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hogwartsmysteryho · 3 years

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Hot Chocolate with Cinnamon

an adaption of the side plot of this episode of H2O: Just Add Water because i thought it kind of fit with these kids. repeat, this is not an original plot line, it is 100% based off of that episode. Ethel belongs to the wonderful @the-al-chemist and Selene belongs to the extraordinary @lifeofkaze, both of whom are the best thing since ice cream (which is a much better invention than sliced bread). actually, i just did a quick google search and it turns out that ice cream is way older than sliced bread, but u get the point. anyways, i hope u enjoy this story and hopefully i got ur girls ok, but lmk if they’re a little off.

Two best friends emerged from the Quidditch changing room after an especially grueling day of practice. Ethel Hexley was massaging her arms after several passing and shooting drills, whilst Selene Fraser flexed her fingers, as if still practicing catching the Golden Snitch.

“Gryffindor shall be in top condition upon the beginning of our season,” Selene said to her friend.

“The other houses certainly have reason to worry,” Ethel agreed. “Especially when Gryffindor has the two of us rostered.”

The girls giggled together for a few seconds before they were approached by a boy with red robes and a smile stretching ear to ear. “Brilliant practice! I can hardly wait for Gryffindor to dominate the other teams this year!”

“Thank you, Vinny,” Ethel replied. “Did you watch the whole practice?”

“Of course! You know I always love to watch your practices when I can,” the boy, Vinny Raymond, said happily as the three began walking back towards the school together. “I don’t know very much about Quidditch strategy or training, but your practice definitely looked quite impressive.”

Vinny had barely gotten the sentence out before a tan Ravenclaw boy walking the opposite direction nearly ran him over.

“Walk much?” the Ravenclaw sneered as he plowed past the curly-haired boy.

Ethel and Selene both prepared to retort back at the Ravenclaw but Vinny was calling a “sorry, Nolan” over his shoulder before either had the chance.

Something caught Vinny’s attention in the distance and he hastily said to the girls, “My apologies, but I have to go right now. Great practice, both of you,” and scampered off. Knowing Vinny, he had probably spotted a butterfly or somebody’s pet cat and was now chasing after it.

“I simply cannot believe that he actually apologized for being rammed into,” Selene said, perplexed, after Vinny had departed.

Ethel shrugged at her friend. “It takes more than being trampled to make Vinny mad, I suppose.”

“I don’t think that anything can make Vinny mad,” Selene responded. “I haven’t seen him anything short of exceedingly happy once since our education at Hogwarts began.”

“Everyone gets mad sometimes,” Ethel reasoned. “I’m confident I could push his buttons enough to accomplish that deed.”

Selene snorted. “Even you couldn’t get a rise out of him.”

“Challenge accepted.”

***

It wasn’t long before the three Gryffindors sat together in the Great Hall. When Vinny was busy looking down at his copy of The Daily Prophet, Ethel winked at Selene and dropped her silverware on the ground next to him.

“Oh dear, clumsy me,” Ethel feigned. “Vinny, would you be a dear and pick my fork up for me?”

Vinny smiled and nodded before bending down to retrieve the fork. Meanwhile, Ethel grabbed an ice cube from her water and slipped it down the back of Vinny’s robes. Vinny immediately shot up in surprise, and his face began to grow red. Ethel smirked, satisfied. However, it was not anger that exploded from Vinny, but laughter. Selene immediately joined in, though she was amused more by Ethel’s failure than the prank itself. Eventually, Ethel had to laugh too. Her mission, however, was not forgotten.

***

Later that day, in the Gryffindor common room, Vinny was just finishing off his Potions essay, due as homework for class the next day. Ethel was sitting next to him, scheming.

“Vinny, dear,” Ethel said innocently. “Can I borrow your—whoops!”

Ethel slid her hand over and knocked the ink pot Vinny had been using over, spilling ink all over his essay.

“Oh dear,” said Ethel, dramatically. “Is it going to be okay?”

Vinny grinned up at her. “It’ll be fine,” he said as he tapped his wand on the parchment. Ink immediately started to clear up, making Vinny’s work readable once more. Vinny’s expression then changed from his usual excited-smile into a more reassuring-smile. “However, are you feeling okay? You’ve been a bit clumsier lately, are you perhaps overexerting yourself in Quidditch? I was reading an article in The Daily Prophet that said sometimes players’ nerves can get the best of them at the start of a new season.”

Ethel could hear the sound of poorly muffled laughter from an armchair containing one Selene Fraser. Ethel, however, would not give up so easily. “Actually, I have been feeling a little overwhelmed. I just have so much homework to do tomorrow, I’m not certain I’ll be able to do it all and wash my Quidditch robes before practice.”

“Well that’s it then!” Vinny beamed up at her. “I’ll wash your robes for you whilst you complete your homework.”

“Really?” said Ethel with mock surprise. “You would do that for me?”

