Cactus to Clouds – October 24 2015

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“We never defeat a mountain; we only defeat the things inside ourselves that would keep us from climbing the mountain.” – John Harlin Jr

For the first time ever on a hike, I had truly given up. On a day where I thought I would be helping my friends accomplish their goal of completing the 5th hardest dayhike in America, I was the one that needed help; I had let poor judgement and my pride get in the way.

Multiple factors likely contributed to my rough day – a possible electrolyte imbalance has been suggested, as well as ongoing physical issues (more on this below). Based on my experience though, I believe it came down to overexertion due to pack weight. Leaving the hotel that morning, my pack was a reasonable weight. The night prior, I had decided to leave a few items behind; some food and layers that in the end I considered optional. Showing up at the trailhead, I realized that an over-zealous participant had arrived with two hikers that hadn’t hiked or trained with anyone in the group. At least one of the hikers didn’t even realize that we were hiking Cactus to Clouds; he thought we were taking the tram up and hiking to the peak (11 miles, 2300 ft of gain vs 22+ miles, 10,000+ ft of gain). Instead of doing what I should have done (telling them to get back in their car and to go home), I put the extra clothing food and water into my pack, essentially setting myself up for a rough day. Adding an extra 6-7 lbs of weight can make a huge difference when it is carried over 11 miles and 8,000 feet of elevation gain.

While having a couple of “unknowns” join a hike may not seem like a big deal, Cactus to Clouds, particularly the Skyline portion, is not an ordinary hike. Every year, there are rescues on Skyline and there have been years with multiple fatalities. On two of my most recent trips, I brought people that had hiked both Mt. Whitney (highest peak in the contiguous US) and Skyline previously. On two separate occasions, I ended up carrying someone else’s pack for them just so that the group could safely finish Skyline. With a large group of experienced hikers, it’s not surprising or a big deal if one person has a bad day and needs help. This can be overcome. However the situation can become dire if more than one person has difficulty and there aren’t multiple hikers in the group that are strong enough to help out. In my opinion, you have to know the people you bring on a trip like this and know they’ll sacrifice their own goals for the day if someone else in the group needs help.

Before starting the hike, I estimated that the group would hike Skyline in about 7 hours. Based on the time splits from previous hikes, we determined that we needed to leave the trailhead around 3:00 AM in order to ensure we had made significant progress before the sun rose. On most of my Skylines, I plan to be above the 4300 ft Marker at sunrise, especially when it’s going to be hot. With such a large group, we started a little later than expected, but over the next couple of hours, we made up the time and were ahead of our original schedule by the time the sun rose.

We continued to keep a 6-7 hour Skyline pace until we reached Dry Falls. At that point, we unexpectedly took a longer break that expected, stopping to participate in a birthday celebration for a friend that also happened to be on the trail that day. I handled the extra weight well until we reached the last two miles of Skyline, which also happened to be the hottest part of our hike and contains the steepest sections of trail. Fighting through the cramps above Dry Falls, I kept telling myself I’d be ok once I made it to Grubb’s Notch, but I wasn’t. After a break at the Ranger Station and heading towards to the peak, I was cramping up while hiking on terrain that was nearly flat. This had never happened to me and we still had 2000+ feet of climbing. By the time we reached Round Valley, I knew I wasn’t going to make the peak.

Just above Round Valley, I told the group to go ahead so I could take a bathroom break. A few minutes later, the cramps really hit me. My legs locked, causing pain beyond anything I had ever felt as the result of cramping. I must’ve looked horrible because I had several hikers stop to ask me if I was ok. A little further up the trail, I found the group waiting for me. They offered to take some of my gear, but I refused. I told them I’d just hike at my own pace and that they should go on to make sure they’d have time to summit. As I should have known, they told me that if I had to turn around, they were going with me. We started hiking again, but I quickly fell behind. A few minutes later, I found them waiting for me again. Not wanting the others to give up on their summit attempt, I handed over some of my gear (and a little pride) for others to carry (another first), and we continued towards the peak. Reaching Wellman Divide, I was done. The pain had sapped my energy and motivation and I was ready to turn around, even if it meant others had to go with me.

Sitting on a rock, disappointed in myself, I was trying to figure out how I would tell the others I was tapping out. Out of no where, Ray ( a masseuse) told me to lay down on a large rock. He spent the next few, very painful minutes working on my TFL, ITB and vastus medialis. By the time he was done, most of my pain was gone! I thought it was only a matter of time before the cramps returned, but amazingly, I hiked the remaining ~9 miles cramp free! I managed to finish Cactus to Clouds, and in the end, it was my most difficult C2C hike.

Thinking about this hike, I feel a mix of pride, thankfulness and disappointment. I’m proud of my friends that accomplished a monumental goal, especially for those that are new to hiking. I am very thankful for my friends that stuck-out the last 11 miles or so with me; Mirian and Gil for being unwilling to leave me behind and lightening my load, Joseph for offering to take some of my gear, providing some comic relief, and giving me the last of his Pedialyte, and Ray for working his masseuse-voodoo-magic. I am also thankful for the multiple hikers I met on the trail who asked if I was ok or needed help. I’m disappointed in myself for not following my intuition and allowing the situation to unfold that was the source for most of the problems. I’m disappointed in myself for being too proud to ask for help before I got myself into trouble.

I hope that I learn from this experience and never make the same mistakes again.

 

“Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.” Evan Hardin

Geek Stats

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Gear

• Darn Tough ATC Sock Micro Crew Cushion
  • Great socks. After several long days on the trail, no blisters and no signs of wear.
  • 30+ miles since they were last washed – don’t stink, but are starting to stiffen. Will be washed before they are used again.
• Six Moon Design Fusion 65
  • This pack has been getting lots of use a daypack; definitely not what I had intended to use it for when I bought it. I plan to continue using it for my winter hikes and snowshoe trips.

 

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