Day 53, June 9: Mile 751 to 767

• Start: Chicken Spring Lake - Mile 750.8

• End: Crabtree Meadows - Mile 767.0

• Miles: 16.2

• Ascent: 2834 | Descent: 3232

I didn’t sleep well last night because my throat felt so dried out and scratchy, and I kept waking up every hour to drink water. So getting out of my cozy bed was tough, but I managed to still get on trail by 5:40 or so.

The scenery was just mind blowing, and I was extra happy I made it up for the sunrise light. It shined so beautifully across the mountains all around me.

Everywhere I looked was another beautiful vista, or pile of rocks, or beautifully twisted amber-toned pines. Every other thought in my head was “wow, I love rocks” and “wow, I love trees.” Being out in these mountains makes me feel so alive and right in my soul. Every other hiker I met was feeling the same, I think, because we all just kept saying to each other how beautiful it was. We all seemed to be in great moods at the stunning scenery. And this is just the beginning of the Sierra!!

The day continued on beautifully, and I crossed big rocky mountainsides, strewn with boulders and dotted with trees. I passed through wide, flat forested areas and meadows too.

Eventually I made it to Rock Creek Camp, which had a beautiful stream and was a good halfway point/siesta spot. Squirrel Daddy caught up shortly after I arrived, and the Germans and Popeye were there as well.

After eating some food, relaxing for an hour and a half, and even taking a quick nap, I packed up my things and kept hiking. The climb out of the valley was tough but I was feeling reenergized from the nice break. I came to another water source, quickly grabbed another liter, and was back on my way.

After crossing a flat area, there was another steep but relatively short climb. SD caught up to me a bit after this climb as I was having a break, and we hiked together for a bit before he pulled ahead.

I made it into camp in the afternoon, and saw a number of familiar faces, including Baggins and Cookie. SD and I chatted with them for a bit before wandering off to find our camp spots. And lo and behold, there were our friends from a few days ago- Cathole, Liz, Tikka and Gus! They had hiked Mt. Whitney that day, and were camping at the base (Boop and Sensei had gone a few miles ahead on trail). It was great to see them and we had a fun dinner together before retiring early for a very early start the next morning.