“I sure would! I wonder how bad your robes will smell. I cannot wait to see!”

Of course he couldn’t wait.

***

“I cannot believe you’ve made him wash your Quidditch robes!” Selene said to Ethel as the two approached the training grounds.

Ethel bit her lip. “I need to kick my provocations up a level to get him mad.”

The girls had made it to Vinny, who was laying the freshly washed robes across a blanket (a Gryffindor blanket, of course). “Hello, Selene! Hello Ethel! I’ve just finished washing your robes, they ought to be dry before your practice.”

“Oh dear,” Ethel tutted, looking down at the washing tub Vinny had used. “Vinny, it seems you’ve completely botched the ratio of soap to water. There has to be at least another half part of soap in the mixture. You’ll have to redo it.”

“Alright, Ethel,” Selene interrupted. “This is going too far. It’s fine how it’s been washed now. It must’ve taken Vinny an hour to wash it.”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” Vinny said, his smile never wavering. “I’ll rewash it. I want to see if I can beat my time from last time!”

Selene sighed and Ethel gaped.

***

After another day of failed attempts, it was time for a Hogsmeade visit for the students of Hogwarts. Vinny and Selene grabbed a table at the Three Broomsticks while Ethel went to get some hot chocolates for the friends. It didn’t take too long for their drinks to be ready, and soon Ethel and Selene were happily sipping their delicious cocoa. Vinny, however, frowned at his mug.

“Ethel,” he started, his face growing angrier as he went on. “This, this has cinnamon in it! I-I… cinnamon? I hate cinnamon with hot chocolate! How many times have I- ugh! Go get a new one!”

Ethel was taken aback. “Vinny, are you okay?”

“Just- just get a new one right now!” Vinny was fuming now.

Ethel grabbed his mug and grinned at Selene. “Alright, Vinny, I’m sorry. No need to get so… mad.” She hurried away to get a new drink, a smug look on her face.

Vinny’s anger immediately melted back into his huge smile. “Was that alright?” he asked Selene eagerly.

“Perfect,” Selene replied. “I swear, she’s been driving me mad with her attempts. Thank you for acting for me.”

“I found it quite thrilling and fun actually!” Vinny paused for a moment, and then looked lopsided at Selene’s hot chocolate. “I suppose this means I can never have cinnamon with my hot chocolate ever again.”

Selene hesitated a moment, and then burst into laughter, Vinny soon echoing her.

“What?” Ethel said as she returned to the table, a new, cinnamon-less cocoa in her hand. “What’s so funny?”

“Just having a good time, with good friends,” Vinny said. And the three drank their hot chocolate, laughed, and had a good time.

i rly hope u liked it! i’m very sorry if i didn’t do ur girls justice, i just thought that the three of them might fit this plot line well, and i think they did! :)

#selene fraser #ethel hexley #vinny raymond #hphl #hogwarts legacy #someone needs to teach me how to speak old-timesy

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eerythingisshaka · 6 years

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The Coffee Prince Pt. 2

(T’Challa x Reader)

*Part 1*

Word Count: 3k

Plot: Stuck in your ways of living, one day at the coffee shop, you run into a tall dark roast that threatens to wake you up from your romantic hibernation.

*Previously*

You are unphased and not listening when you get up and see this 6’0 man picking up his drink and turning towards you. He makes his way to the side table, and your heart literally stops pumping for a split second from the anxiety. He hasn’t seen you yet and he could easily leave very soon without your acknowledgment, What if he doesn’t recognize you? The L’s you could take outweigh the dubs by a mile.

You get up to go get an unnecessary sugar packet.

“Excuse me,” you say.

He looks to you and gives you a crooked smile.

“Ahh, how are you today, Ms. Macchiato.” He says while stirring his coffee.

You spontaneously start ovulating at his title for you. He remembered your order, and made it a pet name for you!

You smile goofily as your heart threatens to fall out of your chest, “Yeah, that’s me! How have you been….Thomas?” Your voice rises an octave as you coyly played like you couldn’t remember one of the few things tied to him from your one engagement.

He furrows his brow at your statement. “Ohh, you must have me confused with some other American coffee drinker.”

“Oh? So that accent makes you from where, Boston?”

You both laugh. Your mouth is getting dry from anxiety, so you sip your drink.

“Gah! Fuck!” You sputter some of the liquid down your chin, tongue hanging out fanning it. The drink was scalding hot still.

‘Thomas’ gets a napkin and hands it to you, concern clouds his face.

“Are you all right? Should I go get you some water or…”

Heated with embarrassment noe more than the coffee, you shake your head trying to speak clearly. “It’th fine, thankth.” You say with a scalded tongue.

“Please, sit a moment. I’ll be right back.” He touches your arm to guide you back to a table and makes his way to the register. You keep fanning yourself, mortified by your not so graceful behavior.

