Caleb hit me up on instagram, after seeing that Matt and I hiked the White Mountain Traverse. Him and a friend did it in a single push, so I knew he would be up for a big day. I had a few spare days before a planned backpacking trip with some friends from the PCT. We discussed what peaks we both wanted to try, and finally settled on Merriam and Royce. I had climbed one of the two a few years back with some friends from high school, but wanted to go back to climb the other.
He picked me up in Bishop after he got off work and we headed out to Pine Creek, setting our alarms for a pre-dawn start. I slept soundly, cradled by the warm desert air and scents of sagebrush after many nights in the alpine. Caleb mentioned that he did not sleep well, but I didn’t think much of it. I set a blistering pace up the switchbacks out of Pine Creek. It was my first time hiking with Caleb and I didn’t want to slow him down. He mentioned he could do with a faster pace, but I told him this was as fast as I was comfortable going. Caleb was in ultramarathon shape, and clearly in better shape then I.
We made incredible time and soon were in Granite Park, with Merriam and Royce towering above us. The beautiful vista filled me with energy and we charge on up the mountain. There was more snow in late September then there was in June 2021 when I was last here. We picked out way around the lingering snow, and climbed up through some third and 4th class terrain to take a shortcut towards the first summit. Caleb is a real climber, so this was not an issue for him, but it gave me pause. We were separated for a while, but finally found eachother on the ridge a few hundred feet from the summit. I entered a trancelike state and climbed upwards quickly reaching the summit. As I took in the panoramic alpine views, I wondered what had happened to Caleb. He was right behind me with only a few hundred vertical feet to go to the summit. After 10-15 minutes, I knew something was wrong, so I descended back in his direction. Luckily I found him and he was ok, just winded from the thin mountain air. I had been in the mountains for weeks, and altitude sickness was a faint memory, something that should have crossed my mind but did not.
He decided against pushing for the summit, and we descended back to the airy col separating the two peaks. After checking with him several times, we agreed that he would rest there while I quickly tagged the other summit. His altitude sickness was still in its early stages, and he felt that it would be good for him to expose himself to the thinner air for a bit longer. I quickly tagged the other summit, feeling guilty for leaving Caleb behind. We began to descend and he quickly regained form. As we got to the trail, I jogged with him for a bit, but could not keep up, and he ended up getting back to the car almost an hour before me. It was a bit chaotic, but I had a great trip with Caleb, he is a very strong athlete, and I hope we can get some more hiking in some day. I will certainly have some training to do if I am to keep up with him at low elevations, and likewise he has some work to do if he wants to join me for another adventure in the high alpine.
Anthony Ottati 