I'm not sure how to start this off other then saying God is real.
This trip was beyond anything I ever hoped or dreamed of.
I don't even really know how this happened. One day my cousin Jay emailed us and said, let's climb Mt. Whitney... but we all have to put our names in the lotto to see who can get the permits.
"WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" Jay hit it! And so it was planned.
We had quite a while to plan for it, 6 months. I extensively researched and prepared. Nothing really prepares you though. You have this picture in your mind, and it isn't even close.
What did I feel helped me physically on this climb?
1. Stair Master. 1 hour 1 time a week, no holding on
2. Squats with 30-40 lb weights
3. Climbing/hiking carrying Ella in the pack as weight
4. Never skipping out. 3 times cardio a week, 2 times a week weights
Gear.
MY DAD!!!!!
MY!
DAD!!!
This trip could have gone wrong in so many different ways. However, because of being well read and really checking out different options, I had the best equipment that my dad SPOILED me rotten with.
Osprey Aura pack
Craigslist ultimate finds: 0 degree down sleeping bag and thermarest pad
Black Diamond hiking poles
Saloman GTX Hiking Boots (NOT A SINGLE BLISTER!!!! Stayed dry!!!!)
Lifestraw Water Filter
LED headlight
Smartwool Socks
Seriously, this equipment made all the difference. I would say we needed a better tent, but we were really lucky/blessed to not get wet.
I seriously have the biggest crush on my gear. It's swoon worthy. So Dad, I can't even thank you enough!!
Lesson #1. NEVER start late. 5 AM is the way to go.
Lesson #2 Sometimes older people lose track of things.
Just know it's going to happen to you too Sofia.
Why is my dad happiest terrorizing me with bugs??
They were HUGE!!! On the drive down we kept hearing them thwack the front windshield.
Almost ready to go!! 11AM.
And we're off!!! My pack was way too heavy at 37 pounds, but because it was such a good pack I barely felt it.
Lesson #3 Filter your water. You don't need to be carrying 6 liters.
3 liters at most. Then filter, filter, filter. And get over your fear of parasites.
Lesson #4 Don't carry heavy bear cannisters. Get the light one!!!
Dad had the heaviest pack, 45 lbs.
Lesson #5 DOWN over synthetic sleeping bags. No question about it.
'
Man, I sure do love my dad. Best thing I've ever done with him in my entire life.
SO TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We had a beautiful start. Within 1 mile Aunt Sheila had fallen in 2 water crossings.
You CANNOT get your feet wet on hikes. Plain and simple.
Wet feet = blisters= pain = no more hikey hike.
Fortunately, there was Mr. January of the Mt. Whitney FHHFR* Calendar to assist Aunty Sheila with a towel, smile, and bit of encouragement.
*Future Hot Husband for Ramya
Aunty Sheila was a spring chicken and popped back up each time!! Such an amazing trooper and inspiration!!!
Jay, ultimate conversationalist on hike. He was instrumental in so many ways. Talking to keep people going. Talking to get our mind off the distance. But he wasn't a chatter box, that is not at all what I'm saying. I just loved talking with him and hearing what he had to say. He's funny as hell. I love my cousin and am so grateful for all his help. He ended up carrying our bear box with food. He picked up Aunt Sheila any time she fell. He is such a good man. He even got a rock for his girlfriend at the top of the mountain. He's just amazing and I'm grateful for the time to get to know him better. He's just dope. And buff!!!
Bah dah bah bah bah. I'm loving it. McDonald's in the wilderness.
Yum.
I was Aunty Sheila's sherpa over some of the water crossings. I don't know how I managed to balance 65 pounds going over all the crossings but I did.
Thank you Jesus.
No wet feet.
Lesson #6 Put my pack down, then go help. I don't have to do it all at the same time.
DUH. Right?? Rob had the right idea!!
I'm so glad I got plenty of pictures on the way up, because the descent was madness trying to get off the mountain before dark.
Rob is Aunty Sheila's super in shape room mate/ex-co worker/friend. He was phenomenal and so very helpful. He did tend to be ahead and go at his own pace, but we got to spend plenty of time together. He is an amazing person, funny, and very friendly!!
Of course, he's friends with Aunty Sheila!!
