We passed a lit tent, and soon a woman with her day pack started to follow us too. There were some big steps but the boys weren’t tall so I kept pace with them. My pace and breathing were steady, legs and lungs in tune. It was a continuous incline walk which had been pretty gradual so far. I had my mask on for the most part, but occasionally took it off when it got too warm. We got through the first set of switchbacks in no time. It was like a lesson in being present and not to worry too much about the far future. I couldn’t see very far except those few feet in front of me, so I didn’t unnecessarily anticipate things that were still far away. Hiking in the night was strangely comforting. I waited for about 30 minutes before finding two headlamps coming my way – it was the boys! Was it wise for me to head out in the darkness and smoke? What if I lost my way? What if I got too dizzy inhaling smoke all the way? And so I decided to wait for the first headlamps to pass me. I started to pack up anyway for my sunrise hike, hopeful that things would clear up as I hiked.Īt 2AM, I had packed up everything except my tent. Although I knew there were many other hikers camped around the lake, I felt like I was alone on another planet. The moon was redder, and the smoke limited visibility to 5 feet. When I woke up again at 1:30AM, the situation was even worse. Let me sleep it off, and maybe things will return to normal. It was hard enough hiking in the smoke in daylight, what more to do it at night. I was scheduled to summit Mount Whitney in the morning before sunrise to complete the JMT, but current conditions made me question if it was safe for me to do so. Where were the stars? I knew they were there – I saw them just a couple of hours ago. It was smoky, smoke so thick that I had to wear a mask to sleep. It smelled funny, and I could hardly see beyond 10 feet away with my headlamp. The air was blurry, and I felt like I was in a cloud. At around 11PM the night before I awoke to a world that was nothing like I remembered.
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