A love letter to the Sierras

[Hobbes]

Every now & then I come across what I think is an excellent report/description of hiking in the High Sierra. Since 2017 was an extremely high snow year, the experiences of those who traveled early season will be forever remembered for the excitement and challenges. Here's one person's impressions, written as a love letter:

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My dearest Sierras,

About a year ago when I decided to hike the entirety of the PCT I was most excited to see you. Your steep passes, deep alpine lakes, and tree lined valleys excited me more than any other part of the trail. I yearned for a chance to play in your mountains for a few weeks and couldn’t wait for a year to pass for me to do so.
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Eventually the day came though. I had made it to Kennedy Meadows and was standing on your door step. Fear was interlaced in everyone’s talk: too much snow in the passes, impassable river crossings, 3am wake up calls, wet frozen shoes… The majority of hikers who had already started into your midst had bailed due to your harshness and yet something pushed me on. Maybe I like a challenge, maybe I hadn’t been hit by your cunning ways, but something gave me hope that you would let me through.
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I’ll admit you almost had me after that. Even after the success of climbing up my first snow wall to crest your steep slopes of Forester Pass, I was contemplating a failed relationship. Hiking down Kearsarge Pass to get into town I was wondering how in the world would I build up the mental strength to come back into your wild terrain. I considered it even further after two dear friends decided they weren’t going back, but something didn’t feel quite right. I wasn’t ready to let you win, to say I’m done: occasionally you need to fight for want you want, especially in a relationship.
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The next 8 days were a blur of excitement, nauseous nerves, and strenuous physical and mental work. My mindset had gone from counting the miles to making it over the next pass. No more were the days of clear easy trail walking in the desert. Your late snow melt made it a constant mental game of “Find the Trail” which we more or less succeeded at. From precariously pearching on suncups to full out glissading down snowy descents you had me wrapped up in every crevasse, cliff edge and cavern. You threw at me steep climbs and long strenuous snow fields but you always rewarded. The view of frozen over Rae Lakes at the top of Glen Pass and the sight of Kings Canyon and the waterfall flooded Golden Staircase are sights I will never be able to remove from my mind.
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So although you took some of my gear, my blood, my sweat, and my tears and as much as I bitched at you and groaned and moaned know you have also, forever, taken a piece of my heart and for that I will forever be thankful.

https://onemoremileweb.wordpress.com/20 ... e-sierras/