Asian man heading towards his car. I followed him and asked if he was going to Mammoth. He was. “Could I get a ride with you?”. He looked at his wife, who was helping her daughter up the stairs. “How many of you?”.
“Just me.”
Luckily, she agreed! I put my pack in the back and got in the seat with the cute little girl. Her older brothers were in the seat behind us. The parents were interested in my hike and the father, in particular, had several questions for me. He wanted to know what the hardest part had been for me and what I liked best about it. He seemed to understand my answers and I could tell that he was looking for some of what I was finding on the trail in his own life. The girl wanted to play peek-a-boo with me, and kept asking her parents if they were almost at their hotel. When they told her they would be going out for lunch, she groaned. She said that sounded “awful!”. I guess the car ride was making her stomach hurt. I could totally relate! Every meal had sounded awful to me for over three weeks now.
They brought me to the Motel 6, where I had my packages sent, and went on their way.
After checking in, I ran into Greg (Sprinkles, now known as Butters), which was a surprise. He was with B-Rad, Spoonman, and Skinny D. Greg wanted me to show him some stretches for his IT band which had taken him off the trail at Tuolomne Meadows last year. It was acting up again. I told them about my lactose intolerance and Skinny D said that her friend had become permanently lactose-intolerant after taking antibiotics. Great!
I took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and headed out to find something to eat. There was a healthy cafe close by and I ordered a veggie burger that came with a side-salad and some corn chips. I felt so grateful for some real, healthy food, that I started to cry a little.

I headed across the street to the outfitter to see if they had my shoes and found out that they did, but not in my size. They did have a half size smaller. After trying them on, I decided to go ahead and buy them rather than wait at least another 100 or so miles. The man also helped me find some lactose-free dehydrated meals, which was nice. I headed over to the natural foods store and looked around for any snacks that did not contain dairy. All of the food that I had pre-bought for my hike had dairy in it. I didn’t know how long I was going to be lactose intolerant and the thought of needing to buy all new food for the remainder of the trip had me very worried about the expense. Bambi appeared in one of the aisles. He asked me how my stomach was and I told him it was not good. I said that I ran into Purple Haze in Lone Pine and that he told me that you need to take flagyl for five days! Bambi said his dose was extra strong. Great. I took a huge dose that proceeded to destroy everything in my stomach. He told me that there was some really good pizza next door and upon realizing I wouldn’t be able to eat the cheese, said that they probably had one with just bread and sauce. No, thanks. We walked back up the road to the motel and went to our separate rooms.
I opened up my two care packages. One was from a woman from my yoga mentorship. She said she was going to buy me the specific things I asked for, including a package of Love Crunch granola, and a lot of packets of Starbucks via! She also bought me some grapefruit seed extract for my belly, as well as a box of probiotics. Luckily, the granola turned out to not have any dairy in it! She also included some gluten/dairy free cookies and oat bars. (Thank you so much, Susan!) I also got a super nice package from a woman I went to high school with and just re-met at our reunion last year. She bought me some delicious snacks that were the perfect back-packing size. And her kids drew me a sweet, encouraging picture. I felt so honored! (Thank you, Tanya!)

I returned to the cafe for a snack and after a little electronic communication, went to bed.

Day 60
June 17
mile 873.1-894.7
21.6 miles

I did not take a single picture for six hours today because the smoke from a nearby forest fire prevented me from seeing any views. I was in the forest for the first half of the day, ascending another 1,000 feet, and then descending 2,000 feet down switchbacks. The air was hazy and I could not see anything in the distance. I wondered how close the fire was and if I should be concerned. I was just following the one path I was on without knowing any of the happenings outside of it. I wished I could send out a message to someone who had a computer and access to information, but I had no cell service. I decided it was best not to worry about it. The couple I had seen yesterday caught up to me on the descent and asked me if I knew anything about the fire. They were concerned, as well, but there was nothing we could do except continue to walk!
Awhile later, I ran into two men hiking southbound and asked if they had any information. They said the smoke was coming from a fire outside of Yosemite, in Mariposa, and that it was not close enough to where we were to worry about it at this point.
I reached the junction to VVR and found the couple nearby eating their “second breakfast”. They were digging into a jar of peanut butter and looked like they were really enjoying it. While I was happy for them, I was so sad that I was not able to enjoy food, myself. Eating caused so much pain. This hike was not at all enjoyable in this condition.
I started up the 3,000 + foot climb to Silver Pass. By the time I got to the open, rocky landscape, my energy was drained.

