"A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

If you've been searching for the best source of information and stimulating discussion related to Spring/Summer/Fall backpacking, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada...look no further!
User avatar
Rosabella
Founding Member
Posts: 373
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:58 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Washington State

"A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by Rosabella »

A number of people on this board know that my younger son died unexpectedly last summer on July 27th. Sonny was only 21 years old, and the most compassionate, generous, loving person. Nothing can ever prepare us for something like this…and nothing will ever be the same.

Since his early High School years, Sonny was very involved as an advocate for the people in our County living with HIV/AIDS. I‘ve decided to carry on Sonny’s commitment to helping people living with HIV/AIDS by starting an annual hike event dedicated to raising funds and awareness of AIDS. “A Hike For Hope” is Sonny’s legacy. The outpouring of support has been amazing. Sonny had touched so many lives.

The first annual Hike for Hope will be the John Muir Trail. All future Hikes will be local and open to all who would like to join, but I’ve chosen to go solo on this first hike. My permit is for July 29th, however, I will be heading down this weekend and try to pick up a walk-in permit to start on July 27th. I can’t think of a more healing place to be than in the mountains on the first anniversary of Sonny’s death, or a more appropriate day to begin the annual hikes dedicated to him and the work he did.

I’m planning on taking a little over three weeks, with a couple lay-over days. It’s going to be such a meaningful trip in so many ways. Sonny loved Yosemite and the mountains; he hiked several sections of the JMT – his favorite segment was Onion Valley to Whitney. My last night on the JMT, August 20th, will be on Whitney Summit (weather permitting), then I will exit on the 21st.

I invite you to visit our site: http://www.ahikeforhope.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On completing the JMT, I’ll be meeting my family at the Portal to hang out for a few days, then (walk-in permit willing) we’ll be doing our 50th anniversary hike up Mount Whitney! It was disappointing when our application was not drawn in the lottery, but we’re optimistic about picking up walk-in permits.

We’ll be camping in the Portal campgrounds for a few days, then hope to do a Whitney overnight August 23-24.

So… if any of you see a solo woman on the JMT (dressed in pink/black), or a large, happy group at the Portal or going up Whitney, please say “hi”!

Se you on the Trail!
Rosie
User avatar
Snow Nymph
Founding Member
Posts: 2042
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:43 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Mammoth Lakes, CA
Contact:

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by Snow Nymph »

Good luck on your trip, Rosie! My son is a hemophiliac and is HIV positive. This is a good cause. I won't be back in time to join you but maybe next year. Check is in the mail!
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


http://snownymph.smugmug.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
calipidder
Topix Regular
Posts: 205
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:00 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Above 10k
Contact:

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by calipidder »

Rosie - I know you won't see this for a while, but I didn't realize until now that we met you on the trail! We started at Lyell canyon on the 30th and camped at one of the lakes below the pass. I think you talked more with my husband and my friend, Pavla (czech accent), and gave her one of your cards that she showed me later. We saw you again at the Shadow Creek junction when we headed up towards Lake Ediza. I hope your hike goes well and you have a wonderful and meaningful trip!
User avatar
Rosabella
Founding Member
Posts: 373
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:58 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Washington State

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by Rosabella »

Hi everyone!

I'm here in Bishop for a few days...I had a wonderful surprise Sunday afternoon, when I looked down the trail and saw two people that looked mighty familiar. I was so excited to see one of my sisters and her husband heading toward me! They decided to surprise me and meet me just a couple miles from Red's Meadow. You can't imagine how great it was to see family!

However, they had no idea how much I appreciated their sudden appearance. A few days earlier I had started to develop a pain in the bottom of my left foot that got progressively more painful as the days wore on. It only affected me when I was going downhill, but by the time I ran into them I was limping pretty bad.

We had a great lunch at Red's Meadow - I had a double cheeseburger, which is something I VERY seldom eat, but there's something about a cheeseburger that sounds SOOOO good on the trail .

Afterwards, they took me down to the Mammoth ER, where I had my foot checked, and was told that I had Morton's Neuroma. At least I didn't have a stress fracture! the doctor there was pretty pessimistic about my chances of continuing... it was really discouraging.

I decided to wait and get a second opinion before calling it quits. My sister and her husband dropped me off in Bishop yesterday morning, and I made an appointment with a podiatrist. I had my appointment this morning, and he confirmed the diagnosis, but was much more supportive regarding my continued hike. I got a cortisone shot in my foot (no... it wasn't bad at all). He said to give it a rest because it might be sore tomorrow, then gave me my blessings to get back on the trail on Thursday.

Laura (moosetracks) has been great! She had some great tips on what to do, and also how to lighten my pack a little more to take a little more pressure off the foot. She's also letting me use one of her packs, which is half the weight of mine. (I know... I know... I had insisted on using my old heavy pack because I love it, but 3.5 pounds is 3.5 pounds!). We've had a lot of fun catching up and visiting.

Anyway, the trail's been wonderful!!! It's so amazing, I am just constanctly in awe of the beauty of these meadows, rivers, lakes, canyons, rugged mountains, everything! The weather started out a little crazy - it was 100 degrees in Yosemite Valley when I left at 3:00 in the afternoon ( I got my permit late in the day, but was lucky that there was a "no-show"). I'll tell you - even though that part of the trail really is beautiful - climbing the mist trail in that heat with a heavy pack is NOT something I need to do again for a long time . But everything else has been great! A few "interesting" thunder storms, and even hail at Upper Lyle Canyon!

