Day's end: Upper Vidette Meadow
Day's miles: 10.4 miles
Total trip miles: 185 miles
This morning we got up, packed up our gear and ate breakfast right before we were passed by the backpacking family. Apparently, we had stopped a little farther past them last night. As they were scheduled to summit Mt. Whitney the same day as us, I figured we would be leap-frogging with them a lot these last few days.
We got going just as the sun was starting to light up everything and the birds were beginning to wake up. Around all these lakes there were so many different birds I heard that it sounded like something out of Jurassic Park. Pretty soon we wound our way to Middle Rae Lake, which was just stunning, and stopped to take a few pictures. After passing the Sixty Lakes Trail about 1/3 of a mile down the trail, we began a very steep and rocky ascent up to the top of Glenn Pass. We weren't alone this morning, and we passed and were passed by about half a dozen backpackers.
Middle Rae Lake
Beginning to climb Glenn Pass
By the time we made it to the top of Glenn Pass and had taken our well-deserved Snickers break, we were passed by an older man who was really taking his time and enjoying the view. We chatted for awhile when he reached the top and I asked him if he had passed anyone who might have been Rob (we figured we must be right behind him at this point). The man said he and his wife had camped next to someone that sounded an awful lot like Rob. The Rob-look-a-like and his wife (who were faster hikers), had taken off this morning over the pass and were planning on waiting for him just before Kearsarge Pass Trail, a little less than two miles away. We figured that if that really was Rob we couldn't be more than a mile and a half behind him, so we got going and hoped we could meet up with our hiking friend one last time before the trip was over.
View from the top of Glenn Pass - we are headed to the left/south
Pretty, icy lake on the northern side of Glenn Pass
Continuing down the trail after our break we passed the Kearsarge Pass Trail (no Rob - maybe we'll meet up with him again on another trail) and were greeted by a Park Ranger and two horses who were bringing a re-supply to a father-daughter team. The Park Ranger stopped us to talk for awhile, checked that we had our permits and bear canisters, and then gave us the weather forecast. Apparently the clouds we had watched roll in during the past couple afternoons were not the "normal afternoon high Sierras afternoon shower clouds", but was the beginning of a much larger storm system that's going to roll over this neck of the woods (think Forester Pass, Crabtree Meadows, and Mt. Whitney) for the next three days.
Perfect timing! We're supposed to summit Whitney in two days!
We were advised to keep a careful watch out for storm clouds and not to attempt to cross mountain passes if the clouds looked at all threatening. If we did try to climb mountain passes in foul weather we were to expect, rain, hail, thunder, lightening, snow, and to keep in mind that we could seriously injure ourselves or possibly die. Lucky penny, don't fail me now!
Charlotte Lake near Kearsarge Pass Trail
After crossing Bubbs Creek, we ran into the backpacking family again who had stopped for a quick lunch. We discussed the weather and how long we might have before the storm clouds rolled over us and it began to rain or snow. We figured we might have a few hours - better get moving! We fixed our blisters, stuffed our faces with the last of the summer sausage (thanks Mom and Dad!), and got moving as fast as our feet could take us.
Looking down the valley toward Upper Vidette Meadow
Even though we were trying to hurry, I had to document the first sign of bears we'd seen yet on this trip - the claw marks went on about 5 or 6 feet above my head!
Within about an hour the gray storm clouds gathered overhead and we started to feel sprinkles. We pulled on our Driducks and not a minute too late because the light sprinkle quickly became a downpour. Ugh. I just hate hiking in the rain, especially when there will not be a hot shower, hot meal, hot chocolate, and a dryer for my clothes at the end of the day.
As we continued to climb toward Forester the rain came down harder and the thunder and lightning began, which just turned the trail to a puddled, muddy mess. We pass what is a clear campground with bear boxes and everything, but continued toward Forester - I was determined to do as many miles as possible today so we could stay on schedule. Soon enough the trees began to thin out as we climbed above the treeline. At this point, Aaron stops and tells me this isn't very safe and we should turn around and stop for the night at the campground with the bear boxes, or at least wait out the worst of the storm. I sooo want to keep going and log more miles today to make the next, and final two days of the trip more manageable. I'm about to open my mouth to say how it's a dumb idea to stop so early today just because of a few raindrops when I hear thunder/see lightning.... you remember what you learned about thunderstorms when you were little? That when you see lightning you're supposed to count the number of seconds before you hear thunder and then you'll have the number of miles away the storm actually is or something like that. Well... there is no counting for this one. Not even a fraction of a second. This storm is directly on top of us and we're basically the tallest things around. At this point, I agree that Aaron is right and we high tail it back to the safety of the trees, all the way back to the campground with the bear boxes.
At the campground there are two tarps and two tents already set up. Apparently, we aren't the only ones to call it quits in this storm. We set up camp as quickly as possible and crawl inside to play cards while we warm up and wait out the storm. With about two hours of daylight left the storm lightens up and eventually stops. Gradually, all of the people who had pitched their tents and tarps come out to see how much rain and snow had fallen. As it turns out our neighbors are the two lightweight backpackers and the father-daughter team. As it's dinner time, we all gather together on a large rock (the driest spot around) to cook our dinners together and get to know each other a little better. One of the two lightweight backpackers makes (and sells!) his own gear, and they both use a similar cook system to what we've used in the past. The father-daughter team have been out here for 23 days (!!!) and in about three or four days they will summit Whitney and complete the JMT. They talk about how they're enjoying this long hike more than they thought they ever would, what their favorite parts have been, and how they spent about a half hour being entertained by a marmot a few days ago - of which they have about 100 pictures. Apparently none of their friends or family members thought they would make it more than three days - now look at them! About three days to go and they'll complete the John Muir Trail!
Impromptu dinner party
After we finish eating it begins to rain again, so we wish each other good luck and crawl back inside our tents. Better get a good night's sleep so we can climb Forester early and pull some big miles tomorrow!
You can enlarge any of these pictures by clicking on them.
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