Day 98 - Jasper Indian Ridge

The Skytram near Jasper Town carried me up 1000 meters to the near-top of Whistlers mountain (named for the whistle call of marmots). I then hiked to the summit 150 meters up further but then struck off down the other side toward Indian Ridge.

I passed through the wet valley and ascended the ridge on the left, making the my way up quickly, with the only challenge being a scramble detour to avoid snow, up loose rock to the left of the peak. The view was great in every direction but I especially loved the mountains to the south, with Mount Edith Cavell as a main actress.

As I slowly tramped along the wide ridgetop, sharp arete mountain ridges to the south and the snowy cone of Mount Robson, tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, far in the distance, came into view.

Arriving at the far right ridge peak after an hour or so, I began my descent, following the guidebook instruction to "walk down the shale slopes to the stream." About a quarter of the way down, I realized I had descended one chute too soon as this route was too steep for waking, more like controlled sliding. I brought out my hiking poles and skied down the rock, letting my feet slide like you would on snow. This was my first real test using this technique and it worked brilliantly. Once down, I crossed boggy fields then countless little streams, climbed the hill back to Mount Whistlers and returned down the Skytram express to the van.

Still with daylight left, I drove the 75 km west to Mount Robson, the snowy cone I had seen in the distance. The cone was much larger from just below.

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Day 171 - JMT Guitar Lake

Wow, was it cold this morning. After waking up and eating breakfast, we packed up quickly and found this scenic sunspot to warm our bones. We had a short eight mile hike to Guitar Lake today, the last viable campsite before the five mile hike to the 14,505 foot-high Mount Whitney summit. We stopped at this lovely meadow and looked for bears. We only saw deer but were able to enjoy the incredible peace of the far mountain range. Steady hiker traffic, the most of the entire trip, including one group of twelve elder hikers, passed us as we rested, and jumped! Views of Mount Whitney finally came into view at Timberline Lake, a quaint lake where camping was unfortunately forbidden. We passed a group of twenty Taiwanese hikers. The summit of Mount Whitney looked heavily defended when viewed from below. We were going to wake up tomorrow at 230am and hike up to the summit for sunrise-on-the-top-of-the-world*. The thought of this dark task was a bit foreboding. We made it to Guitar Lake by

Day 172 - JMT Mount Whitney

Our day began in silence, at 315am in pursuit of the summit. We walked carefully, looking for slick, sandy rocks and icy sections--not wanting to fall. Hiking along a cliff edge in total darkness was thrilling, vividly black and white. By 5am, we had reached the three mile marker and the turnoff up to Whitney summit. We removed the heavy items from our bags and set off towards the summit sunrise. The trail was spectacular, a special creation of this nation, winding from one side of the mountain to the other, going down and around one side before coming up to another, creating anticipation with each turn. Looking back, the sloping ridges caught the early sunset delicately. As we hiked along the two mile upper trail, the views east would open up for the narrowest of moments. This opening was my favorite. 14,000 foot cathedrals of nature thrusted towards the heavens at each turn. The summit was almost in sight, the highest peak in the lower 48 states nearly attained, the end of our 2

Day 170 - JMT Forrester Pass

The mountains had a surreal glow this morning as we climbed up towards the 13,200 foot high Forrester Pass. One of the wonderful things about the mountains is that they change appearance as the sun changes height, creating a movie-like experience as you walk. I felt so free and happy this morning--just in love with this light. After sixty minutes of walking, we stopped in the first sunny spot we could find to thaw out and rest. Another hiker came bustling up the trail behind us and stopped at the sunspot to shed a layer of clothing. Sly was a Canadian hiker, just turned 40, who seemed happy to see us. We struck up a conversation about travels and when we pushed off Sly asked if he could join us. We said yes of course. We hiked quickly up the trail, reaching a high plateau with epic alpine views. Selfie time! We skirted around a high alpine lake and then went up a ridge line ever further higher. We were at 12,000+ feet now and the world began to look small yet vast.

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