I sat down on a rock and watched a couple of marmots play. Looking back, I could see the snow-covered mountains that I had just come from, and waves of emotion swept through me. I had hiked up and over those mountains in such a sick state and felt so sad for myself, but proud at the same time. My Achilles was still hurting badly and I didn’t know what was going on with my stomach. This was not how I imagined this hike to be at all.
I put my pack back on and slowly moved on.

After I crossed the rocky landscape, I still had more climbing to get to the top of the pass. A man started to gain on me, but I was stronger on the climbs and managed to stay ahead of him.

I couldn’t figure out where the top of the pass was, but continued to plod along and eventually saw two guys that I did not recognize sitting with their backs pressed up against a big rock. I thought that must be the “peak”, but then saw two other hikers a little higher up on the other side of the trail. I went up there and found my own little spot to snack on some goldfish crackers and whatever else I could find that wouldn’t hurt my stomach too much. I was not in a good mood. Several minutes later, one of the guys came up to chat with the older couple across from me. “Are you two thru-hiking?”. He told them that he had thru-hiked in ’06. I listened to their conversation and started to feel a little better. This hiker was from New Zealand and had a very positive attitude and I couldn’t help but smile. He told Bibo and Sharky that he only had to set up his tent five times during his hike- that is how little rain they had. Sharky and Bibo couldn’t believe it. I asked him if the rest of the trail was going to be easier. I had never hiked such a tough stretch in my entire life. It was tougher than the toughest part of the Appalachian Trail, and I didn’t know how much longer I could take these big snowy climbs and endless fords. He said it wasn’t going to be easy, but it wouldn’t be as tough as this stretch. He told us about bumping into Donna Saufley, the trail angel in Agua Dulce, when he got onto the BART after flying into San Francisco and what a small world this is. He was out here hiking a stretch of the trail with his father now. He talked about how he had taken the Cloud’s Rest trail to Half Dome when he thru-hiked. I hadn’t heard of that trail before, but it sounded beautiful, and now I wanted to do the same! I had been planning on taking the extra time to hike down into Yosemite Valley and climb Half Dome, from the beginning, but with my stomach illness, I knew I might have to forgo that plan and rest in Mammoth instead.
The other couples headed out and I asked Sun Catcher if he could take my picture. I decided to do another jumping shot and I was amazed that he got the picture in the very first take. No problem!

I took a picture of him and his father and when they just stood there, asked them if they wanted to do a pose. They said that was their pose!
We all took off together and after I descended a snowy slope, I watched Sun Catcher “ski” down the hill. I really appreciated the injection of good energy from him!

I got farther and farther ahead as I descended, noticing the red algae on the snow and wondering if I had been drinking that…

I walked along alpine lakes and then forded a series of streams, my achilles still shooting pain whenever I put weight on it.

Dusk approached and I made my way down through a rocky section and then into another forest, heading to Purple Lake. I could smell smoke from a campfire and eventually saw a couple of tents set up. I stopped to collect water and then saw the couple I had been seeing for the past couple of days. We finally introduced ourselves. Their names were Pleats and Side Project. They asked if I was stopping here for the night and I said I didn’t want to camp so close to water because of the mosquitoes. They told me that there were some campsites ahead on the hill that they had checked out, but they were already taken.