“Ok, come on, get your thit together. You are a queen goddeth. Anyone would be lucky to dick you down proper.”

You take a deep breath and look off to one side and see an old white woman shaking her head looking at you. Of course that last sentence would come out clear as a bell, but you gave her a look of ‘and?’ while she continued eating her oatmeal.

‘Thomas’ comes back with cold Fiji water, cracking it open before handing it to you.

You take it in you hand with shock clearly displayed cross your face, ‘Thomas’ sits down across from you and notices your expression immediately.

“Is something wrong with it? Is something in it?” He leans to look at the bottle clutched in the hand.

Why did he have to be so cute when he scrunches his face with worry? You snap out of it and try to relax again. “No, it’th juth uh, you know they have free water cupth, right? Like, you didn’t have to pay for one”

He waves his hand in protest, “It’s nothing. I mean, you don’t need lukewarm tap water, this is better for you.”

You say before taking a sip, “Well that was very thweet of you. I owe you one.”

“Don’t worry about that. I can’t standby while you’re in pain. Though, the temporary speech impediment is kind of cute, I must say.”

“What do you mean? Thith ith my real voice. I wath juth trying to impreth you with perfect diction last time.” You say, blowing your coffee, batting your eyes.

He chuckles, “Right, and I’m from Boston.”

You smile and look out the window for a second. The high you feel from being in his company makes it hard to come back down to the reality that you have to make conversation, and you’re suddenly lost for words. You want to know more about him but don’t want to come off as nosy or interrogative, or too eager, though you could smile at him giddily all damn day But this is a cute guy, who is clearly attentive, splurging on some fresh H2O. Ask him something! Get some personal shit out the way!

You face him to see his round, gorgeous eyes looking at you. You can’t read his expression before he looks down at his coffee again.

“What is your name, by chance? I don’t think I got it before.” he asks before puckering his lips, that look like they’ve never known ash, to take a sip.

“Oh, it’s (Y/N)” you say.

“Ah, (Y/N) that’s a beautiful name. It doesn’t seem too difficult to me.”

You practically melt at him saying your name. You’d never want a different one long as those lips spoke it.

“Well, it shouldn’t be. But people sense something has more than 2 syllables and their mind just flips.”

“Does it have any meaning behind it?”

“Mmm, not that I know. I’d have to Google. But all I know is my mom just liked it. But what about you, ‘Thomas’?” You say with a goofy grin, resting your chin on your hand.

“Yes, my name is T’Challa.”

“T….Challa?”

“Yes, that’s right! First try!” He holds his hand up for a high five.

The world seems to go into slow motion when connecting your palm to his. His hand is a skyscraper compared to yours, trying to memorize the feel of his hand through the little contact you had.

“What can I say, I’m a pro!”

“Very nice. Impaired tongue and all!” He pauses a moment before continuing, “Have you got time for a walk around to get some air? It’s so beautiful outside. May be nice…”

You look at your phone and see you should've been back at your desk 15 min ago.

“Uh… actually I do need to go…”

“Bast! Well that’s ok. Maybe our paths can cross again in the future?”

Your face fallen, “Yeah, hopefully so. Thanks again for the water…”

You start to get up and leave, “Ah, Miss (Y/N)?”

You turn to him, “Mhm?”

“Do you think I could call you sometime? If it’s not too forward, we could arrange meeting outside of your work hours so it’s more convenient?”

You heart jumped into your throat at the proposal. He’s asking for your number!

“Sure thing! I would love that. Just let me know or I’ll call you whichever. Cool!”

You back up to leave before you add anymore positive phrases to your long phrase affirming his invitation.

You step out the door of the shop and do a little Tiffany Haddish ‘she ready’ dance. You couldn’t wait to fill Tavia in on the details. T’Challa, T’Challa, the name just rolls off the tongue.

“Miss (Y/N)! I thought you trying to dine and dash but …”

T’Challa was standing behind you for God knows how long, struggling to hold back his smile.

You straighten up, mortified. Could he possibly be any more handsome and you be anymore a dork?

“Oh, no. Um, what do you mean?” you stammer, folding your arms to look semi-normal.

He pulls out his phone. “We actually need each others numbers to call each other right?”

You still didn’t exchange numbers! Thinking of how much of a mess you are you say, “Yeah, sorry! Of course, allow me.”

You take his phone and type it in with your name saving it.

Handing it back, T’Challa takes it and puts it in his pocket, eyes never leaving your face as he gives you a closed mouth smile.

“You have a good rest of your day, (Y/N). I look forward to connecting with you soon.”

He turns and strides down the sidewalk away. As much as you hated to see him go, you loved watching him leave. Was the dip in his gait put on or natural? Either way, you loved it.

Later that day you go home, light as a feather. You lowkey hate how some male attention could give you such an array of hormonal bliss that you felt like a traitor to the sisterhood.

