#4 Bernie San(ders)

The day I picked turned out to be the hottest day of the summer so far. That scared a lot of people off and it was a slow day. I only had the permit for that day and a schedule to keep for my Mt. Whitney training (3 weeks out!). So I decided to load up with water, 5 L and go early, hitting the trail at 5:30am which meant leaving my house at 4am with very little sleep. I can never sleep well when i know i have to get up early! I lucked out with the heat wave because at that elevation and that early in the morning it was fine going up. On the way down I was hit with a thunder/hail storm and then on and off rain which was kind of nice. It cooled me off and wasn’t so bad that I had to stop and wait or it to pass. This is a beautiful trail and mountain. The altitude gain is somewhat gradual so it wasn’t that bad for the miles my feet and legs had to take.