the __earthinc

Please read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 and part 8.

I moved on after having a much improvised lunch.

The Sun was getting more and more unbearable as the time passed by. Needless to say, the air was getting thinner and thus further reduced my lung capacity. I wished could just sit and take a very long nap instead of walking. However, I need to go on simply because it was the most beneficial option. Without food, the benefit of reaching my checkpoint, the Tuolumne Meadows was multiplied, causing it to have an exponential effect.

The journey to the top of the California Falls was tiring. The trail was tough to handle since rocks instead of sand made it up. I wonder how Leman could hike with only a pair of snickers; even with my toughened boots, blisters plagued me. Things seemed to be hopeless and hapless but I had no choice. I kept saying to myself that this will pass, like other unpleasant things in the past. This too will pass.

Despite feeling generally depressed, the wall of the mountains offered a great sight. I took the liberty of observing the wall expression and swore that I thought the mountains were smiling at me. I was bewildered and laughed for the first time in days. Looking at the sides of the canyon was really like looking at the clouds; you could see almost anything as long as you have a decent imagination.

After a light moment, I knew I was hallucinating. And generally, hallucinating beside a ledge of a trail, with one side falling down more than a hundred feet is not good. So, I garnered my concentration and stared at the mountains and unfortunately and humorously for my sanity, the mountains this time seemed to laugh even harder. Comforting enough, after a few minutes of tries, I assured myself that the mountains wall was just some unusual rock impression.

The sensation of seeing smiling rock wall had a positive effect on me and I began to believe Mother Nature was giving a hand. She played a trick on me but in doing so she lifted up my strength and spirit. She gave me hope by giving the impression things were not as grim as it would seem. For that, my love for her grows even more.

Hours into the day, I had finally outperformed myself. I was finally on top of cascade of falls. Dropping my backpack to the ground, I went to a boulder located in the middle of the river, overlooking the whole cascade of falls. The sheer height of the fall would have taken a life immediately out of a hypsiphobic. With a clenched fist, I smelled a scent that I haven’t smelled for years – victory.

I stood on the rock for a considerable amount of time, with the wind and the water vapor blasting against my face. There was just me, up high in the mountains overlooking the whole canyon down below. No wonder John Muir’s heart was broken when Hetch Hetchy was condemned in the name of progress.

At times, I wanted to jump, ending everything at that moment so no more will the excruciating pressure of life pressuring me. It takes courage to jump and frighteningly, I had the courage to make that jump. Luckily, I remembered a word of wisdom said to me a long time ago – it takes greater courage to live a life than to end it. In addition, there are just too many things need to be done. I concurred at the end that I need things to be done before I die.

I turned my back and only to be stunned by Gaia again. In front of me, the river was flowing towards me with a narrowly long, flat valley dwarfed by the Sierra Nevada in the background. The valley was not simply a valley. Conifer trees conquered both sides of the river. It was as if an elongated football field was present up high in the anything but flat mountainous area. The oddity equals to seeing a patch of green earth in the middle of the Antarctic.

I wonder why I didn’t notice the grand Sierra Nevada when I first reached the top but this was one of many reasons why I do not regret my decision to hike more than 50 miles with a 50 lbs burden on my back in California.

The sierra was beautiful beyond words. To try to describe it here would do great injustice and more, an insult to Mother Nature. But yet as Human, I can’t resist the temptation to describe such sight to friends later after the expedition. She was terribly beautiful and if she were the fairer sex, I would strip myself of my entire ego, fall to my knee, begging for her love.

Farther up front, about an hour worth of walk, Glen Aulin was in sight.

To my delight, there was a small sign indicating my goal, the Tuolumne Meadows was just over five miles away. Yet, the length doesn’t describe the true dimension of the path that I needed to take. Hundreds of feet needed to be swallowed to accomplish the five miles.

If I was given the chance, I would camp at Glen Aulin, be in the small grove in the petite valley. Alas, time was not my ally. I need to hike as much as I could if I were to catch up with Epol and Leman. Though it was merely a hunch, I believed that Epol and Leman should be waiting for me at the Meadows. I was betting on luck but my bet was a calculated one. True enough, as it turned out later, it wasn’t vainly made.
The Sun was setting when I was somewhere near the heart of Glen Aulin; the sky was turning red as the white moon rose to claim the heavenly throne. Yet, I headed on, struggling for the Meadows.

The thought of food, clean water, hot shower and all made me to ride on a faster pace. I hiked until it was dark and cold. Exhausted and hungry, I finally had to give up the game of catching up and camped. Up high, the wind was merciless, blowing as strong as a storm, giving me a hard time putting the tent up.

Once that done, quickly I changed my clothes and engulfed myself in the sleeping bag, hoping the mighty wind won’t be able to undo the tent, hoping that all this will pass swiftly, hoping no bear will come to my path.