I headed on, passing the tents and continued to climb. Surely there must be flat spots ahead. As the trail rounded, I saw another couple of tents set up. This was a crowded area! I looked around the woods and found a possible spot and stood there contemplating whether or not to stay. I finally decided that I didn’t want to be so close to other people and continued on. I climbed to a grassy area, dotted with rocks and went off the trail to investigate the area. I picked the flattest spot I could find and spread out my cowboy camp while I boiled water for my pasta dinner. Tomorrow, I would reach Red’s Meadow, where I would be able to get into town after the longest stretch of trail I had ever hiked.

Day 59
June 16
852.3-(approx.) 873.1
20.8 miles

I watched the early risers pass by while I performed my morning rituals and was glad to be well enough off trail so as not to be seen. My mood had not greatly improved overnight. Somehow, Dust Bunny ended up sneaking up on me and scaring me! She told me that I made a wise choice in continuing on last night, as the socializing reminded her of a bar scene. She was in need of her own space and decided to scout out a spot to have her breakfast. In just over five miles, she would take a side trail down to the John Muir Ranch in hopes of finding some food to carry her through the next section. She also planned on stopping at Mono Hot Springs. I was going to bypass both spots and just get into Mammoth. I headed out and told her I would probably see her soon.
I crossed the bridge spanning the creek I had camped near and followed the creek back in the opposite direction. As I came to another ford, Commando hiked up to me wanting to know how crossing Evolution Creek had been for me the night before. I was still not over my feelings about having to cross it three times. “Fine,” I told him. I wondered why everyone was talking up these crossings with such fear. If there was no one out here dispensing their own fears and advice, I would just keeping following the path in front of me. He asked me if my shoes had dried out overnight. “No, they did not.” How would shoes be able to dry out in the dark cold air?
He moved swiftly down the trail and I tried to relax into my own space. The trail climbed and followed the path of a gorge. I didn’t find it to be the most beautiful of environments, but maybe my mood was clouding the view.

I walked on and took a quick break along the side of the trail. A quiet man dressed in camo walked by in the other direction. He seemed to be about as happy as I was and I wondered what his story was. What was he in search of out here? The trail turned right as it crossed a bridge. I passed several nice campsites that were tucked away and thought about what it would be like to spend the night there. Then, I came to a steel bridge, where someone had left a note for another hiker. He had gone ahead when his friend didn’t show up and hoped he was still alive. The note was written several days earlier.

I had been wondering if the buses from Red’s Meadow to Mammoth were running yet. Service was supposed to start mid-June, but often started earlier in low snow years. I asked a couple headed in the opposite direction if they knew, but they did not. The woman recommended I hike to the Ranch, where I was sure to find out the answer to my question. She told me I could find internet and other luxuries there. I thanked her and moved on. I found a rock to sit on and take another break and watched a father and daughter hike southbound, as well. I was surprised that Dust Bunny had not caught up to me. I never did see the trail that headed toward the ranch, but turned right at the upcoming intersection to follow the PCT as it began to climb.
The annoying man and his brother were taking a break at the stream at which I needed to collect water, but luckily, I was able to walk down and find my own little piece of land to collect and filter my water before heading off.
I later heard the man talking extremely loudly behind me. It was very jarring and luckily not something that I had come across much on the hike so far. I managed to stay ahead and then found a little inlet on the lake to stop and sit at.

As he passed by, he shouted out, “Hi Wendy from Boston!”. My mood sunk even lower. I ate a snack and watched the dragonflies flying above the water. I wanted to take a picture of them, but found it impossible. They kept moving! I started looking at things on the earth and noticed how beautiful the concentric patterns of a pinecone were. I was reminded of how we really only see things when we stop and take the time to look around us. My mood started to lift a bit.

I packed up and walked by a tree with a tremendous curvature in its lower trunk. I touched it with empathy, noting the similarity between its curvature and my spine.
I continued to climb back into the granite rocks that were dotted with pink flowers and green grass. Four young female hikers were headed down and I stepped aside to let them pass.

