By the time we hit Trail Camp (12K feet elevation), I wasn’t feeling too hot. We ate and slept, hoping a night’s rest would provide us with enough time to acclimatize to the gain in elevation, and allow us to summit. To be honest, I was rather nervous that I wouldn’t be up for it. But I held onto hope that I would.
Fortunately, I woke feeling good, although my oatmeal was not at all appealing to me. We entered the switchbacks full of excitement and awe. We’d seen so much beauty already. It was hard to imagine what was ahead of us.
We were treated to incredible views as we began distancing ourselves from Trail Camp. With each switchback, the view was even more picturesque. Lakes we had not come in contact with on our journey came into view.
While the view changed below us, so did the view up above. Each switchback, each turn, treated us to something new, whether it was snow, water run-off, or wild flowers.
We paced ourselves, stopping to hydrate, refuel, catch our breath, and/or capture an image or two.
And before long… or I suppose it was long,.. we hit Trail Crest.
It was hard to believe that we could go any higher but, sure enough, we found out that we could.
Over the next two miles we climbed, and traversed, and climbed some more. More incredible views, this time overlooking the West (Sequoia National Park). We met up with the last portion of the John Muir Trail and came in contact with some amazing JMT through hikers.
Finally, the summit came into view. From afar we could see the storm shelter on the mountain top and watch the little dots (other hikers) snake back and forth toward the top. We were getting so close…yet it was still far off in the distance.
Until…
