Day 52: From Bishop to Lone Pine

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Wendy

Day 52
June 9
zero

One of the tourist destinations in Bishop is Schat’s bakery, where no one is allowed to take photographs of anything inside. It’s a huge place that is filled with every kind of pastry imaginable, and has a separate room devoted to breads. Bambi and I headed over there for breakfast and looked around. It was like being at Disney World at first- everything was big and new and shiny. But, my sick body didn’t actually want any of that. I ended up buying a multi-grain roll and a single packet of butter, along with a latte. I was planning on sitting inside, but Bambi wanted to eat outside in the sun. When I walked out, I found an Indian man, clearly in despair, seeking help from Bambi. “You’re going to be okay, man,” Bambi was telling him, calmly. He turned to me and began enlisting my sympathy. I couldn’t understand him very well and thought his reservation was being taken away and his sister was soon to be homeless. He had tears in his eyes and kept shouting out his pain, wanting us to do something about it. All we could do was tell him it was all going to be okay. I went back into the bakery and asked Delaware Dave if he could come outside and eat with us, as we needed his help with a situation. He agreed, saying that anything interesting is good. When Razor walked out, the Indian man immediately called him Chief, which I found amusing. Razor said something dismissive and demeaning in return. The presence of the others succeeded in getting the man to leave. I realized that he had a new audience each morning outside this bakery. Bambi informed me that his sister was going to be put into a nursing home, and that was why he was so upset. He had repeatedly called me “sissy”, which I didn’t find so nice, but Bambi said he actually meant “sister”. Whistler came and sat with us, which made me happy. I showed him my Mt. Whitney jumping photo and he stared at it just as incredulously as he had stared at the rice krispy treat! “You have the best expressions!”, I told him. He had a very laid-back, easy-going demeanor and I liked being around him. He reminded me of my brother. I asked him where he was from and if he had ever been to the White Mountains. “I can see you working in the huts up there,” I told him. He had actually already hiked the AT and knew just what I meant. Because he had to get back to school, he was on a tight deadline to finish the PCT by August 26, which I found extraordinary. He had already lost a precious few days by getting lost over Glen Pass, and hiking it backwards after he had hiked it northbound. Because this mistake had caused him to be low on food, he had to make the additional unplanned trip down Kearsarge Pass and into town. I knew I wouldn’t be seeing him again after today.
We headed back to the room to start packing. Bambi was heading back to the trail and I was heading to Lone Pine. I texted Muk Muk and asked what she was doing and she replied that she and UB were eating sundaes at 8:30 in the morning! She was looking forward to seeing me and said they were planning on taking me to the ice cream shop once I arrived!
Bambi showed me his photo at the starting monument. On our descent down Forrester, he was telling me how stiff and awkward he looked in that picture. “My hand was gripped into a claw.”
“And how do you look in pictures now?” I asked.
“Rugged and cool.”
It’s fascinating to see the change that visibly occurs in us after only about 10 days of hiking. Our entire demeanor changes as the things that control us in our other lives slip away from our bodies.
He asked me if my arms were so toned from doing yoga. I didn’t know how to answer that because it had been a long time since I had done any yoga! The only thing I was doing now was planting my hiking poles into the ground with each step. Bambi had just gotten 2 poles for himself and was practicing in the room. He had no idea how to use them and looked like a stiff geriatric man with canes!
I wanted to bring his leftover pole that he had found in the hiker box at Kennedy Meadows to UB, who had thrown his poles (as well as his cooking pot) over the mountain on a day that his past reared its head and overtook his self-control. When he told me the story at Kennedy Meadows, I told him that when that happens, he just needs to get calm and breathe and let it pass. And if he stills needs to throw something, he can throw some sticks or rocks. “Throwing the things you need down the mountain just hurts you more,” I said. (And the environment…).
“No!” he quickly shouted back. He said he didn’t need to get quiet.

Whistler was also ready to head back to the trail, but wanted to write some postcards first. I decided I might as well make use of the pool while I waited and again saw the family from last night.
Finally, we were all packed and ready to go. We walked to Main St. and stuck out our thumbs. Bambi turned into an extrovert and was doing all sorts of actions in hopes of getting someone to stop. No one did. After lots and lots of attempts, someone told us we would be better off trying to hitch down the road, closer to the interstate. So, we slung on our packs on another roasting hot day, and walked down the street. “Who wants a smoothie?” I asked as we passed the coffee shop. Bambi had told me that I need acidophilus and that the yogurt in a smoothie would be good for me when we came in yesterday, but after he read some information about flagyl, realized there was a high chance that I am now lactose intolerant and that yogurt would be bad for me! Great!
We walked down the shadeless street, wondering where would be a good place to try our luck. It seemed to go on forever! We finally stopped on a street corner only to be later told that we would have better luck up the road, across from the gas station. So, we moved on. There was a single tree in front of a municipal building that I wished was closer to the road. I put my pack down and joined the guys in sticking my thumb out. We were having no better luck down here! Why was it so impossible to get a ride around here? Bambi continued his antics of waving the cars down, kneeling down on the pavement, and holding his hands in prayer. “You know you want to give us a ride!”.
Finally, a van pulled up and asked us where we were headed. He said he was only going partway. Bambi decided to take him up on it. I got in the front seat and the guys sat on the floor in the back. We were driven about 10 miles down the highway, at which our driver needed to turn into a ranch to prepare for the rodeo coming into town. He asked us if we were going to be okay.
As the cars whizzed by at over 60 mph, we realized what a huge mistake it was to have accepted a partial ride. We were in an even worse place to try to hitch than when we first started trying! Bambi started doing russian splits at the oncoming traffic! No one cared. I texted Muk Muk and let her know that I was still far, far away from Lone Pine. Not only did I need to get this impossible 30 mile hitch from the middle of a highway, but I also had to find another 15 mile ride once we got dropped off in Independence!

Luckily, the driver of a pick-up truck took pity on us and pulled over. We were so happy! He was holding a mason jar of water between his thighs and would pick it up ever so often to take a sip. I was envious of the refreshing-looking water! ‘Wagon Wheel’ came on the radio and I looked back at Whistler. “The AT song!”.
As we drove by the Sierra mountains, our driver talked about Fossil Falls and the petroglyphs you could find there, as well as the bighorn sheep that lived in the area. There were so many things I didn’t know about and so many things you could see if you weren’t constrained to one path with a very limited time frame in which to hike it! I wanted to come back here and have a chance to explore the area.
He dropped us off at the gas station in Independence. Whistler asked if he could get a hug. “Of course!”. I figured I better give one to Bambi, as well, even though it didn’t feel nearly as natural. Bambi asked for my number and I told him not to text me because I get charged if it’s not from another iphone! Then, I headed down the road to start the third part of my hitch.
Luckily, this was the easiest one of the three by far! A couple that I had made eye contact with as I was looking for desert last night and they were leaving a restaurant recognized me! “We saw you in Bishop!” they said. They were super nice and brought me right to the Dow Hotel, where Muk Muk and UB were staying. I checked into my room, happy to have my own space again, and immediately headed over to the lunch place with 10 minutes to spare before they closed! I texted Muk Muk after I placed my order. I got some refreshing lemonade with my burger and it came in a large glass mug that reminded me of our driver’s mason jar I had been envying! Happiness!

Muk Muk said they were going to get pizza and wanted me to join them, but she and Lion King ended up coming in to meet me. The energy was centered around Lion King, who was complaining about hiking in the heat. He was doing small sections of the PCT and had hiked a southbound section to meet Muk Muk in Lone Pine. We headed back to the motel, where Muk Muk wanted to take a nap, and agreed to meet up later to get the ice cream sundaes, as promised! I gave her a big hug and ended up lifting her off the ground! She had gotten so tiny since the last time I had seen her!
I wanted to take a nap as well, but decided that I had better write postcards that I promised I would send. That took quite a bit of time! 5:00 arrived and there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find UB with Muk Muk and got a big hug! Then we headed over to get our sundaes.

Mine ended up hurting my stomach more and more and I wasn’t able to even finish it, while UB got a second one (his third for the day!). I think the flagyl had made me lactose intolerant! I felt awful!
UB wanted pizza for dinner and said we could share one later in the evening, but I knew the cheese wouldn’t be good for me. It felt so sad to not be able to eat the foods that all of the other hikers were enjoying! UB headed back to their room on his own, leaving Muk Muk and I to our “girl talk”. After a couple of stories, we headed back ourselves. Muk Muk stopped it in at the outfitters to inquire about getting a ride back to the trail by way of Horseshoe Meadows. There was already a couple of people signed up for that ride, so she and UB were able to join in. There were no rides back to Onion Valley trailhead, where I needed to go, however.
We walked down the street and I saw 5-Star and Purple Haze in the window of a restaurant eating dinner! I knocked on the window pane and waved and they invited us in to say hi. They had not yet met Muk Muk, and were delighted with her exuberant personality and Australian accent, as all men were. I asked Purple Haze how many days it had taken for him to feel better after taking the flagyl and learned that he had taken the antibiotics for five days! What?! I told him that Bambi had said it was one dose, but Purple Haze said, “no, you need to take it twice a day for 5 days”! Before I had received the dose from Bambi, I was planning on asking a college friend who is a doctor if she could write me a prescription. After talking to Purple Haze, I knew I still needed to do this!
We returned to our rooms and agreed to meet up later for pizza. Muk Muk placed a delivery order and came down to my room to share it. She talked about a lot of guy stories on her journey so far and seemed to understand that they were happening to teach her a lesson, but she hadn’t yet figured out what exactly the lesson was. We had talked about these kinds of things at kick-off and she wondered how I knew so much about keeping boundaries. I told her that I was forced to learn those things on the AT! The same kinds of awful behaviors kept showing up! Because Muk Muk is so naturally open and friendly, a lot of people think they can get things from her. I encouraged her to keep thinking about the way she was being treated and perhaps change her behavior a bit to better protect herself so she wasn’t being taken advantage of. I was very dismayed to hear that Lion King had made her pay for his hotel room in Lone Pine! After we finished the pizza, I gave her my neon yellow fleece jacket, as I now had a black one that I felt much more comfortable with! The yellow color looked much better on her!
We wished each other a goodnight and agreed to meet for breakfast in the morning. All of this hitchhiking and moving from town to town was exhausting!

