2010 Sierra Backpack Notebook

Day 1: Today was the first day of the hike. I’m excited but a little nervous because of the supposed difficulty of the hike. Well, our troop was starting the hike, and I followed them with great gusto.

About 20 minutes into the hike, I was fairly certain that I could do better than this. I was already panting, and my legs were sore. So when Tej stopped for a rest, I was more than happy to rest with him, and evidently Kyle and Chris H. felt the same too. The three of us were soon left behind, but we were too tired to care.

We three continued going along the rocky and bumpy road, with the blazing heat, water deprivation, the hunger, and this feeling that I was going to be sick. The only reason we weren’t dropping like flies was that muscle memory and determination kept us going. We were so tired, we started taking a rest every few minutes, and when we struggled over a big ridge, we suddenly saw two things that were like heaven to us: A lake, and Mr. A.

I’ve never been so happy in my life. We sat under the tree, savoring the shade, the sight of the lake, and everything else. My joy was short lived however, as Mr. A told me that we still had 3 miles to go, and he insisted that we do not rest until then. After one mile, I felt sick. After two miles, I felt like I would cough up my lungs and leave them on the mountain. I could tell that I was near the breaking point, but using a power I have yet to comprehend, I kept going. Near 3 miles however, I was approaching the point of breaking at lightspeed, and I flew past it with a sonic boom. I barely had time to set down my pack before I suddenly puked. Groaning, I held my stomach while I was violently sick.

I don’t know how long I was there, but it did take some coaxing from Mr. A, and an immense amount of determination and self control to get myself up again. Groaning, I started back on the trail, feeling like I was in a tunnel, seeing a light, and finding out there was a tunnel at the end of the light.

When I saw the rest of our troop there, I’d felt nothing but joy. Sitting on a rock, I though maybe this altitude sickness, my horrible fitness, and the rough start was all just some unfamiliarity to the terrain and too little breakfast, and after eating lunch I’d feel a lot better.

But, as usual, bad luck struck again when they told me there was still a couple of miles until lunch. Could this day get any worse? Evidently, this was fate’s way of telling me never to jinx myself when I was feeling nauseous again. I would’ve liked to take some more time, drink some water, get a bar, but our troop started moving again, so I had no choice but to move onward with them. Do they have any empathy for the slow?

The first mile wasn’t so bad. I didn’t feel nauseous at all, and I was making a relative pace. It wasn’t until I came to the forest that I started feeling really sick. I decided that maybe a good rest would cure me, and sat down for a while on a flat rock.

My nausea faded, as well as my stomachache, to be replaced by hunger. Since my pack was out of reach, I settled for some water. As it turned out, that was a really, really, bad idea. The second the water touched my mouth, my urge to vomit flew beyond my self control. I barely had time to tip my mouth away from my body before I puked again.

Still weak from the latest bout of sickness, I noticed something weird about my vomit. It seemed like water, with no trace of food. That meant that I now had no food left inside me, and yet I was still vomiting. That was definitely not a good sign.

I was now 99.99% sure that I had altitude sickness. In the end, I decided on the best tactic was to wait. Danny and Olec’s father were behind me, and they could help me with my sickness. Feeling moody and desponded, I trumped back to a fork in the road and waited for them. And waited. And waited. Bleakly, I wondered if I had taken a wrong turn, and no one would find me. My paranoid mind started thinking of all the worst cases of this trip, and I had almost given up hope when I heard a sound.

Startled, I bolted upright. Could it be? As it turns out, it was. Sighing with relief, I called to them and told them about my sickness, and saying that it was best to travel with them for a while. They accepted my story and told Olec’s dad to go ahead and tell the troop about my sickness while Danny would stay with me and help cure my sickness. When Jim(Olec’s dad) left, Danny unfolded a little chair, unwrapped a bar, and told me to eat, drink, and rest.

I sat there on the portable chair for how long? 30, maybe 40 minutes was my guess. Danny had given me some water and medicine, and had just went down to get some water. As the minutes ticked by, I got sleepier and sleepier. I realized that maybe sleep deprivation was part of the problem. Drowsily I wondered when Danny was going to get back. Just when I was about to fall asleep, Danny came bursting out of the wood like he teleported there. Telling me that it was time to go, Danny set off with a great burst of energy. I frankly would’ve like to sit there a little longer.

Several seconds later, I was slowly coming to the fact that because of my sickness was making my progress very slow. I was tiring very fast, and my thirst wasn’t helping me either. Danny evidently noticed this too, and commented that if I got a good nights sleep, I would feel good as new. The good thing was, Danny’s bad knee made him walk slower than me, so it was good to know I wasn’t the very slowest hiker. Wearily trekking around another corner, I spotted 2 little humans hiking toward us. It was Anthony and Mr. A.

Mr. A did not have cheerful news for us. Saying that we were the weakest link and “dragging everyone down while also making us behind schedule,” he suggested that me, Pablo (one of the slower hikers) and Danny go back down, coming up with Rob tomorrow.

