Day 50
July 9, 2000

Aruba, Jamaica, Palasades Lakes: Jct. to Bench Lake to ridge above Middle Fork of the Kings River

Scott lounges at the top
of Mather Pass. Oooh,
baby...Look at those
legs.

Scott and the Palasades.
(Sounds like a singing group.)

Amy looks south, back
to Pinchot Pass. Wow!

Strolling alongside the
Palasades Lakes.

Can you believe, I've
just said something
mean and nasty before
this was taken? But,
Amy, you look so
sweet!

The next morning, it was time for Mather Pass and I was really tired. As beautiful as the mountains were, the fact was sinking in that the only way out is to keep hiking north, as no roads cross the mountains for 200 miles. As I stood looking up at the peaks, I felt both set free by the vast open spaces around me and constricted by sense of being hemmed in by the mountains.

On the way up, we met Jim, who was hiking the JMT for the 8th time. He was a fascinating man who also climbs mountains and told one hair-raising story about a fall he took down Mt. McKinley where he was barely able to arrest his fall before tumbling into a crevasse. Good grief! He gave us more news of snowy Muir Pass and passed on some good climbing tips. He also brought news of a naughty bear between Mather and Muir passes. This bear had bit through his fuel canister, mistaking it for a can. Luckily, another hiker had a spare bottle. [This never would have happened if he had all the extra storage space an URSACK provides -Scott]

Once over the summit, we came upon the beautiful Palisades Lakes. I would have liked to have spent more time there-their waters were crystal clear and aquamarine and looked like they belonged in the Caribbean. Then, it was down the golden staircase-hell coming up or going down--but provided imposing views of the Citadel. The 3-mile "staircase" was the last part of the JMT constructed and had to be carved into the cliffs.

After descending the staircase, I began to itch. I took off my windpants to discover that I had developed a rash all over my thighs. Scott noticed he had too. It looked similar to Poison Oak, but we hadn't been around Poison Oak for at least 10 days and hadn't seen any for longer than that. We didn't think Poison Oak had that long of an incubation period. (I have since heard that in does) We thought about Ethan et. al. and wondered if we had all been affected by something similar-maybe Purple Poodle Dog Bush after all. I had been wearing my windpants since before Lone Pine, so it had to have been prior to that. Well, regardless, our legs were covered in creeping crud.

As we were once again, eye-wateringly stinky, I wondered if the rash stemmed from some sort of hygiene problem or, worse yet, an allergic reaction from eating corn nuts for 50 days straight.

We hiked down deep into the canyon and camped and itched all night in our bags. (Don't you wish you were here?)

Back Outta here Next