After some tiring hikes earlier in the week, we decided to pursue a shorter one bearing in mind that we planned a major hike for the day following. We set out along an off-road track with Mammoth Mountain to our rear and the Minarets ahead. We don’t think one could be faulted for stating that some of the most beautiful scenes possible surrounded us. It was reminiscent of hiking on South Island, near Queenstown, New Zealand. As an aside, we often see similarity in parts of that country with Hawaii and mid-to-northern California. When we reached the ridge after a 1,000 feet climb, we could not stop. That’s not because of brake failure; rather, the overwhelming nature of the position encouraged us to continue. This meant that the short hike became nearly 10 miles on the day.
Along the ridge, we encountered strong winds again which died suddenly as we dropped down a few hundred feet into Deadman’s Pass. (Not surprising when one thinks about it). Thereafter, we continued along a path that seemed like crossing a desert—it was captivating—and then directly upwards, over a couple of peaks (known as teats), until we reached our destination. We viewed Ritter Range, both Mono Lake and White Mountain in the distance and, a particular attractive hill that reminded us of a mine dump in Johannesburg. Yes, in the right context, beige sand can be very attractive. What is always apparent is the depth of mountains that seems to fill every bit of space as far as the eye can see. It really is breathtaking. How could we halt in such an atmosphere? We moved up another 1,200 feet, making it just over 2,200 although it felt like much more.
We were alone until we reached our peak. There we met a couple who are truly inspirational. Leo is a man of seventy-three, his wife 68. He reminded us of our good friend Jerry Bongard—his mannerisms and face caused us to pause—it was almost the same person. After chatting for a while, we nearly felt deflated notwithstanding the exquisite surroundings—it was a strenuous hike and they were still fresh. Looks like we will have to get our editor into the gym more often.
The Laiken’s of La Jolla have always spoken highly of the Sierras. We took heed of their sentiment; we are about to complete four weeks in this district. In fact, the late world-renowned climber and photographer, Galen Rowell said: “After traveling the world, I realized I never needed to leave the Sierra Nevadas to enjoy the best.”
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
A few extras of this magnificent place
No comments:
Post a Comment