Day 57

Rock creek camp to campground - 14.3 miles

Total - 775.9 miles

Woke up chilly chilly chilly. All I wanted to do was stay in bed. But we persevered and we were brave and got up. Mostly because I had to pee and take a shit. We got ready and hit the road. Today was the first day my gear didn’t feel as heavy aka the bear can. We did our first river crossing! It was a little sketchy as initially we thought we had to go over this skinny little log but instead we found a better spot with a thicker log to cross. No shoes were wet. We had a steep climb up out of the valley but it felt good! Dad even said he felt great and on the pain scale it was a big fat zero. Which was great since we did 17.5 miles yesterday and we only had a short amount today but we did have more climbing. We then cruised our way to the turn off to mount Whitney which we decided we weren’t going to do. Mainly since we didnt want to push him and also I know I will be back since we live so close that it didn’t seem like a huge deal. Plus I will just try to get Nathan to go with me sometime soon. I was excited as based on what Marc told me, we were probably going to meet back up with the group at camp later today. They got up at 12:30am to do Whitney for sunrise. Absolute units. I would’ve been so cranky. I was excited to hear how it went. We had a little snack at a river before doing another river crossing. Also a lil sketchy but not horrible. The river was gorgeous with grass surrounding the deep river well that then cascaded down in a white flurry with so much power. I was really hungry. I think the altitude is affecting my stomach. I’m so hungry in the morning but can only stomach one garnola bar which powers me until the first lunch break and then I can finish my last few bars for breakfast. I’m starting to hate the food I’m packing which is horrible as it’s light and there’s not many options. We booked it up the next two climbs and met up with Daniel who we had been leap frogging since mile 300. I don’t think I’ve talked about him on here but he’s a sweet guy and always fun to see on trail. We leap frogged him up to the next river crossing which again was a lil bit sketchy as the log was quite thin. I made it across first and then dad. We then had lunch overlooking a grass field with the snowy capped mountains towering over us. We had one more big climb left and it was the best climb we have had so far. Stunning scenery. Vast landscapes with such beastly mountains. You feel so small. I was so incredibly grateful once we peaked and saw 360 views of snowy mountains. Marmots ran around and came close to us. An alpine lake reflected the blue sky. I didn’t realize that I wasn’t having much fun at the start of the sierras until now. It felt like we were going up and down with no reward. This was our reward. And it’s even more baffling that not that many people get to see these landscapes. So many people do not go outside or challenge themselves to see these wonders. So once again, get outside! Cheesy but true. I truly almost cried as I was walking down. Something about the last 750 miles led up to this and I’m so happy I wasn’t injured or quit or had something else happen to me where I didn’t get to experience this. Along with that it was with my dad. Someone who fought tooth and nail when I was younger to get me to enjoy the outdoors and I fought every inch of his efforts. I would not be here without him and my moms efforts to push me to hike and appreciate the outdoors. He will love reading that. I just had to come to my own conclusions. I’m feeling sentimental. We then cruised down the mountain in awe of course with the scenery until we got to our final river crossing of the day. It was a powerful river and it sketched me out a lot. Some guys informed us this was really the only way across. We had done one earlier in the day barefoot but I didn’t feel comfortable with that this time so we went in shoes in all. We had gotten there around 2 so I wasn’t worried that they wouldn’t dry out. Dad went first and created the line that I would follow and then I went. It is a balancing act of letting the water take your foot and placing it where the water wants it to go. You weren’t fighting the water but moving with it. That made it easier but I was still a bit scared and went slow. Especially since I couldn’t see with all the bubbles the rapid was creating. I got across and the guys have a respectable clap which I bowed too lol. We then found some good campsites and waited for the group. I was texting them on garmin and Caleb had texted me earlier their rough plan but they were going to camp 0.5 miles back. First of all, I was a lil upset as I haven’t seen them in 3 whole days. Longest I haven’t seen Caleb at this point so it was a lil weird. So I was trying to be understanding and texted Caleb an update on the river but immediately texted Marc a message that hinted that he should just come to our campsite. In reality I should’ve just been like come here bitches but I was trying to be understanding as they had a long fucking day. Caleb and I discussed this later lol. Dad and I had just started dinner when I spotted Louisa’s bright blue shirt and I quickly made my way to the water excitedly as my friends were finally here! They stripped down to cross which I respect and one by one made their way across, Ben first. He informed me Caleb was pissed off as he was exhausted (so fair I would be too) as he just wanted to camp. I knew the minute he got food in him he would be fine tho so I was still very cheery. Everyone got across safe and sound and made their way up to set up tents and start dinner. AH I missed everyone! I got to hear all about Whitney which sounded like a blast and saw pictures. Again, absolute units. They said it was scary as you are walking along a cliff with the black abyss below you. They apparently got there with 3 minutes to spare before the sun rose. Everyone else were too late. Dad got to know them a lil better as well as they were recounting the past few days. I got to tell them my three important pieces of information that were so thrilling: we went to bed last night at 5:45, Caleb’s playlist that he shared is amazing, and I finished my audiobook. Louisa is the only one from her group that made it with the guys. Love her as she’s super nice and hilarious. You could tell that everyone was beat tho so it was an earlier night as well. I loved hearing in a narcissistic way that people missed me because I missed them. I also have a lot of anxiety that maybe people are faking being friends with me and they all secretly dislike me, which makes no fucking sense because I’ve spent 50+ days with them NONSTOP. But it’s always a worry and it’s nice to hear it sometimes:). We are going to probably split up again as I think we are only zeroing once while they are double zeroing which they have earned no doubt after today. But we will see each other again real soon as I will make sure of it.

pictures do not do the landscape justice!!!!!!!!!!