Mark Stephen Taylor

Three Days in Lone Pine: an Untold Tale of the High Sierra, 1873 Mark Stephen Taylor

Do you believe in angels? In 1873 the town of Lone Pine, California came to believe in them. Lone Pine is the home of Mt. Whitney, highest mountain in the contiguous United States, towering some 14, 497 feet. The white granite range of the High Sierra has been around for several thousand years, its towering spires unique in North America. However, the first recorded climb to this peak was not until August 18th, 1873, when three local fishermen braved the lofty crags and reached its elusive summit. Prior to that, there had been many attempts, but recorded history tells us those climbers who made the attempts never ended up on the right peak! Some of them did not return, and were never heard from again. Hundreds of peaks point skyward in this range of mountains, and though Mt. Whitney is the highest, it remained the most elusive for decades. But Indian legends tell of evil spirits that once made their abode atop this very mountain. From this great height it was believed that these dark forces planned their wicked strategies against our entire country. It was their mountain! The Indian legends also foretold of a time when the evil would be no more; a time when men and women would freely hike the mountain and experience the wonder and exhilaration it could produce within one?s spirit. According to those legends, and according to an old diary found in the hills just west of Lone Pine, that time did arrive. It was in August of 1873, when the most powerful leader of the angelic host paid an unannounced visit to the town. After his Three Days in Lone Pine, the mountain, the birds and the animals?even the people, would never be the same?