A meeting with the rocks

I had double hernia surgery Oct 17th, two days after hiking Mt Whitney. And because of the anesthesia I felt zero soreness and it was if I never hiked it in my body. I never really knew how important that soreness was until after today. It was my 1st big hike since the monster tof My Whitney and my surgery and I probably should have chosen  a shorter hike, but my body responded super well. I saw knowone until 3+ hours into the hike and loved the solitude 10 fold. Conditions were great and my body felt very strong. My fav is staring at 4:30am and hearing water flowing in darkness, knowing I get to see inside the mystery on the way out. And no matter how many times I experience this, it’s always magical. I normally don’t start hiking for the year until the spring, but decided it was important to have snow gear so that’s safety is not an issue and seeing the mountains when most won’t means a great deal. I started at 4:40 and finished at 11 and can honestly say that despite of the multitude of rocks this trail presents it’s always a ball buster! But today I slayed the dragon????