| Day 19 Profile |
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Warm last night. How odd. Only dropped to 42 degrees. It was WINDY. The area I chose to stake my tent out in was too small to really stretch the tent out, so it was a loose pitch. That meant that the tent was flapping and shaking all night. I really was having a hard time getting to sleep, and staying asleep. I finally used the earplugs that I had brought to keep the noise decibels down to a manageable level, and that really helped. I was up at 5am, and packed my gear by headlamp. It was eerie seeing the other hikers in the distance. From Guitar Lake, you can see the mountainside for a long way up Whitney. You can't see the trail, but you can see the headlamps bobbing up and down in the distance. It looked like fireflies making their way up the mountain. I was ready and hiking just before dawn, so I hiked by headlamp for the first 30 minutes. Pretty cool. Dawn rose and I could start to see Guitar Lake in the distance.
Guitar Lake at dawn
Climbing the switchbacks on the west side of Whitney
13,200 ft
It is a pretty stiff climb, but it didn't seem to take too long to get to the Whitney Trail Junction at 13500 ft. There were 10-15 backpacks left there as people dropped their packs and did the final leg of the trail to the summit. I did the same. It was interesting to meet folks who had done the summit from the Whitney Portal side of the trail. Some were barely making it. I was passing 20 year olds left and right! Hiking without a pack made it seem like I could sprint up that mountain. It was another 1.9 miles to the summit and it was the easiest 1.9 miles of the trip! It was odd at one point, the trail starts to descend. Huh? I thought this was going to be 100% up. Nope, you have a small section of descent before ascending once more. There was one snow patch to cross, again, no big deal.
Dropped my pack here at Whitney Trail Junction
View to the east as you summit
One final snow crossing
First view of Whitney Hut
I made it!!!!!!!!!
View from the top
Wow. You can see for an eternity up here. All of the Sierras and the Owens Valley are visible from the summit. Of course I took pictures of the hut and the Summit sign proving I actually was here! It filled me with awe looking to the North over the Sierra peaks, realizing that I had just hiked over all those mountains. The summit is the official end of the John Muir Trail. I did it!
I crossed 11 of those peaks to get here
Completion of a life goal!!!
There were at least 30 people on the summit. A few clouds, but the weather was fantastic. Cool but not too cold. I hung out for a while on the summit, but finally it was time to begin the descent and the last leg of my journey. I headed back to the Whitney Trail Junction. Now there had to be at least 40 packs there. Amazing. I started the bazillion steep switchbacks down the face of Whitney. Some of the folks hiking up had that 'deer in the headlight' look. I tried to be encouraging. "How much farther" seemed to be the question of the day. "Almost there!" was my answer until I felt guilty saying it. "Only 4 more miles straight up" seemed a little discouraging so I just started to smile and say enjoy the hike! Even after all these days of conditioning, I would not enjoy that 10 mile hike up the east side of Whitney. There was one guy who ran up the trail, didn't summit but ran down to Guitar Lake, then ran back up to the Whitney Trail junction and ran down the descent to Whitney Portal. I saw him when I was at Whitney Trail junction and then again as I was descending. What an animal. How can anyone have the stamina to do something like that?
Mt Whitney
Heading down the East side of Mt Whitney
It was a LONG way down to Whitney Portal. Every mile the temperature went up about 5 degrees. I usually plan every detail of my trips, and leave nothing to chance. I looked into scheduling a ride from Whitney Portal to Lone Pine with one of the shuttle services, but I was just too uncomfortable saying I would be at the Portal at a specific time and day. As it turns out, I am a day early so this wound up being a good decision. However, it means that I do not have a ride once I get to Whitney Portal. The plan is to hitchhike to Lone Pine. From what I have read, this won't be a problem, but it does add some stress wondering if it will work out. The pain in my foot is pretty bad now so hiking from Whitney Portal to Lone Pine wouldn’t be a good thing. As I descended, a lady (Mary) hiked past me and asked me if I had made it to the summit. I chuckled, and said yes. I made the summit and a whole lot more! She actually wanted to know why I chuckled. I explained that I had just hiked over 200 miles, so the summit was just the icing on the cake. That peaked her interest! Out of the blue she asked me if I had a ride when I got to the Portal. I said no, and she offered a ride!!! Only issue was that we were several miles away and she had a much faster pace than I did. Going faster, with my foot issues, was not an option. She would be at the Portal a couple of hours before I would. A few minutes later, her husband (Dan) also hiked past me. Oh well, it was really nice of her to offer. It gave me hope that it would not be too difficult to get a ride.
View looking back up at Whitney from the East
Countless switchbacks down the east side
Lone Pine Lake and Outpost Camp
I finally reached the Portal! I was done with my JMT hike. Still not enough cell service to get a call in to my wife, but my emails and text messages finally sent, so I knew she would know I was OK. The cheeseburger at the Portal store was awesome. I talked to a family who wanted to know what hiking the JMT was like. They had tried to summit Whitney but gave up about 2 miles from the Whitney Trail junction. So close... After my cheeseburger, I started hiking to Lone Pine. Before I even stuck my thumb out, the very first car that passed slowed down and stopped. What are the odds? It was Mary and Dan. They squeezed me in, and we had a great conversation while they took me to Lone Pine and dropped me off the Dow Villa, my hotel. Dan and Mary, if you read this, you are official Trail Angels and again, my thanks!!
Leaving the John Muir Wilderness
Whitney Portal
I was just up there... View from my hotel room
I had a room at the Dow booked for tomorrow night, and the only room they had tonight was the suite. I took it. It was a palace and opulent luxury after the trail. I deserved it! Dinner was at the pizza place across the street (NOT impressed). I spent Thursday relaxing. My bus to Ridgecrest where I would get a rental car only runs on MWF so I had time to relax until Friday morning. I could see the top of Mt. Whitney from my room. Once again, it awed me that I had been up there a few hours ago. Breakfast and dinner on Thursday were both outstanding. Both are less than a block from the Dow Villa. If you like Kung Pao chicken, the best I have ever had was at the Merry Go Round (funny name for a Chinese place). Breakfast at the Alabama Hills Cafe was incredible. Huge portions, home baked bread products. Just across the street from the Dow.
It feels strange being back in civilization.
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