Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board An angel named Lance and my bad knees

Last week, my two sisters, my neice and I started up the mountain for a three day hike to reach the summit. On Monday 7/28 my neice and I left trail camp to reach the summit. (She made it, I was afraid of the storm coming in, so I started back down with about a block to go- I've been there before so I let the storm have it's way.) On the way back to Trail Crest, an old ailment struck again. I've had some problems with my knees in the past and do the most I can to be able to continue to hike. Some exercises and small steps etc. Anyway, with all the precautions I could take (with the exception of not going up) my knee decided to stop working. I knew the feeling when it started and all I could do was to keep moving "slowly" down the mountain. By the time I was at the small rock bridge, just above trail Side Meadow a man named "Lance" came along and carried my pack to the portal for me. I know he was an angel! Just before he got to us, I prayed that I would be able to get down the mountain before my other knee went out too. I'm pretty sure I would have made it even with my pack, but it would have taken me , most likly, another 12-16 hours of painful "crawling" down the trail. Before Lance took my pack, I gave him my pick-up licence # and said he could just leave the pack there. When he got to the portal, he took my pack to Doug Sr. at the store and wanted to send up a search and rescue team to carry me down. I'm sure he believed I wasn't going to make it. (there were a couple of times I would have welcomed a stretcher) I know his heart was in the right place, and that he truley believed I needed the help. Thank you so much Lance! And also, thank you Doug Sr. for waiting awhile before calling for the rescue team. That would have been totally embarrassing. When I did reach the portal and retrieved my pack, I could only cry. The money I gave to Lance to carry my pack was there in the front pocket! How do you put a dollar amount on someone carrying your 40 lb pack from the meadow to the portal? And, what do angels need money for anyway? There is no way to express my gratitude to Lance for getting my pack to the portal and for caring enough to want the rescue team called in. I hope that some day I can help someone else feel the way he made me feel. It's great to know there are people out there who are truely willing to give themselves with no expectation of something in return! God bless you Lance, wherever you are!

Lance, You are the man!

Lots of GOOD KARMA for Lance!

That is a real Trail Angel
you rock Lance

God bless Lance! Thank you for sharing your story. It is nice to know that there are so many good people out there who will help us in times of need.

Great story, Shirleye! Sounds like a tough time for you, hope it doesn't keep you from trying again.
May I suggest that next time you try going ultralight, having a pack closer to 20 pounds or 1/2 of what you were carrying could have made a huge difference. Check out the www.backpacking.net forum, it has a wealth of knowledge about ultralight backpacking.
Good luck on future hikes and hike safe!

Four people head up the mountain together, and one person has to be helped by a stranger on the way down.. Should never happen...

Were you sitting on a rock at Trail Crest? I thought you told me it was your ankle, not your knee. Oh well, sorry about taking your water, balance bar and ibuprofen--I thought for sure you was dead. Hats off to Sir Lancelot!
Andreas

Andreas H. was no doubt unable to help you out because he had his own pack loaded with about 70 pounds of rocks in it. Good thing Lance happened along. Obviously Lance knows that taking money for such deeds ruins the karma. As for Andreas, he is going to enjoy karma of a different flavor.

This is a great thread. Inspiring to me, because I truely believe in angels. Especially ones in the mountains.

I have a quick story to add:

Last summer my two friends and I decided to hike Long's Peak in Colorado. Coming from flatland MI, we had never hiked a mountain before. Since we are all athletic and determined, we were like, "Let's just do it," having no idea of the physically and mentally challenging hike ahead...(oh, and not to mention the exposure, which I now come to love.) Being knowledgeable of clothing, gear, and start time, we started on our journey. I think not knowing what to expect made it all more exciting. Even after some scary exposure sections we never once said "let's turn around." We were determined to summit.