Day 51: Shifting over to Bishop

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Wendy

Day 51
June 8
zero

Doug said that breakfast would be available at 8:30, which is late in the day by thru-hiker standards, but you do what you gotta do. We had gone to bed late and I didn’t sleep so well (as usual for the first night in town), so I didn’t mind lying around a bit longer. It turned out they were ready for us earlier than expected. I walked down to the breakfast room and found a table of thru-hikers already finishing their breakfast- Delaware Dave, Seeking, Razor, and a younger guy that I had never met. Bambi and I sat at the next table. Strider had heard that I was suffering from giardia and wanted to know if the bigger portions that they gave to thru-hikers would be okay on my stomach. I said yes and turned to Bambi and said, “We didn’t even get dinner last night.” My thumbs were still badly cracked and I was desperately in need of band-aids. I spent a good part of breakfast wondering if anyone would be able to spare some. I finally asked Delaware Dave after we had finished and he said that he would see what he could come up with. I took a shower and was actually able to enjoy it this time, rather than furiously scrub off as much dirt as I could before Bambi wanted to use it. We were both in a similar predicament of being stuck for post offices to open on Monday- his in Independence and mine in Lone Pine. The other group of guys was moving over to the bigger town of Bishop, 40 miles away, as it had a lot more to offer than the couple of restaurants in Lone Pine. I wondered if I should do the same.

After I showered and packed up and decided that I would try to hitch to Bishop, I took my pack outside and saw Bambi sorting through a ton of food that he had received in his resupply boxes. “How did you get your boxes already?!”. He had walked over to the post office to see if there was any way he could get them, knocked on the door, and was given his packages! Now he was free to head back to the trail! Bambi’s sister-in-law had made him tins of chocolate confections. I had never seen anything like it before! How lucky! He offered me a couple of them as he continued to sort and thought about what he was going to do. The sun was baking already baking us. I wondered how anyone could stand to live in the desert!
He decided to hitch into Bishop with me after all. The other guys had had amazingly good luck getting a ride, so I was hopeful. We walked down to the gas station in the mid-morning heat and stuck out our thumbs. Car after car passed. This wasn’t so easy! Bambi was still holding his Christmas tins. We waited and waited and waited as the sun glared down and caused sweat to roll off our skin. Why wasn’t anyone stopping?
Finally, a beat-up car pulled over. The skinny young driver said that he would have to make room for us and opened his trunk to start shifting things around. Burnt cigarettes were pouring out of the pocket on the driver’s side door, and I didn’t know if this was a car I wanted to get in. The guy explained that he was just coming back from a music gig and that’s why his car was so packed. We all fit in and headed off to Bishop. The concert in the desert hills apparently wasn’t very successful, and the guy was running on no sleep. He could tell that we were suffering in the heat and needed help, though, so he decided to stop for us. He turned out to be really nice. He let us look through the Burning Man program for amusement and later told us about his experiences with DMT. His stories seemed to agree with a lot of things that I have learned from yoga, and when I asked what he thought about that, he agreed. I liked the guy more and more. He told us a little about the area and how LA had taken all the water from the area and sucked it dry. He said this one area used to be green with trees and now it was all brown grass.
As we turned into Bishop, he asked if it was okay if he dropped us off at the coffee shop. I told him we would buy him lunch or at least a coffee, but he said that his family owns the shop, so he was all set. I got a smoothie, a cookie, and a chocolate croissant and ate it in the cushy chairs in the air conditioned inside, while Bambi sat outside. We had to figure out what motel to stay at. The cheapest one was on the other end of town and felt way too far to walk to. I suggested we walk across the street to the Rodeway, where I knew the others were staying. We found Whistler (the young guy I didn’t know) using the computer in the lobby. Bambi offered him a rice crispy treat from his sister-in-law, and I found Whistler’s reaction priceless. He gazed at it in incredible amazement, wonder, and gratitude before putting it into his mouth. Bambi got us a room that turned out to be a couple of doors down from the others.

I wanted to go to the outfitters to look for a couple of things, but I also felt very tired and wanted to take a nap! Bambi suggested we go to the outfitters first. I saw a lot of desert hats and started trying them on, even though I didn’t need to buy one then! I picked up another platypus container, as mine already had a leak in it, and looked around for a black fleece. They didn’t have any of those. I ended up buying a pair of dangling earrings and a bunch of postcards instead! On our way back, we checked out another outfitter that had used clothing. I found a hooded, pullover, small black fleece for $13!

We returned to the room and both decided to take a nap. Bambi fell asleep, but I did not, as I wasn’t feeling comfortable in that space. We had talked about joining the others for Sushi later on. My stomach had not improved at all and Bambi asked me if I wanted another dose of flagyl. “Another one?”. He said that he had looked up the dosages and found that one dose was usually only about 30% effective. He was actually carrying four doses with him, so I agreed to take the second dose with dinner.
Razor was clearly in charge and loves to expound on his knowledge of various topics. I was having a tough time with him and tried to be polite and get through the meal. I was happy to finally get a sushi dinner after craving it for the past 8 months, though! The last time I had had sushi was years ago!

Bambi told everyone my jackelope story, complete with my earnest demeanor as I told Doug what I was sure I had seen. I laughed so much listening to someone else tell the story- especially when they described what a jackelope is. I was still laughing about it when we left and Seeking thought it was great that I could be amused so easily!

I wanted something chocolate for desert after dinner and walked down the street alone to see what I could find. I didn’t find anything, so I returned to the room. Bambi and I both decided to make use of the outdoor pool, staying on opposite sides. Now that the sun had gone down, it was too cold for me to go all the way in, so I just sat at the edge and watched a mother and daughter interact. After awhile, they included me in their conversation, which was nice.
I went back to the room and took a shower to warm up and texted Muk Muk to let her know where I was. It turned out that she and UB were unexpectedly in Lone Pine because UB had hurt his knee! She didn’t know if they would head back out tomorrow or if they would stay until Monday. I told her if they stayed tomorrow, we would be able to see each other! After a little communication and updating people from home, it was finally time to go to sleep!

Day 50: Forrester Pass, Kearsarge Pass, and a dose of Flagyl

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Wendy

Day 50
June 7
mile 774.3-788.9 plus 7.5 miles to get over Kearsarge Pass
22.1 miles

I had no need to get up super early because it was Friday and the post office in Lone Pine was closed on Saturdays. There was no way that I could possibly get there by 4 this afternoon, so I would be forced to wait until Monday morning when it opened again at 9:30 am. Neither Bambi nor Jug, who was suffering from swollen eyes, were in a rush to get going, either. Bambi didn’t hike Mt. Whitney because he said he didn’t have enough food to do so. He told me that he had already completely run out of food at one point on the hike and ended up eating 50 fish oil pills in one day for energy, as that is all he had left! Disgusting! I asked him why he didn’t allocate his food and he said that he didn’t know how much food he needed each day and ended up eating it all much faster than he anticipated. I was glad that I was good at planning and rationing and that I always had extra food in my pack by the time I got into town.
I told Bambi about my giardia and he said that he was carrying antibiotics with him and asked if I wanted some! Yes! He is a nurse and was carrying two doses of flagyl with him. I was very perplexed as to why he didn’t offer them to me back at Kennedy Meadows. He was there with me as I complained about my inflamed stomach and the pain I was in. I guess he didn’t realize it was from giardia, when everyone else was suggesting it was likely stemming from a host of other things. He told me that it was one dose, which made me happy, and handed me two pills. “I should take these both at the same time?”.
“Yes,” he said.
I held them in my palm until I was ready to eat breakfast, went through my food bag and offered some of my extra food to Bambi in exchange for the antibiotics. The boys packed up and Bambi said he would see me on top of Forrester. “But I’m not ready to leave yet!” I said. I was hoping to be around someone that could take my picture at the top. He said he was planning on taking a long break up there and would most likely still be there when I arrived. I still had to finish eating, find a place to go to the bathroom, and pack up. I headed out about twenty minutes later and soon came to the creek that I had advised everyone to wait until morning to cross. I was amused to see that it was actually no big deal to cross. (I was still anticipating the freezing cold, thigh or chest high waters I had heard so much about!). The morning hours were pleasant and I moved through a landscape of Sierra trees and grass that shifted into open spaces between huge granite mountains.

I stopped to take off a layer and spotted two deer in the distance and watched them for several minutes. I liked being alone with the animals. As I climbed into the more desolate rocky environment with ice encrusted ponds, I looked ahead to see if I could figure out where Forrester Pass was. In a snow packed year, I strongly doubted that I would ever be able to find the trail. It was only because I had seen a few pictures of Forrester that I was able to vaguely figure out where I was headed.

I saw a hiker ahead of me who I had never seen before and guessed that he must be hiking the John Muir Trail (from Mt. Whitney to Yosemite). He seemed to be hiking pretty slow. I took a break and looked up at the Pass, where I could make out a figure at the top. I still had a long way to get up there and hoped they would still be there! I moved on, taking many pictures of the incredible views around me.

The altitude was not allowing me to move as quickly as I wanted and I had to keep telling myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I passed by a plaque that was dedicated to a young man that had died in an accident while building this trail. Pretty alpine flowers poked out from the rocks lining the trail and gave me an excuse to pause and catch my breath for a moment before it was taken away again with the next few steps.

I finally reached the snow-encrusted cornice that in some years is extremely treacherous to cross. This year, it was no problem at all, especially after Ned Tibbets chopped out steps for us to cross it! It was only a few more minutes until I made it to the official high point of the PCT and found Bambi and Jug still there!
Bambi had cut some of his foam sleeping pad off to help Jug make some temporary “sunglasses” by cutting slits into them. For some reason, Jug had decided not to hike the PCT with sunglasses and now seemed to be suffering from the symptoms of being snowblinded, although we hadn’t yet come across much snow at all. The north side of Forrester pass was a different story, though. The sun had not yet had a chance to melt a good deal of snow on that side of the mountain!

