- Start Point: Eugene, OR
- End Point: Whitney Portal Trailhead, CA
- Total Distance: 698 miles (+ 92 extra miles shuttling PCT hikers to Cottonwood Pass)
- Starting/Ending Elevation: 430′ to 3,727′
Monday, May 17, 2021
Today was all about driving. Lots and lots of driving.
I started this adventure in my (new) hometown of Eugene, Oregon, which meant I’d need to drive 700 miles long miles to the trailhead. And so shortly after 8 am, I hit the road with lots of coffee, some podcasts, and an audiobook downloaded to my phone for good measure.
Beginning this journey in central Oregon meant I’d need to cross over the backbone of mountain ranges that run up the length of the West Coast, and I only had a few feasible options on how to make this happen. I could cross the Cascades Mountains up in Oregon or go over the Sierra Nevadas in California.
In the end, I opted to just head over for the nearby Cascades. I’d get to see a more rural passage through eastern Oregon and California (and a touch of western Nevada) on my way south. Plus this less-traveled route allowed me to enjoy the Modoc National Forest and Lassen National Forest, which are pretty scenic in their own right.
Although I could have driven the entire 700 miles to Whitney Portal on my first day, I opted not to do so because I had some some concerns about trying to ascend 14,000′ of elevation in two days. Eugene is barely above sea level – it’s only a meager 430′ elevation. That’s a lot of vertical gain on the body.
Lone Pine, California rests at 3,727′. But that was hardly high enough to acclimate my body. So, I did a little research and discovered the town of Lee Vining on the east side of Yosemite might be a better overnight stop instead.
Stopping there would cut 120 miles off my drive today and allow me to sleep up at 6,781 feet. I’d planned to camp on some public lands tonight (and save myself the additional cost of a hotel), and then finish up the rest of the drive to the trailhead tomorrow. I’m hoping stopped there makes a difference and helps me avoid any symptoms of altitude sickness on Whitney tomorrow or the next day.
As I headed south, I probably should have felt some excitement and anticipation for the upcoming adventure. Instead, I was feeling guilt. Just days before this trip, my 14 year old son had a pretty bad fall while riding his bike and snapped his arm in multiple places. It wasn’t a simple fix with just a cast. The orthopedist had to go in and perform surgery – using ten screws and a couple of plates to get his radius and ulna realigned again.
So the situation back at home weighed heavy on my mind. Would he be ok without me? What if he got an infection? All these scenarios floated through my mind and had me wondering if I was bad parent for taking off to pursue this little adventure so close after his injury?
I had to remind myself over and over again, that my son had two parents. And believe it or not, the other parent is perfectly capable of doling out medicine. And he’s just adept at putting a bag on our son’s arm before he bathes as I am. So why did I feel so damn guilty??
Other than my irrational feelings, the long drive was mostly uneventful. Eastern Oregon, western Nevada, and eastern California is pretty diverse in terms of physical geography but it’s not all very populated. I passed a handful of towns like Klamath Falls, Susanville, Reno, and Carson City, but mostly it was just a lot of wide open space as I crossed the Modoc Plateau, lakes, lava fields junipers, and pine forests.
Just before dark, I made it to Lee Vining and slowly worked my way toward the free campsites I’d scouted online before I left home.
I’m always a little skeptical about the information I find on line, and I worry that it isn’t actually going to pan out on the ground when I arrive. What if the dirt roads aren’t passible? Or what if someone else has settled into the spot first? Will I had someone else to turn to?
Yet none of those worries came out to bear. I found a terrific spot on the south side of Mono Lake with amazing views of Paoha Island (the giant land mass in the middle of lake that was formed from a series of eruptions in the 17th century).
And with that, my first day of travel down to Mt. Whitney came to an end. I’d rest here for the night and acclimate to the elevation. And tomorrow, I’d make my way up to Trail Camp at 12,000′.
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
I wish I could say I had a restful night of sleep near Mono Lake, but I didn’t. It was super windy and the temperature dropped down to a bitter 34 degrees overnight. I woke with the sun around 5 a.m. and wanted to head back to sleep, but I couldn’t.
Instead I quickly turned the car’s heater on before huddling in the back seat of the car under my 10 degree quilt to warm up. I know it’s probably going to be at least this cold tonight when I’m halfway up Mt. Whitney, but right now I was just focused on my immediate desire – warming up. Thank goodness I had a car to help expedite it.
