Portrait 11: Captain Ahab

My time with Captain Ahab is an excellent summary of what it is to thru hike. Ahab severely sprained his ankle in the Sierra. That’s not a good place to be injured. For context, check out the photo. That man is standing on top of Mather Pass, which he climbed with one ankle the size of a large cantaloupe. We were four days from the nearest town. There was no one except us for miles and miles.

We left town as a group of about ten. I was the only one carrying extra calories, so I stayed with Ahab. We averaged under five miles per day. But there’s a bright silver lining: if there’s any place in the world to go slow and soak up the scenery, it’s the high Sierra.

One day we were sitting and having lunch in a meadow. A pristine, clear stream ran parallel to the trail. There was a waterfall about 15 yards away. Ahab was resting by the stream and letting the fresh snowmelt run over his swollen ankle. I found a rock to sit on near the waterfall, just far enough away that I could barely feel the mist. We sat there for at least an hour without speaking a single word. It was the most wonderful lunch I’ve ever had. He and I only hiked together for about a week. I’ll remember him for the rest of my life.