Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board The John Muir Crucible

Definition of crucible:
1: a vessel of a very refractory material (as porcelain) used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of heat
2: a severe test
3: a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development

My experience on the JMT was a combination of the second and third definitions of crucible. Route-finding, mosquitoes, snow, mosquitoes, biting flies, mosquitoes, snow…

These 19 days took everything I had -- it was absolutely beautiful and brutal. This was the hardest multi-day trip I've completed since I was an elite cyclist in my 20's before my health issues.

Some background: I am a 58 year old woman with seven spinal fusions (four lumbar and three cervical), inflammatory bowel disease (in remission), a bad left ankle (fracture and dislocation in 2008), fragile skin and vision issues. In other words – an average middle-aged person, not an elite hiker or backpacker.

On Thursday July 28, my brother in law John and I dropped my Honda at the Whitney Portal, met Laura Molnar in Lone Pine for dinner, then drove up to Bishop and enjoyed the hospitality of the Moose Lodge.

On Friday July 29, we drove over Tioga Pass to Yosemite (I’ve bicycled over Tioga twice but have never gone over her in a car). I haven’t been in Yosemite since December 1980 and was filled with anticipation to revisit this gem. Ugh – the mass of humanity and 90 degree weather ruined the reunion. After obtaining my JMT permit, I encouraged John to “get out,” walked from the visitor center to Happy Isles to check out the trailhead and then scouted around for the backpackers campground. Met two delightful nurses from Australia and enjoyed pre-hike beers with them and Jim, another JMT hiker.

Day 1, Saturday July 30

Didn’t sleep worth a darn (not a surprise), ate breakfast and took the shuttle to save myself an additional 1.5 mile walk to the Happy Isles trailhead. Got a picture by the sign and was off – finally! It was extremely warm and humid. I paced myself very carefully as my plan was to gain 5 K and cover at least 13 miles. It was a relief to split away from the hordes when the JMT split from the Mist Falls trail. Got to Vernal falls, relished the view and refilled my Camelbak. Here I met Mike, an amiable mountain guide and SAR member from Moab, Utah who was doing the JMT to celebrate his recovery from coronary bypass surgery over a year ago. We stayed together and chatted until he reached his campsite near the Clouds Rest trail junction. It sprinkled on and off, which was a relief after the oppressive humidity.

I continued on, climbing past the Moraine Dome. My goal was a campsite near Sunrise creek at about the 9 K level. At 6 PM I found a good site and pitched. The mosquitoes were out in full force, so I donned my pants, long sleeved shirt and head net. Right about the time I’d finished cooking dinner, the skies opened up with a monsoonal-type rain. I ate from the Jet Boil saucepan in my tent. It poured for nearly two hours. Though safe from mosquitoes, I found two enormous black ants crawling up the sides of my tent (Ick!) which required removal before I could sleep.

Day 2

Had a good night’s sleep and awoke to a wet tent and sleeping bag. Didn’t want to take time to dry out, so packed them up wet and headed out. Still very humid. Climbed a bit more before reaching Sunrise meadow where I was instantly attached by the largest swarm of mosquitoes it has been my misfortune to behold. Though I’d sent 100% DEET in my resupplies, I’d completely forgotten to start with it. Whipped out my head net and a long sleeve shirt while the buggers feasted on my legs. The meadow was mushy, so I had difficultly sustaining a fast pace. Plus, the head net interfered with my vision and made breathing more difficult. I finally exited mosquito hell, took off the head net and started climbing to Cathedral Pass. I went through the “pass” without realizing it and was hiking by pretty Cathedral Lakes when the skies opened up for a repeat monsoonal performance – this time with lightning and thunder. At least the rain kept the damn bugs at bay. I ate lunch on my bear canister under a tree in the rain and watched two women fly by who were trying to stay warm.

Now fortified, my goal was Tuolumne Meadows. Rather than heading to the road, I made the mistake of staying on the trail to the Visitor Center, so gained and lost unnecessary elevation. Once at the Visitor Center, I opted out of the JMT and headed straight up the road to the RV campground. Z-dude Stan, Mrs. Z-dude Ivette and the Zippettes just happened to be in Tuolumne Meadows that same time period. I half-expected that they’d gone home due to the lousy weather and was ecstatic when they answered the phone. Stan and Kat came out to the road and escorted me to their campsite. By this time, I was really tired and starting to itch due to the mosquito onslaught.

I can’t thank Stan and family enough for taking care of me that evening and the following morning. They even had my favorite beer (White Hawk India Pale Ale). Stan showed me around, Ivette treated my bites (she noted the buggers had bitten my back through my shirt) and provided wonderful food and the girls were absolutely delightful company.

Day 3

The morning before I left Tuolumne, I stocked up on 100% DEET. Stan walked with me several miles down the JMT. I soon had my first real stream crossing and succeeded in getting my feet wet (an omen of things to come) when I slipped off the log, I made good time on Lyell Canyon and passed the two women from the day before as they were eating lunch. When we started to climb, I became over-confident and thought that I could camp either just before or after Donahue Pass. I reached a sketchy stream crossing by a small lake where most folks decided to camp. Opted to walk across the lake to gain the trail – the water was only just above my knees and not flowing fast.

