”Mind says, ”Giddy up”, body says, ”Seriously?!?!?!”
~Rockin’
June 2
Horseshoe Meadow to Little Whitney Meadow – 17.5 miles
After driving to the Horseshoe Meadow trailhead, we got an 8:30 am start on our first day of the Theodore Solomons Trail. Today’s hike was gentle on trail up and over Cottonwood Pass and then an all day gradual descent down through Big Whitney Meadow and along Golden Trout Creek to Little Whitney Meadow. The trail is well defined with open meadows and foxtail pines. I love this environment. It is where I regain my strength and sanity. Nature’s bounty…
My husband, Dan joined us on today’s hike and will hike back to the trailhead tomorrow morning. The 3 of us talked and laughed a lot today. Dan even hauled in wine for us to celebrate. A major perk at the end of the first day of long hike, wouldn’t you say?
Looks like a beautiful 1st day ( I like your hiking shoes-ha)
I image you are talking about my very minimalist camp shoe. Ya, not such a good choice for a hiking shoe back-up. Luckily, I haven’t had that situation for a number of years since hiking in trail runners! Thank you for following along.
Thanks Mario!
Jealous. Wish I was out on the trail instead of here. Mine will come soon though. Hope this trail is a great success.
Thanks Warren. Yours is coming soon. Hang in there.
Watch our for rattlesnakes! Maybe it’s too high for them but I hear on the news this weather has brought out lots of rattlesnakes.
You are so right. I have heard of so many people seeing rattlers. We are in the environment and the temps are just right for them.
Awesome photos and looking forward to following along – thanks for sharing!
Kudos to your husband! There is always time for wine!
Question: how did you make that awesome elevation profile?
Dan, the elevation profiles are coming from my annotated maps on Avenza, which as Christy mentioned in her first post she is using on this trip. Just to make sure folks are “reading” the profiles correctly, since Christy and “Arrow” are traveling NoBo, the profile should be “scanned” from right to left. (Notice red numbers / mile markers at the bottom). I made the shape of the profile using caltopo but I traced with Adobe Illiustrator for a more “professional” look.
Thank you for your attention to detail Mario. What is funny is on this trip, just stopped looking every day at the enormous elevation gain and loss. It was just too discouraging. Big swings up and down.
Sounds like a great start to me, especially with the reward of wine and a sweet hubby who will pack it in!
I recommend this on all trips. 🙂 The first day of a backpacking trip can be tough.
Cheers to laughter and a good husband who will haul the wine!
I second that!