Date: June 8, 2017
Miles: 760.5 – 5 miles before Mt. Whitney on Mt. Whitney trail.
This morning started with a big climb over Guyot Pass and…surprise…more snow! We unexpectedly found Orange, John and Gringo at the junction to Mt. Whitney and they hiked out with us from that point. I was excited to get to our first actual in-the-creek crossing at Whitney Creek, which ended up being bracingly cold but uneventful.
We headed up the John Muir Trail to Guitar Lake in slushy snow. I slipped and slid all over the place, and was exhausted by the time we found a place to camp up the shore from the lake.
Gringo let us know that he was leaving for Vegas and Orange said that he was going to spend a few days in Independence waiting for us to finish the next few days and join him there. At that point, I decided that I would take the next couple days to decide whether I’m going to finish the Sierras or skip ahead. It is beautiful out here in the snow, but I would love to be able to enjoy the scenery without constantly staring at my feet so I can stay upright through the suncups or sliding around in the slush.
At the end of the day, I found a sweet little ledge on which to set up my tent, and we all made plans to leave at 4 am the next morning for a Mt. Whitney summit. Exciting!
