Well, I realized I never blogged about the last hike. I was so excited getting ready for it. We were going to be hiking San Gorgonio and I would have a good experience somewhat closer to hiking Whitney than any of our other hikes. However, as I arrived at my hiking group's meet-up spot, I hear they forgot to get the permit so we had to change our location. Then they change the location to Fishbowls which is basically not an alpine hike but a very hot weather hike. My gear is all incorrect. To top it off, most of my gear was borrowed and although I left anything I might not need in the car, my backpack still weighed 10 pounds more than anyone and i was the one with the least experience.
So we drive over the Fishbowls trail head, which was still 1.5 to 2 hours away from home. We hike up the trail and believe me it was hard. I was not the slowest hiker there, but I was consistently the second to last hiker. I was steady and no injuries. My ankle felt fine. I did great at hydrating, much better than on previous hikes. the views were beautiful. Everything was great until we reached the summit and discovered....
We took the wrong trail and were miles away from our target. And the trail we took was one way without water and since one of our fearless leaders was out of water, we had no choice but to turn around and hike all day back to car. Our options were to camp out by the cars and then plan a different hike for the next day or give up and return home. They chose home and i was glad at that point. As I hiked the miles down to the cars, I had much time to think.
My thoughts eventually led me to realize that although my hiking group's leaders thought they had great experience, they were actually not so great in leadership. They are not particularly helpful or tactful. This was my second hike with them and neither hike had went well. The planning left a lot to be desired. How could they not know we were on the wrong trail when they claimed they had hiked it before and had a map and gps??? Did I want to follow these people on a more dangerous hike up Whitney? And finally, where was the fun? The hiking and planning for Whitney had begun to be stressful instead of fun. Why was i doing this if I was not having any fun?
So sadly, I have decided not to hike Whitney this year. I still plan to do it, but not with this group. i will find a better group for me and apply for a permit next year perhaps. I feel regret over not conquering Whitney, but no regrets over my decision, just relief!
So we drive over the Fishbowls trail head, which was still 1.5 to 2 hours away from home. We hike up the trail and believe me it was hard. I was not the slowest hiker there, but I was consistently the second to last hiker. I was steady and no injuries. My ankle felt fine. I did great at hydrating, much better than on previous hikes. the views were beautiful. Everything was great until we reached the summit and discovered....
We took the wrong trail and were miles away from our target. And the trail we took was one way without water and since one of our fearless leaders was out of water, we had no choice but to turn around and hike all day back to car. Our options were to camp out by the cars and then plan a different hike for the next day or give up and return home. They chose home and i was glad at that point. As I hiked the miles down to the cars, I had much time to think.
My thoughts eventually led me to realize that although my hiking group's leaders thought they had great experience, they were actually not so great in leadership. They are not particularly helpful or tactful. This was my second hike with them and neither hike had went well. The planning left a lot to be desired. How could they not know we were on the wrong trail when they claimed they had hiked it before and had a map and gps??? Did I want to follow these people on a more dangerous hike up Whitney? And finally, where was the fun? The hiking and planning for Whitney had begun to be stressful instead of fun. Why was i doing this if I was not having any fun?
So sadly, I have decided not to hike Whitney this year. I still plan to do it, but not with this group. i will find a better group for me and apply for a permit next year perhaps. I feel regret over not conquering Whitney, but no regrets over my decision, just relief!
So this is the sign that helped my fearless leaders
figure out we were on the wrong darn trail!!!!
