The world is in full lockdown......... Millions of people infected with mysterious new virus ......... Mass confusion and failures of world leaders everywhere. No one has any answers but everyone cannot stop talking .........

Must escape people and the news ........

Headed to Sierra Nevada to climb the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states of America ~ Mount Whitney lies in Sequoia National Park and stands 14494 feet tall .....

We started trekking at 4am in full darkness with headlamps. After seeing a black bear come within 3 feet of us at the camp site we hiked in full silence. The first few hours we hit the trail in total darkness switchbacking upwards. I could tell everyone was thinking about bears and mountain lions but it was so quiet up there.

The sun slowly rose and everything opened up. The landscape was mindblowing in every direction. The heat from the sun was magical also

We hiked up through so many different lands . Perfect valleys surrounded by the most dramatic peaks. Everything looked like an old western oil painting !!!

Sherpa SteveLee. We carry water purification systems on this hike and use the mountain rivers to filter all our drinking and cooking water. Water is a main weight factor for backpacking at these heights ........

Switchback after switchback ......... Endless.

We trekked way up beyond the tree line into an almost alien world ........ Slowly working our way up to avoid altitude sickness ..........

I love this shit so much.