Your roommate hadn’t gotten home yet so, you take the time to cook yourself some food, even though your hunger was honestly minimal. Whenever you got really excited in any emotional direction, your appetite just goes south. But you earned a meal today, so why not celebrate with dinner. You look up a bookmarked recipe on your phone for some baked chicken with steamed vegetables and curl up to some Grown-ish as you work. The episode with Yara Shahidi’s character obsessing over the relationship status of her and Cash was queued up. Seeing her send literally 30 text messages to Cash saying an unintelligible number of things made you cringe hella heavy. Why would she get caught up with a college athlete anyway? You knew where this episode was going, as you turn back to seasoning your food.

While binge watching, you only eat about half of your food, which is better than nothing. You have more energy than you know what to do with though, so with the extra living room space, you decide to knock out a little yoga to center yourself. Laying out your mat and queueing up YouTube you switch to a yoga channel for beginners and put a chill playlist on shuffle. You close your eyes as the instructor tells you to be present in today’s practice, breathing deeply and exhaling equally. The practice started off simple enough with some cat-cows and downward dogs, but the intensity picked up soon once some planks and chair poses were thrown in. You perspired like a Pinocchio meeting a woodpecker but pushed through each pose with a little motivation in your head. If T’Challa could see me now. Each challenge you faced, you thought of him being under you while you planked, over you while you did a bridge. Once the poses were over you’d curse yourself for being so silly but hey, it worked.

During the cool down, the instructor tells you to get into happy baby pose, which you welcome with a deep sigh, wiping your brow. You didn’t expect such an intense workout, so luckily you didn’t go ham on your food.

You hear the lock turn on the door, and in walks in Tavia.

“Well damn, bitch, am I interrupting something?!”

You look between your legs at Tavia, “Nah girl, I’m almost done.”

“You sure? Cuz looks like you just getting started to me. Why are you spreading your legs for anyone who walk in here?”

You roll out of your pose, grabbing your water. “Nothing, it’s been a minute since I got my mat out so…” you say taking a sip.

Tavia takes a seat in a easy chair across from you, taking off her shoes. “Mmhm, so what else is it bitch, cuz the fact that you ain’t posted up here smashing some cookies, watching Chocolate City or some other trash got me almost concerned.” She says, faking her best concerned face.

You roll your eyes, “It’s nothin! Really, but I mean, I may have ran into someone today, but that’s not why I’m over here ‘pussy poppin’’ like you say.”

“Uh-uh. How juicy is this? I was drinking tonight anyway but lemme know should I grab my bottle right now?”

You look at her sideways and give a slight nod.

Tava screams like the Holy Spirit just caught her as she runs with her hands raised over to the fridge. She gets out her moscato and runs back to her seat.

“Uh, I don’t get a glass?” You ask offended.

“No ma’am, you got talking to do. You can’t talk and drink at the same time.” Tavia says with a tongue pop.

“ANYWAY, so I’m going to the coffee shop on my break, right?” You say excitedly.

“Right, ‘break’.” Tavia says clutching the bottle while doing air quotes.

“Listen, plenty of them folks go and do whatever on company time. I need some caffeine to get through the mess.” You say defensively.

“Whatever, continue!”

“Ok, so I’m getting my shit, and just as I’m bout to leave, HIS order gets called.”

“Who??!”

“Thomas!”

Tavia’s body melts into the chair as she exclaims, “Whaaaaa??”

“YES! By the way, his name is T’Challa.”

“BITCH, you talked to him??”

With a little dance you confirm, “Hell yeah, fucking right!”

Tavia gets up to do a quick celebration twerk with you, passing the bottle. “Go head girl! Ok, so how did you go up to him? What did he say?”

Your face hurt from all the cheesing, “I just walked past him and he was like, ‘Hey, don’t I know you?’ and I said, ‘I hope so, cuz trying to know you.’ And eventually he remembered, so we got a table and talked about real surface level stuff, then I told him I gotta go back to work, so he was all ‘Well, I can’t have you walk out here without seeing you again. Put your number in.’ So I did, and that’s really about it.” You say content with your ‘story’.

Tavia was on the edge of her chair during your entire explanation until she said, “You gave him your number?”

You nod proudly, “Mhm!”

Tavia throws her hands in the air, “Girl! You ain’t gonna be nothing but a booty call then.”

Ou screw your face up at this admission. “Whatchu mean? He ain’t hood actin’, I just gave you the clipped version of how it went down. Why you think that?”

Tavia sighs, “You gotta get his number, so you have control. But since it’s the other way around, you gonna be waiting for him to call, and then when he does at 11pm, you gonna be showing off your wingspan and upset cuz he ain’t called you since.”

“Tavia, calm down. It ain’t even been a day. I’m not tryna wild like that, and he don’t seem the type.” You say with less spirit than before.

