While scanning the message board Saturday I noticed an invite from KenD for a 9/10 Main Trail hike. He had gotten turned back in OCT 2007 with bad conditions at the cables, exactly like I did. I asked the wife - "Honey if I can get Wed off work, would you mind if I went to Whitney to play?". She replied - "Sure, just take YOUR car." So instead of sleeping in a comfy bed in the back of my gas guzzling Suburban at the trail head, I ended up with the passenger seat laid back in my 29 MPG Mini Cooper.
With everything cleared at work (thank you taxpayers) I cut out early on Tue and headed north. I arrived just after 5pm at the Portal and quickly met Burt. He showed me the location of the old, "short cut" trail and said it was in good shape. I made plans to try it for the 1st time on our way down.
Stopped in the store and told DougSr that I had heard that mentioning Laura's name and forking over 12 bucks would get me a "Moose" burger. Turns out this is true and soon three guys were carrying out the biggest bun and burger contraption I have seen in a long time. A couple people actually asked if I was going to eat the whole thing. There are two things I'm very good at - eating before a hike and eating after a hike. Sat outside and soon the 2 patty, 8 bacon slice monster was GONE. Walked back to get the car to get ready for the night and thought I might need two wag bags for the hike. That burger was riding low and heavy!
As I was getting things set, KenD came over and introduced himself. He gave me my wag bag/tag and we firmed up our plans to hit the trail at 0300. He headed up the trail to do a short hike; I went back to the store to trade stories with DougSr. We're shipmates and all - he is Coast Guard and I'm Navy. At around 8 I went to the car and set the alarm on my ATT cell phone for 0215.
Slept pretty well considering where I was and at 0215 the alarm went off. I got up, hit the head and got my hiking gear on. Made my small fanny pack ready and had breakfast. After cleaning up I noted it was nearly 0300 and no sign of KenD. At 0310 I was thinking of going it alone. I rechecked some things in my pack and checked my watch - 0115!! WTF? Oh yes, ATT cell phones can't keep correct time up here. I even knew that! Damn. Even with a 24 ounce Monster sitting on top of the Moose Burger I was able to go back to sleep. At 0245 in real world time I was back up. KenD was already getting ready.
Minutes before 0300 we were off. Plenty of headlamps ahead, several behind. A little over an hour later we were getting a snack at the Lone Pine Lake sign. The trip all the way to Trail Camp was uneventful and we passed between several groups headed up. It seemed it might be a very busy Wed at the top. The sun was out, but it wasn't warming up. We kept wondering when the clouds would burn off while we pushed towards Trail Crest. Once we got to the other side it looked a lot better. As we pushed towards the summit, things started getting a little darker. About 3/4 mile in we got a little snow. The closer we got towards the hut, the heavier it came down. I double checked with KenD that he wanted to press on and he did. We were passed by many groups who decided it wasn't for them and turned around. One gent even remarked that he "Had nothing to prove" while he shot me a look that I was stupid. I honestly didn't think it was that bad until the last 200 feet or so. By then you couldn't see the hut until you were at the door. We rested inside for about 10 minutes, got a couple pics and headed down. The snow let up significantly and actually made the trail seem nicer for me by smoothing it out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30467211@N04/2853659846/another great shot from Ken:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30467211@N04/2854393463KenD was back with a group that consisted of Grandpa, Dad, boy, girl. Not sure of their ages, but the older boy wasn't old enough to drive and his sister looked 2-3 years younger. Dad and Grandpa were watching them close and they were in good sprits doing great. I dashed ahead to doctor the blisters/wounds on my foot from my last hike and KenD joined me at Trail Crest. There was snow/slush on the switchbacks so we took it easy going down. After locating the stuff we stashed at Trail Camp and doctoring my wounded foot again, we headed down. At Mirror Lake the hail started. I soon had everything I brought on - even that 99 cent poncho I've carried for years. When the ice cold rain started I noticed the poncho sheds water just above my knees. I made a mental note to bring my wind pants EVERY time. Another layer on my legs would have been nice. With my feet trashed and KenD being plenty tired, we took it slow going down. As long as I got him down in time for a burger, there was no need to hurry. I don't understand why anyone would stay at Outpost Camp - hot food and the Hostel are only 2 hours (or less) away. What could possibly be gained by huddling under a tree because your tent was collapsed? We found the shortcut/old trail but I decided against using it. I have never been down it before and didn't want my 1st time to be in the rain.
Just shy of 16 hours we made it to the parking lot. A couple quick pics and a handshake and we went our separate ways. KenD headed for the burger, I headed for home. 9 hours to the hut, 7 hours down...........................................DUG67