I asked Bambi if he could take some pictures of me. We watched Jug wobble down the mountain with his funny blue glasses and gallon jug of liquid in one hand. Bambi imagined his encounters with section hikers as he walked like this and how crazy they would assume we all were! Jug looked like he was having a tough time getting through the snow and it made me wonder how I was going to get through it, myself! The slower man reached the top and quickly started the descent. He was clearly much faster on the downhills! Bambi informed me that he was actually trying to thru-hike the PCT. I decided it was time for me to get going and Bambi followed behind until I worried about slowing him down and let him go ahead.

We stepped in ankle high snow patches that would later become calf high, knee-high, and even mid-thigh level. I watched Bambi fall into the holes and then I would fall onto my butt, as well. It was kind of fun, although very slow going!

Bambi got farther and farther ahead and I fell back into my own space, looking around in wonder at the scenery around me. It seemed as if the views were getting better with every few steps I was taking!

I walked along a ridge and then headed down into a new valley with water cascading in clear streams. It was time to start releasing my worry about where I would find my next water source and learn to start carrying less water on me. I stopped to collect water from one of the streams and continued on as my stomach pain arose again. Bambi had planned on making it over Kearsarge Pass this evening, but I didn’t have a plan, yet. I would see how the day went. I got a late start and was slowed down by all of the snow we had to get through. I walked out of the granite expanse and back into trees and grass and flowers and sat down exhausted. I was in a lot of pain and didn’t know if I could keep doing this. As tears filled my eyes, I looked around and realized that as much as I was hurting, I was here, in California, in the Sierras. I had known for so long that I wanted to be here, and finally, I here I was. I felt proud of all the decisions and effort I had made to get myself here. More tears fell. I ate a snack, put my pack back on, and continued to walk.
The trail entered the forest and the views disappeared. My stomach was hurting even more. I made it across another creek and stood on the other side with a distressed look on my face, and my hand over my stomach, wondering how I was going to be able to keep walking. Then, I saw a man sitting under a tree, looking at me. I found it very disturbing that he didn’t let me know that he was there! I moved on and soon after, found Bambi sitting under a tree with his mosquito head net on. I turned on my phone to check our location. The signal was poor and it was taking forever. Bambi was still planning on getting over Kearsarge today. Once I confirmed the mile we were at, I felt like it might be possible for me to as well, but I would have to keep a strong and steady pace in order to get there before it got dark, and I was feeling pretty bad. I moved on, following a creek down towards a camping area in the woods. I stopped to collect more water and go to the bathroom and Bambi and the other man came along. I kept up and told Bambi that I might go with him after all.
We had one long and very steep climb ahead of us, after which I thought it was all downhill to Onion Valley. We hopped across rocks to make it over another creek and then started the climb. I stopped to take a break about half way up and asked the other man how far he planned on going today. He said he was going to stop at Bullfrog Lakes. I continued the climb and found Bambi being swarmed with mosquitoes as he tried to collect water. I helped swat some of them off his back and pushed on. Finally, I reached the top of the climb! I took the path toward Bullfrog Lakes and was surprised that the trail was still climbing! I thought it was supposed to start descending! The other man came along and was dismayed to find the no camping signs. Mosquitoes were attacking us and I decided I had to keep going and get over Kearsarge tonight! The man wanted me to check my guidebook and tell him what it said about camping here, but I felt like I was under immense time pressure. I still had seven and a half miles to hike and it was already well after 4:00! He let me go on.
The trail continued to climb… Bambi caught up to me and stayed just ahead. I discovered that my camera battery had died and the only way I could now take pictures was with my iphone. We made it around the lake and up to a point where we could see a couple of hikers making their way UP Keararge Pass. “That’s the trail? Are you kidding me?! Are you sure it isn’t THIS way?” I said. I was out of energy and wanted no more climbing. How on earth was I going to make it up that? I told Bambi that if I had known the trail continued to climb, there was no way I would have agreed to do this! The mosquitoes swarmed us. Even at nearly 12,000 feet, we could get no respite from these relentless attackers. I took out an insect wipe and offered one to Bambi before wiping it on my exposed skin. “At least this will make me smell a little better!” I said.
We started the climb. Up, up, up we hiked as the minutes ticked by. We would not be descending to a highway, but a trail head parking lot, where the chances of getting a ride grew slim in the evening hours. I kept my mind focused on moving forward. Just before I arrived at the top of the Pass, I heard Bambi talking to someone. Maybe he is on the phone, trying to get us a ride! I had heard that there was cell reception at the top of the Pass, but it turned out that neither of us had any. Bambi was just talking to a curious marmot, trying to complement him so that it would come close enough that he could pet it! It never came that close.

We headed down the mountain, intent on catching up to the hikers we had seen climbing ahead of us, in hopes of getting a ride into town with them. Then, we saw that the people ahead of us were actually coming up the mountain! What? Our spirits sank. We asked them if there was anyone ahead of us or any cars in the parking lot. They said there were a few people well ahead of us hiking out, but that we had to move fast to catch them. We thanked them and hurried on. We can do this! We’re thru-hikers! I told Bambi that this is where a young thru-hiker slipped off the trail a couple of years ago in a high snow year and went sliding down the mountain until he hit a rock that broke his leg. Luckily, Ned Tibetts happened to be in the area and another hiker rushed back to tell him. After he activated his SPOT button, Ned made his way down to the teen-ager, helped stabilized the bleeding, and helped keep him calm until the helicopter arrived 12 hours later. Again, Bambi commented on what a super-hero Ned was- chopping in steps for us to walk on and coming to rescue hiker after hiker!
Bambi started asking me questions about my family and even asked me if I was worried about turning into my mother! Thankfully, I said no, I wasn’t.
As we continued to descend, I wondered how on earth I was going to be able to climb back up this same path with 8 days of food in my pack! That was more food than I had ever carried before in my life! I told myself I would be okay after a little rest. I noticed that my fingernails were an incredible pink color and became fascinated with the contrast of this color that I had never seen them before and my tanned, dirty hands.

I needed to take a break and told Bambi to go on ahead. I was hoping he would hike fast and catch us a ride! I emerged out of the rocks to find three deer in the grass and watched them for several minutes. I felt lucky to have seen them. I could see Bambi on the switchbacks ahead of me, and kept hoping he would hike faster! The road came into view and soon, I saw a car head out. Nooo!! I hopelessly reached out my arm. I continued down the switchbacks as a line of parked cars came into view. Surely, someone would be there to take us into town!
I saw Hooligan waiting at the bottom and waved to him, wondering what he was doing there. It was now about 7:40pm. There were no people around the cars, so I suggested that we walk up to the other area I had seen people head toward. Bambi said that was the campground was and that those people were spending the night there. Hooligan had come back from town and decided that he was going to crash the campsite that U-turn had paid for with his girlfriend. Cowboy and Birdman were apparently there as well. Hooligan said we should join them, but I didn’t want to impose. It was getting late and I just wanted to get into town. Hooligan said there was a motel in Independence that offered rides from the trailhead, so Bambi called them up. It turned out that they charged $40 for the ride in addition to the night’s stay at the motel! He told them we would think about it and call them back. I saw a man heading to his car and asked if he was going into town. “Not until tomorrow morning,” he said. Bambi called the motel a second time to make sure that it was going to cost an additional $40. Yes, it was. He hung up and we thought about what to do. Hooligan headed over to find the guys and said he would tell them I was coming, too. Bambi and I finally decided to pay the money and called the motel for a third time. I told him I better go say hi to the guys or they would think I was rude. Cowboy and Birdman were friendly enough, but no one offered me any of the food they were enjoying or invited me to camp with them. I told them I was headed into town with Bambi and that I probably wouldn’t be seeing them as I was going to be stuck waiting for the post office to open on Monday in Lone Pine. Birdman agreed, “Yeah, we’ll probably never see you again.” I hung my head and frowned and then waved goodbye and ran back to the parking lot. A car pulled up and we headed towards it, but it turned out not to be the person from the motel. Finally, the owner, Doug, did arrive and we loaded our packs into the truck. We drove down, down, down the mountain and watched the digital thermometer rise by about 20 degrees as we descended! We had been hearing about the heat wave in the valley for the past couple of days. It was supposed to get up to 106 degrees the next day! I didn’t realize that the valleys surrounding the Sierras were still desert! In fact, we weren’t so far from Death Valley, itself!
Doug mentioned seeing a roadrunner one time along the highway we were driving on. I stared at him with wide eyes. There is actually such a thing as a roadrunner? I told him that I thought that was something from a cartoon!
I then asked him about the kind of rabbits that lived in the Sierras and told him that I had seen a jackeloupe the other day. He smiled. (It wasn’t until later that Bambi informed me that a jackeloupe is an imaginary creature comprised of half rabbit, half anteloup, and that is why the guy was smiling! What I had meant was a jack rabbit!)
We arrived in Independence and I asked if anything was still open for dinner. Doug said the Subway was our only option this late at night. We pulled into the motel and he asked if we would be sharing a room. I said if it had two beds, we could. He said the only room they had available had just one bed, but that he would double check with his wife. He came back and said that one of the units had a futon as well as a bed, so I agreed. I told Bambi that I could take the futon. It was brand new and the mattress was too stiff to flatten. I asked Bambi if I could jump in the shower first and he said he would go get us some subs. I tried to scrub the dirt off my body as fast as I could, but it was not a quick process! The tub had a ring of dirt around it when I got out, so I had to spend additional time cleaning it! When I returned to the living room, Bambi was sitting outside sipping a beer. “Bad news, Wendy.” The Subway was closed when I got there. I saw a lady inside and banged on the door, but she just shook her head. I got us some apples from the 7-11.”
We were left in our exhausted states to pick through our food bags for snacks and although we were glad to be in town, we went to bed with a feeling of emptiness in our bellies.

Day 49: Mt. Whitney- Here comes the Sun!

