The Wonderland Journal

Miles hiked: 19.3 Mile marker: 927.2 We grab breakfast at the restaurant again. This time I get a coffee, burrito, and French toast. Delicious. I’m packing out half of my food. We spend an hour looking at photos and showing them with one another.  The time comes too soon to…

Miles hiked: 3.7 Mile marker: 907.8 My hands are absolutely freezing. I’m rushing to get ready — I pressed the snooze a time or two — and now I’m in a frenzy trying to be ready at 6:15.  Fortunately the girls are running late too.  I wear my new gloves…

Miles hiked: 22.3 Mile marker: 904.1 It’s 5:30 AM when we get moving. We have another long day ahead of us, and it’s quite cold.  Darn it. I should have pulled out my new gloves for this day.  The group passes another stream that rushes over flat rock and resembles…

Miles hiked: 21.8 Mile marker: 881.8 It’s another cold morning as I pack up all my things. I’m a little slow today, maybe due to sleeping in a bit.  As promised, Luxy and I head over to Jan’s tent before we leave. We slowly unzip his tent. He’s mumbling something…

Miles hiked: 23.1 Mile marker: 860 The day begins with a starry night sky (I couldn’t sleep) with a shooting star and a cold that bites my fingers.  Rafiki, Luxy, and I scramble to get ready with frozen hands. We’re meeting the others up the hill, which is only about…

Miles hiked: 21.9 Mile marker: 836.9 Why is everything wet this morning? The foot of my sleeping bag, my tent walls. I’m going to have to dry this out this afternoon.  I’m ready to go and quite cold. We’ll warm up soon enough. Dad points to the left and a…

Miles hiked: 14 Mile marker: 815 I do not want to wake up. My air mattress is still inflated — thanks to Rafiki and Voyager (Savannah). My sleeping quilt is magic. So roomy to move around! I am so glad I upsized! Ultralight may be the way for some people,…

Miles hiked: 20 Mile marker: 801 The morning comes far too early. I’m awake before my alarm, laying down in my comfy hotel bed. The blankets are off of Savannah. Whoops. I seriously need to figure out this blanket hog problem that I have. My alarm goes off and I’m…

Miles hiked: Zero I grab a bunch of carbs from the continental breakfast before laying out my leftover snacks. I sure do have a lot of them! Dad takes Voyager and my laundry to the laundromat. Voyager and I head to the store, where Rafiki and Luxy already are.  We…

The water is glass that reflects the mountains by the lake. We hike through the rocks until we reach the top of Kearsarge pass. A dark lake is beneath us. I wonder how deep it is! We hike down the giant rocks. We pass a lake and then walk through…

I slept so well. Must have been waking up at 11:00 pm the other night for Whitney.  We get moving and hit Forester Pass pretty early. They’re very long and easy switchbacks that have me quite out of breath.  Altitude.  We reach a rocky landscape with only dirt and rocks…

Miles hiked: 23.2 Mile marker: 775.9 It’s 11:00 PM when my alarm goes off. I empty my bag of anything that won’t be necessary for the big hike today. We’re going to climb 4.000 feet in about seven miles. Mount Whitney is 14,500 feet high, which is where we’re going…