Going into the 30 mile hike we thought... "we got this, let's shoot for 10 hours, I can do 3 miles per hour no problemo.".. Funk compromised with, "I'll be happy with 12."
8 hours into the hike, and having only covered 10 miles or so... we came to a very tough decision to turn around.
Here we are leaving the car at 4:20 am...
And the summit. This building is part of the White Mountain Research Station... we felt OK here, and had no doubt that we'd make it across even though I had to double back to pick up my Spot beacon that had fallen off and lost a good hour or more.
http://www.wmrs.edu/aboutWMRS.htm
Then we encountered the ridge, scree, and things started slowing down drastically... and had to turn around at noon.
And even though we didn't make it, in many respects it was far from a wasted trip. It was quite a learning experience for me. Learning our limits, what we should have done, what we could do next time, etc. Also, we did summit the 3rd highest peak in California... my 8th 14er, putting me over the half way mark in climbing all 15. Previously, I have summited Shasta, Whitney, Thunderbolt, Starlight, Polemonium, North Palisade, and Sill. And the wildlife was super up yonder. Big horn sheep, marmots, red tail hawks, great horned owls, and a bunch of tiny rodents.
After our 16 hour ordeal (4:20 am to 8:20 pm)... we drove through Bishop to grab some food and to soak at some hot springs. This was our second soak the morning after.
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