We started walking at about 10am with 8.5 miles to go to get to Hamilton Lakes. As we were climbing down off our high perch above Merhten Creek, my feet slipped out from under me and I went down. Pine needles on granite make for a slippery surface. I started sliding head first down the granite slab toward the creek but was able to thwart the descent by grabbing onto a protruding tree root. I could see Nancy standing on the granite above me and she called down to ask if I was okay. I undid the hip belt and was able to right myself, then just sat there and tried to gather my wits.
Laurie agonized over the decision to continue or not. It really tore us all up and I know she struggled immensely with the decision. We hoped that as she started walking, maybe taking a bite here and there, she would start to feel better. Her breathing was labored and the altitude was really bearing down. The nausea grew so bad that every step was a struggle. Just shy of 9-Mile Creek, she made the decision not to continue. There were campsites and a bear box there so she felt she could stay there for a few nights to acclimate a bit more and feel better, then walk back out. We didn't know how she would get home from Crescent Meadow but she was confident she would find a solution (that story later).
After lots of tears and hugs, we left Laurie. Guilt consumed us as we walked away. For the rest of the trip, we thought about Laurie every minute and wondered what she was doing and if/how she had made it home.
She gave us Flat Stanley to travel along in her place. Flat Stanley was made by an Alzheimer's patient and Laurie takes pictures of him during her adventures, then sends the pictures to the Alzheimer's care group so they can live vicariously through her. It's a great program and there are a lot of Alzheimer's Flat Stanley's out there.
What I remember from the rest of that day was the heat, the uphills, pooping alot from the antibiotics, and exhaustion. The little gnats that swarmed around my face really started pissing me off too.
We leap frogged with a couple of young dudes and passed them up at Bearpaw Meadow. They were going to stay there and eat and then see if they felt like continuing to Hamilton Lakes.
The book calls the climb into Hamilton Lakes a "steady ascent". I call it a lesson in pain. We were pushing the pace to get there before dark and the climb up seemed to never end. My hips, knees, and feet were throbbing. We did make it and set up our tents right near the bear box. Got water in the dark and ate our dinner in the dark. We didn't mess around that night. Once we were in our tents, I realized I had forgotten Nancy's birthday! I yelled, "Nancy!!" She said "What!?" thinking something was wrong. "Happy Birthday! I can't believe I forgot to tell you that!" She said "Oh you scared the crap out of me but thank you!" Nancy turned 58 on the trail that day. She was a machine! I think she could have just marched herself on over to Whitney Portal without taking a single break. She was ceaseless, kept a steady pace, stopped when I needed to stop (or poop), ate when I needed to eat, and had an iron will and extreme mental fortitude.
The young dudes had come into the camp about 30 minutes after we did and they were exhausted so that made me feel better :-p There were also 3 British dudes and a German. We told them all about Laurie and they said they would look for her on their way back to Crescent Meadow. We told everyone we met on the trail about Laurie and everyone said how smart she was and made the right decision to turn back. There were times when I wished that I had turned back with her...
The elevation at Hamilton Lakes was 8235 feet.
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