3/25/07 Ok, so you've done Telescope Peak from Shortys Well. Surely that's the hardest way to do Telescope Peak -- or is it? Having done that hike a couple years ago (and returning all the way back down) I've had time to dream up something even more challenging (like that was really necessary). Having contemplated numerous possible loop hikes in the Panamint range I finally settled on Ballarat as a starting point. My primary goal was to tag Porter and Sentinal; two DPS peaks I had yet to summit. Dayhiking these two alone would be quite a challenge but likely within my ability. But then could I add on Telescope too? From Ballarat to Porter Peak involves 8000 feet of elevation gain just for that one peak. From that point it would be a long ridge traverse from Porter to Sentinal and finally Telescope. And then what about the return? Starting time: 4:07am. I parked at the Ballarat visitor center. I decided it might be wise to take more water than usual and so I packed 2 liters. In the dark I hiked up Pleasant Canyon. The 4wd road often shares it's route with the watercourse which was a bit annoying. I did my best to keep my non waterproof boots dry. At Mormon Camp I left the road and took a direct route up the SW ridge to the summit of Porter Peak and topped out at 10:21am. Here I saw Matthew Holliman's entry in the summit register from just 2 weeks earlier. He had tagged Sentinal and Porter via Surprise Canyon. I amused myself with his comment that these two were "tougher than expected". What was I getting myself into? Most of the way from Porter to Sentinal was pretty trivial until just before Sentinal where it gets pretty steep (and loose). Unfortunately this climb up a scree slope was just a taste of what was yet to come. I reached the summit of Sentinal Peak at 12:50pm. So far so good. At this point I had a bail-out option. I could descend back down to Ballarat via Happy Canyon or Surprise Canyon. To this point everything had gone well and I felt good. No reason to bail at this point so I continued on. Beyond Sentinal things got more challenging. First you must descend over 1500 feet to Panamint Pass and the terrain quickly becomes far less enjoyable. On the way down to the pass I descended somewhat on the north side of the ridge and ended up on a dreadful scree slope. I finally made it to the pass but from here on out the ridge put up a never ending set of obstacles. It's not that it was technical, just that there was a substantial amount of brush and pine along with lots of rock (with no shortage of scree). Wisely perhaps I had held my speed down to preserve energy and I was certainly using up that reserve now. There was still a lot of work to do and progress on the ridge was slow. After hours of hard work I finally had the summit in sight (or did I?). Something in the back of my mind told me not to get my hopes up. Indeed, it was a false summit. When I finally saw the true summit my mouth dropped. I could hardly believe how much further away it still was. This was definitely harder than I had expected but then I've learned to set my expectations pretty low. At this point I realized I might not even reach the summit of Telescope before sunset. This became my new goal. Onward and upward. The ridge put up a fight till the end as I struggled up its frequently serrated edge. Perhaps fitting I reached the summit just as the sun was setting. I think this is the first time I've ever dayhiked a peak where I started well before sunrise and only reached the summit at sunset. It was 7:03pm. It had taken nearly 15 hours to get here and my day was far from over. I quickly signed the register and made a cell-phone call. On top it was getting windy and cold. Fortunately there was little snow. In dimming light I began my descent. Which way you might wonder? My vehicle is parked at Ballarat afterall. As per my diabolical plan I headed further away from my vehicle by hiking down the normal Telescope Peak trail. At 9:02pm I reached the trailhead at Mahogany Flat. From here I continued on down the road to the Charcoal Kilns (arriving at 9:29pm). I didn't even stop there. At this point I had hiked just over 30 miles with somewhere between 13,000 and 15,000 feet of elevation gain. Time for a car shuttle back to Ballarat right? Ummm, no. I had one more task left to perform. The day before I had cached my mountain bike near the Charcoal Kilns. Thus would begin the final leg of this journey: a 31 mile mountain bike ride back to Ballarat. At this point I was a bit annoyed I hadn't cached the bike up at Mahogany Flat. I hadn't even cached it at the kilns but rather one mile lower just in case I could add on Wildrose Peak as a bonus (no bonus today). I finally reached my bike at 9:43pm. At precisely 10pm I began the ride back to Ballarat. Though mostly downhill this didn't prove to be quite as enjoyable as I had hoped. My headlamp, a 1watt LED, didn't provide quite the illumination I needed for rapid downhill speed. Given that there were quite a few rough places on the road with some good potholes my speed was unfortunately limited. The worst part is that I had to maintain nearly constant break pressure for at least 90 minutes. I had to stop occaisionally just to rest my hands. Finally after many miles and a descent through Wildrose Canyon I was down to the highway on the desert floor. For awhile the road was level and I was happy to finally be pedalling (my legs were getting stiff). It was now after midnight and I wondered what people might think if they could see me in the middle of the desert riding down the highway on a mountain bike miles away from anything at all. The whole time from the kilns back to Ballarat I saw only 2 vehicles. One actually stopped to ask me for directions. I was actually kinda hoping for the "what the hell are you doing out here" response. The last 10 miles or so included an unexpected increase in grade. Although it was only slight, combined with a strong headwind, it definitely was tiring me out. Of all the directions the wind could be blowing it had to be a perfectly aligned headwind. I thought I would never reach the turnoff to Ballarat. Funny how this section of highway seems much shorter when you're driving down it at 85 mph. I was barely averaging 10 mph. When I finally reached the Ballarat road I knew the end was near. Another 30 long minutes later and I was done. After 3.5 hours on the bike my round-trip journey finally came to an end. It was now 1:30am. I had succeeded in finishing the journey in under 24 hours. Total time was 21 hours 23 minutes. Total distance was about 31 miles on foot (with at least 13,000 feet elevation gain), and 31 miles on bike. As I meant it to be this was quite a personal challenge and was one of the most strenuous days I've ever had. ---- I got about 5 hours of sleep before I started the hike and less afterward. I drove partway home but stopped a little after 3am because I knew I wouldn't make it much further. I then slept for about 3.5 hours before continuing home. Got to work a little before 10am (just 2 hours late). ---- I brought more snacks and stuff than usual but brought much of it back. The best thing I took with me was a turkey sandwich on focaccia bread. My food and snacks included: Turkey Sandwich 3 packs of PowerBar Gel (downed them all) Grapes (ate all - should have brought more) Banana Chips (ate some) Dried Peaches (didn't like these that much) Gummy Bears (ate half a bag) Dried fruit roll 1 can Sobe No Fear energy drink Trail Mix (ate a few handfuls) Toward the later part of the day I didn't feel like eating much -- or rather I didn't feel like eating much of what I had. My feet didn't really get sore. I wore a brand new pair of boots too. No problems. I've found a cheap brand that works for me. The Nevadas Kaibab at Big 5. Cheap boots, don't last long, but for $20 (on sale) they do the job. I size them big enough for 2 pair of socks and that seems to do the trick. On my way down the Telescope Peak trail I was contemplating whether I would be able to make the bike ride back. I was definitely considering spending the night at the kilns but I purposely didn't cache any bivy gear so that I would be less inclined to do so. In the end I felt quite a bit better than expected and wanted to at least ride the bike down to a lower elevation where it was warmer. Along with the bike I cached the typical bike stuff: extra tube, helmet, bike tool, pump, bike gloves, extra shoes, additional water, more snacks (none of which I ate), and stuff sack. I have to admit I was a wee bit tired at work. I was fine till just after lunch. I still hadn't eaten anything since the day before (no time for dinner or breakfast). I ate a big lunch (an all you can eat buffet) and after that it was a bit of a struggle to concentrate on programming.