I stopped to look at another alpine pond and continued the climb, slowly making my way towards Selden Pass. I looked behind me and noticed a hiker steadily gaining on me. He overtook me just as we were reaching the top. I told him he was looking strong- the very opposite to the way I was feeling. I crossed a small section of snow and dropped my pack at the height of the climb and we introduced ourselves. He said his name was Doogie Howser and that he was getting off the trail at Echo Lake. The mosquitoes started attacking.

I wandered over to the south side of the pass and found that the view was much more beautiful over there, so I returned to get my pack and bring it to a rock farther down for my lunch break. The mosquitoes were even more horrendous on that side of the pass, however! I took out my Deet wipes and slathered it on my skin. These bugs weren’t going to allow me to enjoy my lunch or the view.

I headed down the pass and walked along a pretty path, where clear streams cascaded down the hills and made the grass ripe with wildflowers.

I eventually reached another ford and saw a fallen tree to help me cross it. I was growing tired and once I saw a large flat spot to the right of the trail, decided to stop and cook my pasta dinner. I was still feeling physically ill, which affected my mind and attitude, as well. A couple passed by looking in much better spirits than me. In the last section between Kennedy Meadows and Kearsarge Pass, my stomach was in a tremendous amount of pain, but the rest of me felt strong and happy. This section was a different story. I was still in a world of pain and now, it seemed like I had lost a lot of my energy, as well.
I reached the next “dangerous” ford according to my guidebook notes and looked across the water to see the couple changing back into their hiking shoes. The woman waved to me and then hiked on. I decided to change into my crocs and keep my shoes as dry as possible. The water only reached my knees at the highest height. It took much longer to change into and out of my shoes than to cross the actual creek. I headed onwards and was not happy to discover that I still had more fords ahead of me! As I carefully placed my feet on the rocks, the mosquitoes suddenly attacked. I felt as is they knew my hands were completely tied up, trying to keep me upright with the placing of my poles. “She’s fully occupied. Get her now!”.
It happened again when I was forced to climb over fallen trees across the trail. The sunlight was fading and my body was tired of all these obstacles. I stepped over little streams and finally saw a flat spot to the left of the trail, where I would make my home for the night. Despite the mosquitoes, I set up my cowboy camp and turned on my phone to see what mile I was now at. I was incredibly surprised to discover that I had reception and was able to chat with a friend from home for a few minutes. I covered my head with my sleeping bag liner and tried to fall asleep.

Day 57
June 14
818.5-835
16.5 miles

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I looked up to see Cuddle’s tent gone! He had already left. Dust Bunny was sitting on a rock, gazing out into the horizon. Why was I the only person that needed to sleep? Dust Bunny came over and sat next to my sleeping bag. She asked me how I was feeling and I told her not well. She said that she she was getting the feeling that I needed to learn to care for myself and that it really wouldn’t help me if someone else tried to do reiki on me, which is why she decided not to do it. I didn’t know how to feel about that. The flagyl had not made me feel at all better, and was in fact making me feel worse. I dreaded taking another pill. Dust Bunny told me that she had learned a lot from her dog and told me about the time he was sick and refused to take his medicine, no matter how hard she tried to disguise it. She learned that it knew what was best for him more than she did and encouraged me not to take the antibiotics if they were doing more damage than good. I figured I had taken at least the equivalent of a five day dose by now and wouldn’t swallow anymore of those pills. Instead, I would just concentrate on giving my body probiotics. I opened up my bear canister and spread out my food to see what I could have for breakfast. “Oh, sweetie,” Dust Bunny said. “All of your food is bad for your stomach! It’s all sugar.”
“I know”. She said she would go get her ginger and make me some tea. I set her little strainer with the real pieces of ginger in it on top of my jetboil and let it absorb into the water. She ordered me to sit and relax for awhile. I agreed to do so for this one morning. The ginger tasted really good. It felt like the first real food my body had ingested in a long time! I was so thankful.
I got up to collect some water and saw LuckyMan headed towards us. I told Dust Bunny and she ran out to greet him. She loves talking to people! She stood there asking him about his family like she had all the time in the world. LuckyMan told us where he planned on camping this evening (he had hiked this section before) and bid us farewell.