I ran into a man with a yellow Labrador who noted that there was still a lot of snow on Donahue but an adequate book track. I continued up the trail, following footsteps in the snow (danger Will Robinson!!!). I continued to go south, climbing up snowy Lyell Canyon (didn’t know that at the time), wondering where the hell Donahue Pass could be when all I could see were very steep snow covered peaks. At 6 PM, I started heading over to a high point southeast of the peaks to get my bearings. Once on top of the knob, I found a nice dirt spot between pine trees, pitched my tent and melted snow for dinner. I sent a SPOT OK message so no one would worry, though I knew I was way off trail.

Day 4

Woke up and found that the snow had hardened significantly in the night. As I was cooking breakfast, I had the eerie feeling that I was being watched. I looked to my left and there was biggest and most beautiful marmot I’ve ever seen. We took each others’ measure. I thanked him/her for visiting, as I was feeling lonely and depressed. The marmot checked out where I had relieved myself, then darted away before I could get a picture.

Packed up, then started to backtrack, all the while blowing my whistle. Amazingly I heard a male voice say, “Where are you?” I asked him to stay put and made my way over to him across a little valley. Turns out that Michael, a fellow JMT hiker, got suckered that morning the exact same way that I did the afternoon before. We spent time looking at our maps and compasses to figure out the best way to regain the trail. He looked down and saw people coming up a trail from the lake I’d waded through the day before. He did not want to go down through the icy snow, so we down-climbed through rocks to rejoin the trail. I entertained him by continuing to talk when I fell down, adding more character to my mosquito bitten legs.

Once on the trail, we saw where we’d made our mistake. Arrgh!!! I felt like an absolute newbie. We started the climb up Donahue. Before long, we abandoned the “trail” and climbed up on Donahue’s large rock slabs (Slabulicious! as Laura says) to better orient ourselves as to the location of the pass and where we should descend. We reached a large cairn of rocks indicating the pass. However, there was no clear boot track anywhere to be seen. We huddled together with maps and compasses again and determined that we needed to descend in a north-easterly direction. We shoe-skied down the snow and reached a mushy meadow interspersed with rocks and patches of snow. Kept our compass bearing and then, hallelujah, found the trail, which was masquerading as a stream bed.

Michael and I had just started down the trail when we heard other hikers call out. They we were headed up Donahue and had no idea where to go. Karma, as Michael noted, so we headed over to them and gave directions to the pass. We finally started descending in earnest. After several sketchy stream crossings on logs, the condition of the trail improved. Michael was much faster and had to complete the JMT in a very short time frame, so I asked him to go ahead. He became my first “trail brother” of the trip. I was emotionally and physically spent and slowly made my way to 1000 Island Lake. A really nice group from San Diego kindly let me camp with them after I explained that I was exhausted and needed companionship.

Day 5

At breakfast, I considered heading out to civilization the fastest way possible and my San Diego friends offered options. After further discussion about the views from the JMT versus River Trail versus PCT, I decided to stay on the JMT to Reds Meadows. I said farewell to my San Diego family and mentally psyched myself up to reach Reds Meadows by the end of the day. Since I had lost a day on Donahue, I had no food past lunch. The San Diego group offered me food, but for me, it was the principle – I was supposed to be self-sufficient.

As soon as I started hiking, my bad left ankle started hurting in earnest. I took Alleve and stretched the Achilles, gastrocnemius and soleus as best I could. On my way to Garnet Lake, I met Oliver, another JMT hiker who was starting his third day (!) One of his feet was hurting, so he had to decrease his pace. Garnet Lake was gorgeous – I had hoped to camp there my third night on the trail (ha, ha – the JMT was just starting to teach me humility). I started to feel better and my ankle loosened up as I made my way to Shadow Lake. Climbing up the switchbacks out of Shadow Lake seemed to take forever, but at least I was in the shade. Grabbed water and a snack at Rosalie Lake.

I finally found a comfortable pace and was able to make good time to Devil’s Postpile. Initially, my plans were to drop my pack and head up the trail to the top of the Postpile. However, the day was waning and I was on a mission to reach Reds Meadow. I wasn’t sure how long the store or café stayed open. At last I walked up the road under the sign for Reds Meadow Resort and reached the store/café. Amazingly, I ran into the two women that I had been leapfrogging since Cathedral Lakes – Terri and Janet – and told them I was pulling the pin. They begged me to reconsider and at least take a zero day to rest. I walked into the store at 6:30 for my resupply and was told someone else had picked it up. Of course – just another reason to call it quits. Headed over to the café and ordered a cheeseburger. The waitress was wonderful – she told me to get my package and beer while the burger was cooking and I took her advice. Lo and behold, my box was found.

Once I was adequately sated from my cheeseburger and two Stone India Pale beers, I started calling friends. I left a message for Stan asking if he could pick me up at Mammoth on his way home from Tuolumne. Then I called Laura. I gave her the high-points (low-points) of my trip so far and stated that I was DONE. She laughed kindly and pointed out that although I’d had a rough start, I was doing fine as exemplified by being self-sufficient and not panicking when I went off trail in Lyell Canyon. Additionally, she noted that it was typical to become discouraged in the first quarter of the JMT. She told me to forget about a preset schedule or trying to keep up with other hikers and go at my own pace. She also offered to resupply me if needed. Laura is my mountain sister and mentor – she is the first woman to complete the Sierra Challenge.

