Mt. McKinley (2011) - Day 05

Cache at 10,000

09:00 - We woke up gradually this morning. The inside of the tent was coated with a fair bit of ice, but my hand crafted sleeping bag cover kept the moisture out.

Wes cooked up butter-toasted, cheese-covered bagels for breakfast. They were delicious but ultimately inadequate and we supplemented them with some cinnamon rolls. Mmm.

12:00 - All packed up, we hauled everything we wouldn't need in the next day up the mountain towards Camp 3 (11,200 feet), but ended up stopping at 10k when Pierre and the other Frenchman we rode with from Anchorage waved us down. We talked, and decided to make a cache right there. I listened to This American Life the entire time. It really helped the time pass.

There was a German couple (the same couple who set up their tent in my freshly dug kitchen) who stopped at 10,000' at the same time and the lady proceeded to start puking. Not a good sign. We're hoping they don't decide to push on to 11k. That'd be stupid.

19:30 - Back at Camp 1 it was still warm out, and not even the slightest breeze to disrupt that warmth. We got stuff drying out and Wes commenced with replenishing our water. I noticed a new group in camp with four Trango tents and a cook tent - distinctives of an RMI team - but they turned out to be Mountain Trips.

20:00 - The weather report indicates more good weather tomorrow and clouds on Saturday. So far, Lisa's weather reports haven't particularly jived with reality. We are considering the implications of moving past our cache, up to Camp 3 tomorrow, and then getting stuck there in bad weather. We have enough snacks to be content for two days, maybe, and also a pound of cheese. We might just stop at 10k. We'll see.

Time for the pre-bed trip to the pee hole.