I returned to my spot, packed up my things, and headed out before Dust Bunny.
Just after I had made it across the first creek of the morning, I heard someone make a sound. I turned around to see Ash and Sexy Legs! Yay! I had wondered why they hadn’t caught up to me yesterday. They asked for help in choosing the best route across the water and I pointed out the rocks I had chosen. (Really? They wanted MY help?) Once across, I told them about how I had injured my Achilles coming down Mather last night. They told me about their cold night high up near the pass, and how LuckyMan was fascinated with the cracking ice in a little pond when he passed by them this morning. They went on ahead and I walked alone for awhile. The trail paralleled a beautiful Alpine lake that reminded me of being in the Swiss Alps.

A little while later, I heard another call and thought it must be Dust Bunny catching up to me, but realized it was Sexy Legs again. “What are you doing up there?” I shouted.
He and Ash were high above the trail. “We found a cave! Come see!”.
“But I’ll never finish if I do that!”.
“Sure you will! Just pack some extra food!”.
“But I can’t even eat with my hurting stomach!”.
“Even better!”.
I continued along the trail and Sexy Legs shrugged. It would be so fun to explore with them, but walking the PCT alone took all of my time and energy. I could’t keep scampering up and down to see all of the natural attractions along the trail like they could, because I couldn’t walk as fast as they did.

I came to a huge cascade of rushing water and decided to take a break there. Ash and Sexy Legs came down from the cave and stopped for a minute with me. Ash took a picture of me looking like I was relaxing in front of the rushing water, which is the antithesis of who I really am. I almost never relax and enjoy myself! Sexy Legs put the edges of his fingers to his forehead and bid me farewell as they moved on.
The trail descended out of the granite rocks and back into the woods. I contemplated heading away from the trail and taking a break at the creek, but decided to move on. As I started the next climb, I saw three deer on the trail! They were not at all fearful like the others ones I had encountered.

I continued the climb and suddenly saw Sexy Legs and Ash about 300 feet in front of me! I reached out my arm and almost called out to them, but no sound came out of my mouth. By this time, the pain in my Achilles was immense and I knew I would not be able to catch up to them. I wondered if they would stay with me if they knew how much I was hurting. I stopped and took off my pack, dejected. I decided to try walking a few steps without the weight on my back and found that even without my pack, my Achilles could not bear weight! I couldn’t even take a step on flat terrain without excruciating pain. What was I going to do? I was in the middle of my longest section in the toughest terrain on the PCT, in the remote Sierras, and my foot could not bear any weight. I decided that I needed to get to some water and soak it. I put my pack back on and hobbled to a small lake, took off my shoes, and put my feet in the cold water. Maybe I was being forced to relax. I imagined being airlifted out of the mountains and resting in a hospital bed with Ash and Sexy Legs sitting at my side, looking after me. Surely they would care enough about me to do that! Then, we could share stories about our journey and our lives. It would be so nice! The water briefly numbed my feet and I felt like I might be able to walk again. It took only a few steps for the pain to return, however.
A little ways ahead, I saw another place that was just down off the trail that looked like a good stopping point and again, I took off my shoes and put my feet in the water. I kept looking back up at the trail to see if anyone was passing by.

I was surprised that Dust Bunny hadn’t caught up to me yet. As I hobbled along the path, wincing in pain, she suddenly called out behind me, scaring me. I told her how much pain I was in and that she should go ahead. I was still determined to make it several more miles in order to stage Muir Pass for the following morning. There was a lot of snow on this pass, and I would be postholing in it for hours if I didn’t get through it early enough in the day! The remaining miles were mostly uphill, which fortunately hurt my Achilles the least. Downhills and flat terrain hurt it the most.
I walked behind Dust Bunny while she scouted out a place to take her dinner break and then continued on alone at my slow pace. Still in forested terrain, I continued to climb. At some point, I saw an unattended backpack ahead, which I found strange. I walked by it and soon saw a man coming toward me. He stopped and asked if I was looking forward to seeing the whale. “The what?”.
“The whale! It’s a famous landmark on the JMT!”.
“I never heard of it.”
“None of you PCT hikers have. To us, it’s something we really look forward to seeing. You’re not going to make me walk back up there to show you, are you?”.
I told him I would be able to find it myself, but he insisted on showing me. To the left of the trail, two big rocks made a formation that looked like the mouth of a whale. I went and sat in it and let him take my picture.

