Whtney in '95

I'm still putting together the daily blogs -- the journal, if you will -- from the trip to Mount Mendel. I'm trying to put them in the logical order and parenthetically fill in the gaps that my elevation-addled mind left out.

Meanwhile, I found photos of our '95 excursion to Mount Whitney. I had never slept above 12,000 feet until then.

I took the photo above after we cleared the ice field above Trail Camp. I don't know if the ice is still there or not. Haven't been back since.

But I do remember how it felt at 14,997 feet. Cool and breathless. Incredible views on both sides. I kept my down jacket with me the whole way and it was late August.

I couldn't make my usual stupid remark -- where's the Starbucks -- when we reached the top. I was Starbucks illiterate at that point. There were something like 680 Starbucks locations at the time, none of them in places I frequented.

Now they're getting ready to close down my favorite Starbucks, and I'm thinking about going back to Whitney.