So we are done. Six miles to Whitney Portal where we will have completed our trip.
Happy Isles to Mammoth CA = 62.7 mi
Bishop Pass = 14 mi
Bishop Junction to Kearsarge Junction = 41.6 mi
Kearsarge Junction to Onion Valley (+ 2 mi detour down to Charlotte Lake) = 10 mi
Onion Valley to Kearsarge Junction = 8 mi
Kearsarge Junction to Whitney Portal = 44.7 mi
Total mileage = 181 miles (of 220 mi). Wow.
The entire hike was broken up so that we would almost always cross a pass and descend 2-3 miles before camping. There were a couple of exceptions, but I am pretty sure we never hiked six miles downhill, in one straight shot. Today we did. Today we had no choice and HAD to finish. There were burgers promised at the end, for god's sake! This pounding six was a fitting way to end, and we crossed the finish line sufficiently beat up and a little delerious. Someone took our picture and we stumbled into a small house to order food. There was little talk, much chomping and a lot of dazed people watching-- fellow JMT hikers were collecting and eating across the table from us. My phone was dead (which is why you are missing out on iphone pictures. I will soon download from me camera, to fill this void.), so I couldn't even call my mom for an exclamatory, "We are alive!" We sat still and ate and watched; backpack-less for a while. As our eyes and bodies adjusted, the phone charged up, and we eventually got through to our people and loved ones.
Soon after our round of calls, we were picked up by a tall cowboy with Mary-like twinkly eyes, a pick up truck and Border Collie. It was Don. Don is Mary's brother, and of course, is just as great as his sisters. He is a cowboy, a pilot and a mailman (sort of). He drove us through scenery that served as a backdrop for many movies, mainly westerns, and gave us some additional history about the area surrounding Independence. Mary's family ran a ranch, and we got to hear about the art of rustling cattle. Love this. Not surprising was the range in conversation; we talked about the world's state of affairs, Search and Rescue missions among local hiking trails, running, cowboying, Rowdy the Border Collie and flying. We love this family.
Mary welcomed us back with a huge smile and warm hugs, and the boys and I began to work on filling our stomachs. Mary let us unravel and recuperate with books, TV and kindness, before we shipped out to Santa Barbara. We had a bus and two trains to ride around the mountains and to the beach. Sorting the logistics of the upcoming travel was super hard. My brain was a mushy paste after the hike, and the acclimation to society and reality was just slowing down my thought process. So the days in Independence felt as if they were in slow motion, and the travel to SB seemed to take more than a day. I think my re-entry to the world will be a bumpy one.
** I am writing from a laptop. I cannot tell you how insanely drastic the difference is between pecking in log entries on a phone, (words which only sometimes are accepted by the site), and typing them in, breezily on a keyboard. Night and day, mama. This log in particular was unedited and unfinished, and published--although I remember distinctly finishing and entering a clean version. Excuse the disarray, and I will tidy this blog page up, just as soon as I can. Thanks muchachos.