Considering this, I thought about the comfort of the condo, sleeping in an actual bed, and climbing a much easier road later. Then I imagined the pride in my mother’s voice when I did complete the whole hike. Considering this, I declined his offer, saying to him, “I don’t want to run away from anything just because it seems hard.” Mr. A seemed pleased with my decision, and we set off to our lunch spot.

I was expecting a lot of negative feedback when we met with the rest of the troop, but instead, they came over and started congratulating me. I guess they knew what I’ve been through, and cut me some slack. Sitting on a rock, chewing my sandwich, and listening the cheerful gurgle of the stream, I thought about how far I’d come. We weren’t even halfway through yet, and I had encountered countless problems. I prayed that I would get better luck. In retrospect, my prayers were definitely answered.

The troop set off before I was ready. When we set off, I felt a twinge of nervousness, but given my luck so far, it was expected. But soon, my apprehension was useless. I was feeling great, and soon passed all of the younger scouts. When I heard voices, that spurred me on even more, and my veins were coursing with the thrill of adrenaline. Rounding a switchback, I saw a sight I hadn’t expected to see. All of the older scouts were together, and I had caught up to them. My entrance was greeted with excited and surprised voices. They hadn’t expected me to rebound with such energy, but they were happy just the same. I fell pretty hard, but now I’m back on my feet.

Trekking along the path with an energy I haven’t felt all day. However, I soon began to suffer from another ailment. Boredom. I was being really bored, without any exciting events happening soon. I had been hiking for hours without any sign of the other scouts. It was getting very repetitive and I was almost dying of boredom when I came across a massive rock with the scouts sitting on it. I was relieved to come across a rest spot, and the view; wow!

After that, there wasn’t much left to document. Mr. A said that there was a little more to hike before our camp, and we set off with great gusto.

Within several hours, we arrived at our campsite. After a good, hot dinner of stroganoff and soup, I lay satisfied in my warm sleeping bag, safe from the howling winds. Smiling, I snuggled in my sleeping bag and closed my eyes.

End of day 1

Day 2: Blinking groggily, I stared at the blinding sun showing through the white canvas of the tent. I lay in my sleeping bag, taking several moments to remember where I was. Groaning, I sat up, when another feeling emerged. I was really hot. Wrestling open the tent, I felt a feeling of bliss as a gust of cold air flowed into the tent. Putting on my boots and jacket, I found that yesterday, a bunch of rocks got caught in my shoe. I left them in there, as a reminder that pain is sometime the only bridge to where you want to go.

After a warm, hot breakfast of oatmeal, I felt a lot better, and my insides felt really warm. For several seconds, I was back at home, and everything was easygoing and luxurious. Then reality shocked me back to the sierra range, as we were about to leave. I got the tent and sleeping bag packed up, and got ready to leave. That was when I unleashed my secret weapon; a wintogreen flavor lifesaver. I popped one in my mouth and gave some to my friends, and we were ready to leave.

When we set off, I felt yesterdays burst of energy, and I understood the styles of hiking. You could go really fast with a lot of rests, or you could go slower without rests. I chose option 2 and eventually passed Anthony and Aniket. Later, I spotted the senior scouts taking a right and caught up to them. A little after that, we were resting in the shade of a huge tree. We passed a few more rest spots, and at one point we even had to go cross country! (hiking without a trail) I was relieved when we got to our lunch spot. Once again, the beauty of the Sierra regions surprised me. The meadow was bursting with green, with numerous streams carrying icy and refreshing water. But again, I felt a little bored. I wanted a real challenge, like a steep mountain. After lunch, Mr. A told us we were climbing Koipe peak after a ride up the mountain. This seemed like an acceptable challenge to me.

As it turns out, getting to the top of the hill was hard enough, since it was boiling hot, and it was really hard to climb the trail since there were always rocks littering the trail, so it was a hard struggle. At last however, we arrived at a small pocket of grasses, and observed how high we came. One thing I observed was that how all the grasses were crushed where we had lunch. Seeing this, I saw what humans were doing to the world; slowly crushing it to dust. But, there was no time to revel in an environmental science lesson, for the troop was leaving again. Why do they have to be so fast?

As it turns out, this was only a false peak, and the real peak was still miles away. This didn’t faze me too much, but as it turns out, it should. This hill was a lot harder than the previous one, since it was now freezing and the wind was howling like a werewolf at full moon. The trail was almost nonexistent; so many rocks were strewn across the trail. Inch by inch, foot by foot, we struggled up the hill, fighting the forces of nature. Two eternities passed before we got to the top of Koipe pass. When we got there, Koipe peak loomed over us like a human over some ants, and I was starting to doubt my chances of climbing it. To make me further discouraged, my friends were not climbing it. I weighed going alone, with the cold and the wind, but I still decided to go. And it was the right decision, because after I said yes, my friends followed. Surprisingly, climbing Koipe was really easy, compared to my ascent several minutes earlier.

There was a lot of fresh mountain snow to fill up my thermos with. However, while the peak was relatively easy, it was long, so it took us quite a while to get to the top. But once we got there, the view made the trip totally worth it. I could see to mono lake, Amelia Earhart peak, and so much more. I also could see the camp we were going to, and that it was a big down hill. It was going to be a long ride to our camp. So, I got started.

