(6:20am June 17, 2007 L to R - Pam, me, Anil, Arun, Vineeta)
We got back from an real adventure at Yosemite (got home at 3am!) - 5 of us had planned on running/walking 31 miles yesterday (Sunday June 17th) -
(Camp fire)
After a fun filled Saturday evening by the camp fire with a few beers and some good company we called it a night around 10:30pm - the temp had dropped to the high/mid 40s and I abandoned my plans of sleeping out in the open - took my sleeping bag into Arun Sharma's tent and was soon in deep sleep.
(The route)
We had planned for a 6:00am start which would have given us 14 hours of daylight to do this run/hike. We started at 6:30 am from White Wolf campsite (8,000 feet) and descended 4,000 feet in 6 miles - after a 4 mile flat section we planned to run the 21 mile route from Pate Valley to Toulumne Meadows which gradually went back up to 8,600 feet.
(the climb down to Pete Valley)
Around 9:30 am we stopped at the river to fill up on water - Arun and Pam decided to run on ahead to save some time. Anil, Vineeta and I started about 15 mins later - at the junction (Pate Valley) we missed the Toulumne Meadows Trail and ended up taking the the wrong trail.
(The water stop 9:30 am)
Under the assumption that Arun and Pam were motoring on ahead we too started pushing through the very overgrown and almost covered trail. Anil kept running ahead and shouting for Arun and Pam but go no response so we continued to run/walk for 2:30 hours - the ~ 4.5 miles we ran took us up about 2,600 feet (we were at 6,600 feet). The trail was overgrown and full of thorns - all of us have minor cuts on our legs/arms. At places I did see some big piles of droppings - I knew they were not mine :-)...so it was either a big deer of one of the Yosemite black bears! At times we heard some noises in the bushes - not a fun feeling. Finally we realized we were on the wrong trail and decided against pushing for the top (we assumed that around 8,000 feet we would see some camp sites/ Ranger station) luckily sanity prevailed and we turned back to make sure we got to the river, our only water source.
It took us about 1:20 mins to run back to Pate Valley - at every turn through the thick brush I would imagine a bear standing there...at times the black burnt tree stubs caught my eye - and my heart would skip a beat or three! By the time we got back to the junction and realized our error we were almost 4 hours behind Arun & Pam. After a brief discussion we then decided to head back to White Wolf Camp - although Rashmi & Lily were waiting for us at Toulumne meadows (20 miles from White wolf) we knew we could at least get the message to them through the rangers saying we were OK. Vineeta, Anil and I kept running and discussing various scenarios - What would Arun/Pam do? would they be waiting for us? Would they have come back? Gone on? What would we have done if we were in their place? It took our mind off the run for a while.
We stopped at the river and filled up our bottles and backpacks and braced for the climb back to White Wolf. The 6 mile 4,000 foot climb back to White Wolf was brutal. We had come down this trail earlier in the day - it was strewn with uneven rocks and bad footing which made a treacherous descent - but the ascent was just plain murder!
We were trying to ensure that we got back by 6:00pm so that we could get a ride to Toulumne and meet the others at that trail head before sundown. Anil was still in fine form - Vineeta and I were feeling fatigued. We made some stops to calm our breathing and heart rates and we pushed each other on, reminding each other to eat and drink water. We made it back at 6:30pm - Vineeta convinced the Rangers to give us a ride to Toulumne Meadows - the Rangers (god bless them) dropped us at Toulumne Meadows at 7:20 pm where we met Rashmi & Lily who were waiting for us. They were really starting to worry. Arun and Pam had not come in as yet. So after a quick change and adding a few more layers Anil and I started walking back down the trail trying to see if we could locate them. Finally after about a 40 min walk into the trail our shouts were returned by Arun & Pam - Man! we were so relived - they made the 31+ mile trek/run in 14.5 hours (6:30 am to 9:00pm) What a day! - Anil, Vineeta and I ran/walked about 30 miles (6:30 am to 6:30pm.)
Arun and Pam had very little food or salt tabs on them as most of the food was with Anil and me - the trail they were on was devoid of tree cover for most part and the valley was simmering at 90F by mid day. Running low on sugar and energy the two willed each other on for 14 hours (13 hours if us remove the hour they spent waiting for us). But in spite of all this they came away saying that the route was really beautiful - the water falls and vistas were fantastic. I doff my hat to these two athletes. I guess I'll have to make another trip there to see this stuff!
We have a lot of learning to do - we were very very lucky this time.
The bad decisions:
1) Not discussing the trail in much detail the prior evening - not carrying a map - not having a back up plan. I did not pay attention when Arun was going over the map.
2) To let the group split up.
3) To continue on the wrong trail for 2.5 hrs (we should have turned around in 45 mins of not seeing the other two!)
4) Not distributing the bars/gels/salt tabs equally - the three of us had the bulk of it - Arun and Pam were lucky enough to meet other campers who parted with a few energy bars)
Good decisions:
1) Heading back to the river for water.
2) Heading back to White Wolf instead of trying to catch the other two.
3) Ensuring we got to camp before sunset.
Other Pix:
(All photographs taken by Arun Sharma.)