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Wendy

Day 49
June 6
Mt. Whitney!
Guitar Lake to mile 774.3
about 19.7 miles

Dust Bunny had let me borrow Pancake’s thick orange down jacket that he no longer wanted to carry with him for the night before she decided whether to pack it out on her descent down Whitney Portal or hand it back to him. I placed it over my sleeping bag and hoped that I would both be able to get a little sleep, and be able to get up just after one in the morning to start preparing for the ascent. Fortunately, everything went according to plan. I slipped the borrowed coat over my layers to keep me warm as I ate a snack, put in my contacts, and packed up my things. I had never woken up this early to climb a mountain in the dark, and I wasn’t feeling comfortable. I summoned my bravery and talked myself through it. I wished I could have worn the heavy coat to the summit, as my layers were not nearly as warm! As I was packing, my gaze caught some tiny lights in the distance and I watched to see if I could determine their source. They seemed to be moving toward me and I soon realized they were a line of headlamps! It was as if 4 little reindeer were making their way to the North Pole! I grew excited, knowing that I would no longer be alone! But they were making good time and I had to hurry! I tore off the heavy coat and stuffed it into its sack, clipped the straps onto my backpack, hoisted it on my back, and grabbed my poles. The reindeer were getting extremely close! I scrambled down off the rock and stepped quickly toward the trail. As I approached, a male voice called out, “Who goes there?”.
“Wendy,” I answered. “Who are you?”.
“Birdman and Cowboy,” the voice returned.
“Yay!”.
People that I knew! Cowboy told me to join the train. They had camped at Crabtree Meadows and had started about an hour ago. It was now around 2:15 and I told them they should slow down so they don’t get to the top too early and freeze. The stars were brilliant overhead and we stopped to take them in. I told them that I had been suffering from giardia since Lake Isabella. “You’re climbing Whitney with giardia?” Cowboy asked.
“Yup.”
He asked me if I was staying hydrated and I told him I was. I followed close behind, exerting more energy than they were because they hardly had any weight in their packs. I didn’t want to leave anything behind at Guitar Lake because I didn’t want the marmots chewing up my gear. When the boys stopped for a break, I continued on, so I wouldn’t fall too far behind. They caught up, one by one, and I let them go ahead. Hooligan, who had been bringing up the rear as the fifth in the group passed me and said, “Now I’m not the loser anymore. You are!”.
“I am NOT a loser!” I said.
The air was cold and my toes and fingers were becoming numb. The altitude was making it harder to take in oxygen and I had to tell myself to keep going, keep going, or I wouldn’t make it in time for sunrise. Luckily, this climb was not nearly as exhausting as Mt. Elbert was. Even though the guys didn’t wait for me and I was left alone to climb, the sight of their headlamps on the switchbacks above me provided some comfort. This definitely would have been a much more challenging experience all by myself. I would stop every so often to take my pack breaks, get some breath back in my body, and occasionally sip some water. But then I would push myself to keep moving, just keep walking.
I caught up to Birdman and Cowboy as Cowboy was taking photos of the horizon that could by seen through two vertical walls of rock. Light was already appearing! We needed to move faster! I told them my stomach was hurting and Cowboy said that altitude makes giardia worse. “It does?”. Great. He offered me a Werther’s candy from his pocket and said they sometimes help soothe his stomach when it is distressed. I happily accepted and continued the climb with something to help distract me from the pain.
As we made our way through a section of suncups, it was now Birdman, Cowboy, me, and Hooligan in a line. Just keep going… It was getting harder to lift my legs. Birdman said we were close, but we weren’t as close as I had hoped. We still had the steepest section to go. Birdman and Cowboy pulled ahead while Hooligan remained behind me. My breath was labored and I had to stop more often than I wanted. I tried to take a picture, but my camera lens immediately retracted and the power shut off. No! Not now!! I tried a few more times with the same result. I was in disbelief, but had to keep moving.
Finally, I saw the summit building. I had made it! I walked over to the rocks and looked over the horizon. It was a couple of minutes after five. U-turn and Jug were sitting in their sleeping bags. We weren’t late after all! We took pictures of each other and then waited for the sun.

The bright orb appeared and lit up the sky in fiery colors.

I grew colder and colder as I watched. Jug wanted to take jump shots and I volunteered to take his picture doing splits over the sun. Then, I wanted my picture taken. No one was able to get a picture of me in the air, though! I jumped and jumped, each time, drawing more and more energy from my legs that felt like lead. This was tiring!

In the end, there was only one shot of my body in the air and it would have to suffice. Cowboy was next with a straddle split jump. When everyone was done, I asked who would like to help me make some coffee, as I was getting dangerously cold and needed help. Jug volunteered since I took such a good jumping photo of him. I asked him if we could make it in the hut. My fingers were so cold that they could not function. Jug had to open the clips of my pack straps, dig out my jetboil, canister, and coffee, and start it up. It didn’t ignite after a few tries and I started to worry. Luckily, he had a lighter and I showed him where to place it. We had a boil! I added two packets of via and some powdered milk and we shared the coffee. I was still too cold, however. I told him I needed to drink some more hot water. Jug was sitting on his sleeping bag and all I could do was stare at it and wish I could crawl inside. I had brought mine with me, but it was all the way at the bottom of my pack, and my fingers were too cold to get it out. I finally asked him if I could get inside his and offered him mine to sit on if he dug it out. I had seen that he had gotten in his bag with his shoes on while the sun came up, so I asked if he minded if I kept mine on. I was way too frozen to even try to undo my shoe laces. Hooligan came in and told us that he had learned a method of keeping warm in Nepal and started to demonstrate by bracing his hands on his thighs. “Uddiyana bandha!” I said.
“How did you know?” he asked in amazement.
“Because I do yoga!” I said.
He still didn’t understand how I knew about that! (Maybe now he wouldn’t think I was such a loser). I was still freezing cold and patiently waiting for some circulation to return to my body. Jug took out his iphone and pointed it at me. “Are you taking a picture of me?”.
“Yes,” he said. “I want to show people that there was a girl in my sleeping bag,”. Someone else came into the hut and Jug said, “This girl is a beast. She climbed up here with a full pack AND she has giardia!”. Cowboy and Birdman had signed the registry outside the hut and were ready to head back down. I didn’t find the idea of holding a pen in the freezing cold at all appealing, so I didn’t even try to find the register. Jug said he was getting ready to go, too, so I got out of his sleeping bag, warm enough to start the descent, myself. (Thanks for saving me, Jug!)

We reached the suncups together and then he took off and left me to my own pace. Since this was the first time that I was seeing everything in daylight, I stopped often to take pictures. By now, the trail was becoming busy with hikers climbing up Whitney Portal from town, and thru-hikers that didn’t want to make it to the top for sunrise. Two of those were 5- Star, who I hadn’t seen in quite awhile and Purple Haze. I chatted with them and found out that Purple Haze had also gotten giardia in the desert, but was now completely recovered. I told them I hoped to get some antibiotics in Lone Pine. We headed our separate ways and I continued to greet the ascending hikers. I was really glad that I was able to summit the mountain as a thru-hiker with the ability to get there for sunrise and share the space with only a handful of other thru-hikers.

I met another thru-hiker climbing up who told me that if I waited long enough- usually around 10 days- the giardia will go away on its own. “Really?” I happily responded. He said that he had picked it up a number of times in his overseas travels and often wasn’t able to get antibiotics for it. I had already been suffering for nearly 10 days, so maybe I could wait it out. (Then, I thought back to how I tried to wait it out when I got it after the AT and nothing resolved until I took antibiotics weeks later. My body is very slow at healing).
My calf muscle started hurting on the descent. I hoped the pain would dissipate. It was taking forever to get back to Guitar Lake!

Finally, I reached the stream that ran toward the lake and stopped for a snack and collected water. I still had 2.7 miles to get back to Crabtree Meadows to retrieve my canister. Those miles dragged on as well, seeming to be even longer than the first time I had hiked them!
Finally, I crossed the creek and came to the bearbox where my canister was waiting. The rest of the guys were resting in their tents that they had kept up while they climbed Whitney. I walked over to the little area across the way that I had contemplated spending the night at, and although I wanted to put in some miles, my body was extremely tired and needed some rest. I decided I could lie down for about an hour. I saw Cowboy take his pack and head towards the creek and suddenly felt like I needed to get moving, too! I had to remind myself that I didn’t need to keep the same pace as anyone else. When I finally got going, I saw that Cowboy had just gone down to the banks of the creek to nap. So, I was the first one to leave after all.
I never did see Yardsale. I guessed that he had made it all the way up to the summit last night and slept in the bivy spot partway down. I didn’t get to give him his bandana, after all.
The day grew warm and I had to change back into my short sleeved shirt. I made it back to the PCT and walked alone for several miles. Cowboy and Hooligan caught up while I was taking a break and Cowboy was surprised to see me. He thought I had planned to take Whitney Portal into town, for some reason. Hooligan wanted to hike all the way over Forrester Pass by this evening, which Cowboy and I thought was absolutely ridiculous. “That’s dangerous!” Cowboy warned him. He didn’t seem to care. Birdman came along and wanted to take a snack break, so the others joined him as I moved on.
I later came to a rushing creek that didn’t look easy to cross so I decided to take Ned Tibbets’ advice and follow the creek upstream to see if there was an easier crossing. There wasn’t. In the meantime, the guys had made their way across. Mosquitoes were coming out in droves and were making the evening unpleasant. I made it across the creek, walked until I needed a break, and then as I moved on, noticed that Cowboy was behind me, somehow. He looked tired. I thought he would catch up to me, but never did. I saw a rabbit run off in the distance and noticed that it was a different type than the bunnies I had seen in the desert. I thought that it must be a jackeloup. I walked on, and Cowboy stayed well behind. Birdman and U-turn were waiting for him along the trail and I took the opportunity to take my pack off for a moment. They wanted to push on as far as possible in order to hike down Kearsarge tomorrow. That was a long way to hike and no part of me wanted to do that! I asked them why they needed to do all of those miles by tomorrow. U-turn said his girlfriend was coming to meet him. Cowboy just looked at me.
I moved on, crossing an open landscape, as I grew more and more tired.

