The Adventure Begins

At 1:00 AM, David, our friend Chia, and I crawled out of our sleeping bags and hit the trail aiming to summit Mt. Whitney — the highest point in the continental U.S. What I didn’t know was that David had something very special tucked away in his pack: an engagement ring. As we passed tree line, the weather started to shift. Rain began to fall and lightning flickered ominously in the distance. It was a little terrifying knowing there’s no real protection from lightning up there, but we pressed on, hoping it would pass. Seeing the glow of other hikers’ headlamps scattered across the mountain gave us a little comfort — we weren’t alone. On we went, picking our way across landslide debris, over slick rocks, and past a sign warning hikers to turn back in questionable weather. Near the top, a snowfield covered the trail. A group back at camp had told us that if we hit snow, we’d need to go straight up. So that’s what we did — climbing carefully until cairns (trail markers) eventually guided us back to the trail and to the stone shelter at the summit. The summit was freezing. We were inside a cloud, with the wind whipping around like a mini tornado. We huddled in the shelter waiting for the first light, then stepped outside to find the summit sign. While trying to take a picture in the brutal wind, David suddenly got down on one knee and shouted, “Will you marry me?” I yelled “YES!” over the wind — and just like that, one of the wildest, most unforgettable adventures of my life became the beginning of our next chapter.