“Oh, you’re a model!” he said.
He told me that he wished he were hiking the JMT the other way. “Why?” I wondered, thinking it might be easier that way.
“Because then I could hike with you for awhile!”. I told him that would not be enjoyable for him at all with my hurting stomach and Achilles. He looked at my shoes and admonished me for not wearing boots. He said that there was a lot of snow on the upcoming pass and that the running shoes the PCT hikers were wearing turned their toes red and raw from the cold and wet. Then, he offered to give me some of the drops he was carrying for stomach pain. I followed him back down to his backpack and waited while he searched through his first-aid kit. It turned out that he had sent them home along with some of his extra supplies. Before I headed on my way, he asked if he could give me a hug.
I continued the climb, emerging from the trees into a world of granite. Someone had made huge stone steps up the trail and they seemed to steal my energy as I slowly heaved myself upwards. This was not an easy climb for me at all.

Slowly, I put one foot in front of the other and made it out of the granite and into a meadow. I knew from what Luckyman had said, that I was relatively close to our stopping point for the night. It took everything I had to make it across the rocks and up another climb. I almost stopped at a place that looked like it would fit my sleeping bag but climbed a bit father and suddenly saw three tents! I had made it! I walked past them and then saw LuckyMan set a little further back. I dropped my pack. This had been a brutally tough day. I looked around to see where I might be able to set up and ended up finding a place up a slope, next to a tree. I spread out my piece of Tyvek and picked up a rock by the tree to weight it down. I coiled back when I saw toilet paper underneath it. I was sleeping right beside someone’s bathroom spot! It didn’t appear that I had much of a choice to move elsewhere, so I just tried to ignore it.

I boiled some water for my pasta soup and went to talk to LuckyMan while it steeped. He said that he was hoping we would make it this far tonight. The others who had stopped were JMT hikers and a PCT hiker that neither of us knew. Lucyman said that he had crawled into his tent as soon as he set it up and went to sleep!
After I finished my dinner, we went and looked down across the meadow to see if we could see Dust Bunny coming. I spotted her. “She’s stopping!” I said to LuckyMan. He shouted out, “No! Don’t stop! Keep going!”. I told him she was probably just peeing. She does that a lot!
We cheered when we saw her pick up her pack and keep heading along the trail. Then, we went to make an arrow out of sticks to be sure she wouldn’t miss us! We ended up waiting for her right beside the trail, like expectant parents waiting for our child to return home after a late night out.
She made it and seemed both a little amused and disappointed to find so many people camping in one area. She chatted with us for a couple of minutes and then went off into the woods to find her own little area before coming back to chat with me next to my sleeping bag while we sipped our tea. She told me that when she sleeps in a places where others have slept before, her dreams get mixed up with theirs and it is very disturbing to her! She looked out across the water and rocks that I was near and exclaimed over my view. “But I’m going to be asleep and won’t be able to see it!” I said.
It got too cold for her to sit any longer so we agreed to see each other in the morning.

Day 56
June 13
801.5-818.5
17 miles

I got up at my regular time (around 7) and tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the sleeping boys. This is hard to do when you make your coffee with a jetboil and have to repeatedly move all of your possessions into and out of stuff sacks and metal bear canisters! I wish I could be as care-free as them, but I don’t have the ability to hike as fast, so I must steadily keep plodding away. My goal for today was to hike more miles than I did yesterday. These Sierras are tough!

