Redemption: Mt. Muir #4 and Mt. Whitney #5

Mt. Muir 14,019 ft:  #12 largest mountain in California

Mt. Whitney 14,508 f:t #1 Largest mountain in the Contiguous U.S.

July 21, 2014

by: Stefanie Notte

Saturday, July 19th, I found myself humbled; for the first time I was denied a summit and had to walk away from it trying to keep my head held high.  I don't know why I took this so hard, Mt. Russell got the best of me,  and I took it personally.  I approached from the eastern ridge via the Russell-Carillon Pass, rock scrambled like my life depended on it (because it did), and came within an hour of the western ridge, the actual summit, before time ran out and I had to turn back. Safety first.  Time was not on my side, and worst of all, it was my fault.  That being said, I am better for it.  I needed to have this summit fail to keep me grounded so I don't make stupid decisions in the future.  It also fueled the fire for this impromptu hike on Monday, July 21, where I summited two 14ers to make up for the loss. That's right, I was seeking revenge on Russell by dominating Mt. Muir and Mt. Whitney instead.  And guess what?  IT WORKED.

Here is my journal from the Muir/Whitney hike: 

The Whitney Register, that's my banana 

Sunday 7/20/14

I'm back at Whitney Portal contemplating my next move. It's 7:52 pm and I've just finished filtering some water with my crapping MSR ceramic water filter, I'm drinking a Long Trail Ale, I'm ..... Wait a minute, a Long Trail Ale?! Heck yeah, pulling out all the stops. Thanks Mom and Dad,  this LT is exactly what I needed! Tomorrow is going to be a doosie... But not making a decision tonight. I have a goal but it not worth talking about yet. I'm coming off of a loss, a.... An acclimatization hike. Ha! Is that what we're calling it now? My calves and quads are feeling pretty worked from yesterday, skiing down the scree was an intense work out (screeing? Sure, why not?). Time to put the phone away and enjoy my night. 

Evening chores 

Monday 7/21/14

4:41am... Again, took forever to finally wake up. But this time an hour instead of three. Better. 30 minutes to get ready. Here we go.  I'm changing up the outfit today, all black with black stripped leggings, black jacket, and black bandana.  I'm feeling quite ninja-like today. Guess that means no trekking poles, ninjas DO NOT use trekking poles.

5:32am: hit the trail, my legs need to wake up! They are still pretty fatigued, at about 80%. 

5:55 am: I watched the sunrise from the switchbacks after the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek Trail. Amazing. I'm feeling exceptionally good this morning. 

Grouse!

6:47 am: entering the Whitney Zone

7:07am cruising through Outpost Camp, not really sure why anyone would camp here, it's too far from the top and too close to the Portal... Maybe only 3 miles in? Oh wait, it's free to camp here, that makes more sense... Kind of. Maybe these people are just hanging out, not here to summit. I think those kind of people do exist. 

8:30am on the dot and I have arrived at Trail Camp. 3 hours from the Portal. I've counted six marmots and watched one steal trail mix from this human who didn't store their food properly. And then she (the human) just let it (the wild animal) have more food.  SHE FED THE WILD ANIMAL.  People like this piss me off. Make an effort people, it's because of your dumb asses these marmots are so freaking food aggressive... and fat. 

8:50am talked to Lawrence, the North Carolina man suffering from AMS. He's doing it right though, chillin' at Trail Camp. I gave him a quick pep talk, and now off I go, next stop: 99 switchbacks (never saw him again, looks like AMS won, boo). 

Met Tim M. at 9:50am. I was just over halfway through the switchbacks. He's the first person I've met that is finishing the JMT... And he's part of the FB group, cool! I talked to him for a bit, high-fived, and continued on my way.  

10:19am Trail Crest, dominated those switchbacks! Heck yeah!!! And I am now joined up with the JMT. But best of all, I am taking in that view overlooking the Hitchcock  Lakes... The view I've waited two years to see again, the view that I see every morning when I look at that picture by my bed. I'm so happy! 500 yards to Mt. Muir trail head.

JMTers galore! So amped!! Met Wildflower and Pineapple Express.  I love it!! I can't freaking wait until it's my turn. Mt. Muir, I seeeeeee youuuuuuuuu.

10:56am: Mt Muir trailhead 

So, I met two ladies at the base of the class 3 section of Mt. Muir. Spent about 20 minutes chatting and making new friends. One gal lives in San Luis Obispo, go figure! And they are battling the CA 14ers as well, I love it!