I knew there was another creek crossing coming up and I told the guys it would be best to wait until the morning to do that. When I reached a bear box, I decided I was stopping there for the night, even though it was just after 5. I was done!
The sky had been filling with threatening grey clouds, and I decided it would be smart to set up my tent in case it rained. I scoped out the area and picked a tree to camp next to. I had a lot of trouble setting up my tent, however! Apparently, it had been so long that I had forgotten how to do it! The walls were not at all taut, but I didn’t want to struggle with it anymore. Birdman, U-turn, and Cowboy all passed by and kept hiking. Jug later came by and decided to stop here, as well, however. I asked him if he could help me lock my bear canister, as I couldn’t seem to do it (I had lost my quarter) and was trying to use my credit card. He was unable to help. I figured that as long as the bear box was locked, it would be fine.
I cooked my dinner and crawled into my sleeping bag as a third hiker arrived. I peaked out through the mesh of my tent and saw that it was Bambi.

Day 48: Guitar Lake!

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Wendy

Day 48
June 5
mile 760.5-to Guitar Lake
9.8 miles

Last night, Yardsale was boasting about sleeping in this morning since he only had to do 8 miles today. Since I was doing the same Mt. Whitney set-up as him, I decided that I should also enjoy a morning of sleeping in! How wonderful! I pulled my sleeping bag liner over my head and didn’t emerge from my sleeping bag until after 8. By then, everyone else was gone, except for Delaware Dave, who I was camped next to, and who was now facing me, with a book in his hand. That did not make me feel comfortable at all, as I hate being looked at in the morning! (Why, of all the people in the area, did he have to be the one in no rush to get going, and why did he have to be looking right at me?) I walked over to the bear box to retrieve my canister, and then set about my morning routine. Delaware Dave sipped his coffee, gazed at the creek, and read a few more pages of his book. I had never had a morning like that on any of my thru-hikes!

I went down to the creek to collect more water for the day and then went off to find a place to go to the bathroom. By the time I was on the trail, it was already 10am! Wow! I walked alone for the next six miles, beginning with a good climb out of the creek and then reaching a landscape that combined desert and granite mountains. I wondered which mountain was Whitney and every time I saw one with snow on it, guessed that was the one.

I descended a rock and gravelly path and came to a new kind of gate where I had to slide a wooden pole out of the way. Someone had left a note there for a hiker, but it was not for me.

I made my way to a large creek where I carefully had to step on rocks to get across. Delaware Dave was relaxing down the way a bit, enjoying his book again. I waved and he asked me for a favor. Yardsale had dropped his bandana and he wanted to know if I could get it back to him. I had to find a way to get close enough to him so that he could throw it to me across the water. I asked him about the book he was reading and found out that the guy who was leaving the Splinter’s cabin area as I was headed in, had written it about his hike through the Oregon section of the PCT! Delaware Dave had found it in the hiker box at Kennedy Meadows. I told him that I had better start the path towards Whitney. He told me that no matter how awesome it was, to please tell him the next time I saw him that it was just okay, so he didn’t feel bad that he didn’t climb it!
I came to the intersection sign at which the PCT split from the Mt. Whitney path and saw a note that Yardsale had left for Hooligan. Someone had written on it, “The PCT misses you, Yardsale!”. I walked past two tents and then started a gentle climb. I was having chafing pain again, so I stopped to apply my ointment, and then continued up. As I crossed a stream, rain drops began to fall. I pulled my rain jacket out of my pack and continued the climb as the rain came down harder. I decided to sit under a tree and wait for a bit. I had two choices of where I could camp for the night. I could stay at Crabtree Meadows, where there was a bearbox that I could store most of my gear in while I made the seven mile climb to the summit, or I could continue on for 2.7 more miles tonight and sleep at Guitar Lake (a very cold, exposed place), and then carry my full pack the rest of the way to the summit. I liked the idea of carrying less weight, but I also liked the idea of having fewer miles to hike in the dark and not needing to get up as early as if I stayed at Crabtree meadows.
A male hiker came down the path and said hello as I was sitting under the tree, shivering. The rain was making him want to hurry back to his tent. I asked him if he had seen Yardsale, and he told me that he had just left Crabtree Meadows. He advised me to spend the night there as there were a lot of trees that would help with protection from the storm.
As the rain let up, I continued the climb and reached the meadows. I found a camping spot in between some trees and thought about what I should do. The rain came to a stop and I decided that I might as well move on. I pulled the bear canister from my pack, sorted through my food, and put some of the extra into the can, along with a few other items that I knew I wouldn’t need for the next 24 hours. I stashed the can in the bear box and headed across the creek and up toward Guitar Lake.
Walking Home was returning from his descent and seemed very happy. He told me that he was looking forward to fishing at the creek where his tent was set up when he got back, and that there were a couple of guys fishing at Guitar Lake who would probably love to share their food with me.
I continued the climb with my stomach in pain again. The scenery was becoming more beautiful, however. I stopped to take photographs of the little magenta flowers, the lakes, and the looming mountains. This day was not turning out to be as easy as I had hoped!

As I drew closer to the lake, I could see a couple of tiny tents set up, as well as a couple of tiny figures, all dwarfed by the huge mountains surrounding them. It was the most beautiful sight I had seen so far.
I continued along the path and then turned down along the creek toward the tents. A hiker was walking toward me and said, “Welcome!” when we were in close proximity. How nice! She explained the lay of the land, letting me know that there were signs that said no camping on the grass where the guys were set up, but that there were spaces on the rock. “On the rock?” Yes. She was set up there. She told me to check it out and see what felt best to me. I felt so at home and so appreciative that someone wanted me to do what felt the most comfortable to me. (What a rarity!). I picked a spot and spread out my piece of Tyvek, unrolled my sleeping pad, and drew my sleeping bag out of its stuff sack. Marmots were running all over the place, investigating any unwatched items. “Do you mind if I join you for a bit?” the girl asked after she returned from collecting water. “No. Of course not.” She told me that this was her second night camping here and that she had summitted Whitney yesterday. I learned that her name was Dust Bunny and that she had skipped up to the Sierras from Agua Dulce because she wanted to play around and not be constrained by hiking a single path. She also opened up about her recent divorce and former abusive partner, as well as her neglectful father. While I’ve never been even close to being married, it seemed like we shared similar histories and current relationship issues as a result. She talked about how we subconsciously seek out and attract certain types of people in our lives and it was making me upset to realize how much work I still had ahead of me and how unbelievably long it takes to undo patterns imposed on an abused child. As I told her about some of my experiences, I couldn’t help but cry. Things were not looking hopeful to me at all. However, she reminded me that we were out here, actively working on our lives and seeking out something good. “Yeah,” I agreed. “Look at where we are!” How many people sleep in a place like this? I told Dust Bunny that I had had a reading over the phone before I started the PCT and was told that this hike was about me shedding past emotions and hurts as I walked, as well as creating a heart-space shield around myself that could only be entered by others with open hearts. She said that she felt like I was allowing her right into my heart space and she was so thankful for that. She had only been around guys in the past few days and was hoping for a girl to talk to. And then, I appeared!
She said she might climb Whitney with me tomorrow, but she wasn’t sure because the cold air really took it out of her. An older man joined us on our rock, but found his own space. My stomach was really hurting and I told her how hard it was to be in a good mood when when I was experiencing such pain. She said she knew what that was like. For years, she had suffered from stomach problems, and had tried lots of different food diets. She found that she couldn’t eat gluten and that maybe I was suffering from something similar. I wondered, why, all of a sudden, on my PCT hike, would I become gluten intolerant. It didn’t make any sense.

The air grew colder and the hour got late. I wondered where all the extra time I was supposed to have with this short day went? Dust Bunny returned to her area and said she probably wasn’t going to climb Whitney with me and wanted to know if I would be okay. We both said we hoped we would see each other at some point later on. In just a couple of hours, it would be time for me to get up in the dark and start making the climb up the tallest mountain in the lower 48! I hoped I would be able to stay warm enough.

Day 47: The Day we thought Chicken Spring Lake had dried up!

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Wendy

Day 47
June 4
mile 741.7-760.5 (Rock Creek)
18.8 miles

Ice Bucket woke up earlier than I did and headed out while I went through my morning routine. I was glad for the bit of privacy as I needed to take care of my additional girl issues. I was also thankful that I knew where the water access was after talking to Walking Home last night. I packed up my things and walked down to the creek. And then, Drama appeared! He said Weeds was not too far behind. Suddenly, we were all in close proximity again! I asked him if he had any extra bandages that he could spare because both of the tops of my thumbs were deeply cracked from rubbing against my poles and bleeding. They had been like this for days and anytime I put band-aids on them, they would quickly fall off. I had also deeply ripped one of my thumbnails! He gave me some white wrapping tape and help me bandage my thumbs, telling me I now looked like Seymour from ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. I remembered how much I love that song “Suddenly Seymour” and felt so happy after he said that! We found separate places to collect water and then, while I was filtering mine, said he was going to head out. No one wanted to wait for anyone else around here. Sigh.
I reached the PCT and walked along for awhile before seeing a hiker ahead of me. It turned out to be Yardsale, who was looking for the next water source. I told him that it should be off to the left at a bend in the trail. I reached an intersection with a sign, looked at the options it gave, and then headed where I thought I was supposed to be going. At some point, I decided to check my GPS and discovered that this was not actually the PCT and had to turn around, losing time. I should have just ignored the sign and continued straight. The trail climbed and as I continued up, I saw a hiker sitting alongside it. Weeds! Yardsale was just ahead and wondered how I was now behind him. I had to tell him that I had gotten lost. We all hiked at our individual paces, but would chat whenever we caught up to someone taking a break.

