Day 12: Big Pete's Meadow

Ansel Adams, John Denver, and Thomas Cole would have had a field day with all the wonders that we saw. It was filled with ragging rivers, overflowing with icy blue water, giant rock formations jutting out from the sides of the great Sierras and huge towering trees whistling as the wind blew through their leaves.

Our first challenge of the day was Mather’s Pass. It was a power hungry climb to the top, scrambling over crushed rock, punching through icy snow, and using all the leg muscles we had built for these last 12 days to get to the top. Our hard work did pay off when we reached the top in under 30 minutes passing the group ahead of us. The view was spectacular. This day was proving to be amazing!

And then there was the wildlife.

I was singing to myself, enjoying the scenery when a little black snake with a yellow stripe down its back decided that it wanted to slither to the same rock I wanted to use to cross the creek. I argued with him, but he won out. Fine I thought, you go ahead and take the rock and I’ll figure out another way across this river. My second way was not as good as my first and I ended up walking the next 30 minutes with a wet left foot.

As the sun rose higher in the sky the air and temperature got hotter and hotter. At 4:00 I finally caught up to Replay as she was about to jump in a creek. The water looked perfect for an afternoon dip so I jumped in as well. By 6:15 we again met up at Bishop Pass to break and enjoy a “lipton sides” dinner. The sky was still brilliant and bright with red clouds and the map showed that “Big Pete’s” Meadow wasn’t that far up ahead. We passed "Little Pete’s” Meadow and then a 10 minute rock scramble as the moon began to peek out over the mountain peaks. Every step seemed to bring us farther up the mountain, but no closer to a campsite. At 8:45, we were desperate for sleep, exhausted from the climb and we still hadn’t found a place to sleep. The nervousness we both felt about sleeping on the snow could was felt not exactly in words, but in our rapid pace up the steep climb. As we rounded the corner, past a large outcropping of white boulders, we saw “home.” Sleep came fast as it had been an 18.5 mile day.