Bolstered both psychologically and physically, I boarded the shuttle with my pack and box and got dropped off at the Reds Meadow campground. Camped with Terri, Janet, and their incoming hiking companion Linda. Pitched my tent without stakes and took a sponge bath in the bathroom before hitting the sack.

Day 6

The girls broke camp quickly and had oatmeal before heading out. I opted for a sumptuous breakfast at the café, knowing that it would be a while before I could enjoy this luxury again. I dawdled over my food, then headed out to find Oliver picking up his resupply. The poor fellow had not made it to Reds until this morning and missed dinner. I recommended that he take time to have a hot breakfast in the café – he did. I started on the trail late – around 10 AM – it was already getting hot. After dropping about 250 feet, I realized that no other backpacker was on the trail. Pulled out my map – I was headed to Rainbow falls and wasn’t on the JMT. I wanted to sit on the trail and scream with frustration, but got directions from a ranger instead. Right about this time, a hiker recognized me from San Jacinto and introduced himself. Sir, ff you’re reading this, I apologize for being terse.

At 10:40 AM I was back on the JMT heading up to the Duck Lake trail junction. Basically, this day was spent regaining all the elevation that I had lost the day before. A good portion of this part of the trail is dry (especially in a normal year), so I made sure I had adequate fluid on hand. At one of my water stops, I had difficulty getting my pack back on. Set it on a rock, put my arms through the straps and stood up. Unfortunately, it was top heavy, causing me to topple over and slide down the slope to the right of the trail. All I could do at that point was laugh.

My greatest hiking gift is the ability to climb. I am not fast, just persistent. I put my head down and go, grinding my way uphill. When I was a competitive cyclist back in the 1970’s, my friends nicknamed me Slow Twitch. At Deer Springs, I ran into Jim and Mary Lynn (ML). I met them briefly at the lake I waded across on my disastrous day 3. Mary Lynn had horrendous blisters from her boots and was hiking in Crocs wearing two pairs of socks (!). I continued on, keeping ML in my thoughts and prayers. At least my feet were hanging in there. Oliver caught me and we hiked together until I found a nice place to camp before the Duck Lake trail junction. He was feeling good and continued up the trail. I’d hoped to camp with the girls but they had gone on ahead. Sometime at night at bright light hit my tent – I half expected to be rousted and hear a voice saying “Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” The following morning, I heard/saw a trail crew working on the JMT – could have been one of them.

Day 7

It took me a while to get rolling due to the cold morning. My hands are still extremely sensitive to cold following my 2008 hiking misadventure. Jim and ML caught me after the Duck Lake trail junction and stayed with me for the remainder of the day. When we reached Purple Lake, I was back on the section of the JMT that I had hiked two years ago. We climbed up to Lake Virginia, then dropped into Tully Hole. Shortly after we started the climb up to Silver Pass, we had lunch. I had my blister kit with me and provided Mary Lynn with Second Skin patches for her blisters – she was still hiking in her Crocs. We stopped at Squaw Lake, about 1.5 miles below Silver Pass. Jim and ML kindly let me use their portable shower (for only 1 lb it is worth it!) and shared their tea This felt like the first really good day I’d had on the trail – in large part due to Jim and ML’s companionship. The sunset was gorgeous.

Day 8

It was another cold morning due to the elevation and lack of shelter. We began the task of climbing up sections of snow to get over Silver Pass. Mary Lynn was still in her Crocs and I couldn’t keep up – fell a few times in the snow. Even on the descent we had to negotiate snowy sections, which caused my left hip to complain. Once we passed Silver Pass Lake, we were out of most of the snow. I remembered the descent from Pocket Meadow to the Vermillion Ranch trail junction being dreadful in a dry year – it was even worse this year. There were two sketchy stream crossings. Jim took my pack through the first crossing by the waterfall. The second crossing, I said to hell with it and waded across. As we descended, we had to negotiate baby’s head sized talus and other obstacles which made for unstable footing. By the time we reached the junction, I was exhausted. I am fine with aerobic challenges but I struggle when the trail requires intense concentration and balance. This is likely due to my poor eyesight and multiple fusions. When I start to fall, it’s like a tree being felled. Timber!

I asked Jim and Mary Lynn to go ahead to meet the ferry. Right after they headed out, two female rangers came up and checked our permits. I thanked them for their service and we had a nice chat about the difficulty of the JMT this year. When I reached the original dock, I jumped into Thomas Edison Lake. After having my skin covered with sun screen and DEET for so many days, getting completely wet felt wonderful. Several young male hikers watching me yelled their appreciation – I was the only hiker who jumped in and completely submerged. We dried out on the rocks, then made our way over to the new docking area and waited for the ferry.

It was wonderful to reach Vermillion Ranch and see friendly familiar faces. VR is truly a gem of the Sierras for hikers. Déjà vu – my waitress for dinner and breakfast was Olive – the wonderful and entertaining woman I had met at VR two years ago. I reminded Olive about how I had run full force into a glass door while hurrying to get my credit card to pay my bill before the ferry left. I was mortified and embarrassed while Olive and other staff where worried about my well-being. I had hit the window so hard that Olive noted even a deaf woman heard it.