I caught back up to Drama and found a nice big rock to sit on with a view. He wanted to see how my jetboil stove worked, so I cooked the second half of the meal that I didn’t like so much yesterday and let him have it. My eyes got wide as I saw Icebucket approach! How on earth was he behind us? He grumbled about accidentally heading down the the Trail Pass that leads to Lone Pine, losing a couple of hours time! He was not in the mood to chat!
We moved on and met up again at a little cascading stream, that was perfect for collecting water. Yardsale was already there. When he heard about my stomach pain, he said that he was worried about me! “People die from that!” he cautioned. I moved on and let them have their conversation about their girlfriends.
Drama then passed me back as I was taking a break along the side of the trail. Our next destination was Chicken Spring Lake, which I looking forward to taking a relaxing break at. After a couple more miles of walking, I came to a dried up creek outlet. Drama was sitting on a large rock beside a tree nearby. “Is this the lake?”, I asked, somewhat appalled. He shrugged his shoulders and said he didn’t know about a lake. How could the lake have completely dried up, I wondered. This was terrible. Dejected, I joined Drama on the rock. Weeds came along and also asked if that was the lake. “Isn’t it beautiful?”I asked. She joined us on the rock, also extremely disappointed, as we sorted through the contents of our foodbag. Drama said that he was the only one not upset because he wasn’t expecting anything! Then, Yardsale happened along. He couldn’t believe this was the lake and decided to follow the creek up and see what he could find. When he was out of sight, he called to us, “It’s here!”. We packed up our things and followed him up the marsh. Delaware Dave was just headed out. I couldn’t believe the sight of the actual lake that we had nearly missed! It was one of the most beautiful things I had seen on the trail so far! Yardsale had made his way to a rock on the far side, while Weeds and Drama stood along the grassy bank.

I headed down to a rock on the edge of the water and unfolded my sleeping pad. I so badly wanted to spend a couple of hours here, but I had only minutes to spare, as I still needed to get in 10 more miles before nightfall in order to set up for Mt. Whitney the following day. (I couldn’t believe I was about to climb the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states already!! Everything was happening so fast!).

I lingered as long as I could and then got moving again. Weeds and Drama had left long before me. As I was climbing away from the lake, another hiker caught up to me. He had just come back from Lone Pine on the Cottonwood side trail. He walked with me and I was grateful for some conversation to distract me from my stomach pain. He told me his story about the lady at the Lone Pine Post Office. He knew exactly how many letters and packages had been sent to him, had the tracking numbers for the packages, and went up to her and asked for them. She came back and told him there was nothing there for him and told him to come back later. He returned just before they were to close, and once again, she said there was nothing there and that he should check back in the morning. He returned, told her to forget the letters and other packages- he just needed the package with his shoes in them. She quickly looked and again said there was nothing for him. This time, he would not take no for an answer. He told her that he had nowhere to go except the trail and that he couldn’t hike unless he had his shoes. Until she was able to give him the box that he had the tracking number for, he would set his tent up in the lobby and wait. She took one more look and came back with every letter and package that he was expecting, explaining that it was out of alphabetical order. Oh, boy… This worried me because I had my packages sent to that post office, as well!

We hiked on and eventually found Drama sitting beside the trail, rubbing out the soles of his feet. I needed a snack break by that point, so I sat down near him. Then, I took the lead when Drama decided to stop with Weeds and Turner and cook dinner. We were all aiming to get to Rock Creek, where they had bear boxes for safe storage of our food. There was also supposed to be a ranger’s station nearby, where I hoped I might be able to get some antibiotics for my giardia.
I ended up stopping to cook my dinner before I made it there myself, however. This day was dragging on and on, and I was losing my energy.
Weeds passed by, and then I passed by her. I reached a stream and stopped to collect water (not realizing I would be camping next to a stream!). I walked on until I came to the sign for the ranger station and then followed the path. I saw several deer in the area. Turner waved to me as he continued to the campground. I followed the path for awhile, but saw no ranger station, so I decided to turn back.

Weeds was very happily reuniting with Ice Bucket, who had already been there for awhile, and the rest of us moved to a different section. Everyone had sent up their tents because the sky had turned cloudy and they thought it might rain. I decided to risk it and cowboy camp. Since it was Yardsale’s last night on the PCT, he made a fire and I took some tea and my jetboil over to enjoy it with some of the others. A roaming ranger was also camped there and he told us that the real rangers had not yet been stationed. Drama, Weeds, and Icebucket had all decided not to climb Mt. Whitney, leaving me alone to take that side trip. Yardsale was the only other person in this group that was going to climb it and when I mentioned that I was climbing it, too, he acted like he didn’t know that. “Yeah, remember when I told you that I would be climbing it with you?”.
“Oh, no,” he said. “I’m not climbing Whitney with anyone. I’m doing it on my own. It’s my last day on the trail.”
As he returned to his tent, I told someone that Yardsale and I were both planning to get to the summit for sunrise, but we are doing it separately!
No one wanted to stay up any longer and retreated to their tents, so I walked back to my sleeping bag. I was now alone for the rest of the Sierras.

Day 46: In need of antibiotics!

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Wendy

Day 46
June 3
mile 719.8-741.7
21.9 miles

While I finished packing up, the others headed out to the trail. The guys held up their poles while Drama hummed Chariots of Fire and Weeds passed underneath, fulfilling her wish. I met them on the climb and took the lead. As the morning progressed, Ice Bucket and I would leapfrog each other with him passing me as I took breaks, and me catching back up to him as we climbed. Weeds and Drama had dropped back, as she wanted to take some time to meditate at the site of her stroke, and Drama wanted to remain close by to support her.

By 11:00, my stomach was already in pain. Ice Bucket took out his GPS and said that we still had 45 minutes of climbing before we made it to the top. I didn’t think it would take nearly that long and before I knew it, I was at the top of the mountain before! There were no scenic vistas- only rocks strewn about, so I headed down the other side, taking breaks when I needed them.

I continued to walk until I reached the intersecting path to a water source. So far, the Sierras did not have water all over the place like we had heard! We still had to carry liters of water at a time. A couple of hikers were napping at the base of some rocks. I dropped my pack and walked along the side trail until I found the little creek. Ice Bucket arrived as I was filtering my water. I found it strange that he wasn’t waiting for Weeds. He said that if they didn’t show up by the time he was done eating lunch, he would move on. Our little group was already breaking up. I found a large rock to sit on that was away from everyone else and decided to cook a hot meal. My stomach was having a very hard time with it. I tried lying down for a couple of minutes, but knew I had to keep moving.
Weeds and Drama still had not arrived and I wondered where they were.
I realized that I needed antibiotics and knew that I would have to start asking other hikers if they were carrying any. Usually, I would forget to ask when someone happened into my vicinity, however. I walked by Seeking, who was taking a break, and he asked if I was feeling any better. I wasn’t. He told me that he had suffered from giardia in Montana and the pain grew worse whenever he ate. He ended up not eating for 10 days and that solved the problem! I did not have the option to do that, however.
I walked alone for the rest of the afternoon until I found Ice Bucket taking a break. He was wondering where Weeds was and thought Drama was slowing her down. He thought she would likely stop where we were and had drawn an arrow in the dirt, leading to a path to water. He wanted to get in a few more miles, as did I, so we headed on. A faster hiker passed us and we asked him if he had seen Weeds or Drama. He didn’t know them by name, so we started describing them. He told us that he had seen a blond woman and a man wearing spandex shorts, walking slowly, that he didn’t want to be behind! We both thought that Drama had taken off his pants, for some reason, and was hiking in his new underwear that he had received in his resupply box at Kennedy Meadows! He told us the woman was planning on camping at the next water source (the one we had just left). We thanked him for the information and headed on. I took the lead and walked alone for the next couple of miles. When I was close to the next camping area off the PCT, I stopped and tried to figure out where exactly it was. Ice Bucket came up and said it was right here, so I followed him in. Two women had their tents set up, and as I walked by, I asked them if they happened to be carrying any antibiotics for giardia. They didn’t, but said there was another hiker camped down by the river that I could ask.
Ice Bucket and I found a quiet area and after I dropped my pack off, headed down to find the other hiker. It turned out to Walking Home. He was carrying a prescription for flagyl that he said I was welcome to take, but not the antibiotics themselves. I didn’t think the pharmacist would give me something prescribed to a man, so I thanked him and headed back to set up camp. Ice Bucket invited me over to his area for dinner, but I said my stomach really couldn’t handle dinner. He advised me to take the six mile side trail that would get me into Lone Pine tomorrow and see a doctor. I told him that our guidebook says that it is a nearly impossible hitch! I had sent my next resupply box to Lone Pine, which I had planned to get to from Kearsarge Pass in three or four days time. I really didn’t want to add an additional 12 miles to my journey and spend all that time trying to get a ride to town, sit around waiting for a doctor and then try to get back on the trail to do it all over again in a few days. My little group would be so far ahead by that point and then who would be around me for safety? I told him that I would see how I felt and decide tomorrow. I asked him when we needed to start worrying about setting up for the big Sierra passes and dangerous creek fords that I had heard so much about, and he said that he wasn’t worried about any of that. He planned on hiking 20 miles a day and that was that.
Since I didn’t photograph my food leaving Kennedy Meadows, I asked Ice Bucket if he could take a picture of me now with it. How do I have room for anything else in my pack?

I ate a couple of snacks, washed up, re-read my guidebook pages, and crawled into my sleeping bag to let my tummy rest for the night.

Day 45: A Day to support Weeds

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Wendy

Day 45
June 2
702.2-719.8
17.6 miles

Dr. Sole had told me that I should come over for breakfast in the morning. After I woke up, I walked over to the kitchen in the shed to return the coffee mug that I had borrowed and found a huge group of hikers there. One of them asked how my stomach was feeling. I started launching into how it always feels not too bad in the mornings because I haven’t put anything into my stomach for many hours, but the pain grows during the day after I start eating. Before I could finish, my eyes rested upon a tall hiker, standing with a little smile on his face and a coffee mug in his hand, his eyes upon me the entire time. UB! I stood there with my eyes wide and mouth open for several seconds. “When did you get here?” I asked him.
“Last night at 1 am”. He had hiked the 52 miles from Walker Pass with three other guys in one day! Craziness! We gave each other a big hug and I told him to come with me to Dr. Sole’s. Before we left, a hiker told me to stop the “psychosomatics”, which I really couldn’t believe! Otherworld advised me to think positive thoughts- if I thought about the pain coming back in the afternoon, it would. I said I would try.

We found some folding chairs to sit in under the already crowded awning besides Dr. Sole’s RV. We were served chorizo burritos and coffee. I didn’t think it was the best thing for my stomach, but I ate it anyway.

