Day 42 - Going Backwards!
May 27
Start Mile 750.87
Arrive Lone Pine
Awoke at 5:20am but was not ready to leave until almost 8:25am. The cold is really something at elevation and it takes a lot of effort to get moving. Thankfully I’m not climbing Everest! Straight off the bat I was climbing and I had only gone about 1/2 mile before making the decision to turn around and head down to Lone Pine. My walk, for the next 2 days was effectively over. Today’s walk was intended to put me within striking distance of the highest point of the PCT, Forester Pass at 13,200 feet.
Unfortunately my exercise induced Asthma determined that I couldn’t go any further, and so with a heavy heart I turned around and started to retrace my steps from the previous day. The highest elevation I had achieved thus far was 11,500 feet, and whilst I believed I could push through to “bag” the 12,000 foot elevations, I wasn’t confident I could go the additional 1200 feet to get me up and over Forester Pass. No sooner had I made the decision than I bumped into Dodo, the Israeli physiotherapist I’d met at Kennedy Meadows. After a brief chat we went our respective ways. I was now heading back from whence I came and met several people I knew from our previous weeks of walking. One couple I came across was Andy and Susie, the Australian brother and sister team with whom I’d been flip flopping on the trail for the past 2-3 days.
It was very disappointing but I knew deep down that I had made the right decision. In instances like this you have to be unselfish, and think of the difficult circumstances that you might place others in should anything go wrong. I was so disappointed to be heading backwards that I missed the trail that would have taken me down to Horseshoe Meadow. This resulted in me having to walk an additional 3-4 miles to the next obvious escape route. I eventually came to the trail leading down the mountain and started to descend. The path weaved in and out of the trees that covered the hillside and eventually I broke free of the tree line. There was a young couple, I came upon, and they pointed me in the right direction for the parking lot which was about 500 yards away. I was anxious to get into town so that I could regroup, and figure out where I could get back on the trail after Forester Pass. The young couple who had provided directions to the parking lot had caught up to me and asked if I wanted a ride into Lone Pine which I gratefully accepted.
Within the first mile I determined we were on a very special road and the scenery was breathtaking. The road was one switchback after another, and we came upon a remarkable scene with about a dozen trucks lined up each with a hang glider in the truck bed. I noticed that a couple of gliders were already airborne and if my views were spectacular then I can only imagine what the pilots were seeing. The young couple told me it was 12 miles into town and that’s where most of the hang gliders landed, (on the periphery that is). The young couple also informed me that a hang glider once traveled all the way to Reno which is over 200 miles away. Incidentally, the road was originally just a dirt track but back in the 50’s Walt Disney had paid for the track to be paved. Supposedly, Walt had plans to turn the area into a ski area but the road was the only part of the project that came to fruition. I was dropped outside the Dow Villa Hotel that the young couple had recommended and was given a choice between the old and new hotel and plumped for the older as it was deemed to be quieter. After checking in I changed into my rainwear, pants and jackets, as I decided to go to the laundry and get everything cleaned. Once I had the washing machine going I then went next door to the Alabama Hills restaurant and ordered lunch. It seemed to take an age to arrive and I was debating which would occur first, my order arriving or heading back to the laundry to throw my clothes into the dryer!
When lunch arrived it was worth the wait and once I had finished I had to excuse myself in order to return to the laundry to commence the next stage of laundering my clothes. I then went back to my room to put everything away before heading out to explore Lone Pine. My main aim was to scope out where to go for dinner, and to determine if there might be some place that could provide insight into where I would be able to get back onto the trail beyond Forester Pass. That night I headed into a restaurant and was looking for a table when someone called my name. I turned and instantly recognized Andy, the Australian who was hiking with his sister. What was odd was the fact I’d seen Andy earlier that day, when I passed him and Susie as I was heading back to find the trail to Lone Pine. It turns out that Andy suffers from Asthma, and a short while after our meeting earlier Andy had suffered an attack which, as Andy so eloquently put it, was like “sucking air through a straw”. Andy invited me to join him and we had an enjoyable evening and made plans to meet up for breakfast the following morning at the Alabama Hills restaurant.
Before closing out this blog I should provide a little background on Lone Pine as it has a rich Western heritage. Back in the 50’s Lone Pine was “discovered” by Hollywood, and became famous for the production of Western’s, one of the most famous being Hopalong Cassidy. All of the horses, wagons and extras that were required by Hollywood were provided by someone in Lone Pine, which helped with sustaining the area. If you are into Westerns this is the place to be, and well worth a visit.
Looking down on Chicken Springs Lake shortly before turning around and heading to Lone Pine.
A view of Horseshoe Meadow.
This tree trunk was completely hollow. Just beyond it was the car park.