After a wonderful barbecue dinner and several large Stone IPA beers, I took a shower, then hit the sack in the backpackers tent cabin.

Day 9

I did laundry the following morning while eating a terrific breakfast (McEdison – egg/bacon/cheese on a English muffin – and a short stack of pancakes), then caught the ferry out to start the climb up Selden. Jim and Mary Lynn took an extra day to rest ML’s feet.

The only downside of going to Vermillion Ranch is the additional 1.4 miles each way. It felt great to get back on the JMT and start the butt-kicking climb up to the Bear Ridge trail junction. Then I had a short descent to Bear Creek and a gradual climb up to the creek crossing. Everyone I talked to at VR was concerned about crossing Bear Creek due to the potential depth and rate of flow. When I ran out of trail, I looked at the crossing and didn’t like what I saw – there were two streams to cross. Girded my loins and headed across. Bear Creek got deeper and the current increased as I got closer to the opposite bank. Not fun – there were a few scary moments and I was wet up to my waist. The next stream I crossed wasn’t as bad but I couldn’t find the trail afterwards. I spent nearly an hour looking around, then finally found the trail as well as the location where I should have crossed, Grrr…more wasted mental and physical energy.

The adrenalin surge provided from the creek crossing and relief at finding the trail powered me all the way up to Marie Lake. I had just enough time to pitch, clean up a bit and eat before sunset.

Day 10

Had nice alpine-glow in the morning and the mountains reflected nicely off Marie Lake. I started heading up Selden Pass a bit behind other JMT hikers I met at VR. I remembered this pass from two years ago and stayed to the right when snow obscured the trail.

It was a good warm up and before long I crested the pass and started down. I’d dropped about 250 feet when I came upon two faster women JMT hikers. Apparently, a female hiker had missed the pass -- she slide down a steep snowy slope, hit a rock and fractured her ankle (got sick to my stomach just hearing this). On the positive side, a male paramedic hiker named Conner climbed up to her and rendered first aid. Both the injured woman and paramedic also had SPOT units. Once I determined that I could not be of further help, I started heading down.

Compared to two years ago, the trail was extremely wet and marshy. At one meadow, the water was nearly knee high. The trail on the final descent to Muir Ranch was covered with talus -- apparently it became a stream bed for snow melt. The temperature kept increasing as I descended -- it was a relief to finally reach Muir Ranch.

I took my time throwing away my trash, packing my resupply items and organizing my pack. I chatted with a lovely group of Australians. They were spending two nights at Muir Ranch and had met Terri, Janet and Linda the day before. They commented on my mosquito bites and offered moisturizer they had located in one of the buckets. One of the women noted that Aussie "mozzies" pack more of a bite but don't swarm the way American mozzies do. Finally I couldn't delay any longer and started slowly hiking the 3.3 miles to the Piute trail junction and bridge. By the time I arrived, other hikers had the prime camping spots. I found an acceptable spot and settled in, knowing that I needed to rest up for the grueling day ahead.

Day 11

I got going fairly quickly and enjoyed the cool weather and lack of direct sunlight as I headed up to the Evolution Valley junction. I enjoyed the arduous climb up to Evolution Meadow and anticipated a glorious array of wildflowers in Evolution Meadow. Sadly, with the late spring, it was too early to see her colors. I continued on to the tame crossing of Evolution Creek and took a short lunch break with another JMT hiker on the other side.

I enjoyed the gradual climb to McClure meadow and signed in at the clipboard attached to a tree next to the trail. Then at last I was on the vigorous climb up to Evolution Lake. I considered camping near the lake, but abandoned this when I saw that a number of male hikers had already pitched. I decided to stop at 5 PM or when I ran into significant snow, whichever came first. I was close to Sapphire Lake when I heard my name being called -- lo and behold -- it was Terri, Janet and Linda. I camped with them and met their nice trail brother Chris. We stayed up just long enough to catch the sunset, then dove into our tents to warm up.

Day 12

I was the last one to leave camp and head up Muir Pass. Although it was not dangerous, the climb took a long time due route finding, slogging through marshy ground and struggling uphill on suncupped snow. I finally reached the Muir hut and took a quick lunch break. I waited until other hikers were headed down and then followed them. I had a short but pleasant shoe glissade in the snow, then started slipping around in the suncups. Although the men disappeared from sight, I was able to follow their boot track in the snow and cairns in the rocky sections.

Finally, the trail was more ground and rock than snow. I couldn't find any kind of consistent pace due to the rocky trail, stream crossings and time-consuming route finding. When I passed by an unnamed lake, I heard splashing and looked around. There were two frogs on a rock by the lake and numerous pollywogs. How cute, awww...Once I passed Big Pete Meadow, the quality of the trail started to improve. To the right was a gorgeous cascade of water over large slabs with several waterfalls. However, I was so shattered from concentrating on the descent that it seemed to take forever to reach Little Pete Meadow and finally, Le Conte. I signed in at the register and headed to the campsite where we'd camped two years ago. Amazingly my friends Terri, Janet, Linda and Chris were waiting for me. It was an incredible relief to camp with my mountain friends when I was so exhausted.