Well, near the "Trough" and through the "Narrows" - (which is the last part of the hike before the Home Stretch,) both of my hiking parners got altitude sickness. I could see they were not doing well. (I was ok, probably cause I drank enough water to fill a kiddie pool:) They both were having trouble with dizziness and carrying their packs and we just stopped for a while and I think we all sort of "hit the wall." Well, out of no where comes these three guys...all near to our age...and they totally came and carried my friends packs to the summit. (I kept mine on cause I was so used to it and I didn't want to get thrown off balance.)

How cool is that? It get's better:

While at the summit, we made friends with these guys and I come to find out that the one guy in the group climbed Mt. Everest to raise money for cancer patients. He himself had been diagnosed with cancer TWICE and was told he had two weeks to live both times, and went into remission both times. He climbed Mt. Everest to inspire other cancer patients. It's amazing what a strong will and a purpose in life can overcome.

He inspired me as well and I am sure everyone else he came in contact with through his genuine, humble nature.

They hiked with us the whole way down and helped us along the way especially on the parts where there was a lot of exposure. And we had a great time getting to know our fellow hikers. (Even when we got caught in a hail storm!)

Even if they were not angles, I truly believe they were put in our path by God to help and inspire us.

I feel really blessed that I get to see and feel little bits of Heaven here on Earth.

Happy hiking.

Shirleye,
This is what I love about the Mt. Whitney trail.
Great story. Good deeds are always rewarded. I think there are a lot of "Lances" on the trail, and it doesn't hurt to believe in angels (one saved me many years ago from drowning in Zaca Lake).
Happy Trails and Good Weather!!!

Hikin Bob, I am not sure I understand your comment. Four up the mountain and one needed help from a stranger coming down. The other three also had 40 lb packs on. They did not leave her alone on the mountain.

current7:
Don't feel too bad about your Long's experience. While there is a lot of info out there about the mountain, there's no one-stop shopping for info like this message board. When my wife and I did Long's last year, I found the locals a little optimistic about the ease of the mountain.

CDeb,

Thanks. Actually, hiking Long's was probably one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. That is why I fell in love with the mountains and why I want to hike Whitney.

But, yeah...I did not research it as well as Whitney...

current7- Thanks for the positive feedback! Your story is a real up-lift! There are a lot of compassionate people in the world (although sometimes they are hard to find) Angels??? Yeah, I believe! I don't think they all have wings and I believe that God can use ANYONE as an angel if they are willing!

Hikin bob, I wasn't going to respond to your comment "four up and one needing help from a stranger" but, since my sister, Edie (who was one in our group) did, I will too. I was NEVER left alone, and like Edie said, we all had packs of about the same weight. I cant figure why there is always someone to make a wonderful positive into a....negative. I'll keep you in my prayers hikin bob.

Actually hikin Bob may have meant well as it wasn't clear if you had your whole party with you. Sometimes Gods angels have to be called into duty because of bad decisions but it wasn't the case here.

Hey it was inspiring to me and I cut and pasted this thread and sent it to some of my friends who don't fully understand my love of the outdoors and people. Lance was cool.

You guys must be pretty cute to inspire such kindness from a stranger!

Thanks "Apeman" for reinforcing the ambiguity of the previous posts.

I am a Lutheran Pastor - Ascension Lutheran Church - In Southern California.

While I am an avid hiker, Mount Whitney is one of my favorite destinations - I also am troubled by the lack of preperation and the stretching of the limits by some people who either have to be rescued by the good folks at the Portal Store, or the Search And Rescue Teams.

This was clearly a group of unprepared people, one of which already knew of a knee problem, going up, on what seemed like pure faith - to the highest mountain in the contiguous U.S.

Our Dear Lord has enough work to do without us creating new MIRACLES for him around every bend we take...

He has given us the power to make decisions on our own. Thus the basis of our whole faith.

I'm done preaching - sorry everybody else.. Bad decisions made on this hike..

God Bless You - Lance.. He will.....

And most importantly, thank you Shirleye for your sincere prayers.