Not again, not again, not again

Day 1 – 7/1/18
~10 miles
Onion Valley trailhead to ~0.5 mile downstream of Junction Meadow

Not again, not again, not again!

Dan and I once again scheduled 3 weeks off work and made the drive down to California with grand plans to hike the Sierra High Route. And once again my back started acting up, just a couple days before leaving. I didn’t even deadlift or anything crossfit-y!

But, it wasn’t anything as bad as last year, so I figured it might work itself out on trail? (This is a crappy thing about being tied in a traditional job, you can’t just change your plans, to say, wait a couple weeks til you feel better…no, you have to plan these things months in advance and that’s your one shot for the year). Sigh.

We’re off!

Not again. Not again. Not again.

Rockin and her family (husband Dan and daughter Bryn) came out to see us off from Onion Valley trailhead. You know how much they love us? They Sherpa’d our bear cans to the top of Kearsarge Pass. That’s how much.

Such nice light packs! Photo credit: Rockin

We had a great time catching up with them. Rockin just retired from her teaching career. I can’t wait to see what she does with all her time! She already was doing more in a summer than most people do in a lifetime.

At the pass, looking into Kearsarge lakes basin

After lunch at the pass and some silly photos, the Rockin family returned to the trailhead and Dan and I continued into the Sierra.

Posing for outdoor gear ad photos

Not again. Not again. Not again.

I was through this Kearsarge Lakes basin in 2011 on the PCT, but it looked nothing like this. It was all snow! This time, we enjoyed endless views of abundant wildflowers and shimmering lakes. Like last year, we met up with the Bubbs creek trail to get down to Road’s End and the start of Steve Roper’s High Route. We camped for the night about a half mile downstream of Junction Meadow.

Overlooking Bullfrog Lake
Heading down Bubbs Creek

Not again. Not again. Not again.

This reality of the day, consumed by worry about my back. It doesn’t feel anywhere near as bad as last year; but I feel on the verge of waking up unable to sit up. I’m agonizing over what to do, the what ifs, the wondering what I should’ve/could’ve done to prevent this. For now, I’m taking 800mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours. I’ve even set an alarm for midnight to get up and take a dose.

2 Comments to “Not again, not again, not again”

  1. Lucy Grittman
    · Edit

    So sorry that you are having back problems and do hope it doesn’t get any worse. Such a hard decision to make as what to do – abort or continue. Good luck

  2. Warren
    · Edit

    All you can do is all you can do. I hope that turns out to be enough and that Dan and yourself have a very nice long trip!

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