Day 13

My plan was to get as high on Mather as possible. Unfortunately, this was the day that we lost Terri. Her mother had passed away after battling cancer while they were in Reds Meadow. Terri had kept going as she didn't want to leave Janet and Linda and had hoped to find solace in the mountains. We all cried as we parted ways and Terri hiked out over Bishop Pass.

Terri and her mom were in my thoughts all day. The gradual descent to Grouse Meadows was a nice warm up. Then I was in Deer Meadows anticipating the beauty and rigor of the Golden Staircase. I was not disappointed. In addition to the breath-taking beauty of the stark, steep, rocky climb, we were treated to an incredible array of wildflowers due to the snow melt. The magnificent mix of colors was a feast for the eyes and I reveled in the smell of Tiger Lilies. Finally reached Lower Palisade Lake. I continued on, planning to camp in the site above Upper Palisade Lake where I had last seen Rosie Breen on the JMT two years ago. When I arrived, I was ecstatic to see that Chris, Linda and Janet were there and had saved me a spot. We enjoyed the sunset together but were all still subdued over to losing Terri.

Day 14

Mather aka "Mother" Pass is a challenge even without snow. Shortly after starting, I was passed by the group of hearty Aussies that I'd met at Muir Trail Ranch. The last snowy section was the worst -- I hate traversing on a steep, snowy slope. Brought my microspikes but didn't want to stop halfway to put them on. Without being obvious, the Aussies and Chris kindly waited for me until I'd reached the pass. On the descent, I avoided a snowy switchback by taking advantage of a nice scree glissade. I continued to descend cross-country and rejoined the trail near the tarn where we'd camped two years ago.

I remembered the descent from Mather being enjoyable and it was. When I reached the crossing of the South Fork of the Kings River, Linda and Janet were waiting for me on the other side. Someone had left a note for me on the sign -- they joked about being with a "famous" JMT hiker. I headed over to the sign and read the note:

My dear Ellen!
If you have come this far, you are thinking like a mountaineer!
Keep looking for the trail, no hurrying!
I am thinking of you each day.
Soon we'll celebrate @ the Portal with a MOOSEBURGER!!
Love from your mountain sister, Laura

The note also contained encouraging words from Sooz Snyder. I started weeping with happiness, removed the note and carried it with me for inspiration to complete the journey.

We started the climb to Lake Marjorie. The plan was to camp somewhere on the north side of Pinchot Pass. I loved the climb up Pinchot, though by this time I was completely knackered. Janet went up ahead to look for campsites and Chris encouraged me to keep climbing and stay with them. As we neared the pass, Chris indicated that they would camp just on the south side of the pass. By the time I reached the pass, it was very late in the day. I actually got cold and had to put on a fleece jacket. We camped at the first likely site we could find -- a sandy flat area near a stream.

Every part of my body hurt that evening. I had a good meal and hoped to sleep well, but tossed and turned the entire night, probably due to being excessively fatigued.

Day 15

From the moment I arose, I knew I would have to hike very conservatively to reach my goal of Rae Lakes where my resupply awaited. The mosquitoes were out in force and we ate and packed up while walking around in circles. Trying to eat and pack with a head net on is not easy. Ugh -- not a pleasant way to start the day.

I only had enough food for lunch. Saint John Howell had offered to pack my resupply to Rae Lakes and I gratefully accepted (Sooz Snyder and Laura Molnar had also offered to resupply me). I was over two days behind schedule and concerned this would cause a problem with my resupply. I prepared myself mentally for the possibility of having to hike out to Onion Valley with my mountain friends Chris, Linda and Janet.

I recalled that the descent to the suspension bridge from the Sawmill Pass junction was a pain in the butt. The trail continuously climbs and drops and crosses over several streams. The trail itself wasn't in great shape due to the large snow melt and accumulated talus and scree. This section of the Sierras was very different from any other on the JMT. It was very riparian in nature -- reminded me of Mill Creek in San Gorgonio.

Took a break at the suspension bridge and soaked my feet. Ahh...At about 1 PM I realized that if I didn't start moving, I would fall asleep. Started the long climb up. At one point, I lost the trail. Another mountain friend named Nate caught up with me. Since I was accustomed to hiking with wet feet, I offered to cross the creek first to see if the trail was on the other side – it was. I settled back into my slow, steady pace.

Reached one crossing that looked gross. I didn’t mind wet boots and socks but didn't want THIS STUFF spilling over into my socks. I stepped on a rock which gave way and suddenly I was falling to my left. Put my left arm out to break the fall but my forearm hit the side of a log first, resulting in a four inch long, one inch wide section of skin being literally peeled away by the log. Plus, I was now sitting in the gunk. Once the instant shock of being flayed alive dissipated, I struggled to my feet. I wanted to wrap the area with my bandana but it was also gone. That event galvanized me -- I started hiking faster and caught Nate. He wanted to treat my arm (the entire left forearm was bloody and I had blood on my clothes – big surprise). I noted that I just wanted to get to camp and deal with it there. On the positive side, Nate had found my bandana.

