Day #41 Mac & Cheese Against Altitude Sickness

John Muir Trail Part 10/11 – From Lower Cathedral Lake to Trail Junction at Sunrise Creek (.. Miles)

Today was the hardest day I’ve had so far, including the hospital visit in Utah. The altitude problems got worse.

At least the beginning and the end of the day were enjoyable! When the sun came out, it was nice to sit on the flat rock and enjoy the warmth while preparing tea and soup. I decided to eat ramen for breakfast, for a change. The lake was still and the wind had stopped blowing. There were really strong currents during the night and a bright, full moon illuminated the white domes. I had to tie a rock to a tent stake as the wind would pull it from the ground, leaving one tent wall flapping around like a ship‘s sail. It was a real Halloween night in the High Sierra! 👻

I hiked towards Cathedral Pass, it’s not a big ascent but it still felt like something was sitting on my chest. After Sunrise High Sierra Camp – a couple of closed down huts without any water within a 3 mile radius (so not a good spot to camp) – the trail led up again and I followed with a snails‘ pace. Out of breath and weary, I laid down on a flat rock and almost fell asleep of exhaustion. My head felt heavy and drowsy and suddenly, I got scared. There was no water around and for almost two hours, I didn’t see anyone else. I knew I needed to get down, to escape the altitude.

After trodding on, listening to old albums from Moby, Paula Cole and A-ha, the trail went downhill through a dense pine tree forest and around 4pm I came across a small clearing next to a creek, where several tents have been set up already. Relieved to finally be around fresh water and people again, I said hello to a guy sitting on a log and decided that I‘ll spend the night here. That’s how I got to know John and his friend Sam, who came soon after.

We chatted and had dinner together. I decided to finally try the instant Mac&Cheese I bought – it was unbelievably disgusting, so I added more „plastic“ melting cheese and cringed the whole time while eating. I finished it off and told my bear adventures to the others – they laughed and offered me skittles and burner fuel – super nice! I started to feel better! The forest around us was dense and had lots of debris lying around – an ideal hideout for wild animals! To make a statement, I put my plush animals on top of the bear canister. Because they are extremely wild and scary!