Bulfrog Lake trail jct to Tyndal Creek campsite：13 miles
I woke up at 5:30 a.m. again and hit the trail by 7:30 a.m. Following yesterday’s pattern, the day began with a descent, and within an hour, I found myself dropping into a serene, low-elevation forest. The trail through the woods maintained a gentle upward incline but was basically flat and cruise-y, allowing me to make excellent time.
Thanks to the favorable terrain, I made it to the base of the massive Forester Pass remarkably early, arriving just before noon.
The crown jewel of today’s trek—and my final pass before Mount Whitney—was Forester Pass (13,200 ft / 4,009 m). Compared to all the other passes I had traversed so far, the climb up Forester was noticeably longer and far more grueling. To make matters worse, an ominous pain flared up in my left leg halfway through the ascent, stirring a wave of anxiety inside me.
Despite the physical protest, I gritted my teeth and pressed onward, reaching the summit exactly at 2:00 p.m. As expected, the view from the top was absolutely spectacular. At 13,200 feet, excluding Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, this marked the highest altitude I had ever reached on earth. If I successfully summit Mount Whitney the day after tomorrow, this personal record will be broken once more—but for now, I just soaked in the thin air and majestic space.
Still, bagging 12,000+ ft passes for four consecutive days (and pushing over 13,000 ft today) was deeply exhausting. Today’s elevation gain alone swallowed another 3,000-plus feet. Cresting this titanic ridge, I officially crossed the border into Sequoia National Park.
On the way down from the pass, the massive wall of Diamond Mesa soared to my left, rugged and beautiful. Once I reached the basin, I realized how warm the afternoon had become. It was the distinct, bone-dry weather that uniquely characterizes the High Sierra.
For the next four miles, the trail snaked through a vast, exposed alpine plateau before finally diping back into the tree line. This stark, desolate stretch possessed a profound, raw beauty of its own. Upon entering the forest, I scouted out a prime, sheltered campsite among the trees and settled in for the night.
And just like that, only two days remain of this epic journey. The finish line is finally within sight.
コメント