Weeds and Ice Bucket headed to the store to get an egg breakfast and said they would be ready to leave by 10. I returned to my trailer, packed up my pack with the humongous bear canister inside for the first time and joined a table of hikers outside the store. The french toast and eggs that people were eating turned my stomach, but someone was eating an ice cream cookie sandwich and that seemed like it would be much more gentle, so I got one of those!

UB had retrieved his cartload of resupply boxes and was starting to sort through them. I got to watch one of his recent videos, which again brought tears to my eyes. He said that Muk Muk was expected to get here around 6 in the evening. I knew she would need another day to get her supplies together and unfortunately, I didn’t feel like I could wait that long to get moving.

Weeds, IceBucket, and Drama came by and said they were heading out. I said my goodbyes and followed them down the road.

IceBucket told me that I looked like a tennis player in my new outfit. Drama said that my calves were really tan, but the backs of my thighs were pale. “Well, now they will get a chance to get some sun, too!”. As we walked down the road, two hikers headed towards us. “Cowboy?” I called out.
“Yup”. He seemed very distant, which I found strange. I had not seen him since Little Jimmy Springs Campground and he had nothing to say to me except, “See you somewhere in the Sierras.” Okay! I tried to return my attention back to our little group. We found the PCT in the desert scrub and headed along the sandy path. They said I could take the lead. I was expecting to enter a new environment of dirt and trees and huge mountains, but right now, it was still desert, and the sand was deep and slow to move through.

A couple of miles away, there was a campground that Weeds said they would stop at to get water. I arrived there ahead of everyone else, used the restroom, and tried to fix the gaiters that I had used on the AT and CT, that now seemed way too big with the socks I was wearing. I wished I could get rid of them immediately, but I was stuck with them at least until I got off Kearsarge Pass. I also discovered that I had already lost one of my snow baskets! The entry into the Sierras was not going so smoothly!

No one showed up, so I decided to keep going. I came to a little river and decided to take a break and put my feet in. Ice Bucket came along and said he was going ahead to the bridge, and Weeds and Drama did the same. I dried my feet, put my toesocks back on (a time consuming process), and then my gaiters and shoes.

I walked on until I came to the bridge and was happy to see my little group taking a break on the other side! We all went down to the water to refill our bottles and snack. Ice Bucket headed out first, followed by me. Weeds didn’t seem happy that I wasn’t waiting for her, but I said I would see her again in a few minutes!
We entered yet another burn area and there was no place no escape from the sun.

I would have to reset my expectations for what the Sierras would be like. We were still in the desert as far as I was concerned. Cactus and sage and sand still abounded, with rolling hills in the distance.

I was now far ahead of the others and walked alone all afternoon. When I reached a bridge crossing a small river, I decided to stop along the bank, cook my dinner, and wait for the others. I knew that Weeds wanted to stop at the place at which her stroke occurred last year, and that she needed support to get through this significant place. A couple of other hikers were also hanging out here, but they weren’t people I knew or were close to, so I moved down the bank to find a place of my own.

My stomach was not feeling well. I decided to try the tortilla soup kit that John had sent me, thinking that would be the most gentle on my stomach. Before I cooked it, I headed down the river, trying to find a place where the water was flowing enough to be able to get inside my small mouth squeeze bags. I had to step on some rocks and balance on them in the middle of the river.
Ice Bucket was the first of the three to arrive and immediately began looking for a place to set up camp. Razor directed him to a wooded site up on a hill. When Weeds arrived, she went to ask Ice Bucket what he was doing. She had planned to continue walking until she reached her infamous spot. He packed up and the three of them decided to collect water and head out, waiting until later to cook dinner. I was ready to go as, well, so we all left together. Someone had shaped some rocks into the words, “Go Weeds!” at the base of the bridge. She was very touched.

We headed out into the evening air with me in the lead, followed by Ice Bucket, who was frustrated he couldn’t keep up, and Weeds and Drama together behind us. The trail wound through open desert hills and I felt happy where I was.

We entered a wooded area, where a chickadee-like bird sat, pecking for food in the middle of the trail. Miraculously, it was not scared away by me, and Ice Bucket and I got to watch it for a few minutes! He thought that was amazing! Ahead, I saw a deer run across the trail and hoped I would be able to get a better view of it ahead. But then, we saw another display for Weeds along the side of the trail. Someone really nice had taken the time to show her their support and love and we wondered who it could be. We waited for Weeds and Drama to catch up. Ice Bucket asked her who loved her. She said, “I don’t know. Do you love me?”. He said yes. “Do you love me?” she asked me.
“Yes!”.
Then, she saw her name and the shape of a heart formed with pinecones and stood there in awe. She said that it actually brought tears to her eyes and that she is not someone who displays emotions. We all took in the moment, offered Weeds some words of support, and continued on, searching for the spot of her accident.

There was a very small creek up ahead with a possible place to camp and Weeds said that, although that was not the place, she would be willing to stop there for the night. We arrived to find Walking Home set up there already, and while Ice Bucket sourced out the water situation, we thought about whether to stop or move on. We decided to move on. I broke ahead of everyone again and came upon a nice source of running water! I heard my name being called from behind and was told that they were going to stop there. I turned back and scouted out an area to set up. It turns out that the path I had taken was a side trail off the PCT, but I was glad I had taken it for the discovery of water there! Drama set up his tent, and the three of us cowboy camped. It was our first night using bear canisters and Weeds wanted to set them far away from our sleeping bags. I wasn’t worried and didn’t mind leaving mine right beside me. The others wanted to leave theirs near the foot of my sleeping bag!
Scott, one of the store workers at Kennedy Meadows, had given Weeds a gatorade bottle filled with Tequila to help her get over this momental place on the trail. She welcomed us to share it with her. I had never tasted Tequila before, so I tried it, hoping it would help kill my stomach bugs. It was not too strong! Ice Bucket shared his Good n Plentys, and we talked and laughed, and then headed off to sleep. Weeds wanted to step under crossed hiking poles raised over her head to the sound of Chariots of Fire in the morning.

Day 44: Zero before the Sierras

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Wendy

Day 44
June 1
Zero

I had been planning on taking a zero day today because Dr. Sole was arriving to set up his foot care station for the hikers and wanted to see me and Muk Muk, I needed time to sort through all my new gear for the Sierras, and because I was sick. I was hoping that Drama and Weeds wouldn’t leave until tomorrow, either. Drama had mentioned that he had done himself in by forgetting to put his mosquito head net in his resupply box. By some stroke of luck, John had put one in the bear canister he sent me, along with a bunch of food! I had already bought one for myself, so now I had an extra one for Drama! Part of me wanted to bribe Drama into staying another day with the head net, but I knew that wasn’t right and that he should do whatever was best for him. So, when I saw him, I just told him that I had something for him.
Erik had included a mango and a couple of baked breakfast goods from Whole Foods in the package I sent, so I didn’t have to search out breakfast. I did look to see if there was any coffee around. I saw Weeds and asked if she wanted to share my mango with me. After she found Icebucket, we sat at a picnic table and a swarm of hikers descended upon us, staring at the single mango! Ice Bucket was skilled at decoratively cutting the piece of fruit, and the pieces were small enough for many people to share.

Drama made fun of the color of my new fleece jacket that I was wearing over my dress. I returned to my trailer to start the sorting process when I heard my name being called by a girl. “Yes?” She said that Dr. Sole was with her. He couldn’t believe it was me that was so sick, although he was glad that I didn’t look like I was about to die! He told me he was going to find a place to park his RV, set up his tent, and then could get me the watermelon.
He ended up parking between the store and the trailers and I offered to help him set up. Other hikers started hanging around, wanting him to fix up their feet. Otherworld, who I met at kick-off, got to be attended to first. I was very surprised to see her last night, but found out that she had skipped two sections in the desert to get here. I patiently waited my turn, as Dr. Sole popped and patched up blisters, scraped down callouses, and then applied toenail polish. I didn’t feel like I could waste much more time waiting around, though, because I needed to get everything together that I couldn’t carry and ship it someplace else before I didn’t have that opportunity. Someone told me that I better hurry up because tomorrow was Sunday! I didn’t have many foot problems, other than callouses, but I did want my toes painted. However, I had no time to wait for them to dry. I hurried back to the trailer and got down to business. Decisions had to be made! I stuffed a box full of my desert clothes, microspikes that I decided I didn’t need, my desert hat and umbrella, one of my poles, and lots of extra food, and brought it to the store to be weighed. I decided to send it to South Lake Tahoe, which marked the official end of the Sierras. There, I could sort through it again and mail some things home and carry other stuff with me. The clerk called the post office, gave them the measurements and weight, and was told how much it would cost. Done!
I decided to take another shower while I had the opportunity. Dr. Sole let me borrow one of his towels and followed me up to the bathroom. He told me that I looked sexy from behind.
Drama had decided that he was going to head out to the trail in the afternoon. I was surprised to see him return not too long afterwards! He said that it didn’t feel right to leave not knowing what was wrong with my stomach, and not being there for Weeds. He started crying and then decided to turn around. Last year, Weeds attempted to thru-hike the PCT and after entering the Sierras, suffered a stroke. She was airlifted out and spend months recovering in a hospital. Now, she was back for her second attempt and was scared to reach the point at which her stroke occurred. I was relieved that Drama had returned. “You don’t want to start the Sierras alone, do you?” I asked him. He shook his head no. The Sierras were the one part of the trail that were recommended to be done with someone else for safety reasons. I still didn’t have a clue as to what the snow and ice conditions were like out there.