After lazing around in the car and reading a book until 7 am, I decided to backtrack to Lee Vining and settle in for breakfast at Nicely’s diner. The food was good, the coffee was warm, and I had no complaints. With breakfast over, I briefly considered topping up on gas before leaving town, but I then I saw it was $5.04/gallon. Um…hard pass.
My next planned stop was Bishop, CA, where I made a quick stop at Sage to Summit (a local outfitter) to pick up a bear canister for my hike. I’d reserved one here in Bishop because I’d planned to return here in two days and grab a hotel after my hike was over.
I’d picked this outfitter because they rented the Bearikade carbon fiber bear canisters, which are supposed to be much lighter than the Bear Vault I had back at home. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I got there that I realized the bear canister I reserved (the Bearikade Scout) was nearly the same size and volume as my clunky BV500 bear canister!!
I was expecting something a lot smaller. The whole point of renting a bear canister had been to carry something lighter and more compact on this trip. And while this fancy bear canister was 13 ounces lighter than my big plastic one back home (yeah!), it wasn’t going to take any less room in my pack. Bummer.
And with that minor disappointment, I was back on the road again heading the final 60 miles to Lone Pine.
When I arrived in Lone Pine, it was barely 11 am and I was trying to figure out my next move. I only had 6.3 miles to hike up to Trail Camp so it wasn’t like I was in a rush to get up to tonight’s campsite. Plus, it was 87°F degrees out. If I left the trailhead now, I’d just be hiking in the heat of the day. That wasn’t appealing at all.
As I debated what to do, I spotted two hikers with full packs standing beside the road with their thumbs out. There was an idea…
I pulled over to find out where they were headed and soon discovered they were both PCT thru-hikers. They’d come into Lone Pine to resupply and were now looking for a ride back up to Cottonwood Pass. I pulled over and told them to hop in, and off we went.
It a steep, curvy 23-mile drive out to their trailhead, but what did I care? I had a working car and plenty of time to burn. And these were “my people.” Why not do a good deed and build up a little good karma before hitting the trail?
On the ride up to the Cottonwood Pass trailhead, my two passengers regaled me with stories about the last 750 miles of their respective thru-hikes through the desert. I have to admit, I was a bit jealous. I’d love to be out there hiking the PCT this year. But, with everything else on my plate right now, it wasn’t in the cards. At least I could live vicariously through their journeys.
After dropping them off and wishing them good luck on their hike, it was time to head back down to Lone Pine for some lunch and a phone call to check in on Keith and Finn. Everything was going well on the home front. My needless worrying about how they were faring without me was for naught.
With that task complete, it was time to focus on my adventure and head up to Whitney Portal.
As I pulled onto Whitney Portal Road once again, I saw two more PCT thru-hikers with a “Ride to Trail” sign. Ah man…What should I do?
It was already after 2 p.m. Did I really have time for one more 46-mile roundtrip drive back up to Cottonwood Pass? I would probably regret it later, but I know what it’s like to be standing on the side of the road waiting for a hitch. It sucks. And that was before Covid. Who know how long these guys would have to wait for someone willing to pick them up?
Once again, it didn’t take long to justify stopping and giving them a hand. I was fully vaccinated and had no qualms about picking up a bunch of dirty thru-hikers. And, so what if I got off to a later than expected start on my own adventure? In for a penny, in for a pound. So I pulled over – once again – and waved two more hikers into the back seat.
After dropping of this second batch of hikers at the trailhead, it was time to get serious. I needed to head to Whitney Portal and get this journey kicked off!!
Today’s OVERVIEW
HIGHLIGHTS
- Taking in some pretty spectacular views of the Sierra Nevadas on my long drive down their eastern side of the state
- Discovering that my free campsite near Mono Lake was exactly as good as I’d hoped
- Unexpectedly meeting 4 PCT thru-hikers and doing a bit of trail magic
CHALLENGES
- Realizing my bear canister rental was still much bigger than I’d wanted to cram into my pack. Sigh.
- Feeling the overwhelming road fatigue of driving nearly 800 miles before I even got to the dang trailhead.
- Getting over the mommy guilt of leaving my wounded bird at home with a broken wing
