I randomly hooked up with Dave G. for a tough run up Mt. Williamson and Tyndall - two 14ers normally accessed by way of Shepherds Pass. There is a lot of up and down on this one.
Specs:
Night one>> Stopped in at the Portal to chat with Doug. Slept around 9000 feet in the secret spot near Onion Valley.
Day one>> head out from the trailhead around 6300 feet (530am-ish), climb up the rib (not the ridge) to just over 14,000 feet at the summit of Tyndall, bust the knuckles, and then back down to the base of the rib. Probably 12 miles or so travel.
Night two>> spent around 12,200 feet behind a rock
Day two>> head out from the base of Tyndall's North Rib around 545am, find a route across the bowl, and up to the summit of Williamson at 14,375. Touch knuckles again and then shuffle all the way back down to the pass and out to the car at 6300. Probably 15 miles or so travel.
Night three>> dropped Dave at his place, arrived in San Diego 530am - clean/sleep - woke up for work at 8 am.
Approximate totals:
Elevation gained - 11,500ish?
Mileage - 27ish?
Total sleep for 3 nights - 7 to 8 hours
Highlights of the Trip:
Weather - Perfect
Water crossings - Dave is such a badass, he just strolls through them and lets the water sort it out. Water was low enough for me to hop from stone to stone and avoid wet feet.
Snow crossings - Nothing better than pretending you're sad you left the crampons/axe at home while crossing random steep snow patches. "We're gonna die!" "I know I said we're gonna die on the last one, but I really really mean it this time!!!!" It's almost as good as picking up small stones the size/shape of a cigarette lighter just in case you need to try and self-arrest. We're a couple of dorks.
Rabbits - we hit one with my car
Not sleeping - between the cold feet, Dave's history of sleeping poorly at altitude, thin sleeping pads, and flapping nylon - not much sleep was had. There's a reason people stick their feet in their pack for an unplanned bivy. It's a last resort. Lesson learned.
Diamox - this is the strongest I've been up high so far, and I think the big D had something to do with it. I haven't exercised or been up high in over a month, so this was a big surprise.
Routefinding in the Williamson bowl - this was tricky on the way across, and tiring both ways. We headed down closer to the base of Tyndall and had to traverse above the lake to gain the connecting ridge. Lots of boulders and scree. Lots of up and down.
Trail Mix - Dave decided it was happier all over the floor of my car at 3 am on the way back than it was in its little plastic bag. Thanks Dave.
Hallucinating - we were so tired on the way back to the car that I was seeing trees close in on me like marching soldiers in the beam of my headlamp. I think Dave was worried.
Going light - we left a lot behind. I would normally bring more padding for my back and a sleeping bag, for example.
Crossing Paths - Tina, James, and Ryan were coming down from Williamson as we were going up the chute.
Teamwork - ran into a few other souls with different issues ( fear, nausea, lack of beta, etc ) - support was given.
Levis - Seems to be more and more people climbing mountains in them these days. I think Doug started something...
Rubber - 5.10 approach shoes LOVE the granite slabs.