After the adrenalin rush, I slowed down considerably. Getting to Dollar Lake seemed to take forever. From there it was 3 looonng miles to the southern end of Rae Lakes. At the northern end of the first Rae Lake, I saw a sign for a bear box with a note from Saint John directing me to my resupply. Hallelujah! I tossed everything in and continued on, heavier in weight but lighter in spirit. John had arrived with Ed on two days earlier on Wednesday (my expected arrival day). They had great success fishing and had hoped to cook some for me but had to get home by Friday evening.

I heard my name being called by Linda, Janet and Chris at the last camping spot before the climb up Glenn Pass. They joked that they were in the presence of JMT royalty. I laughed and pointed out that I was absolutely blessed to have friends like Laura and John helping me on this adventure. I will state for the record that if I hadn't had a resupply, I would have called it quits and hiked out for good to Onion Valley.

Linda, Janet and Chris tended to the wound on my arm. We enjoyed the evening together and chatted until we could no longer stay awake.

Day 16

This breakfast was my last meal with my friends before they headed over two passes to Onion Valley. Chris was hiking out to meet his friend Sherri, Linda had to return to the Bay Area to prepare for her teaching job and Janet had to resupply. Glen pass was as wonderful as I remembered -- even the snow wasn't too bad. I settled in behind a Boy Scout troop. When I reached the pass, Chris was waiting for me. Bless him -- he knew I hated dealing with snow in the morning and wanted to make sure I was OK. We hugged farewell one last time.

Descending from Glen was quite pleasant. When I reached the junction of the JMT and the high trail to Kearsarge, I was entering new territory. Someone had built an enormous rock arrow pointing south on the JMT and I had a good laugh. A genial male hiker named Tim caught me and we chatted a bit. He was a physical therapist from Tasmania but has also worked in the U.S. He knew something was up with my back as soon as he saw me walk. He had climbed the Painted Lady before heading over Glen -- said it was very sketchy due to the rocks, scree and snow.

Right after Tim went ahead, I heard "Go Ellen, go Ellen!" It was my mountain friends Mary Lynn and Jim! I hadn't seen them since Vermillion Ranch. How lucky could I be -- I had buddies to camp with again! They went on ahead and I kept plodding along. We wanted to find a campsite as high up on Forestor as possible. Once we had just left tree line, Jim found a beautiful spot with terrific 360 degree views. They left me use their portable shower again and ML cleaned my arm with an iodine wash and bandaged me up. The sun set early and we hunkered down in our tents to get warm.

Day 17

The morning temperature was freezing -- our tents and sleeping bags were wet and everything else was covered with frost. It was difficult to pack up in the bitter cold -- I started to lose my hands (as my pain sister Tina says, they went to the “bad place”). Mary Lynn had the same problem with her hands due to Raynaud's. They finished packing up before me and headed out. I was on the verge of tears due to the pain in my hands. It was a godsend to finally start climbing and reach the sunlight. ML was waiting for me to redo my bandage, which had come undone during the night.

The beginning of the climb up Forester was wonderful -- a nice, dirt trail with well graded switchbacks. This lulled me into a false sense of security that the pass wouldn't be too mentally challenging. Then we reached the SNOW. It was difficult to find good footing and balance on the traverses -- my pack kept tipping me from side to side. In the middle of the snowy sections, we also had to negotiate stepping over and around rocks. On the long, last snow covered section, a rock fell and pinned my left foot. As I was extracting myself, I looked up at what seemed like a never ending snowy traverse and completely cracked. Mary Lynn heard me crying and told me to sit and wait – she and Jim would get my pack. I heard laughter from several young people behind me and pointed out that I had a bad back and was doing the best I could. They shut up.

I was furious that I'd lost control and started climbing again. Jim took my pack and I was finally able to balance and climb faster than a sloth. At the summit, I started roaring and was congratulated heartily by Luigi (originally from New Zealand) and his nephew Zach. These two gentlemen became my mountain brothers for the remainder of the trip. Luigi took a picture of the long scar on my back and said I was inspirational.

Thank God the descent off F—kestor (err… Forester) wasn't too bad. We stopped to get water after dropping about 500 feet, then started a long, gradual descent. The terrain was moon-like and made me feel like I was in Desolation Valley. Mary Lynn and Jim quickly got ahead of me. I could move but not sustain any kind of speed. Next thing I knew, I had lost the trail after getting off it to avoid a snow patch. I wasn't worried and just kept going down. Then I looked below me scanning from left to right and saw meadows, lakes and trees but no trail. Arrgh...

I didn't want to take any chances after the Donahue debacle. Pulled my map out. First I went southwest. No joy. Then I went southeast, knowing that I would eventually intersect at least one trail that I could use to find the JMT. As soon as I approached water, I found two mozzies lunching on my left arm above my wound. Ick!!! Out came the DEET. I finally rejoined the JMT after going through a large meadow. Shortly after, I passed the junctions to Lake South America and Shepherd's Pass. A very nice family going north asked if I was Ellen and told me to look for my friends just past the Tyndell Creek junction at Bullfrog Pond.

