Pam has been powering through the miles this past week.  She accelerated her pace last week in order to meet up with her resupply team, then never let off the gas.  That really comes as no surprise to anyone who knows her.

As a result, on the strength of a 12 mile day today, tonight is Pam’s last night under the stars.  She is camped at Guitar Lake, which is situated just before the first steep climb to the Mount Whitney summit.

Rising 14,505 feet above sea level, Mount Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous United States.  The summit is a little more than 5 miles in distance and 4,000 feet in elevation from Guitar Lake.  For those in the East Bay, it is roughly the equivalent of hiking to the top of Mt. Diablo in terms of elevation gain.  Once she summits, it will be another 10.6 miles to Whitney Portal, with more than 6,000 feet of descending.  I will be waiting for her at trail’s end.

Statistics:  In less than three weeks, Pam hiked 220 miles from Tuolumne Meadows to Whitney Portal, climbing a cumulative 60,597 feet.  We are all very proud of her and cannot wait to hear her stories.