Narration Essay

I was not all that tall growing up. I was right at five feet tall and about one hundred pounds light. So if you are picturing a big ol’ son of a gun, you would be one hundred percent wrong. Growing up I was in Boy Scouts, just like a lot of kids my age were. This story would end up being my last year in Boy Scouts.

I remember my Scout Master telling his stories of Mt. Whitney. Camping at Mt. Whitney was something he did when he was much younger. I can’t really remember how it came about, but some how I told him that I wanted to go up and over Mt. Whitney. This would end up being a summer I would never forget.

The Scout Master did all the planning. The trip was going to be over sixty miles long and take place over one week. The first time my young ears heard that information my jaw must have dropped down to the floor. How on Earth was I ever going to make it that far? I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We would have to cover over sixty miles of just hiking in the mountains. Oh, this is not just hiking. No sir. This is backpacking, meaning that I had to carry all my stuff on my back. The total weight of my backpack ended up being around 45 pounds or about half my body weight.

We ended up taking the High Sierra Trail from Grant Forest to the Summit of Mount Whitney. You might not think that it would be that bad, heck that is only ten miles a day. One day we were only able to cover four miles. On top of that we got done a day early. We ended up going twelve plus miles that day. I really remember that last day very well.

Mount Whitney may have been the goal and the highest point in the lower 48, but it did not have the best view. That title would go to Colby Pass. It is located right between the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. It is only around 13,000 feet above sea level. I remember walking up to the peak and having the horizon go from twenty feet in front of me to the other side of a huge valley. There were green trees and running water. This was only the half way point in our journey.

We set up camp around 12,000 feet. To the east is a mountain ridge that seems to go straight up and where ever you look you just see rocks no trees are any where in sight. While looking around, you end up thinking just how on Earth are you going to go up all that. In that ridge, to the north east, is what we made it all this way for. The top of Mount Whitney is over 14,400 feet above sea level. The Whitney Portal, where are trip ends is around 8,360 feet above sea level. So that is up 2,000 feet then back down 6,000 feet.