At 11:34am I summited Mt. Muir! Gnarly but short class 3. Also a milestone in my mountaineering abilities completing a class 3, thanks to the east ridge of Russell and now Muir! What a day. I'm feeling so incredible! Mt. Muir, the fourth 14er this year, oh yeah!!!

The 99 Switchbacks from the top of Mt. Muir

Only proof I made it to the top, t'was a scary summit block

View of Whitney from Muir,  489 feet below Whitney's summit

12:06 pm: base of rock climb, breathe.

12:16 back on Whitney Trail, less than 2 miles to the top

Everyone I pass on this section keeps telling me I'm almost there, and I'm so close, this and that. No shit, I saw the sign and I can see the top. I didn't say that of course, but instead said, awesome! Can't wait!! 

1:25 pm: summited Whitney! 5th 14er of the year!  I met another FB JMTer, Ryan M., and chatted with him for a bit, he's NOBO and fresh looking as he is just starting his mission. Trinka is also on JMT forum, and I met her seconds later and moments before the summit. I see Russell clear as day, also Muir, but now I can see where I was on Russell and to assess my next mission. Whitney. Ahhhhhhhhh. 

Pointing down to Russell (The peak to the middle right of the pic)

If there's a Sharpie, use it.  

2:00pm time to descend, it dropped like 20 degrees, brrrrrr. I just met one of the most amazing women of all time, I think her trail name was something like Bad Ass Mountain Mama.  An 82 years young lady and finishing the JMT.  She is such an inspiration, I want to be her when I'm that old.  But for now, my goal is to make it a 12 hour day adventure so I need to get down to the Portal by 5:32pm.  This means I need to push it.  I think I can do it... 11 miles in 3.5 hours.... I was going to take the Mountaineers Route down, but I've already done a portion of that trail two days ago, and to be honest, I just want to be done.

View of Hitchcock Lakes from Trail Crest

3:05pm made it to Trail Crest and saw 2 rangers there just taking it all in. After the summit, I started running down the mountain. This is still a training hike after all.  They saw me running and was worried there was a medical emergency. Who runs at 14,000 ft? Ninjas. Trail Crest is at 13,650 ft. 

3:09pm top of 100 switchbacks... The ranger said they just put in another switchback so it evens out at 100. "My boss was sick of 99."  True?  Who knows.

3:50pm: Ran down the switchbacks, well maybe 75% of them, I hiked the parts where there were exposed rocks and water, just to minimize the chances of me Supermaning off the side of the mountain.

4:40pm Outpost Camp, still running! People I pass are now cheering me on! And the quiet ones, well, they probably think I'm crazy and secretly hate me. 

5:30pm: I made it down with 2 minutes to spare!! I have completed one of the most rewarding days of hiking in my life, and now it's time for a beer and food from the Grill, I am starving! 

**I only ate maybe 700-800 calories on this trip, breakfast was a Starbucks Mocha and Chobani Greek Yogurt (black cherry), then I ate a Clif Bar at Trail Camp, and a banana at the top. I had an apple breakfast bar thing on the way down.... Where did all this energy come from? I felt like I was unstoppable, a mountain ninja! 

The powers of acclimating: it's night and day the difference. It took just about three days to fully acclimate with the Russell attempt as a valuable acclimatization hike. I guess science wins again.  It’s a three day minimum for those who don't adjust well to altitude, maybe more, unless you take the Diamox route... and I am not an advocate of that. I fortunately adjust pretty well, but when done correctly, I'm at 100%, making for a better trip all around! Too bad I never seem to take this too seriously. 

The next morning, my new friends Leslie and Jill (whom I met at the base of Muir) and I broke down camp and went to the Whitney General Store to have breakfast.  If you've never experienced this then be prepared to be bombarded with a TON of food.  We shared the eggs, bacon, and pancake meal with an extra side of eggs.  And this is what we got: 

As this was happening, the Badwater Ultra Marathon finish line was preparing for the first place runner to cross!  Perfect timing.  We got to see the winner and his team cross.  He beat the record by 8 minutes.  DANG!  

Mount Muir, thank you for the challenge of sitting on top of you, you may be the smallest of the 14ers, but by no means are you an easy climb.  I respect your sharp and to the point peak!  And Mount Whitney, thank you for allowing me to summit you for the second time.  You are both a beauty and a beast, and you replenish my soul every time I set foot on you. xoxo  

And for those who want to read about my, um, Russell attempt... here it is.  WARNING: If you are easily offended by the word F**K I advise you not to continue reading.  This is as real as it gets.  

