Visiting Wild America: Sierra Camping (Tuesday-Thursday)

As I exited Death Valley, I began to pass a bunch of runners with bib numbers on. They were obviously part of some insane race. I stopped and asked a man who was following one of the runners in his car what kind of race this was. He told me the competitors were part of a 135 mile race going from Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the US, to the portal to Mount Whitney, the highest point in the continental US. I’d once been a part of one of these extreme races back in Ithaca, as I handed out food and water at a checkpoint to the runners who had been on the trail for over 24 hours. But that was only a 100 mile race during the fall. This was a 135 mile race! In the middle of the summer in the hottest place in the country! Each runner had a car leading the way, providing water, food, and any other needed aid. In addition each runner had rabbits which would take shifts to run with the athlete, motivating them, pacing them, making sure they weren’t about to pass out. Most of the athletes had already been running for over 24 hours, and still had quite a ways to go. I continued passing runners for over an hour along the main road out of Death Valley. How epic would it be to be a part of something like this? Run from the lowest to highest points in the US? Maybe I could do something like this, I thought to myself. Then I saw a girl passed out, probably the victim of heat exhaustion, being tended to by her team. I was already sweating myself, and I was in my car with the AC on. What a bunch of nuts.

Some of the crazy runners in the desert.

I eventually made it my destination the Sierra Nevadas. I purchased a 2-night backcountry camping permit, and hit the trail into the mountains. I had to make sure that I brought with me all the essentials and nothing extra. I packed just enough food for two days in the wilderness, my tent, and a few other things. Then hit the trail, hiking into the mountains about 2.5 miles before having to pitch my tent as darkness quickly approached. I’m obviously a novice at this whole backcountry camping thing, as I forgot a few things. First off, I couldn’t fit my sleeping back in my pack, so I decided to bring my fleece blanket instead, thinking that would keep me warm enough. I forgot, however, to take into consideration the drop in temperature as I climbed in altitude to about 10,000 feet to camp. The patches of snow should have been a clue to the cooler temperatures in the mountains. Setting up my tent, I was chilly. I had already removed my tshirt, which was wet from sweat on the hike up. No worries, just let me grab the long sleeve that I packed…..yea, I forgot to pack that too. So it’s like 40 degrees, all have for warmth is a windbreaker a fleece blanket. Again, another restless night of sleep ensued, this time because I was too cold. I awoke in the morning with freezing feet. Had to rub them out for 5 minutes to get the blood flowing again, work out the cramps.

I did have a wonderful day in the mountains once I got into the warmth of the sun. I did a 9 mile hike up over the Keargass pass and into Kings Canyon National Park. Spectacular views of 13,000 foot peaks, alpine lakes and meadows, and lots of boulder hopping. But another rookie mistake, I hadn’t planned on hiking such a long and strenuous hike when I started out, leaving behind all my water, packing only an orange and some pretzels. 6 hours later, I made it back to base camp, housed the rest of my food and water. Completely drained, I napped.

It was almost 5 when I decided to head out of the mountains. I still had one more night worth of backcountry camping to use. But with the cold weather coming and my food supplies exhausted, I didn’t really have a choice. I spent the night at a campground just outside of the town of Independence, where the sleeping temps were much more accommodating. With a full moon lighting up my camp site, I took a quick sponge bath (I hadn’t showered since before visiting Death Valley) before falling fast asleep under the stars.