Day 6 - Mather Pass — Walking People Out of Poverty

Start Time 6:24 am

End Time 5:00 pm

Start Mileage 815

End Mileage 827.5

Distance Walked Miles 12.5

Elevation Gain Feet 1371

Descent Feet 3852

We were up early and away as we had a big day ahead of us. Up until this point, I had been really struggling with my fitness levels and was suffering badly when it came to any kind of climbing. I had to stop every few minutes to catch my breath and get a drink of water. Two problems immediately sprang to mind, the first being the altitude we were traveling at. The second was the weather which was very warm and I felt constantly parched.

There was another problem and it was probably the major one why I suffered so badly and that was a lack of stamina. I had been working out daily prior to my hip surgery but was told not to do any form of exercise for at least 6 weeks after surgery. Needless to say, I was now paying the price.

This morning something changed and I felt remarkably good and comfortable with my walking. Traveler had gone on ahead and I followed him out shortly afterwards with Woody and Huckleberry the last to leave.

We had a steady climb towards the end of the valley before the climb up to Mather Pass. I was feeling relatively strong compared to any of the previous climbs so I’m hoping I have my walking legs under me at last.

Towards the end of the valley, and before the climb began, I wasn’t sure which way the trail went and thought for sure we were going right. All of a sudden I could hear voices and I looked over to my left and halfway up the cliff face I saw a hiker. My heart dropped as I thought to myself, "I’m never going to get up that!"

It was very forbidding. Unfortunately, there was no other choice and so I set off the climb to the top. I was shocked at how I was able to push on, and apart from a couple of rest and water breaks, I was able to summit Mather Pass. Woody and Huckleberry were right behind me and we had knocked off the 3.2 miles in about 2 hours and 16 minutes.

After a quick breakfast, we had another 3.2-mile hike but this time to another rest point by a lake. The going today was a lot more pleasant than the previous 3 1/2 days when we were walking in very warm weather.

We started to work our way down and the going was pretty tough due to all the loose shale but we persevered and finally made our goal. It was the perfect place for a lunch break. After a shorter-than-normal rest, we were off again as there was the possibility of rain coming in and sure enough, it arrived right on cue. Traveler had asked Woody to lead us for the first hour after lunch, and in true Woody style he set a lovely pace we were all comfortable with.

We came upon a section of trail called The Golden Staircase which had a descent of over 2000 feet, or a climb, depending on which way you are going. There were people struggling their way up but we had the luxury of going down, although it was very difficult as the rain had decided to join us. It was now my turn to lead, which I did for an hour or so before we entered a magical forest. Some of the trees were magnificent.

Unfortunately, the forest also slowed our pace dramatically, as there were numerous trees that had been blown over which made our progress difficult at times. We were anxious about getting to camp sooner rather than later. Although the rain had stopped, it was looking threatening and so we just put our heads down and pushed on. We needn’t have worried as it was a beautiful evening.

Time for a good night's sleep I think!