08-20-2022, 09:25 PM
Day 2 on the trail was rigorous too but it went past beautiful lake upon beautiful lake. We passed the Minarets, a severe jagged range of mountains over 12K and Mount Ritter at a towering 13K, following the stream that would become the Tuolumne.
So many lakes: Gladys, Rosalie, then the wicked descent of switchbacks to Shadow (so thankful we were going the direction we were going because I could not have climbed that steepness), then Garnet, and Ruby. We had originally planned to camp at Ruby Lake but we had momentum and pushed on to Emerald lake.
As we cleared the ascent of a rocky shale ridge above treeline, we heard thunder. Stacy was ahead of us, just me and the twenty-somethings. I said "We gotta get off this rock now!" and we dashed as quickly as we could down the other side, seeing lightning flashes and counting the seconds as the storm approached. We caught up to Stacy who had already tucked under a grove of trees on the hillside under our rain tarp. The 20s did the same, and I got out my poncho, lay atop my backpack, and we waited out the storm. It was intense. Nothing like the sound of thunder off granite mountains - bass so deep that it rumbles your marrow and you feel it cross the expansive panorama of the sky like the voice of God. The storm lasted over an hour anrd we lay patiently on that hillside grove until the thunder subsided and the rain was but a light sprinkle.
A lone backpacker caught up with us. He was white as a ghost. When the thunderstorm struck, he was ascending that shale ridge we had just cleared and got trapped. You cannot stand up in a place like that during a lightning storm. You will become a lightning rod. You will get struck. He lay in the rocks as low as he could. Two strikes landed very near to him. The sheer terror in his face was still palpable, but it was over and we were all relieved.
Blue sky broke through again and the sun came out. Soon we were warm and somewhat dryer again.
We made it to Emerald Lake which was stunningly beautiful, my fav campsite of the trip. We secured a perfect spot with a spectacular view and a chain of rocks that went out into the lake where I did some qigong and was inspired to write that haiku.
My spine issues were lessened. I was carefully monitoring my nsaid usage, shifted my muscle relaxant to bedtime because I didn't want to get sleepy on the trail, and kept up with my neural med. The nortriptylene gives me wicked cotton mouth, and that was exacerbated by me panting all the time, and the constant thirst caused by hiking.
But worthy of note - I've not taken any pain meds today. I feel good, better than I've felt since this spinla nightmare began. I will take my nortrip soon.
So many lakes: Gladys, Rosalie, then the wicked descent of switchbacks to Shadow (so thankful we were going the direction we were going because I could not have climbed that steepness), then Garnet, and Ruby. We had originally planned to camp at Ruby Lake but we had momentum and pushed on to Emerald lake.
As we cleared the ascent of a rocky shale ridge above treeline, we heard thunder. Stacy was ahead of us, just me and the twenty-somethings. I said "We gotta get off this rock now!" and we dashed as quickly as we could down the other side, seeing lightning flashes and counting the seconds as the storm approached. We caught up to Stacy who had already tucked under a grove of trees on the hillside under our rain tarp. The 20s did the same, and I got out my poncho, lay atop my backpack, and we waited out the storm. It was intense. Nothing like the sound of thunder off granite mountains - bass so deep that it rumbles your marrow and you feel it cross the expansive panorama of the sky like the voice of God. The storm lasted over an hour anrd we lay patiently on that hillside grove until the thunder subsided and the rain was but a light sprinkle.
A lone backpacker caught up with us. He was white as a ghost. When the thunderstorm struck, he was ascending that shale ridge we had just cleared and got trapped. You cannot stand up in a place like that during a lightning storm. You will become a lightning rod. You will get struck. He lay in the rocks as low as he could. Two strikes landed very near to him. The sheer terror in his face was still palpable, but it was over and we were all relieved.
Blue sky broke through again and the sun came out. Soon we were warm and somewhat dryer again.
We made it to Emerald Lake which was stunningly beautiful, my fav campsite of the trip. We secured a perfect spot with a spectacular view and a chain of rocks that went out into the lake where I did some qigong and was inspired to write that haiku.
My spine issues were lessened. I was carefully monitoring my nsaid usage, shifted my muscle relaxant to bedtime because I didn't want to get sleepy on the trail, and kept up with my neural med. The nortriptylene gives me wicked cotton mouth, and that was exacerbated by me panting all the time, and the constant thirst caused by hiking.
But worthy of note - I've not taken any pain meds today. I feel good, better than I've felt since this spinla nightmare began. I will take my nortrip soon.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse