We woke up extra early so the snow would be hard and good for traveling. We had heard the hard part of the trail was snow free and we probably wouldn’t need our ice axes (we didn’t) but we brought them anyway.
We hiked by headlamp through the snow, catching a view of Mt. Whitney looming above us. The trail went up through snow past Guitar Lake (it really looks like a guitar!) and then switchbacks up the granite cliff side.
We were the first people hiking on the west side of Whitney (there’s a trailhead on the east side too) and we had the whole basin to ourselves. As the sun rose above the mountains the views got better and better.
The closer we got to the top, the more people we saw. Many of them started at midnight the night before, because the route up the other side is much longer.
The last few days of sleeping at 11,000 feet helped us acclimate but it was still hard climbing a mountain at 14,000 feet. To make matters worse, when we got to the summit I realized I had forgotten my food bag. I had nothing to eat.
Not to worry though, I was able to get some food from some of the day hikers. Day hikers always have extra food.
We spent some time on the summit on a warm beautiful day. It’s not often you can spend much time above 14,000 feet in a t-shirt and shorts. That warmth would later be our undoing.
The hike down started easy, as we descended the switchbacks cut into the mountainside. Soon we came to a large snow field that we glissaded down. So far so good. Then we made it back to the sun cups. In the heat of the day, they made travel tiring and hard. Getting back to our campsite was harder than climbing Mt. Whitney!
Finally, we made it to our camp where I devoured the food I had forgotten. Then we packed up and started hiking. We wanted to set ourselves up for Forester Pass, the highest part of the PCT, so the snow would be firm when we crossed it. Unfortunately, we had 3 large creek crossings to deal with first.
Snow was lingering on the trail and by the time we made it to the first creek crossing it was 5:00 PM. We had just forded a “seasonal stream” which threatened to knock us off our feet (shown in the picture) and Wallace Creek was raging.
We walked up and down the river looking for a shallow spot. We tested the waters and I got to go for an unplanned swim. Finally, we called it quits and are hoping the cool temperatures of night will lower the river and we can cross.
The day started amazing, but then became very discouraging. The delay at the creek might cause us to get to Forester Pass too late and add an extra day. We planned for this possibility, but it’s a major blow to our confidence.