Extra Miles: 9 (gate at horseshoe meadows back to PCT) Miles: 750.2 to 759.2

This morning started out with a little kerfuffle… the amazing staff at Elevation gear shop in Lone Pine had got me in touch with a shuttle driver, who was already bringing up an older couple staying at my hotel at 8am… all had been confirmed and set via text. So imagine my surprise when at 6:50am… I walk out to get some coffee from the Alabama Hills Cafe and see said older couple getting into the shuttle… confused I approached the driver. Apparently he had forgotten to text me about a time change… I wasn’t packed or organized to leave… he said he could come back later, when he had another rider going up to bicycle… so my 8:45am start moved to 11:30am… not ideal… but it was what it was.

I spent the extra morning hours rearranging my bag and seeing the best way to fit my bear can and ice axe… by the time 11:30 rolled around I must of packed and repacked my bag 40+ times.

Horseshoe Meadows campground still closed … the closest I could get dropped off was at the gate…a 9 mile walk back to the PCT… I know, I know… 9 miles isn’t a big deal considering I am hiking everyday… but this was 9 miles I had just done two days ago… 9 miles of non PCT miles… 9 miles all uphill… for some reason it left me irritated… I realized about halfway up - I was being impatient for getting to Whitney… I was feeling the urge to be with Scout and Wingit, who were about a day ahead of me… I basically got in my own head…

I reached the trail junction with the PCT…. And I could immediately feel the impacts of it being harder to breathe… I needed to acclimate again… I decided to give up on reaching Scout and summiting Whitney with him the next day… I knew my body wasn’t ready to go that high… and set up camp about 9 miles down the PCT next to Rock Creek… even though the day started off with a negative vibe and a little questioning of why am I doing this again… I was excited to pass into Sequoia National Park… and really enjoyed having lunch with a view of Chicken Spring Lake… once I got through the long climbs for the day… and reached my little descent… I realized even though I was being a little negative nellie about Climbing… it felt like an accomplishment once I got over the top… and reminder myself it was all physically preparing me for the two giants that laid ahead.

Maybe I wouldn’t catch Scout to climb Whitney with him… but I would catch him to celebrate his climb the next day at Crabtree Meadows… which was only a few miles ahead for me.

As I tried to fall asleep at the appointed hiker bedtime of 7pm… a feeling was nagging at me that I couldn’t quite place… I shifted my focus to my “Sierra” plan… which I have been pretty shifty on… this part of the trail requires long side trails over mountain passes to reach roads to get rides to towns… the main one was Kearsage Pass (only 7.6 miles and only 11,700 elevation at the highest point, and a popular trailhead so better chance of finding a ride), which for me would mean a quick few days on trail… I had packed enough food to get me to Bishop Pass Trail…(13-14 miles, a much steeper grade, and a much less used trail head)… Bishop Pass made sense with the calendar but wasn’t sitting too well in the motivation department… I fell asleep still trying to make a commitment on my plan…