The downhill was really hard on our knees, because it was so steep. It took forever to get into the shade of the mountain, and after that, it got increasingly steeper and colder.

I seemed like days later, but probably only hours for us to get down the mountain. It was really boring as usual, but there was a waterfall we stopped at, and after that, it was a short distance to our camp. The camp was a little cramped, but I didn’t mind. The spaghetti dinner made me feel nice and full, and it was hard to stay awake when you’re stuffed with spaghetti. Yawning, I crawled into my tent and fell asleep.

End of Day 2

Day 3: The day kicked off with a flying start. The hike today was really easy, consisting of just a really long road. With my friends at my side, we set off in a line. After a while, we decided to try singing, and it really made the time fly. Tramping about, our voices could be heard across the mountain!

Walking and singing, we covered several miles in just two hours, and we were at a rest spot in no time. Looking at the sign, I saw that Twolome meadows were only 4 miles away. We had hiked five miles already! Mr. A was talking about another big peak climb, but this time, the peak was higher and there was a two thousand foot climb to the peak. Nevertheless, I thought I could still handle it. After about half a mile, we were camped in our tents, huddling from the wind. However, as on all campouts, something went wrong. Danny was missing. Maybe he went too far, or he was still behind, but there was no time to wait for him because only me, Anthony, and six other scouts out of the twenty are going on the big hike to mount Gibb’s peak.

Climbing the mountain was scarier and harder than anything else I’ve done in my life. Every step was a struggle, every struggle a step. We had to slowly crawl up on all fours! The wind was so strong, it could’ve blown me off the mountain. The rocks were so loose, sometimes my foot would slip and I would be left hanging. When I looked back, I could see everything; all the way to mono lake and back to where we camped the previous day. It was beautiful, but when in a precarious situation like this, it did not help.

The whole time, I kept thinking about my mom, and all the people I cared about, using that as energy to keep me going.

I was freaking out, until I found that running up was a lot easier. Running up, then resting, running up, then resting. The climb continued at a breakneck pace, and I earned a number of cuts and bruises while climbing the mountain. Coming up a ridge, Anthony and I saw the peak in the distance, about a mile away. Excited, I stood up, giving a shout of victory, but then, a sudden gust of wind blew me off balance. I fell, catching my hand on a sharp rock and cutting me. My instincts wanted me to bolt, but I swallowed down my fear and exhaustion. I painfully trekked up the mountain, clutching my hand the whole way. When me and Anthony came up to the peak, the cheers that greeted us were surprised but happy. I sat down on a rock, savoring the moment of victory and the pride that came with it.

Climbing down the mountain was easier. There were times when in a patch of loose rock, we could sort of float or slide down. Hooting with laughter, we half walked, half slid down the mountain. Later, in the lower edge of the mountain, we had to gently slip down. It was dangerous work, and I slipped quite a few times on the slippery moss, adding a number of bruises to my list of injuries. It only took twice as fast for us to get down to our camp, and the greetings we got made me feel like a god. They all crowded around, congratulating us and expressing sympathy for my cut. Laughing with them, I felt their joy. I was as close to home as can be.

After a hearty rice dinner which I cooked, everyone all complimented me on the nicely cooked dinner. Smiling with them, I got some hot chocolate, and went back to the tent, since the winds were picking up. Snuggling up in my sleeping bag, I lay oblivious to the cold and the wind. While setting up my bag, I kept on thinking, “one more day. One more day and I will be home free!”

End of day 3

Day 4(the last day): I woke up today with a feeling of ecstasy. After a breakfast of eggs and potatoes, me and my friends sat on the meadow, excitedly talking about the end of the hike. Two and a half miles of hiking, and we would be home free! It was hard to believe that after all I’ve been through, it was finally coming to an end. I felt relieved to leave this place, but strangely, I felt a sense of sadness. This mountain range was the birthplace of many memories, and I felt sure I would be back. Now, with the end of this hike fast approaching, I decided to look back on my accomplishments. On the first day, I managed to be one of the first scouts to reach the camp, despite my sickness. On the second day, I climbed Koipe peak and I managed to survive that nasty downhill. The third day was the day of my proudest accomplishment, the Mount Gibbs peak climb. Seeing all those accomplishments in retrospect, I realized how far I’d come. Once again I flashed back to my mom, and meeting up with her again. Thinking of this, I set off with the troop; our final hike. It was extremely easy, and the dusty trails gave way to a pine forest. Every one of us practically ran, we were so happy to be home. Eventually, we began to encounter civilization again. But nature had one last scene. Me and Kyle were walking alone, when we saw a bunny, then, a sight I have never seen; a wild deer. Bewildered, we set off, and we heard some voices, and yes! My mothers voice too! It wasn’t long before we met up with the adults, and the way my mother greeted me made me feel whole again. Smiling and laughing, we all crowded around, enjoying what seemed to me like the sweetest watermelon ever. Me and my friends headed for the van and set off. Sitting there, I felt a sense of complete bliss and an immense upwelling of joy. I was home.