A JOHN MUIR TRAIL REPORT: JMT: Summer of 2020 (Part 2)

On July 24th, The Niece and I were reunited at the Onion Valley campground in the mountains above Independence, California. She made really good time and came in two days ahead of schedule.

The Onion Valley campground is very beautiful and I can highly recommend it. We found a nice site and we spent the evening eating food Karen had packed for us: hot dogs and macaroni salad.

Katrina filled me in on her adventures. She got caught in a hail storm (and survived.) She also made new friends, some of whom I would meet when we headed back out onto the trail.

In the morning we climbed back up to the John Muir Trail at Kearsarge Pass – a spectacularly beautiful hike.

That night we camped along Bubbs Creek with one of Katrina’s new friends, Laura. Laura would finish the JMT and we would see her again as she descended from the top of Mount Whitney.

The next day we hiked up and over Forester Pass (13,200 feet.)

It was a mile or two down the south side of this pass where Donald Downs died in 1930.

As we descended from this very high pass, it took almost all day before we reached the tree line. There, we wandered through vast stands of Foxtail Pine, which I originally mistook for Bristlecone Pine. The two are related.

That night we camped at Tyndall Creek.

Katrina at Tyndall Creek, looking pretty fresh after 207 miles of hiking!

We grew excited on the next day as we approached Mount Whitney. It was now Mount Whitney Eve!

Here is our first glimpse of Mount Whitney.

We arrived at Guitar Lake below Mount Whitney for a windy Mount Whitney Eve evening after passing through lovely Crabtree Meadows.

Here I am setting up at Guitar Lake with the backside of Mount Whitney in the background.

An excited Katrina on Mount Whitney Eve.

We got an early start, beginning the hike with every piece of clothing we packed.

Almost there!

Someone, trail builders probably, planted these purple flowers all along the Mount Whitney trail. How nice!

They are named “Skypilot”.

… and finally, the top. The highest trail in the United States and the terminus of the John Muir Trail. Words can not describe how it felt to be there nor how proud of Katrina I was.

The descent off of Mount Whitney to Whitney Portal (where Katrina’s car awaited us) is a long steep descent (6,400 vertical feet) that is punishing on the body. We descended to Trail Camp, where we shared our last night on the trail for a while.

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise.

And descended the trail to a bounty of grilled food.

Here are Katrina’s approximate numbers:

Days Hiking: 20

Miles Hiked: 235

Vertical Feet Climbed: 50,000

So far I have covered about half of the John Muir Trail. The second part felt much better than the first, as far as my feet were concerned. For the month of July, I slept on the ground in my little tent a total of 17 nights.

What kind of person completes the John Muir Trail? It is not the fittest person, nor the youngest person. It does require courage and a leap of faith in oneself. It is the patient person. The prepared person. The person who understands pacing. It is, in my opinion, a deep and profound accomplishment. Well done, Katrina!