John Muir Trail/Mount Whitney - Day 3
Today was the planned rest day. After discovering at the end of Day 1 that we had an extra day (4 vs. 3) to cover the 48 mile path we had chosen to summit Mount Whitney, we had maintained our rough plan to have a hard day on Day 2. But instead of a 22 mile day, we made it 15, which left 7 for today. There was only a total of 1000ft of elevation gain as well, allowing our bodies another day of acclimatization as we moved from 10,500ft at the High Sierra Trail Junction to sleep tonight at 11,500ft beside Guitar Lake.
Dinner rolled around and realizing how much food we had left, we feasted. We laughed and camped and rested our bodies...
We arrived around 1:30pm, covering the 7 miles in 4 hours. We moved pretty modestly, taking regular breaks and enjoying the hike. Upon setting up camp, we socialized with others arriving, read, washed, cracked jokes, ate and hung out. Dinner rolled around and realizing how much food we had left, we feasted. We laughed and camped and rested our bodies, and knowing we needed to wake at 4am the next morning for our 15 mile summit day, we tucked in around 8pm.
So much discussion was on our lovers today—how Anna and Shanna interact with us, our relationships, all the nuances of each, and how our past lives have converged. We both miss our women.