“And if that’s what you wanted, you know I’m down for you; hit a split on the dick shawty act up! But I know you for real want some committed peen, so I’m just giving you worst case before it slaps you in the face, ok?” Your good vibes from earlier are coming down faster than guillotine so you decide to dismiss yourself.

“Don’t be upset girl. You still did your thing, and milk him for all it’s worth either way. Hate the game, not the player!”

You roll your mat up and go back to your room. Your eyes go straight for your phone. You think back to the articles you read on dating. People usually wait 3 days to call right? Or is that just after the first date? What’re the rules for the phone exchange? He could’ve texted you right there to have his number, but he didn’t so, could Tavia be right? And if she was, is it so bad? Dick is dick, and it sure hasn’t been present in your life.

You go to pick up your phone, opening up to the main menu.

Missed Call (1) Voicemail (1)

Your heart thumps in your chest as you check the number. It’s just digits, not one of your known numbers. You walk across your floor couple times before listening to the message, calming yourself down and for the first time hoping it was just a bill collector. You select the number and dial before closing your eyes to center yourself like the yoga instructor told you. A few rings pass before you realize what you may have done.

“Hello?”

Your pulse literally stops as your eyes fly open at the voice on the other line. You accidentally hit call back instead of call voicemail.

“Miss (Y/N) Is that you?” T’Challa says.

“Yeah, hey, how are you doing?” You say in as steady voice you can muster as you pull at your hair in frustration.

“I missed you earlier. Uh, your call, I mean. Well, I called you. Did you get my message?”

So that was him on that voicemail. You didn’t want to lie but you didn’t want to look weird calling without context either.

“Uh, yeah. I did. Thanks for calling by the way.”

He could’ve called to say he didn’t want to see you again.

“Please, I should be thanking you for offering your time. So do you know when you would like to do it?”

Heat crawls from neck to your cheeks, out of your pits, from your nani, all at once. Do what?! Is he inviting you somewhere or asking a favor?

“Uh, how does Saturday sound?” You freeze at the anticipation of his answer.

“That’s great! I have no problem with that. We will try for 5pm?”

You nod like he can see you before responding, “Yeah, that’s good to me. I can’t wait.”

You could practically hear T’Challa smiling as he said, “Wonderful. Forgive me for the time of the hour, I hope I didn’t wake you.”

You sit on the bed to keep from falling under your buckling knees. “Not at all, I was just turning in so I didn’t want to leave you hanging.”

“You’re too kind. I will see you then, if not at the shop first! Good Night (Y/N).”

“Good night T’Challa.” You press the red symbol and take the deepest breath you’ve done all day. How erotic did that sound ‘goodnight, T’Challa’? Geez just call him back to come over and get it over with already, you thought.

You turn off the light and lay in your bed electrified with that same energy from before. You almost forgot, but you pick up the phone and push for voicemail this time and listen:

Hi, I hope this is the right number. (Y/N), I’m just calling to see if you would come with me to the music festival this weekend. I don’t know if you heard about it or if it is your thing, but it sounds like a nice time. We could just walk around, enjoy the sounds. Uhh, just let me know when you get the chance, or I may see you at our favorite place. (laughs then clears his throat) Umm, but yeah, sorry for the long message. This is T’Challa by the way. Hope to hear from you soon.

Your phone prompts you to save or delete the message and you carefully save it before you listen a couple more times. Putting your phone away you turn on your side, squeezing your legs together to bring yourself back down again. You remind yourself that this is still just nothing more than two people meeting up at a public place with a bunch of other people. No one has claimed nobody yet. But like Tavia said, gotta milk it for what it’s worth, and how you feel right now is pretty damn priceless.

Part 3

Other Works

King Kil’mawalls

T’akia

N’Jadaka’s Helpful Hands

Some Weeks Are Better Than Others

The Coffee Prince

Commencement Day

My Ragtag

@sweetpeachjones@scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade@hairhattedghooligan@universalbri @therevolution-willbelive @you-like-this-chain @sarcastic-sunshines @airis-paris14

groovybbyy and nyeebey, yall here too! I just can’t tag you for some reason <3</p>

#t'challa #t'challa fanfic #t'challa x reader #t'challa x you #coffeeshop au #black panther au #black panther fanfic #marvel fanfic #black panther #marvel #fanfic

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myneighborhood-thelake · 3 years

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Mt. Whitney, May 2021

Sometimes a sufferfest is exactly what the doctor ordered, and, thankfully, permits to hike Mt. Whitney (14,508′) are online. It takes a little searching on recreation.gov for the permits to come available, but they can be booked immediately. On Monday, May 24th, a day hike permit for Wednesday, May 26th became available, so I grabbed it.

OK, I had scored a permit the week before, but I’d strained my right calf during a 3 mile run and wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to hike 21+ miles in the backcountry with a bad calf. In the meantime, I had strained my calf more on a 5 mile run, but I really wanted to get back onto Whitney.

