Pain and Beauty
A Week in the Sierras
I just returned Sunday from a six day backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada, so I won’t have my next Sermon on the Mount post for a few days. Instead I’ll report about and reflect a bit on the trip.
Several months ago, Robert and Jeff, the two buddies I hiked on the John Muir Trail (JMT) last summer with a side trip up Mount Whitney, asked about taking on another segment this summer. Since I have had some problems with my back since the last trip, I was hesitant, but said yes anyway.
The allure of the high Sierra with its pristine air, its frigid clear water, and the sheer overwhelming beauty are difficult to resist for a life-long outdoor enthusiast, not to mention the forced unplugging from the rest of the world for a few days. Just not having a bar on the cell phone is a joy—I left my watch in the truck too.
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The plan was to begin at Onion Valley above Lone Pine, California, on the east side of the Sierras, climb up over Kersarge Pass then travel north for six days to Bishop Pass and then over and down above Bishop, CA.
The plan sounded good until we heard reports of massive snow still plugging the passes, the result of a very wet winter that saw record snow packs.
One Facebook site recommended that “wise hikers would consider another plan.”
Bishop Pass is difficult enough, but we would have needed crampons and ice axes at the least. The California winter of historic proportions left dozens of feet of snow and had already caused hundreds of Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hikers to by-pass the Sierra and skip to Chester California for the rest of the trip to Canada.
The plan for many was to return to Chester and finish the trip southbound through the Sierra—we passed a handful of grizzly bearded individuals who had already returned from the Canadian border to finish, if indeed they are able.
But for us of the 60+ crowd, it was time for Plan B .
The JMT from Yosemite to south of Mount Whitney runs regularly from 10,000 to 12,000 feet and Whitney itself to 14,500 feet. To the north, though, the PCT to Lake Tahoe is several thousand feet lower, usually 7800 to 9200 or so feet. Lower elevation promised clearer trails or so we thought.
North of Yosemite on CA 108, Sonora Pass is 9600 feet in altitude and the PCT going north gets to a max of 10,600 feet just a mile or two later before dropping to the 9200 feet or lower altitude. The hike from there to Carson Pass sixty-two miles northward seemed like a reasonable alternative and the weather report predicted clear skies for the week. So two days before our trip we changed plans—the travel to our two terminals was several hours less as a bonus.
We met up in Carson City last Sunday and dropped one vehicle at Carson Pass. Then on Monday morning we piled in my Ranger and drove two hours south to Sonora Pass Highway (along which is a Marine mountain warfare training center). At the top we were greeted by very pleasant temperatures around 70 degrees, donned our 30-35 pound packs and got on our way.
We immediately began to ascend to 10,600 feet, quite the exertion after coming straight from Redding. But the rugged beauty, the snow still abounding and the exquisite color show of very late spring flowers in the Sierra were enough to hold my attention and fill my heart with the joyous wonder of God’s creation. I was exactly where I wanted to be.
Did I mention that my back had been hurting? For the last year, I’ve had some persistent dull lower back pain especially on the left side. Not enough to impede any activity except trail running, but almost always there.
A thirty-five pound weight on my back was not therapeutic.
By the end of the first day the back was “chirping” at me, though not sharply. Over the next days, it not only chirped but at times sharply stabbed. Nonetheless, with some daily ibuprofen and Tylenol and a generous amount of stretching I was able to persevere to the end.
We hiked as few as six miles on the final day to as many as fifteen on day four. Each day we ascended multiple passes, descended into valleys and canyons, traversed over a dozen significant snow banks, crossed streams, walked through forests, sagebrush, meadows full of color, swarms of mosquitoes, by blue lakes, beside rugged peaks punctuated with glacial size snow banks, then set up camp hungry but satisfied with the breathtaking beauty we had beheld.
There was danger on the trip, but not from bears or any other critters.
On the fifteen mile day, we hiked from Ebbetts Pass to Wet Meadows Reservoir over several ridges and valleys. The large feature of the day was Raymond Peak, which we had seen from afar the day before.
On the way we met a husband and wife sitting on the trail. The wife told us they were considering returning to Sonora Pass. “My feet hurt,” she said. But more pressing was the notice on her trail app that warned of a difficult to traverse “scree” below a snow bank several miles ahead. The app had a red triangle warning.
I am glad they turned around because that warning was well taken.
We talked with several others coming south who told us their tales of getting past that point. Then when we got up and around the high point of the trail around Raymond Peak, we saw what we would face across the Raymond Creek valley. The trail came to an abrupt halt next to a 60 or more degree snow bank before starting again about a forty yards over. Below were loose rocks, a small creek, and a steep and muddy grass bank, all above a precipitous drop of a hundred or more feet.
Not a place for the faint of heart to cross!
When we arrived and looked at our options, we formulated a plan, then carefully descended through a narrow rock chimney. We used our hiking poles for support to cross the steeply dropping creek and grass bank, then scrambled up the loose rock scarp that went up to the trail on the north side.
I crawled over the last few rocks on hands and knees.
We prayed before and thanked the Lord afterward for helping us along the way.
Though we did have a few more snow banks to cross the last two days (and a major thunderstorm to soakingly hike through), those few minutes were the most teeth-clenching of the trip.
Saturday afternoon we finished with a six mile hike over several more passes to Carson Pass before the storms hit again (we encountered heavy rain and hail on the trip back to my truck on Sonora Pass). Tired but satisfied, we were exhilarated and full of joy at what we had experienced the previous days.
A burger and beer in Markleeville was a nice treat on the drive back to my Ranger at Sonora Pass.
For me the exertion and pain was far outweighed by the continual delight of magnificent wilderness all around.
I felt small against the immensity of the mountains and the vast starry sky at night.
The Perseus meteor shower even provided some heavenly fireworks.
And being away from the news of the day and the daily grind was refreshing and mind-clearing as well.
Whether my body allows me to do another trip like this in the future I don’t know, but this one will remain dear to my memory.
Invitation to “Critics of the Bible”: In September and October I will be teaching an on-line class via Zoom “Critics of the Bible.” If you are interested here is the link to sign up. I’d love to have you.
Here is the course description:
“It is almost axiomatic that people trust the Bible when scholars trust the Bible. In the last few centuries, famous critics of the Bible, such as Voltaire and Spinoza, have used their formidable intellects to influence other scholars to ridicule divine inspiration. As a result, Scripture generally has no standing within the university to serve publicly as a legitimate source of truth. Doubt has been injected into Western Civilization such that whole nations have unmoored themselves from biblically revealed truth. In this course students will be given the opportunity to learn how to defend the authority of Scripture and stand firm in God's Word.”
Amazing hike. Love the pictures. Thank you for sharing.
Fantastic post, thank you for sharing! I love hearing and reading about hiking adventures and the pictures are amazing too. I can't wait until our next adventure.