It gets light out at 5AM now. I know this because this morning I was woken up by the sound of Caveman urinating near my tent, and was surprised to be able to see my watch read 5:05AM. The piss drew on for too long, then started coming on in sheets. I had decided it probably wasn’t piss, but couldn’t understand what the naked clown needed with my hair. I opened my mouth and tilted my head back to get rid of the dream that was impeding my figuring out this sound. I rolled over to look out under the vestibule, I woke up, sorted out the source of the sound and shouted a surprised obscenity all simultaneously. Snow. It was snowing on us and I went to sleep last night like we were in the desert. Shoes poking out from under the fly, water left out under the stars, my camera left out too, I was lucky I had bothered to close my pack lastnight.
This morning it’s white out and I haven’t even pulled a zipper to find out. Piles of pellet snow line my front door and large clumps of it hold on to my guylines. The wind sounds white too. I am warm in my bag but I can now tell there are limits to it’s protection. I toss and turn and contemplate my wardrobe and the protection it can offer. Both pairs of gloves I decide before I fall back to sleep.
A few hours of sleep and snow pass and then a voice of a fellow thru-hiker comes to us like a god. Disembodied and cold sounding, “Dont get out, it’s crazy out here! I’ve got frost nip and ice all over my legs. If you find my body call somebody.” We layed in our tents in shock and awe, it was crazy in our tents, no kidding it was crazy out. As his foot steps pounded off into the wind we rolled over in our bags. No intention of walking anywhere today.
Our first day into the Sierras and we are already getting snowed into our tents and finding our water bladders frozen solid. The next 2,000 miles are going to be a little tougher for sure.
reading back…sounded like a sound guy.
our endless numbered days,
clayton