After 3 continuous days of strenuous hiking without a break, I decided to push myself to the limit by hiking solo on the El Capitan Trail from Pine Springs to the Williams Ranch and back via the Salt Basin Overlook Trail.
The total distance was 21.9 miles, which is a long way for a day hike, but it is important to understand that miles are somewhat meaningless in this park. Elevation change is equally as significant and this hike involved more than 4800 feet of total elevation change (up and down). As a result, it pushed me to the red line.
I started my hike with 3 liters of water in my Platypus plus 3 quarts of Gatorade (~ 1.5 gallons). The trail out of Pine Springs starts off fairly flat, but goes half way up and along the El Capitan ridge. The trail is narrow and rocky and seemed more fit for mountain goats than people. There are steep drop-offs so if you should slip or faint, your fall of several hundred feet will result in serious injury or death.
I bypassed the Salt Basin Overlook loop on my way out, caching bottles of Gatorade along the way, and continued down the canyon onto the plain where Williams Ranch is located. The distance to this point is 9.4 miles. When I reached Williams Ranch, I was hot and tired (it was almost 100 degrees). I had alrerady drank 2 of my 3 liters of water and I realized I had cached the rest of my fluid up on the mountain ridge. Not a smart move, lol!
Anyways, I turned around and headed back up the canyon on the El Capitan Trail. This part was strenuous. I continued back around until I reached my first Gatorade cache, which was refreshing given I was extremely parched. I then took the Salt Basin Overlook for extra mileage. The view was not as impressive as I had hoped. The Overlook trail goes down about 800 feet, which you then have to make up to get back to the El Capitan Trail. My legs were shot.
The hike back to Pine Springs was a slog because my feet had developed blisters despite applying numerous pieces of moleskin to my feet before starting my hike and changing them out with new pieces half way through the hike. I got back to Pine Springs campground just prior to sunset completely out of water. In fact, I really needed an extra quart or two because I ran out of fluid with 3-4 miles remaining.
I should point out that the views along the El Capitan are incredibly scenic. You get an up close view of the El Capitan rock formation as well as splendid views of the ridge, canyons, and plains below. Spectacular!
Do not attempt this trail unless you are healthy and fit. Take LOTS of water. For this long mountain hike, I should have carried at least 2 gallons.