I left town about 11:30am on Tuesday. Unlike previous trips to the Eastern Sierras, I was in no hurry. This time I decided to set cruise control at 70 MPH (the speed limit), and see what gas mileage I could get up to. It also took the edge completely off of driving. A few podcasts later and mileage was showing a solid 44 miles per gallon. Considering it’s an SUV (a compact SUV, but an SUV all the same), I was pretty happy to see 44 MPG.

Around Bakersfield, I cut east and crossed over the mountains to Tehachapi. Hitting the 14 North, I let the hypermileage goal go and bumped cruise up to 75. Fuel mileage dropped, but that was OK. Cruising along without much traffic I rolled into Lone Pine around 5:30 or 6:00pm.

Also unlike previous trips, I had no need to stop in Lone Pine, so I turned left on Whitney Portal Road and proceeded up the hill to the Portal.

It’s somewhat early in the season, so I wasn’t sure if the parking areas would be filled with hikers’ cars or if there would be spaces available. I had decided to literally car camp for the night and just needed a parking spot and not a campsite. Thankfully, hiker parking was only about 50% full, and I backed into a nice spot really close to the trailhead.

Camping - a Honda CR-V is the definition of “compact SUV” which may make a few folks wonder how my 6′1″ frame can fit to car camp. If you slide both front seats all the way forward and put down the back seats there’s enough room for a twin mattress in the back which is just long enough for me to sleep on.

I spent some time organizing my pack for the hike, laying out my sleeping bag, and boiling water for some freeze dried beef stew.

I was so close to the trailhead that I had to check pack weight and was OK with my pack coming in at 15 pounds.

(that’s 8.81# of water (4l), 1# first aid kit (I could reduce that), 0.83# H2O filter, and about 1 1/2#’s for my pack (1.62# to be precise). That means there was 2 3/4# of food, sunscreen, trail meds and such. I’m not in shape to hike 20+ miles at altitude, so cutting down on pack weight helps a LOT!

Freeze dried beef stew? 10/10, perfection. Maybe one of the best freeze dried meals I’ve ever had even though it had been in my camping box for probably 5 years (or more).

After cleaning up a bit and popping up the sunroof for ventilation it was time to crawl in and try to get some rest.

Suprise, surprise, it was super comfy. I read for a bit and finally got tired enough to try and sleep. I was planning on a 2:30am wakeup and 3:00am start on the trail. Usually sleep is elusive and sounds from other campers and cars inhibits good rest but not this time. I was quite comfy and drifted off easily.

At about 1:45am I woke up feeling quite rested. Sure, I tried to go back to sleep for my 2:30am alarm, but I felt perfectly rested and decided after a few minutes to get on with the day.

The previous night I had setup my morning caffeine (mandatory) in the form of a mountain mocha. 2 starbucks Via instant coffees and a packet of hot chocolate (that had probably been in the camping box for 5+ years). After drinking that and consuming a banana it was time to hit the trail. At about 2:15am or 2:20am, under the light of a full moon, I hit the trail.

Even with the full moon I still needed my headlamp due to treecover and cliffs blocking the moonlight. At this point I kicked on the high beam for my headlamp and realized I’d made a mistake... When the high beam starts flashing it means batteries are low. Ooops. Looks like this hike will be under the weak light of low beam. Oh well. I usually carry extra batteries and never use them, so this was OK in my book. I just needed to be sure to be off the mountain before darkness fell at the end of the day.

Passing a few folks with fuller packs and trekking poles I was glad of two things - low pack weight and being able to focus solely on my pace. I was just cruising along knowing that I wasn’t in shape or trained for distance. I’m just stoopid enough to know how to suffer well.

I totally missed when I passed Lone Pine lake, just focusing on the trail ahead and taking frequent small sips of water from my Camelbak. For water I had my 3 liter reservoir and an additional 1 liter water bottle for a little more than a gallon on board. I like the additional 1 liter because I can use it if my reservoir hits empty between water stops.

The trail started dropping down which was a bit disconcerting. I know that the trail drops a couple hundred feet right before Outpost Camp, but I couldn’t be there yet. Turns out I was there! 2 easy hours on trail and the sign “Outpost Camp” was right in front of me. 3 1/2 miles in 2 hours is pretty pedestrian, but for me, at altitude, it’s a good pace.

I had the option to refill my water at Outpost Camp but did not need to and cruised straight through. Note to anyone thinking of doing an overnight trip on Whitney - don’t stay at Outpost Camp. It’s too low down the mountain and leaves way too much for day 2. Shoot for Trail Camp instead which is at 12,000′ and 2 1/2 miles further up the trail meaning 2 1/2 miles less to cover on summit day.