As I was nearing the end of my packing, I saw someone coming up the trail. It turned out to be Dust Bunny! What timing! I told her I was just about ready and our whispering woke the boys up. She took the opportunity to ask them if they had any extra food because she was low. Sexy Legs began sorting through his bag and came up with a few things. I had seen how much food he had with him last night and was worried about it not being enough for him, so I didn’t think he had anything he could spare. Since Dust Bunny has to eat gluten free, she couldn’t accept his offer anyway. I told her I could give her some of my food. I went over to Sexy Legs, still in his sleeping bag, and stretched out my arms to give him a hug. “Thank you for welcoming me,” I told him and then did the same for Ash. It was my big open-hearted moment and it felt wonderful!
And then, Dust Bunny and I were off!

We filled each other in on what had happened to us since we last saw each other on Mt. Whitney. Dust Bunny was hoping to see a nice guy she had met earlier in the hike, but so far, that had not happened. She was lamenting the fact that she wasn’t a “good thru-hiker”. She had all the ability, but not the drive to wake up each morning and put away the miles on a single path. She much preferred exploring and enjoying the places she found herself in. I, on the other hand, had no problem with keeping myself motivated to keep walking and pushing through all obstacles in my path, even when to my own detriment, which Dust Bunny didn’t think was so good.
She let me take the lead as we climbed to Pinchot Pass. “I’m doing good!” I proudly said at one point. “You’re doing awesome,” she said. We found Syashinka, a young hiker from Japan, who was a bit lost and searching for the trail. He had stopped by last night when we were sitting around the fire and asked us our names. When Sexy Legs responded, Syashinka’s eyes opened wide. “Sexy?” he asked and pointed to his legs. It was a great reaction! I remembered first seeing Syashinka at the fire by Dr. Sole’s RV at kick-off. This morning, he asked my name again before realizing that he had passed by last night. I sat down on a rock and took a break while the others worried about where the trail was. And then, we were off again!
We let Syashinka go ahead. The terrain reminded me a lot of Colorado with its red rocks and openness. Dust Bunny lives outside of Durango and agreed with me. The altitude slowed my pace and I let Dust Bunny go ahead. I walked through another patch of snow and kept moving one foot in front of the other. The top of the pass seemed like it was never coming!

Three and a half hours after we started out this morning, we reached the windy pass and quickly had to put on our winter hats after almost losing our hiking hats! After quickly taking a couple of photos of the other person, we headed down the other side.

Part way down, Dust Bunny started talking to a man headed in the other direction. I recognized the voice as the German who had put me down at kick-off, telling me that I was hiking up to third gate slowly. He obviously had abandoned his plan to thru-hike. When he saw me, he said, “You’re the yoga teacher…You’re still on the trail.”
“Yes, I am.” He asked me if I was doing yoga along the trail. When I said no, he scoffed at me. Dust Bunny had already taken off. He asked me if I had seen his friend Half-Slow and I told him not for a very long time. I wished him a good journey and continued my descent. As I was walking through more snow, my knee hyper-extended. Ow! I wasn’t sure how much damage I had just done. I took the next steps slowly. A little later on, I did it again! These mountains were not kind to me!

