Day 3: Heading to Lone Pine, CA

Like the previous morning we started the day very early. This time, however, when the clock hit 5:45 am neither one of us wanted to stay in the tent any longer. The nighttime sounds and various visiting critters prevented me from achieving any sort of restful sleep until around 2am. Carter, however, slept like a “bug in a rug” and was ready to leave camp by 7:15.

The morning climb was pretty steady and in what seemed like less than an hour we were on the crest line. The saddle’s landscape turned into sheer cliffs and craggy rocks, which in my mind became the perfect hideaway for both a bear and a cougar. Almost every 15 meters I stopped to listen for any “weird” sounds that might be from an animal up above. Finally at the top we pointed to the snowy mountain peaks in the distance. In true scared Jess form, I pointed to the mountain covered with the most snow and adamantly proclaimed “that is Mt. Whitney.” Ah FEAR!

Since we hadn’t bothered to camp near a water source last night we were on the look out for what the atlas told us would be a side trail to a small stream. It wasn't until midday that a sign on a tree pointing to a stream and a Corral did we drop our bags and fill up. Buddy, one of the campfire hikers from the night before last, joined us at the water source and we chatted and enjoyed a snack together. He was attempting to eat all of the food that didn’t fit in his bear canister in the next two days. Feeling that we shouldn’t indulge in his food since we were heading to town that day, we politely said no. We had only been on the trail for 3 days and the need for “real food” wasn’t something that was dire at this point. I did drool a little as he munched on his Tolborone chocolate!

With snack time over we started on our way. Mulkey Pass was our next destination. From that point on we knew that we only had a couple of miles to our first hitch spot. At the junction of Mulkey Creek and the PCT we met up with Buddy, who passed us even though we left him at snack time, and Splash. Splash was also at the campfire the night before and was heading into Lone Pine like us. She asked if we could be her “hitchbrides.” She immediately followed this comment with a "don't worry I'm not a lesbian or anything." We laughed and promised to wait for her at the bottom.

The walk down to Trout Creek was a bit longer than expected and much steeper than imagined. We thought is was only going to be a 1 mile hike out to a trailhead, but realized it was 2.2 once we made it to the bottom. Honestly we were both too excited to really care at that moment yet once our feet hit the pavement a bit of dread set in as the wait for a ride into town lasted longer than any of us thought.

At first we asked fellow hikers and campers for a ride. Once this failed we positioned ourselves at the junction of two roads about 1/2 mile down the road from the trailhead. We eventually flagged down a grand Cherokee with two cute boys. They only had room for 2 people so we declined the ride. 15 minutes later a large green pick-up with a young couple were more than happy to let us sit in the bed of the truck.

Now riding in the back of a pickup is one of my favorite activities. Riding in the back of a pickup that is driving down a very very steep incline with no guardrails is not an activity I wish to engage in again. I entertained Splash with my shrieks of terror and terrified facial expressions for the entire 22 miles into town. Once at the bottom my breathing slowed and my heart rate returned to normal. I’m not really looking forward to the trip back up!

With a huge thank you and a wave goodbye we left the green pickup and headed into the Whitney Portal Hostel. Since the shared women’s room was vacant we opted to bunk up together. The price of a single room was 60 and the shared room 20! What a steal! The only downfall of the entire deal was that there wasn’t a TV in the room, but who cares when you’ve got a shower, hot water, and a clean bed.