Leaving Outpost Camp I did my usual and got lost trying to find the trail. The moon was well past the mountain, providing no light, and my headlamp was pretty pathetic by then. I inadvertently looped in a big circle before stopping and using available clues - water sounds. Being color blind does not help when the trail is just a different shade of grey than surrounding dirt. No worries, after homing in on the waterfall sounds I picked up the trail again and started my relentless progress toward Trail Camp.

A word about the trail - it is a trail, but it’s also pretty difficult. Lots of rocks to step up on or over, all of different sizes and at random distances, so you have to really pay attention to foot placement and balance. You can’t get into a rhythm and just cruise along. It also saps a lot of energy.

At this point I realized that my balance was really bad. Normally above 10,000′ the altitude really hits me hard. This trip I didn’t have any problems with altitude sickness, but my equilibrium was TOAST! It was not fun stumbling around at points, and my right shin took the hit on an unforgiving granite rock. My right calf was also aching pretty steadily.

Before Trail Camp I passed a party of 3 guys, one of whom asked “are these the 99 switchbacks?” No, man. We need to get to Trail Camp first and THEN we get to do the switchbacks.

I think it took about an hour to get from Outpost Camp to Trail Camp at 12,039′. My water reservoir felt good plus I still had the 1 liter backup bottle, so instead of stopping to refill I cruised through Trail Camp and on to the 99 switchbacks.

The switchbacks run up the face of a cliff and are pretty tough. Lots of granite steps requiring good foot placement and working the legs with their random sizes from only a few inches tall to big steps at 2+’ tall. Plus they are above 12,000′ and the air definitely feels much less dense. It was about 1/3 of the way up the switchbacks that I took my first break just to catch my breath. I think it may have been the first time I ate. Stroopwafels are amazing...

Oh yeah, I never count the switchbacks. You’re either done with them or have more to go, so just keep moving.

About 2/3 of the way up I had been trudging along, head down, eyes on my feet placement for each step, with my boony hat blocking any view of the trail ahead. I stopped to get a Gu Chew out of my left hip belt pocket, which is much less accessible than my right hip belt pocket. It took some contortion, but I finally got them out and popped one into my mouth.

Sure, there are better packs for endurance activities that make it easy to access pockets, but I’ve had my Salomon pack for 23 years now, and it still works.

After chewing for a bit I looked up and jumped back in surprise! About 2 feet in front of me, sitting on a boulder just off the trail was and extremely pretty, very blonde, woman in her early 20′s. Where the hell had she come from????

She apologized for scaring me.

I apologized for stopping in her personal space.

I’ll be honest, it took me a few moments to decide she was real. It was really weird.

Oh well, onward and upward.

The water in my reservoir ran out just before Trail Crest (13,777′, 8.5 miles), so I stopped to put the water from my 1l bottle into the reservoir. I also looked down the trail to see if the mountain sprite was real, and she seemed to be.

After downing another stroopwafel and some Gu Chews (expensive gummi bears), I shouldered my pack and headed towards the summit. Thankfully I was still not feeling any signs of altitude sickness.

After Trail Crest there is some exposure to potentially long falls off of a cliff face, but the danger is pretty minimal. Well, except when a corner is exposed and still packed with snow. THAT got the pulse to spike a little, but soon the summit house was visible in the distance. Still a long way off but visible. Just keep moving.

At this point I was really feeling the effort and it’s about 14,000 feet in elevation making for slow hiking. I was able to catch a couple and then turn right up the summit dome. There’s not really much else to say other than - just keep walking, and then there’s the summit. 14,508′ (10.7 miles)

I think it took about 6 hours and 15 minutes to get to the summit which is a pretty good time for me, and maybe one of my fastest. Add in I’m doing no endurance training and feeling no altitude sickness and I was super stoked.

As usual. Take summit picture, eat, drink, relax, shoulder pack and start going back down. Yup, that’s about as exciting as it gets. I left the summit at 9:00am

The trip back down was uneventful. Saw a bunch of people heading up, so I stepped to the side and let them pass which gave me a few breaks. I do not appreciate the elevation lost just after Trail Crest on the way up because it’s elevation that needs to be gained on the way back and on a difficult section of trail, but it is what it is.

I cruised down the switchbacks and stopped in Trail Camp to filter water and refill my reservoir. It was nice to take a solid 15 minute break. Of course I ate another stroopwafel. Damn, those things are AMAZING!

My hands were so swollen with edema that it was a bit challening to pump the filter, but that’s why I don’t use trekking poles. My hands always puff up like cooked sausages and make it impossible to handle trekking polls. Plus, it’s one less thing to worry about. - the trekking poles, not my hands.

Back down the trail. Now I was tired, my legs were feeling the effort from the trail and constantly changing terrain. Just keep moving.