After this hike, we are bonded with Rob FOREVER.
This crossing was probably the worst for Aunty Sheila. But she was phenomenal!!
It's amazing how far we went. I look at the pictures and it's unreal.
7 miles to camp with an elevation gain of 4,000 feet.
I had a couple unsuccessful attempts at relieving myself in nature.
Lesson #7 In the words of Lil' Wayne, "Get low. Get low."
It was such an accomplishment when I finally figured it out. Although, I never did use the WAG bag.
Hind site, just use it. Weight it down with rocks and don't be such a freaking sissy.
The meadow area was a slice of heaven. We even saw deer. True peace.
So many waterfalls and streams. Gorgeous!!!
Especially when Aunt Sheila was NOT IN THEM!!!!!
Seriously, she did SO GOOD!!!
Everyone did!!!
WATER WARRIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By this time my dad's asthma was acting up. It was a lot of work and drumroll please....
a storm starts!! RAIN!! SLEET!!! SNOW!!!
Lesson #7 Do NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT get wonky ponchos. Get the real deal rain gear.
Hypothermia is real. You can NOT get wet on mountains.
Lesson #8 STAY WITH YOUR GROUP AT ALL TIMES
Rob and Aunt Pam had gone ahead, but it was a bad idea. They got a tent site, but the amount of worry that went on was unnecessary while they waited and while we were rushing to catch up.
I also went a bit ahead and lost the path. Fun times. Fortunately I saw Sheila and we were able to all get to camp. There were tears shed!!! The amount of worry and stress was unbelievable.
We got the tent up JUST IN TIME.
A very tender miracle and mercy from Heavenly Father.
Soon darkness was upon us as well as the snow. I read my daughters notes and cried.
At this time, lightning and thunder started.
We stayed super warm and dry in our tent.
I said many prayers of thanks.
It was night time when I felt very close to God. I had this profound sense of gratitude for all I've been given. When the snow stopped, I went outside and the clouds had cleared to give me the most beautiful view of the heavens. Every star was lit up with brilliance. The rocks surrounding me were commanding and gave a deep desire to show respect. It truly was such an experience.
There is no doubt in my mind that God is real. That we are His children and that He dearly loves us.
As my dad painfully trucked his way to camp (his hips were acting crazy) I was just so very happy to be next to him. To be at 12,500 feet. The highest we've ever been in our life.
As far as I know, he was never a weed smoker.
In the morning my dad made the right decision to head back down. His body could have done it, but he knew now wasn't the time. It just wasn't and that's OK because he did ONE HARD HIKE!!!! to camp!!! in a SNOW STORM!!!!
Ultimate 67 year old champion of mountains!!!
Fortunately, Saturday morning we started at 5.
The timing of everything was by the hand of Heavenly Father.
Seriously.
Lesson #9 Layers are your friend. Especially in 20 degree weather.
I had 5 on top, 2 on bottom.
At camp you really felt like you were on top of the world. I can see why people do this hike over and over again.
Time for switchbacks!!!!! Joyful joy happiness!!
Switchbacks and Sunrise.
YOU CAN'T BEAT THAT!!!
Unless you are on a beach in Hawaii or somewhere tropical, just relaxing and watching the sunrise.
Or anywhere other than on switchbacks really.
It was unbelievably slick, snowy, and icy.
Lesson #10 Poles are your best friend.
And I don't mean that in a Nevada Wild Orchid way.
Although, of course, I don't judge.
From balancing, to helping pull you up or slow you down... I mean, for goodness sake, you could even hunt marmots for dinner with them. Poles = life.
Are we feeling the 2 miles and 99 switchbacks yet?? Possibly. Very very possibly.
Nope. Just playing. Aunty Pam and Jay could do this blindfolded and in their sleep.
My goal in life is to be as in shape as them.
Once we were past the switchbacks we got to the back side of the mountain. Rocks anyone?
It was very treacherous. To be so high up and see the insane drop offs was a trip!!
Fortunately I wasn't scared. I felt like there was enough room on the path, but there were lots of parts that had me worried.
And so the gangsta lean begins.
The altitude was definitely starting to affect Aunt Pam. She got a throbbing head ache which was horrible. We were about 1 mile to the top and she couldn't eat.
So... we all made the safe choice to keep on going.
