ITTOG's Overlanding Trips

[ITTOG]

Eventually we had to start a steep descent. Look at all those switchbacks. The red marker is where the next picture was taken.






Shadow Lake






After Shadow Lake we had a 1,400 foot climb over 1.75 miles. We knew it was going to be tough given it was already a long day, about 9.5 miles and 2,225 feet of climb.

This creek flowing into Shadow Lake had a lot of little water falls.

 

[ITTOG]

After a while, we got into a small valley. This is looking back at some of the guys.




It wasn't tough, it was brutal. It felt like it wouldn't end. This topo shows the climb, it was very steep at the end, by the red marker.


After getting to the top, the red marker above, we saw the most beautiful sight of the day, which was Garnett lake. I am not sure how long we stayed at the top but it was a while and we enjoyed it.




But it was getting late, around 6:30 PM, so we had to descend to camp on the shore of Garnett Lake.


I guess we were tired because this is the only photo at camp this evening.


I jumped in the lake after unpacking. No one else braved the approximate 40 degree water.

We hiked 13. 2 miles and climbed 3,625 feet. We were on the trail for 8 hours and 35 minutes.

 

[ITTOG]

I was awake early and watched the sun rise. I was looking forward to seeing the sun because it was a cool morning. There was frost everywhere and water left out froze a bit. I washed my shirt last night and it was frozen stiff.

As we were packing up a fox ran through camp. it was only about 20 feet from us. It was going fast and about 45 second later it started barking like crazy. Not sure what was going on but I wish I could have seen what it was barking at/for. It was too fast to get a picture.

With the early wake up I watched the sun on the mountains at the far end of the lake. The reflection in the water was a nice addition to the beauty.


Eventually the sun was up but thankfully the water was still.


We got a late start and had a 1000' climb right off the bat.

The opposite end of the lake had a creek coming out but we didn't walk to the end to see where it went.


Okay, last picture of the lake. This is from the other side of the lake towards the same mountains with the sun coming up on them. Probably more pictures of the lake than needed but I feel it was worth adding.


At some point during the climb I noticed I was not sweating. I didn't question it too much because it was a cold morning and I felt fine.

Another lake with crystal clear water. There were so many lakes.


As we continued, I started feeling bad. I still was not sweating and felt that I should be. I surveyed the team and everyone else was sweating. I started to drink more water to hopefully improve my hydration.

We finished the climb and were all ready for a snack so the packs came off and we enjoyed the views.


We stopped for lunch at an overlook of two ponds. Pretty good view and a decent breeze. Unfortunately I am still not sweating and starting to overheat.


The views and changing landscape were amazing. By now it is clear I am dehydrated and suffering. I am unable to regulate my body temperature so a creek with cold water was very refreshing.

 

[ITTOG]

Unfortunately the cool feeling was short. At this time my mind was not 100%. I tried to just focus on getting to camp and drinking water. Fortunately I took some good pictures.










I am not sure when the hike ended but by then I was confused/disoriented, overheated, and exhausted. My urine was brown! Somehow, I pitched my tent and got in it and laid down. One of the guys filled my three liter bladder and I drink it trying to get hydrated. They made sure I had plenty of water and we estimated I had about four liters over the course of a couple hours. Unfortunately it didn't help too much.

One of the guys prepared my dehydrated meal for dinner. I was not able to eat all of it, which was the same as the previous meal, so I told the guys I was going to put it in my tent and eat it throughout the night. Fortunately they reminded me about bears so it was placed away from camp with our bear proof cannisters. This is just one example of my confusion. After eating I got back in my tent and didn't leave it unless I had to go to the bathroom, which happened a lot. It was so often it was unusual. It was a long night. I was very hot all night long so every time I got out of the tent to pee, I dipped a large rag into the creek and wiped all over me to cool down. I would put the rag on my head as I fell back to sleep.



We hiked 7.4 miles and climbed 1,313 feet. We were on the trail for 5 hours and 45 minutes. The total so far: 20.6 miles, 4,938', and 14 hours and 20 minutes. Thank God today was a short day.

Camp was at 10,060'.

 

[Kingsize24]

What an adventure!!!

Sounds like you got in a bad way up there. Did you recover well the next day? I've (knock on wood), been bad off before, but I don't believe I've been that bad. That would have freaked me out a bit I think. The sights are STUNNING however. And boy howdy y'all hiked a long way!

 

[Ozarker]

@ITTOG

Reminds me of Garmisch, the Matterhorn climb. (The setting for the Sound of Music, where; "the hills are alive with the sound of music".......)

 

[ITTOG]

@ITTOG

Reminds me of Garmisch, the Matterhorn climb. (The setting for the Sound of Music, where; "the hills are alive with the sound of music".......)

Are you referencing all the pictures or one in particular?

 

[Ozarker]

Are you referencing all the pictures or one in particular?

General area...

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Gotta watch it, at that point all the water on the world won’t help without some other stuff with it. In fact just chugging water once your urine is brown like that can make things worse. Like salt, At least the dehydrated stuff is high on sodium usually. Some Gatorade powder, ELMNT, Liquid IV, Drip Drop ( My favorite), Pedalyte, electrolyte mix;s, and some elevation changes will compound such things.

Can go a long way, and do not add much weight to a pack.



We got all the way up to 16k/ft in Peru. And staying hydrated made the difference, as well as staying in Cusco at 12k. for a week prior.