I continued to descend to a lake, where I found Dust Bunny taking a break. She was contemplating whether to make a hot drink. She had one packet of coffee and one packet of green Chinese tea that had been given to her. For some reason, she decided to mix the two so we could share it. It was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted! I recommended that next time, she make the tea and coffee separately. She asked me if I knew much about the chakras and I said I knew a little. She was wondering what chakras the colors green and red represented, as those were the colors she was wearing. I told her that green was the heart chakra and red was the root chakra. She thought those were applicable to her current state- finding a state of groundedness while opening her heart. She thought that my colors also matched me- speaking my truth and seeking a connection with the infinite.
We moved on. Somehow I got ahead and after crossing a creek, in which I got my shoes wet, I found a sunny rock to try and dry off a little. I had to keep moving back and forth because the sun was too hot to be in, and the shade was too cold! Dust Bunny came along and joined me. She decided to bathe in the creek while I ate some beef jerky and snickers. We didn’t know if we should attempt the next pass this evening. It was already getting late for that. I told her I would see how I felt. My stomach was already badly hurting. A hiker passed by that Dust Bunny knew, but he didn’t stay to chat. We moved on and reached another wide creek that we had to ford. Cuddles, the other hiker, was waiting on the other side, and helped direct Dust Bunny across. I followed her. My stomach was hurting so bad that I told her I needed to stop and see what I could do about it. I told her to go on.
The afternoon was slow going due to the pain of my calf and the even more excruciating pain of my stomach. Another hiker was in the same vicinity that I didn’t know. I would stop and take a break and he would pass by, and then I would catch up and we would repeat the pattern. There was yet another creek crossing ahead and I searched up and down the banks for the best crossing. Nothing looked easy.
The trail continued to climb and I thought there was no way I was going to be able to climb another pass tonight with the way I was feeling. I was going to tell Dust Bunny that I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t feel at all like myself.
I saw LuckyMan up ahead and hiked up to talk to him. Mosquitoes were attacking everywhere. He said that Dust Bunny and Cuddles had decided to climb Mather Pass tonight and that they had left 10 minutes ago. No!! I looked at my watch. It was 5:00. The mosquitoes were horrendous. I thought about what it would be like to camp here and then decided to move on. I can do it. It’s just 1,000 more feet and 5 more miles… I wished Lucky Man a good night and continued on. I stopped often. The other hiker, Oblivious, remained in my area. I wished I were in a better mood. I was in such pain that I really couldn’t be friendly, however. I kept plodding along. I watched Oblivious hike ahead and stop every 100 feet or so and take in the views all around him. I just tried to keep moving forward.

The trail started climbing more and then turned into switchbacks. I kept thinking I only had one or two more, but they wouldn’t end. Then, I saw Dust Bunny ahead, making her way towards the pass. Unbelievably, I wasn’t so far behind! I reached the pass ahead of Oblivious and dropped my pack. I was exhausted! Dust Bunny and Cuddles welcomed me. I told her there was no way I was going to do that and then Lucky Man told me you had just left. We took some photos and Oblivious talked about how he had hurt his knee early on in the hike and how some guy did reiki on it and made it feel 75% better. I told Dust Bunny that I wished someone could do reiki on my belly! She said she would put her hands on it when we got to camp if I wanted.

I was surprised that we still had a bit more climbing to do before we headed down the other side. Again, we were met with snow that caused our pace to meet a snail’s. This was slippery stuff and we had to be careful where to place our feet so we didn’t turn our ankles on rocks. At one point, my foot slipped out underneath me and almost sent me sliding! Dust Bunny stayed close to Oblivious and I to make sure we were okay. I looked at my watch and told her that it had taken over 45 minutes to do less than one mile! She just laughed.

I continued to step heel-first through the snow, and suddenly, my heel locked up! I couldn’t get it to release. This day was getting worse and worse! We made our way out of the dangerous snow and back on to the rocky trail as the sun set. I thought about how I had now been suffering from my awful stomach pain for 2 and a half weeks and felt so sorry for myself. Dust Bunny had reminded me that the pain was only temporary, but 2 1/2 weeks seemed too long to be feeling this way. I could see trees in the far distance and hoped they would appear sooner, as I knew that is where we would be camping. I hobbled over the streams, hoping my Achilles would release. I had no energy to collect water and kept my vision on the trees ahead. Finally, I saw Cuddles with his tent set up. “Is this where we are stopping” I asked. “If it looks okay to you,” he said.
“It’s perfect. I can’t take another step.” It was 8:30 at night and nearly dark. He pointed behind him to two possible spots. I chose one and spread out my ground cloth and then my sleeping bag. I was in so much pain and so exhausted that I couldn’t even manage to brush my teeth, never mind eat anything. Dust Bunny had said that she would make me some ginger tea, but she was chatting with Cuddles and I guessed that she had forgotten about it. She found a place to cowboy camp just below me. As I lied on my left side, the pain seemed to move from the right to the left side of my body. I turned upright and placed my hands on top of my stomach.
It was the worst I had felt yet.