Day 54 : Crabtree Meadows

12th June 2013
Mile 743 to mile 766 : Somewhere near Chicken Spring Lake to Crabtree Meadows
Mileage : 23

The objective for the day was crabtree meadows at the Mt Whitney, which I'll be climbing  in the wee hours of inshallah. The idea being that be the end of today we would be in position for a sunrise ascent of Mt Whitney. The problem though was our relatively late start out from Kennedy Meadows. This was due to the fact that couple called the Eukers, who started the same day as us but whom we hadn't seen in 600 miles, we due into Kennedy Meadows in the evening of the day we were supposed to leave. While it was great ti see them, the late departure meant we didn't do as many miles as we should have done that first afternoon/evening. This in turn meant we've been playing catchup to try and get into position for Mt Whitney. Not an easy task at all. Mr Green realised he had a day's extra food and so could afford to take it slow and climb Mt Whitney 24 hours after the rest of us. For the rest of PRT this was not an option so we pushed on to Crabtree Meadows. Immediately prior to Crabtree Meadows was 1600ft climb that i was not looking forward to, but is amazing how 1200 calories can change your outlook on the day. Right before the climb i felt shattered, and was tempted to call it a day right there and climb Whitney with Mr Green and co, but the calories changed.everything. I raced up the climb in record time and before i knew it i was sitting with Pan and Dishcloth taking in the beautiful meadow, complete with its deer and marmots, and gazing up at Mt Whitney towering above us all. I arrived at Crabtree Meadows in the late afternoon thankful that i had finally arrived in the Sierra Nevada. I say that because most people consider the Sierra Nevada to start at Crabtree Meadows and not before. The preceeding 60 miles is sort of a transition zone from the low, hot, dry, deserty mountains into the real alpine wilderness of the Sierras. Infact, i saw cacti for the first 40 miles after Kennedy Meadows, and sometimes people even see rattlers so i was glad to be final 'there'. Crabtree meadows, and the other meadows the trail hits, are little tranquil oases midst the forests and bare mountain sides. Suffice to say they are simply stunning. I arrived there after a 23 mile day late in the afternoon and simply had to just stop and take it all in. The late afternoon is when the animals out to the meadows to feed, and today was no exception. I sat watching mule deer emerging from the forest and stand in the middle of meadows searching for that perfect piece of grass. They stand right in the middle of meadows, which can often be pretty big, in order that they have a 360 view around them, and thus cant be surprised by bears, mountain lions or hikers. The deer seemed totally relaxed around hikers, they clearly know we're not a threat, but i've read that they can be quite dangerous. Indeed I read somewhere that deer kill more people per year in the states than bears, as people try to feed them and then get slashed/boxed by deer whose hooves are honed razor sharp from the granite slabs of the mountains. Along with the mule deer the other most abundant animal is the marmot. The easiest way to describe a marmot is to say they are a very   fat ground squirrel with meerkat tendencies. They live amongst the boulders and emerge in the morning and evening standing up on their hind legs surveying the landscape. They, like the muledeer are totally unafraid of hikers but should not be approached as they can carry parasites and spread diseases if they bight you. From my basking spot in Crabtree Meadows I could see all the way up to the top of Mt Whitney, and decided there and then that I would climb in time to see tomorrows sunrise.

Mule deer in Crabtree Meadows

Mt Whitney from Crabtree Meadows, the peak is right above my head