Fourth time a charm, perhaps

Hikers propose, mountain weather disposes

The section of the John Muir Trail between Mt. Whitney and Kearsarge Pass is the highest on the trail. It also includes Forester pass, the highest pass on the Pacific Crest Trail.

I have tried to hike this section three times in the past two years. Once in July 2022, when the trail was still under a lot of snow. Then when everything seem to line up just fine, in August 2022, the night before we headed out on the trail, Hurricane Hilary made landfall. I was still very tempted to go on the trail since I was so emotionally invested in hiking the section. I reached out to one of my mountain mentors for help - he curtly responded me with “here are the seven ways you will die” (not may die, can die, but will die).

Last July, there was a lot of rain on the area and we changed our minds and headed to Rae Lakes instead.

So I am going try for the fourth time to hike this section. Got a permit in late July to hike the section from Cottonwood Pass hiking north towards Kearsarge Pass. Fingers crossed and hopefully 2025 is the year!

One of the interesting things about hiking was reading many hiking and backpacking related books. The Trail by Ethan Gallogly is a fun read. It somehow manages to be both a novel and also a very interesting version of Elizabeth Wenk’s books about the geography and history of the area, definitely worth a read.

Last year was also the first year where I spent more time on the art show circuit than on the hiking trails and I got to meet folks who paved the trails of the High Sierra many years ago. I also met Ansel Adams’ realtor and a four year old who summitted Mt. Whitney. Quite the experience, I should say :).