Trip report! My brother flew in from Chicago to attempt the summit with me. We drove up from LA on Sunday the 28th and got stuck in two hours of traffic on the 395. Some poor guy and his horse were struck and killed in the road. As the traffic opened and we drove by the scene, they were removing the horse from the road with a front end loader. Very sad.
We camped at the Portal and had a burger at the store. Some little kid caught a good sized trout in the pond and walked off with it into the woods. I assume he ate it. Dude meant business.
We hit the trail in the morning at 8:30. The day was warm and the stream crossings were a little higher than usual but nothing terrible. I always hike with one pole as tall as me, which is extremely helpful at the streams, and for catching yourself on the steep downhills. I really don’t understand how people manage without one.
Stopped for lunch right after the logs above Lone Pine Lake. Leaned my pack on a random tree and saw that MY INITIALS were carved into it. World is weird sometimes.
My brother, although fit, did not have any chance to train at altitude, coming from the Midwest. We knew that might be an issue and it was. He needed frequent breaks. We made it to Trail Camp but knew he was cooked. Original plan was to head for the summit in the morning but we decided to abandon that. Trail Camp was cold and windy that night.
Morning was chilly and beautiful as usual. Fewer marmots than in recent years. Came up with a wag bag idea: instead of worrying about hitting the target, go dog-style, then pick up dog-style with another bag. I suppose that could be slightly extra messy for the land, though.
What else… No snow to have to walk through below Trail Camp. Or maybe like 50 feet of it. Can’t speak about above, unfortunately. Spent the hike down marveling at all those damn rock slides on the South side slopes. Imagine being there for one. Brought too much food again. Handle on my filter broke at Mirror Lake. Everyone we met on the trail was friendly, which is always one of the best parts of being up there.
Anyhoooo – the mountain will be there next year, hopefully. See you then.