I staggered into camp and apologized profusely -- I didn't want Mary Lynn and Jim cutting short their hike and making camp early because of me. They assured me that they had chosen this spot based on the recommendation of the family. We were able to dry out our gear, do laundry and generally get cleaned up. Even more amazing -- hardly any mozzies. Jim and ML saved me again by giving me an extra dinner they were carrying -- I had only put three dinners in my resupply (duh!). I swallowed my pride about being self-sufficient – I needed the fuel. It was Backpackers Pantry Pad Thai -- mmm mmm goood!

Day 18

I promised Mary Lynn that I wouldn't get lost and asked them to go ahead. This took the pressure off and I was to settle in at a good pace. I had lunch and picked up my Wag Bag at the junction to Craptree (err… Crabtree). I met and chatted with the two nice Crabtree rangers who were off duty. Will hopefully see them again when I do the High Sierra trail with Sally. Unfortunately, I left my Swiss Army knife on the rock at the junction after organizing my pack and Bearikade. As silly as it sounds, I get sentimental about equipment -- I used that knife to open my Bearikade, cut Second Skin patches for blisters and other general camp duties.

Started the climb up to Guitar Lake. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this wasn't as difficult as I had expected. In fact, I had almost passed by before realizing that it WAS Guitar Lake. Didn't look the same as when you're looking down from the 13 K ridge on Whitney. Mary Lynn and Jim noted that they would be camping at the Hitchcock Bench. As I reached a bit of a shelf above Guitar Lake, I ran into the wonderful Aussies again. They kindly directed me to Jim and ML's campsite. We all used the portable shower one last time (singly, not together) and had our last dinner on the trail. I packed up as much as I could to get an early start on the trail.

Day 19, Wednesday August 17

The morning temperature was perfect -- not too cold and no frost. I said goodbye to Jim and Mary Lynn at breakfast, knowing that I couldn't keep up with them. They were headed directly to Mammoth from the Portal, while I was spending the night in Lone Pine.

I put on the pack with a sense of relief that this was last day I'd have to heave it around. The climb up to the trail junction felt remarkably easy. I've only done Whitney as a day hike from the Portal. What a difference it made to be acclimated. Occasionally I would look up and become teary -- this was Whitney -- I was HOME.

Once at the junction, I used my fleece and belt to create a way to hold my Camelbak and lunch. When I started up again without the pack, it was a shock. I could push and push and not become fatigued. Wow! I was flying by folks -- completely uncommon until this point in the trek. As I reached the last 400 or so feet, I ran into a big patch of snow. No way, not now -- I was absolutely DONE with the white stuff! I bypassed the trail and headed straight up, using the sun cups as steps. Once I got on the rocks above the snow, it was a simple matter of heading UP.

When I saw the hut, I started yelling "Woo hoo!!!" People on the trail looked at me like I'd lost my mind but I didn't care. Near the hut, I heard Luigi calling "Over here, Ellen!" He insisted that I stand on the highest rock for my summit picture. Luigi, Zach and I hugged, then I hung out for about an hour to savor the summit. When I signed in, I ran into Max, a member of the San Jacinto hiking club that I’d met when I did my early summer C2C.

I took much more care going back down. Avoided the snow by down climbing the rocks to the left -- I believe the old trail used to go this way. Put my backpack on -- ugh -- back to reality. Slithered my way up to Trail Crest, then started carefully down the switchbacks. At one point, I stepped down off a rock step and found myself on my hands and knees looking over the side of the trail. Yikes! My ankle must have rolled. At least it was a slow fall, so I had some control. Descended even more prudently.

It was a relief to get to Trail Camp, though I knew I still had a lot of bone-jarring descending ahead. Shortly after leaving Trail Camp, I came across a group of men looking at me with concern. One asked if I'd be able to “lug my pack all the way down to the Portal today.” I must have looked incredulous. I responded that doing so would be a piece of cake compared to what I'd just done. Apparently, I must have looked like poop on a stick at that point.

The descent from Trail Camp to Mirror Lake always works me and this day was no different. The trail was in the worst condition I've ever seen, probably due to the extra talus and other issues created by the heavy snow melt. The added weight of the pack certainly didn't help -- I felt that I was progressively losing height as I dropped. The section from Mirror to Lone Pine Lake was also not as smooth as usual -- I had to concentrate on nearly every step. I took a short mental health break at the Lone Pine Lake junction, then started the final descent. I started singing show tunes to pass the time and keep from going mad, which created some pretty interesting glances from other hikers.

At last I saw the trailhead and heard the "Rocky" theme pounding in my head. Reached the road and headed straight for the Portal Store, with visions of India Pale Ale beer dancing in my head. For the last time, I heard my name being called and looked up to see the Aussie contingent, Luigi and his wife and Zach cheering me on from the picnic tables. I walked up, dropped my pack and roared. Everyone laughed. Zach treated me to several IPAs, then kindly drove me and some of the Aussies down to Lone Pine. We had dinner at the Bonanza Mexican restaurant and then obtained accommodations at the Whitney Hostel.

August 18

I got up in time to bid my Aussie mountain family good bye as they boarded a bus to Bishop to continue their American holiday. Then I headed over to the Alabama Hills Cafe for breakfast. A lovely local woman named Betsy invited me to join her at her table. After she left, I used both sides of the table to hold all of my food (eggs, bacon and potatoes on one side and pancakes on the other). Once I completed my eggs, etc., I moved from my chair to the booth side to eat. A nice Japanese man asked why I was eating enough food for two people. I gave a short description of what I'd done and he translated for his wife. Afterwards, I did a walk about town to settle the food before driving home. I purchased two wonderful stone fetishes (a frog and a marmot) as souvenirs of my journey before gassing up my car and heading out.

