Unnamed Lake

by Alan Socolik

Title

Unnamed Lake

Artist

Alan Socolik

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

I am an avid hiker, and prepared for weeks for my Mt. Whitney climb. A limited number of hikers are allowed on the mountain on a daily basis - permits are required.
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We were on the trail at 4:30am, with headlamps attached to our hats. Later in the day, at approximately 11,000 ft. elevation, this wonderful scene caught my eye. It captures the vastness of this amazing wilderness area and the solitude experienced while hiking there. Fortunately, my hiking companion waited while I took this shot.
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As we got closer to the summit, it got very cold and we encountered a hail storm. My hiking companion wanted to turn back but we agreed that we were so close to the summit, it would be a shame to give up. So we continued on, despite the inclement (and potentially dangerous) weather. When we reached the summit, the hail stopped and we had a remarkable view of the amazing landscape surrounding the summit.
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During the hike down, about 1/3 of the way down, I experienced excruciating pain in my back! My companion switched backpacks with me (his was lighter) and encouraged me to continue so that we would be off the mountain before sunset. The trail was hard to follow in daylight - we did not want to have to attempt it after dark. Fortunately, despite my back problem, we were off the mountain before dark.
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The entire hike took 15-1/2 hours.
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Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The west slope of the mountain is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the south end of the John Muir Trail which runs 211.9 mi (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The east slope is in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County. We began our hike at the Lone Pine portal.

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October 28th, 2012

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