Mt Russell 14,088 ft

Friday July 18, 2014

The night before: 

My ups and downs about this hike are pretty substantial; one minute I am doubting my mountaineering ability and experience, the next I am pridefully amped up and raring to go!  Damn extremes. I don't think it's going to take me as long as I first thought. I bet I'll be done by.... Ha! Nice try, don't even set an expectation. I'll be done when I'm done. It's 10:37 pm, I hope to be asleep within the hour and wake up by 4:30. Hit the trail by 5. F**K it, I'll set an early alarm too, ON TRAIL @ 4!   

7/19/14 Saturday

So much for the early start! I woke up for good at 6:30 and it's now 6:41am. Oh well, I'm still within a reasonable start time. I can't believe how hard it was for me to wake up. Unreal. I'm apparently feeling more confident and relaxed about this trip. I don't know why, it's going to be tough. The shitty gully. I can see it now. I'm going to rest my eyes for a moment longer and then hit the trail by 7am. 

7:08am on trail 

7:28 am North Fork trail, go right! 

7:48 am: Ebensbacher Ledges, thank you Megs!! Crossed the creek and stayed on track, minimal trail confusion 

8:07am: 2 hikers coming back from Lower Boyscout Lake. Failed Russell attempt. Jeez, Lower Boyscout is not even called a Russell attempt, that's ridiculous. 

8:57am: Lower Boyscout Lake. Talked with a SF couple for the last 30 minutes or so... They are stopping here as an acclimatization hike for Whitney tomorrow... Asians are so smart. Now I'm solo again. 

10:15 am: Upper Boy Scout Lake. The climb between these two lakes are both a rock scramble and on rock slabs, the trail is marked well with cairns. I'm feeling pretty good, however, I am starting to get the first signs of AMS, slight headache and my lungs feel like they've shrunk down a whole size. Nothing too bad though, I keep telling myself this is the easy part. The sun is still quite hot, makes me regret those 3 extra hours of sleep but shit, it's too soon to complain. I'm taking my first break here to get some oxygen and scope out that shitty gully which is next on the agenda. If I had to make an educated guess, I'm at about 11,400 feet, Thor Peak is dominating overhead to the west at 12,306 ft... I've gained about 3000 ft in elevation. That means, just under 2700 ft to go! Oh man, it just dropped like 10 degrees, clouds are so dramatic! Okay, enough stalling, time to gain this shitty-scree-rock-slide gully. F**K. 

Ha! Some marmot just scored an apple from the camp down here.. The camp with two bear canisters (rented Garcias). Hope they didn't tear through too much shit to get it.  

10:57 am longest break ever! But after doing a little research, I'm deciding whether to go the longer and equally as shitty route, or just go for it. Time to get up and check it out .... Longer hike it is.

11:54 just spoke to a man descending this shit pile and he cautioned me on Russell. He said no way would he do it solo... He was solo. He did do Carillon though. 13,500 ft is not too shabby. F**K. F**kf**kf**k. I'm at 11,900 ft now, the man had an altimeter. I want one. Fuuuuuuuuuuu*k! God damn this solo f**king shit. There's weather rolling in and I'm starting to feel defeated. I'm going to at least bag Carillon, or try at least. F**k. Russell, you elusive sonofabitch. And dark clouds, f**k you too. I'm not ready for failure, onward!

1:16pm made it to the top of the scree reverse escalator. Russell is totally visible, with the Pass about 45 minutes away. But the view of Whitney here is absolutely phenomenal. I'm not giving up on Russell yet. 

1:39 just chatted it up with some awesome people who climbed Fishhook Arête to Russell’s summit and descended the east ridge. They gave me a confidence boost. Woohoo!

2:21 this is slow going. I just passed the part where the first guy turned around due to high exposure.  I'm being super careful. I'm giving myself till 4 and then I'm turning around. That still puts me at leaving the trail in the dark. F**k. Sleeping in was stupid. 

 2:49pm I'm so close to the top, but equally as close to turning back. Full f**king exposure makes me move slow. I'm running out of time. F**k. Here I am on the east ridge so close to the top and tears are running down my face. I'm not going to make it. Goddamnit. It's over. Crying... really? F**k. I was so close. 

4:04pm pity party ended as soon as I had to descend that crazy rock scramble. That was exhilarating. I am now at the top of the scree escalator and need to move it so that I'm not on the E Ledges in the dark. A failed attempt. Reality. I needed that, wait, did I? It's humbling for sure.  Today was not my day. 

5:27pm I'm on trail east of upper Boy Scout. I'm thinking in 2 hours I'll be at the car.... 

7ishpm: I just saw a bear! Well, it saw me and took off running. Chicken. 

8:18pm Done.