I really wanted to make the most of opportunties afforded by the pandemic. I know that sounds terrible as so many people are dying, sick, losing jobs etc and I just hate that. Of course much of that is out of my control as long as I can practice social distancing and try to avoid contributing to the spread of the pandemic.
School let out at Spring Break and March and the first two months it seemed irresponsible to leave the house as we did not yet know how quickly the virus might spread and I didn't want to be part of the problem.
I did do some primitive camper with my old 1970s model single bed camper. It was very nice as the weather was perfect and I had the whole place to myself in the middle of a wilderness area. I was able to run and bike a lot while camping and the rest of the time and put in around 750 miles a month on the bike and over 200 miles a month running.
The rest of the time when not working on teaching classes online I was able to read a lot of books and I discovered the joy of podcasts while biking.
In June, I was able to get a backpacking permit for the John Muir Trail going Southbound from Cottonwood Pass. This would be my third trip to the JMT. I really intended on going all the way to Yosemite but then exited real early after a scary trip over Forrester Pass. I was really doing great and feeling strong. On the second dayI found myself five miles to the top of Forrester Pass. It was 3:30 in the afternoon. It felt too early in the day to stop and it would be pushing it a bit but I thought I'd have time to get up and over and make camp on the other side.
| This view of Mt Whitney (highest point in lower 48) from the backside was so beautiful. The meadow here was extraordinary. |
I had to really start picking up the pace as ascended. I was enjoying it though. Since it was mid-June, as I got higher, there was a lot more snow and the alpine lakes were still completely iced over. It was absolutely beautiful. But the hiking was getting increasingly difficult because of the snow. Finally as I neared the crest there was a little notch only about 30 feet below the crest and that notch was iced over. There were footprints there from other hikers and about ten steps. But if any of the ice gave away on those ten steps, the outcome would not be good as it was a steep dropoff.
So without hesitation I just went for it and it was fine but it did give me a bit of a scare. Going on the other side of the pass the snow was even worse and I would posthole often and find myself at times up to my waste. I was really tired by this time but in a way I was also really loving it.
I hurried down another five miles or so beyond the pass to find a suitable campsite and after a dinner I collapsed in my tent from exhaustion. It was exhilirating and so much fun.
I wish I could go back to that moment and make a different choice because the next morning I decided to exit the JMT because I was worried if Forrester Pass was that bad, how bad would the other passes be? As it turns out and unbeknownst to me, Forrester is the highest pass on the JMT so the rest of the passes were much better.
It was a great trip but I feel like I exited early on a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the JMT early in the season with very few other backpackers. I would go hours without seeing anyone. It was so nice. So, I will just have to go back next year.
On the way home, I went through Death Valley. What a forbidding landscape that is! Then the next day I did some trail running and road biking in Zion National Park. It was my first time at Zion National Park and it just blew me away.
I liked Zion so much that a week later I drove the whole family back to Kanaab, Utah which is an 18 hour drive. Kanaab is a great central location to tour National Parks. The altitude is high enough that the weather is really nice there. So the family and I did the North Rim of the Grand Canyon once day, Zion the next day and then Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Park the last day and on our way home. It was a trip I had been eyeing for some time and I am really glad we went. With the pandemic, my daughter and I cancelled a July trip to Europe and this helped to make up for that a little bit.
| It's hard to pick a favorite National Park on this trip, they were all so great but Bryce was the most surprising in it's beauty and the most unusual. |
My last adventure was a backpacking trip to Colorado. I started at Kenosha Pass and backpacked to Breckinridge and back. Then I spent another day backpacking from Twin Lakes toward Leadville. Altogether I got in another 100 miles. But once again I was a little disappointed I didn't stay longer and do more backpacking.
However, there is a silver lining. I grew a lot in my confidence and I think I'm ready to greatly reduce my weight and put in a lot more miles each day. I've found that I like nothing better than just marching a long from sun up to sun down. I think I am ready to greatly reduce my pack weight and cover the JMT for example in six days or less.
I've hesitated to do this in the past because I guess I just worry that this isn't something people do much and I should just slow down and enjoy it. But I feel I enjoy it more when I really push my pace and give that physical exertion that goes to the limit. Doing so amidst such beauty is just perfect.
So I will be back to work in a week or so but I'm guessing it will not last long before our school is back to teaching online. If that happens, I'm prepared some even grander adventures. It's been a great summer and has helped prepare me for even greater things to come.
Life is too short to sit around at home.
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