As the day wore on, the pain in my stomach increased. My belly was distended with inflammation. One hiker laughed when I said how much it hurt. (?) I was getting messages on facebook from people at home telling me not to go into the Sierras if my appendix was about to burst, or that I needed to have my gallbladder removed. The woman who was mailing out my resupply boxes told me it was dysentery and to boil all of the water that I drank. Hikers who were hanging out around Dr. Sole suggested that the food I was eating was too acidic and that I needed to put baking soda in my water to balance out the pH of my stomach. Another told me to listen to what my body was trying to tell me. I’m pretty sure it was telling me I had giardia! It was the same kind of pain that I felt after suffering from giardia on the AT. Eating made it feel even worse!
One person said that there was a half a dose of flagyl in the hiker box, but I couldn’t find it and didn’t think it would be good to take a half dose anyway. So, I ate the two packets of watermelon seeds that Dr. Sole bought from Home Depot because he could only find seedless watermelon at the store! Someone said, “You’re eating seeds that were meant for planting?!”
“Yup”. What else was I supposed to do?
After the store grill had closed down, Dr. Sole cooked dinner for the hikers hanging around his RV. There were a lot of them! And more were constantly streaming in. Some were even driven there, which astounded me… Yardsale, who is the 18 year old kid that blew past the 200 mile sign while I was there, told us he would be getting off the trail at Mt. Whitney. Although I hardly knew him, I suddenly felt extremely sad! One of our family was leaving. It hit me almost as hard as if I were about to leave the trail, myself… What an awful feeling.
A movie was being shown in an outdoor theater at Tom’s place and people started to head over there as it got dark. I stayed and listened to some hiker stories and then walked by the movie. I found the moving images mesmerizing. It was as if I had never seen a movie before! I didn’t stay to watch, though, because I had already missed a good deal of it. I walked by Drama’s trailer and heard a lot of laughter inside. I decided to see what was going on in there. It turned out that Otherworld was his roommate and they, along with Mermaid were smoking marijuana. I sat with them for a few minutes and then headed back to my trailer. The stars were incredible. I didn’t know what to look at- the images on the screen, or the stars overhead… There was a lot of energy in this place, and I felt a bit high, myself, even though I hadn’t taken any substances.
I lied down in my trailer bed, hoping that I would feel well enough to head into the Sierras with Weeds, IceBucket, and Drama tomorrow.

Day 43: Kennedy Meadows!

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Wendy

Day 43
May 31
mile 691.7-702.8 (Kennedy Meadows)
11.1 miles

I had no need to wake up very early because I only had just over 11 miles to get to Kennedy Meadows! I ate some breakfast and then needed to quickly find a place to go to the bathroom. What came out looked like a big, wet cow puddle, which confirmed the stomach pain I had experienced the evening before. Just as I was finishing up, a hiker came along. “Drama?!” I said, partly in disbelief, partly needing a few more minutes before I was ready to see anyone. With my toilet paper in hand, I told him that I just had to pack everything up. My sleeping bag was still out and he made a comment about me being a late-riser. “What time did you get up?” I asked him. He said he was walking by 5:30! He also told me that he had camped with Dinnertime last night! Dinnertime was close by? I hadn’t seen him since before the Saufley’s! How exciting to have people I knew around me again!
We continued to chat and catch up as I stuffed my possessions into their stuff sacks and then into my pack, and then we started walking. We had so many things to fill each other in on, as we had not seen each other since mile 110! Apparently, when he had texted me asking what my shoe prints looked like, he was only a mile behind me! He really was following my footsteps! I was amazed he hadn’t caught me sooner! He asked me about the night I spent at the trail angel’s house in Warner Springs before kick-off and told me that he had had a bad feeling about it when I got in the guy’s truck. “You did?”. He said that he knew that I was a tough girl, though, and that I would be all right. We talked about who he had been hiking with, and how he missed Lorax.

We found a tree to sit under to take a snack break and since he was nearly out of food, I gave him some of my extra. He traded me some nabisco crackers. It was a nice feeling to finally have some company!
We walked to the Kern river, where it wasn’t apparent where the water was most easily accessible.

I suggested we stop at a certain point, and it turned out to be a good decision! Drama decided to take his shoes off and wade in the freezing cold water while I stayed along the banks. He helped me fill my squeeze bags for me, which I appreciated. Earlier, he had talked about the sense of space that we give one another on the PCT, as opposed to New York City, where everyone is in your face all the time. He talked about how he and Dinnertime sat along the bank of a creek during a break, chatting with each other, but sitting far enough away that they each had plenty of their own personal space.
As we were packing up, Dinnertime came along! The three of us hiked together until Dinnertime found a lake to fish in. He said that he would see us in a few minutes, but I didn’t understand how that was possible if he was going to stay there and fish!
Drama and I reached the 700 mile mark and took photos of each other.

My stomach wasn’t feeling well again and I was unsure of what to do to make it feel better. We walked the last official miles of desert and came to a registry, as Dinnertime caught up. He said the fishing turned out not to be so good. Drama wrote, “Well that was easy!,” in the registry, and Dinnertime put, “What? No Applebees?”. And then we headed to the road, looking for the Kennedy Meadows sign that we had seen in photos. Drama and I stopped to take pictures again, while Dinnertime kept walking.

We reached a trailer park area, where hikers were lounging around. “My good man,” Drama said to Jug, who was strumming his guitar, “Can you give us directions to the General Store?” Jug advised us to drop our packs here, as this is where we would be staying, and head up to the store to get our packages. We decided that we didn’t want to part from our packs and just walked up to the store, where we found another group of hikers, eating and relaxing at the tables outside. I spotted Weeds and went over to her and got a hug. Drama got an even more excited hug from her! I headed over to the bathroom and got a look at myself in the mirror. It was not a good sight! I did my best to make myself look better, but the effort was futile. I entered the store, looked around to see what was offered, and waited in line to be helped with my packages, and also see if I could get in line for laundry. The store worker told me it didn’t look good for getting it done today! They had only one machine and a lot of hikers! After quite some time, I finally got my four packages- two that I had packed myself with my regular food and my new equipment for the Sierras, the package from Erik with the fleece jacket I had asked for, and the bear canister that I was borrowing from one of my readers, John. I was expecting to be charged $2 for each package, as was written in my guidebook, but it turned out that they were now charging $5 for every package sent! Aie!
I brought my packages out and set them by my pack and ordered a hamburger. After I finished that, I went back to order the Italian sausage and pepper special. The cook smiled. Drama commented on the amount of food I was eating, but I didn’t think it was abnormal at all!

Some of the hikers were talking about what had gone on here last night. It had been a hiker’s 40th birthday, and he had bought about 40 cases of beer for everyone! A ruckus ensued with trailer doors being kicked open late at night and Team Lone Pine was asked to leave immediately.
I was very glad that I wasn’t around for that! I had seen a pint of mint chocolate ice cream in the freezer and intended to buy that later, but Wildcat grabbed it first and ate it in front of me. This was also the first time I had seen Baxter and Wildcat since Warner Springs! They were wearing jeans because they were being visited by their parents! Wildcat was so happy that she could now fit into her skinniest jeans. I went to the ice cream case and couldn’t find a second pint of the flavor I wanted so I bought the next best thing. It turned out to be not so good and by now, my stomach was hurting badly! Something was very wrong. I thought I was going to have to throw most of the pint away, but I was told that I could keep it in the ice chest for later. When we were hiking this morning, I asked Drama if he would be willing to take a picture of me holding my skirt out to demonstrate how big it had gotten on me. This would be my last day with that skirt. However, my belly was now so inflamed, that it wasn’t even worth it to try.

Drama and I took our packs and walked back to the trailers to see if we could get one. The owner, Tom, was in the main trailer with the computers and was not in the mood to help us. Apparently, a hiker had plugged his phone into the computer, which ended up causing big problems. Hikers were lying around in hammocks and I wished I could lie in one because I was in a lot of pain. One guy asked me if I was having fun. I nodded in a glassy haze. “You don’t look like you are.” I explained that my stomach was really hurting. I couldn’t really distinguish the pain from menstrual cramps, so I took some ibruprofen to see if that would help. I stood there, wondering how long it would be until I could get a place to store my things and settle down.
Finally, a different man came out with a clipboard and began calling off names of people who had signed up for a trailer. In the end, it was only Drama and I who were around and in need. We walked around the trailers, looking for ones with empty beds. “Are you two hiking together?” the man asked us. “No!” Drama quickly answered. Jeez…!
Luckily, I knew that Kim was planning on leaving today and that she had her own trailer, so I asked about that one and got it! I just had to wait until she was ready to leave. I headed back to the store and paid for the outdoor shower. I was starting to enjoy showering outside! In the collection of huge muumuus that I had looked through in the main trailer, I spotted one small dress that was actually my size! Weeds was talking on the phone and was the first to see me as I emerged from the shower. She whistled at me!

Plates of food were slowly being put out on a table and while no one was giving us any information, I think it was intended to be a potluck. Disturbingly, I had no appetite for any of it! How could it be that after walking 700 miles, the sight of food was totally unappealing to me? Weeds sat down next to me and told me that I looked gorgeous. I couldn’t believe I was in the presence of someone who would say that to me! As I sat in pain, unable to eat, I asked if there was any watermelon around. I knew that I needed to eat the seeds from one! Unfortunately, the watermelon they had yesterday was long gone. I realized that my only chance to get some watermelon with seeds was if Dr. Sole could bring some with him when he arrived the following day. I had no cell reception here, though. I walked back to the trailer with computers and after a lot of patience with the slowest internet connection I’ve ever experienced, managed to send out three messages to people from home, asking if they would be willing to call Dr. Sole, explain that I was sick with giardia, and needed a watermelon with seeds to help me get rid of it. I thought at least one of them would come through! Tejas, a super friendly girl that I had met outside the store, was standing outside the trailer, getting ready to hit the trail. When she saw me in my dress, she said, “Oh! You look so pretty- just like a woodland nymph! It’s what we all want to look like!.” She is one of the sweetest girls in the whole world! I felt so lucky to have met her.
I carried the rest of my boxes to the far end of the trailers, where mine sat, and loaded everything inside. When I opened Erik’s box to retrieve my fleece, I stood there stunned. He had bought me a neon yellow one. Did he not know me at all? I was perplexed and astounded. I really, really wanted a black one! Yellow was the absolute worst color on me! Oh, dear… I looked at some of my food, and my stomach churned. I would set that aside to deal with later and just lie down…
I could no nothing else but rest and hope for the pain in my belly to subside.

Moving Towards Freedom

A path to healing through narrative, nutrition, and movement (yoga and long distance hiking)

Monthly Archives: June 2013