Down through Outpost Camp, by now it was 1pm, but it felt like it was 6 or 7pm due to my early start. Somehow, along the way, I got completely off trail and wound up on the shores of Lone Pine Lake which I had not even seen on my way up. I’m pretty sure this was another case of missing the trail due to blending colors and sunglasses, but I wasn’t worried. I could retrace steps or do a little bushwhacking which is what I did. After crossing a couple of creeks and doing some minimal bouldering I was back on trail and heading down.

After loosening up my watch a few times due to swelling, I saw that I had an outside chance of being done in 12 hours or so. Normally the trip down is a breeze compared to the trip up, but the trail conditions always limit my ability to make time on the descent.

About 1/2 mile from the end I saw a family, with young kids, having a picnic by the side of the trail. I took my eyes off the trail in order to say something nice to them about getting their kids out. Unfortunately, right then the trail dropped off by several feet which meant I landed solidly on my right foot and sent a serious jolt directly up my calf that hurt like HELL!

I limped the last 1/2 mile to the trailhead being very happy that it had occured so close to the end of the trail.

Something like 12 1/2 hours had elapsed, and a lot of those hours were exactly what I needed, time utterly devoid of anything other than focussing on the trail directly in front of me and where I needed to place my feet. Suffering has a way of distilling life down to its essence, and I’m very happy that I get to experience this when I choose to.

After that it was a 7 hour drive home. After a quick stop in Lone Pine for a full tank of gas, a coke, and a package of Oreo’s, I was on the road back to San Jose, arriving home at about 10:30pm.

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tnerb90 · 5 years

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Day 2: Aug 16, 2019

It's about 10:50am here in Central Florida. So awaiting those lovely last 10 minutes before I can break my fast. This morning went pretty well all things considered. Had my usual coffee with cream and splenda in the morning and sipped on water through the morning.

I think a great thing about limiting that eating window is that it makes me prefer to be busy while I'm not eating to kill time. I'm so used to the habit of watching TV or a movie while eating something, or even just chilling for an hour drinking my coffee and eating breakfast. But this morning I woke up pretty hungry again and had the urge to eat. So in order to kill time until 11, I decided to clean the house and kitchen, fold our huge pile of laundry dating back 2-3 cycles, do the leftover dishes etc. It actually feels super nice having the house clean. However, when I checked the clock, it was only about 10am. I figured, maybe I'll go for a jog (not that it sounded like a good idea at the time, but I DO want to workout more and get into shape for when I try out for hockey). So I didn't really have an excuse not to.

I follow the couch-to- 5k program when I jog. About 3-4 years ago, I actually was able to finish the program and have participated in a few 5k's. As a kid/teen I fucking hated running but I got to the point where I actually really enjoy it. I just put some music on or listen to a podcast while I'm running, which makes it go by way quicker and it's a really nice way of slowing down my thoughts, breathing in and out, and getting some time outdoors.

Now, having said that... today's jog fucking sucked. I did week 1 of couch to 5k, which is basically alternating between jogging 1 min and walking 1m 30s... so it really shouldn't even be that hard even for someone out of shape. I guess that's why it's called "couch" to 5k. You're literally supposed to be able to complete that run as an out of shape couch potato. And usually I do. Usually I see it as a nice warm up for the more challenging weeks to come. But today it was such a hassel which is sad. I think a few reasons went into it:

First and foremost, I'm a lazy fuck who hasn't exercised enough in quite some time. Let's get that out of the way. It's my fault I'm 310lbs now and stopped exercising completely. That's on me.

Ok, next of all: I live in Central Florida. It's mid-August. So for fucks sake... it's hot out. Mid 80's here (which all things considered isn't that bad for summer morning in Florida) but 75% humidity was a bitch and a half. So there's that.

Also, of course the easiest excuse is the fasting thing. I haven't eaten in roughly 15 hours so my body was pretty depleted of energy to begin with. Also my hamstring, knees, hips, and feet got sore pretty quickly. I wonder if part of that is dehydration? I should probably stop "sipping" and start really going all in on H2O while I'm fasting. So there's that.

I think in the future, I need to eat before I run. So maybe push the jogging back into the eating window. So I can have a snack and not be a total zombie. Then I'll also be able to re-fuel afterwards with a snack too. My thinking today was just to kill time until 11am and be able to eat after the run. So we'll have to make an adjustment there. Ok it's 11:07am right now, so I'm out of here. Gonna go grab some Pollo Tropical. That's pretty healthy for fast food yeah? We'll see... Ok thanks for reading, nobody. Catch you never.

Great,

BMW

Oh...PS: I don't think I ever mentioned weigh-in logistics. I'm going to weigh myself once a week. I'd prefer not to do it on Thursdays like yesterday for some reason? It just feels odd. So I might weigh myself sometime next weekend instead and make it a once-per-week thing from there. Let's be real though, I'll weigh myself on Thursday anyway just to see. I'll keep you posted.

#weight loss #intermittent fasting #couchto5k #5k #couch to 5k #hydro homies #hydration

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