Slacker Packer

Earlier this week, along with friends Joseph and Abram Lindvall, I disappeared into the High Sierra for a multi-night backpack. We had laid out a fairly ambitious schedule, but were unfortunately forced to shorten the route because of pain in my knees, due partly to a sports-related over-exertion injury a couple weeks prior and partly to a general lack of consistent athletic conditioning this season.

The guys handled it really well and were very understanding, but I felt bad: bad for them, and bad for me, too. Naturally enough, I'm not too fond of admitting weakness, and I was disappointed by my poor performance. But the humiliation in requesting an early retreat was less bitter than the potential humiliation in being stretchered out of the backcountry as a Search & Rescue technician who should know better. Like they say: if you have to eat crow, eat it while it's hot.

We did, however, have some good fellowship, see some beautiful country, and manage to enjoy ourselves quite a bit. Trail-burner and Daddy Longlegs, you guys are amazing!

Merced Lake, Yosemite

Hiking over Isberg Pass, Yosemite East boundary

Moraine Dome, Yosemite

Joseph and Abram surveying Lyell Fork, eastern Yosemite

High Sierra, Yosemite East boundary