Lesson #11 Don't press your luck. Aunty Pam is a rock star, but never do that again and take chances like that.
My family are HEROES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next up is a picture of guitar lake. It is not nearly as interesting as the woman who passed us around this time, in 20 degree weather wearing A RED SPORTS BRA AND DAISY DUKE SHORTS.
Her hair was flowing perfectly in the breeze and she didn't have a bead of sweat on her.
Were we having altitude hallucinations?
No. No we were not.
She is as real as it gets. How does she do it? Well, she plays lots of sports.
So basically, I'm going to start golf and ping pong next week.
She really took Mt. Whitney to a whole other level. I really wished me and my aunts had taken off our layers and gotten a picture with her in our janky sports bras.
Hang in there Aunt Pam!!! Fortunately Aunt Sheila set a really good and steady pace so we didn't over do it. Follow the lean!!!!!!
You can't really tell, but the black shadows show how steep it was.
Hello death.
Not today though.
So remember that time you wish you had crampons???
Rob passed us up and very graciously offered to pack up camp for us while we finished to the top. So helpful!! Because we were there! We passed the "windows", steep drop offs with breath taking views.
Literally, it takes your breath away because you are so high up and terrified of dying.
And then 36 hours later we were there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or I should say what felt like 36 hours.
The funny thing is, I realized we all signed the wrong date.
SUMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11 miles, about 6,000 in elevation gain.
14,505 feet
We did our THANG!!!!!!!!!! My victory apple was bliss.
Although I must say, after 10 minutes I was ready to get the hell off that top!!
More rocks, anyone? Anyone??
It was so weird to see people coming up to the top as we descended. It seemed way too late in the day and in honesty, I was very worried.
People die on this mountain.
Lesson #12 Make smart choices. Don't just plow on. Really think about things and be off the top as quick as you can!!!
Because storms are REAL!! We were able to get down to camp again before the next sleet/rain/snow storm hit!! My pack was soaked on the outside!!
There is the windows I was talking about. You can not even gauge the scope of things. People were tiny ants!!! The magnitude of this mountain is astonishing.
Well, as the sign said at the beginning. Once you reach the top, you are only half way there!!
The descent was MUCH MUCH easier, but it still took us a long time.
Aunt Sheila was basically running down the hill, with her crazy lean, and we all tried our best to keep up.
Aunt Pam started feeling better at the lower altitudes, but I do believe that she will never look at WAG bags the same.
We hustled and hurried. It was stunning with the fresh smell of rain and the saturated colors.
I do believe we finished all 15 miles of the day in about 14 hours.
Which is how long I held my body functions in.
DUMB!!!!
Jay ended up carrying Aunty Sheila's pack a good 2 or 3 miles so we could make it before dark.
We had to turn on a flashlight as we got off the mountain to our parking spot.
As soon as I had my pack off, I ran to the bathroom.
I had no light, but fortunately survived that experience- which was comparable to climbing Mt. Whitney.
Where was dad?
Dad had a pleasant trek on the way down. He made friends with park rangers, gay mountain men who live off grid, and a couple from North Dakota that he hitch hiked into town with.
He passed out for 5 hours and we still weren't back yet.
But once we were, Jay very kindly got hot pizza and beer. Which Aunty Sheila did not need.... trust me, she was buzzed already.
I was dead to the world tied at that point. Honestly, I think it was because of the bathroom experience probably.
The shower and bed beckoned me. I've never slept like that before in my entire life.
We woke up and had breakfast. Food wasn't tasting overly great to me. And cliff bars are basically packed shit squares.
We said our goodbyes, laughed at the good times, and knew it wasn't our final adventure together.
I'm so grateful for this experience. For the family I was with. For the knowledge that I can do grueling hard things.
I had 5 children and thought I would always be fat. But I took control and worked hard. I had lots of great advice and help from my dad. And while I still could lose more weight, I'm so proud of my body. For the pain it managed. For the way it carried me up and down to the top.
I dedicate this climb to my children, my husband, my mother, my father.... ALL my family.
I couldn't do anything without them. They are my poles.
And again, I acknowledge God's hand in the miracle of what this trip was. He made this world, this life for me... everything I am is because He loves me and helps me each and every day.
