June 23

993- 1018

A quick climb in the morning takes us over Lake Ann pass, and out of Yosemite national park, as we cross the 1000 mile mark of this trip.

We think back to the desert, and then the high sierra, and all the terrain we have covered to get to this point. Today we climb up Sonora pass, colloquially called “sayonara pass” because it marks a change from the granite of the Sierra to more volcanic rock of northern California.

It was in this stretch that I encountered the worst storm of my life last time I hiked this trail in 2013. The approach to this pass includes a nearly 10 mile ridge walk that is above treeline. It was on this stretch where I was trapped in the worst storm that I have ever been in.

I was hiking with my friend Beorn, a veteran from Portland, as we made the climb up to the pass. Once we crested treeline we were met by gunshot winds. Unbeknownst to us, a freak june storm was rolling in. Other hikers had been warned to take a lower route around the pass, but the trail crew offering this suggestion had somehow missed us. You can see in the pictures from this year just how exposed this area is.

And so, we found ourselves on this exposed ridge line in frigid temperatures and 70 mph winds. The Sierra Nevada has uncommonly mild summer weather, and we were not equipped to handle a storm like this. The hood of my raincoat tore off, and icy water began pouring down my back. I slowly began losing function of my arms and my steps became stumbling as I was wracked with uncontrollable shivering. We found a small series of bushes to try to hide behind for a wind break. Beorn helped me put up my tent as I took off all of my soaking wet clothes and scrambled into my sleeping bag to warm up. Unfortunately, the tent was no match for the wind. It collapsed immediately. I had to wrap it around my sleeping bag to form a dry little cocoon for myself. Eventually we warmed up, but soon realized that we were trapped.

Fully nude in my sleeping bag with my tarp fluttering in my face in the roaring winds, I was stuck on this Ridgeline for over 48 hours. I had to ration 1 liter of water for the duration of my imprisonment. It was the longest 2 days of my life. I had nothing to occupy my time other than listening to my tarp fabric flap in my face. Once the weather cleared, we crawled out of our cocoon, dehydrated and starving, happy to be alive.

Fortunately, today was not a repeat of this experience. The weather was absolutely perfect, and I was amazed by the incredible views that we missed last time.

Towards the end of the Ridgeline we had a series of long, snowy traverses that we wished we still had our spikes and ice axes for.

Eventually we descend and make our way to Sonora pass and get a prime rib dinner at a local horse camping lodge, concluding one of the best days of our trip thus far.