So, I'll re-enter the JMT via the North Lake Trailhead and Piute Pass on Thursday. I'm going to take it easy the first couple days. I think I'll end up loosing about 40 miles of the JMT, but I am so glad I'll be able to continue. I'm also glad that I won't miss the Evolution Valley area and Muir Pass! I've been really looking forward to being in that area again, t's so beautiful. Well, there's not much of this trail that isn't.

Well, it's late and I really should get back to my room, but I will finish this by saying that I hope you don't hear from me 'til no sooner than August 26th :D

CORI - Thank you for your response, Cori. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to respond before I left but it got so busy I was never able to get back to check the boards. I am so sorry for you and your son. It would be frightening for your child being HIV positive, regardless of their age... always worrying if/when it will progress to the next stage. I wish him well. I hope you're taking care of YOURSELF, Cori, and are improving. I think of you a lot up here in the mountains. I will look forward to that hike next year!

CALIPIDDER - Of course I remember you! I wish the subject of Boards would have come up, I definately would have recognized ""Calipidder". You all looked like you were having a great time, what a great trip.

Markskor, if you're reading this...and speaking of the subject of "boards" on the trail.... I met two people that you recently be-friended! Brian (I'm pretty sure his name was Brian :confused: )and his son, Logan and I started out of Little Yosemite Valley about the same time, and did the "leap frog" thing for a while. What a fun duo! When we were up in Upper Lyle Canyon, they started describing some "cool guy" they had met and where he was from. Sudenlly it started to sound familiar; I asked them if this guys name was Mark... yes, it was!I think they said that they hung out with you a while the day before, and that you had mentioned something about the High Sierra Topix board. What a kick they were! Meeting so many wonderful people on the trail just adds to pleasure of the whole experience.

Rosie
User avatar
markskor
Founding Member - RIP
Posts: 2442
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 5:41 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Crowley Lake and Tuolumne Meadows

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by markskor »

"I asked them if this guys name was Mark... yes, it was! I think they said that they hung out with you a while the day before, and that you had mentioned something about the High Sierra Topix board."
Yes, that would have been me...met these two characters in the Vally BP camp...they just sat on one of the tables in the middle of camp doing "primo buds" for the entire afternoon...(I guess mentallly preparing for their JMT trip the next day)...generous too. FYI, I had just started my Valley BP sketch earlier that afternoon just a few feet away and had to finish it up as to catch the light/ shadows...they never moved...quite the safe haven...the Valley BP camp.
Sorry about the foot Rosie...The trail seems to always win...dictates who continues on and who does not. Hope it all works out for the best.
BTW, I am enjoying following your "spot" tracks.
Mark
Mountainman who swims with trout
User avatar
copeg
Founding Member & Forums Administrator
Founding Member & Forums Administrator
Posts: 2109
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 9:25 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Contact:

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by copeg »

Sorry to hear about your foot Rosie! Here's wishing you the best! :thumbsup:
User avatar
Rosabella
Founding Member
Posts: 373
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:58 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Washington State

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by Rosabella »

Thanks Greg and Mark!

Yah, Mark - Brian and Logan were "enjoying life" just about every time I ran into them. They certainly know how to "work hard - play hard". They said they were hoping to do the JMT in (I think) about 2.5 weeks. They did put in some long days when they did hit the trail... they left Upper Lyle Canyon about 7:00 pm to go over Donahue Pass. I enjoyed them, and was sad when they left that evening. They made me laugh. BTW - you're sketches are GREAT! I didn't know you were an artist!

Thanks Greg! My foot's feeling pretty good after the shot yesterday, and I'm planning on hitting the trail tomorrow AM. I was kinda bummed to exit at Red's Meadow - I missed my horse ride... it's a family tradition, ya know! Anyway... it's all good! I keep meaning to ask you why you changed your name from "trailblazer"? I guess I'll find out when I get back. :)

Rosie
User avatar
BSquared
Founding Member
Posts: 958
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2005 3:31 pm
Experience: Level 3 Backpacker
Location: Jericho, VT

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by BSquared »

Go, Rosie! We bailed at Red's because of sore feet and inadequate conditioning (sorry we missed you on the way, Mark, but we were hurtin' puppies), and David, my companion, headed back to Maryland. But I couldn't get enough so I went back in at Road's End, King's Canyon, with the people we were supposed to have met up with later at Charlotte Lake. My altitude acclimation wasn't so good, though, so I had to pass on Whitney and just limp up over Trail Crest and wait for my group at Trail Camp (which was great, by the way -- lovely place to hang out in the middle of the day).

Hope your foot lets you do a lot more of the trail, and do keep us posted!
—B²
User avatar
fishmonger
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1250
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:27 am
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Madison, WI
Contact:

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by fishmonger »

BSquared wrote:Go, Rosie! We bailed at Red's because of sore feet and inadequate conditioning

Dang, but I know how it goes when you are up there and you can't do what you had planned. We bailed at Whitney Portal after my daughter got sick and canceled the northbound part of our yo-yo. Don't know if we'll try again next year, but I'll definitely be out west again for some soft of adventure.

Rosie is now past Charlotte Lake - should be getting to Whitney in a day or two
User avatar
markskor
Founding Member - RIP
Posts: 2442
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 5:41 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Crowley Lake and Tuolumne Meadows

Re: "A Hike for Hope"... and 50-anniversary Whitney Hike!

Post by markskor »

From a link on WhitneyPortalStore.com, (page 5 now)...Looks like our Rosie is at Guitar Lake right now.
Should be back down by the weekend.
Good going Rosie!
Mountainman who swims with trout
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: ethoits, Harlen, jefffish and 121 guests