JULY 1997
by Tom

Day 1 gets off to a promising start, as everyone arrives at BerrisBob's house more or less on time. The gang sets off on the presumed 5 1/2 hour drive to the mountain, which unfortunately ends up taking about 7 1/2 hours instead. We have arranged to have a shuttle bus take us from Whitney Portal (our hiking destination), to Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead (our starting point), and we're charged an extra $30 for being an hour late. Such is life. Late but enthusiastic, we throw the packs on and hit the trail. What follows is Tom's account of the first day's events. (Intro by BerrisBob)

Why are these guys smiling? Embarassment! This is the permit which was safely tucked away in Phil's briefcase, lying in Phil's living room, in his safe suburban hamlet of Concord. Unfortunately this fact was only learned after an hour on the road. Hey, it could have happened to anyone.		 This is a close-up of the forgotten permit. Safely in the hands of Phil, our designated driver and all- around forgetful good guy. Hey he's got a lot on his mind! Notice that this permit isn't signed. This would later cause serious problems with a pistol packin' ranger.


OK! We made it... launch time! Shortly after lunch time- well actually dinner time- but lunch sounds catchier when placed in the same sentence with launch as opposed to dinner, I digress. Speaking of lunch, Phil wouldn't order my burger without catsup at the Carl's Jr. drive through. I begged him but he said it was too much trouble. I had planned to kill him on the trail - alone, with malice and intent - nice and easy - no witnesses: a slippery rock, a long fall... It could happen to anyone. Luckily Carl's doesn't put catsup on their burgers.


Where are we?

The trail splits here, to the left continuing on to New Army Pass, and straight ahead to Cottonwood Lakes, our camp destination for tonight.
Happy campers! Barry, Cesar, and Phil (left to right) looking tired after two hours of hiking covering 3000 vertical feet. Notice that BerrisBob is not in the picture. He was busy yakking, hurling, throwing up from altitude sickness. He didn't stop barfing, so we left him on his own. He showed up at the van three days later mumbling about a religious experience or visions or something. We tied him up and threw him in the van for the seven hour drive home. He still speaks to us.


After a hectic day it's nice to rest in your own tent at a beautiful camp set up high in the beautiful Southern Sierras.
The cloud cover that earlier had threatened rain now rewards our effort with a dazzling array of colors in this spectacular sunset display at Cottonwood Lakes.


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