As gorgeous as this trek was, I think the most meaningful part was getting to know a wonderful group of people.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

"As gorgeous as this trek was, I think the most meaningful part was getting to know a wonderful group of people."

Thanks for your great story, Ellen.

Harvey

A wonderful Trail Report Ellen. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

Al

Great trip report!
Great story of perserverance!

I am planning on doing the JMT in two years. It sounds like the emotional preperation is as important as the physical prep.

Ellen you ROCK and you can WRITE too. Loved your prose... it make me really want to do the JMT without the aid of the Mosquitos. Nicely done!

Thanks Ellen for your trip report!!! I wish I could take the time off from work that long. But, CONGRADULATIONS !!! Awesome trail report. I hope to meet you sometime on San Jacinto Mt. You should've taken my Sherpa with you,(my 16yr old son)maybe next time, I know you want to do it again, it's the mountains(home). Great trip, I can only do portions of it at a time.
Don

It's always nice to have Laura around. She's the Bomb. I had a chance to meet her at the Portal, but I turned around and she was gone. I had to pay for my food. Richard was there too, both gone. Till next time.

Way to go Ellen, congrats to you! great trip report, the ups and downs of such a hike..your a inspiration.I hope to do it some day..

and I'm glad you signed off with your "miles of smiles" quote

mark

Awesome trip report Ellen and congratulations!

Laura is a treasure for sure!

Oh Ellen, what a wonderful trip report!! I savored every word of it... reliving every spot along the way. I've got to give you credit - I don't know if I could have continued on with all the obstacles you faced; you are amazing!

I've also had the good fortune to have had Laura with me when I really needed ecouragement... she seems to know exactly what to say, and when its needed.

This coming year is going to be a big one for me, and I'm starting it out with a Whitney hike this October... and shooting for another JMT hike next summer. Thanks for the inspiration!!

Rosie

Congratulations on an incredible journey Ellen! Thanks for sharing.

Ellen, another amazing journey.

The JMT is a wonderful trail, but it is so traveled, by so many, and so documented, that one can get the impression that it is is a "been there, done that" kind of a thing. Your narrative expresses what a true adventure it is, particularly for someone brave enough to tackle it solo. Your descriptions brought back many memories for me.

You didn't specifically mention him, but I wonder if you ran into Jim, the owner of Vermillion, my old mountaineering partner? I like how he has altered the atmosphere of the place.

I was touched by your mention of the note left on the sign by Laura. That was such a caring, thoughtful, and sensitive thing to do, and so characteristic of her. She would know exactly where you would need to see that, and go to the bother to make sure it was there for you. She touches so many people with her healing touch.

Ellen, I'm sure people get tired of hearing me talk about it, but you REALLY need to get with the program: Permethrin.

http://www.rei.com/product/768970/sawyer-permethrin-pump-spray-24-oz

There is an extension of one of the things you'd mentioned: the woman who'd broken her ankle on Selden Pass. The group that I do trail work with, High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew, was doing a week long trip on that section of trail that week, with their base camp located at Senger Creek, the next creek crossing below
Sallie Keyes Lakes, and you may have run into some of the crew (I was not on that trip). Apparently, the SPOT's gave incorrect GPS locations, and the helicoptors could not find the injured hiker. Our trail crew monitored what was going on (we carry forest service radios), and because we also talk to hikers, knew where the injured person was, and facilitated the rescue. Perhaps you passed info along that helped!

Howdy Mountain Doc Ken,

Jim is a wonderful, caring, humerous guy -- he is part of what makes Vermillion so special. I said that I knew you, gave him your regrads and he absolutely lit up :-)

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

Congratulations Ellen !!
Your trip report was fascinating to understand what you went through and how you felt about them. I can feel you pains and disappointments and enjoyments of the trip.
All your hike from now on is a cake walk in a park for you.
You are inspiration to all of us and blessed with many good friends.
Millions of smile to you.

Shin

Ellen: I'm sitting here on my butt in Huntington Beach tired and itching after reading your report. What an inspiration you are to me who is one of 'oldsters" on this blog site. It makes me want to get out into the mountains, TODAY.
Thanks so much.

Well, that made my day!

Ken,

While I agree that permethrin is probably a good idea, it wasn't much use in places like sunrise HSC this year. The mosquitoes were so bad in areas of the JMT this year that I was passing people who were picking mosquitos out of their underwear, underneath their shirts, everywhere. I usually just talked to the people coming the other way to find out where the bad spots were. Then I avoided them altogether. For instance, I got up at 5 AM and literally ran through sunrise before dawn just so I wouldn't have to deal with that hell hole. There were some others hiking my same direction that were using permethrin and they didn't fare so well either. Its just a bad year for bugs.

It is a bad year. Maybe worthwhile to carry a hammer.

Howdy All,

At last, pictures with tags to go with the trip report.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a...aca4&type=1

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

Absolutely AWESOME!! Thank you so much for sharing and the inspiration.