Kevin's Life and Travel Blog

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 8, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 16.8 miles, 27.0 km.

The last day of an amazing journey. I was expecting a cold night camping at this high altitude but it wasn’t that bad. It got really windy around 1-2am and I thought a storm was coming. I had the the alarm to 5am but woke up a bit before that.

It was still dark outside. I looked around and the views were stunning. I was surrounded by huge peaks with hundreds of stars as backdrop. I packed everything up, filtered 2 liters of water, took out the last of my Snicker and Cliff bars to put them in the backpack’s side pocket and started the hike up to Whitney. It was imperative that I didn’t waste time and make sure I finished the 17 miles for the day around 3-4pm to allow me enough time to find a ride to Lone Pine.

Mount Whitney before dawn

Looking up the trail, I saw a single flashlight followed by two more. I later found out they were Peter, Ross and Marty. I caught up to them shortly before Trail Junction. As the sun came up, it revealed dramatic sights everywhere, particularly the reflections on Hitchcock Lakes.

Hitchcock Lakes

Hitchcock Lakes and Guitar Lake

At Trail Junction, most people decide to leave their backpacks here instead of taking them up to Mount Whitney. I decided to carry mine since I didn’t have a daypack and had no convenient way to carry water, camera, snacks and the SPOT Satellite Messenger. Also by this point, having consumed almost all of my 10-day food supply, the backpack was feeling pretty light. We saw a good number of people coming up the opposite way, from Whitney Portal. They must have started pretty early to be at Trail Junction by this time.

Trail Junction

Warning sign

After the short break, I started the final ascent to Mount Whitney. The way they carved out the trail on the steep rocky walls on the mountain is really a piece of engineering.

Final stretch up Mount Whitney

Peter in the green jacket

Peter in the green jacket

Dramatic views

I was feeling great physically and the 2 miles to the top felt pretty easy. After weeks being above 10,000 feet, my body was well acclimatized. I made sure to savor the last few hundred feet before the summit.

Last few hundred feet before summit

Only a few more steps to go...

After 23 days and about 220 miles, I had finally reached Mount Whitney (14,505 ft, 4,421 m), which is where the JMT officially ends. There is a registry to hikers to sign and I got the pleasure to start a new page in it. I signed: “9/8/09 – Kevin Yang – Diamond Bar, CA – Just finished the JMT. A trip of a lifetime”. What an emotional moment.

Mount Whitney Hut

Mount Whitney registry

My entry in the registry

Plaque marking the summit

Plaque marking the summit

There were about 15 people already on the summit. There’s a lot to see in all 360 degrees. Lone Pine and the road to it can be seen to the east. Guitar Lake to the west.

Views from Mount Whitney summit

Views from Mount Whitney Summit

Me, Peter, Marty and Ross

After spending a good hour and a half on top, I started making my way down around 10:30am. There was still 12.5 miles to go with a 6,000 feet descent. By now, hordes of people were coming up, most of them doing a brutal 1-day up and down hike from Whitney Portal. It seems torturous to me and I don’t know if I’d want to, or be able to do that. One gentleman going up asked me to relay a message to his girlfriend who was behind, telling her that he was going up to the summit and couldn’t wait for her any longer or else none of them were going to make it to the top. He wanted her to wait for him at Trail Junction. I later found her coming up the “99 Switchbacks”.

Pinnacles south of Mount Whitney

My JMT wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Czechs one last time. We run into each other right before I got down to Trail Junction, as they were going up. Having fallen behind earlier in their hike, they were now more than on schedule to catch their flight back to Europe. We exchanged emails and said goodbye one last time.

Just when I thought there were no more uphill climbs, there was one last short one right after Trail Junction up to Trail Crest (13,650 ft, 4,461 m). It was short but exhausting.

Trail Crest

Unknown Peak

I made my way down the famous (or dreaded) 99 Switchbacks. Going down was easy, but climbing up must be brutal. It was already around 1pm and there were still lots of people going up. Unfortunately, I think most of them were not going to be able to make it to the summit and back to Whitney Portal before dark.

99 Switchbacks

99 Switchbacks

With about 4 miles to go I got really hungry. People kept telling me about the wonderful cheeseburgers at Whitney Portal and I was trying to hurry and make it there as quickly as possible. I decided to stop an eat the last of my food because I wasn’t enjoying the hike anymore, and I really wanted to enjoy the last few miles of this amazing journey.

Mirror Lake. Hiking down to Whitney Portal.

I run into Marty and Ross and hiked the last mile with them. I was experiencing the same mixed feeling I got the previous night. I was happy and satisfied to be finishing the JMT, but at the same time I was sad it was coming to an end.

With Marty and Ross

I arrived at Whitney Portal around 4pm with a big smile on my face. I weighted my backpack at the scale. With 9 days of trash, my backpack weighted 17 lbs (7.7 kg).

Weighting my backpack at Whitney Portal

Once at the store, I got a cheeseburger, fries, and 2 beers and shared a table with Peter, Marty, Ross, Carla and Gavin. Having eaten only 2 hours before, I wasn’t really that hungry. After stuffing myself, it was time to look for a ride to Lone Pine. I went to the parking lot exit and on my first try, a very nice family of four stopped and picked me up. The father had just hiked up to Mt. Whitney and down all in one day. He was impressed by what I did but I really think going up and down 20+ miles, 6000 feet in elevation in one day and all by 4pm is a more impressive feat. They were very pleasant and we had a nice chat on the way to Lone Pine. I feel really bad for not remembering their names.

Once in Lone Pine, I got a room at Trails Motel for $85 the night. I took a shower right away and must have washed off 1 pound of dirt from my body. Looking in the mirror, I realized that I had lost a lot of upper body muscle. I weighted myself at home the following day and found out I had lost 10 lbs.

Peter, Marty, Ross, Carla and Gavin and I met up at the Pizza Factory for one more meal. Again, I wasn’t that hungry but ate anyways. Afterward, I went to the drugstore and got me a bunch of sweets, which is what I was really craving for. Back at the motel, I washed my clothes so that I can at least look (and smell) civilized the following day on my trip home. I stayed up until 1am watching crap on TV.

One would think that I would sleep soundly in a comfortable bed after being in the backcountry for 23 days, but I kept waking up all night. I think my body had gotten used to and was missing the sleeping bag and mat.

John Muir Trail Journal Index

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 7, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 9.5 miles, 15.3 km.

The sun started hitting the tent hard at around 7am. Before this, it had been a very cold night, with temperature dropping below freezing in the middle of the night. I wanted to keep sleeping but condensation was dripping all over my face. I got up but really didn’t do anything for a while. I was in no hurry. I removed the tent’s rain fly and laid down on the sleeping pad again, enjoying the views of the Great Western Divide to the west while the sun gently hit my back.

After lounging for a good while, I washed my t-shirt so that hopefully I wouldn’t be stinking too much while hitching a ride from Whitney Portal to Lone Pine the following day. I also washed my hair, which took a little work because I wanted to wash with soap away from the pond to not contaminate the water. I finally left Bighorn Plateau at around 11am.

Great Western Divide

Bighorn Plateau

Feeling clean and fresh after washing hair

I kept looking west to see if I could see Mount Whitney. I really couldn’t tell because there are many mountains similar in elevation around Whitney. The trail was very dusty and full of small rocks that kept getting into my shoes. I stopped many times to empty them. After the High Sierra Trial Junction I run into the Czechs one more time. I found it funny that despite having passed them 4 times, they always ended up ahead of me.

Sandy Meadow

Getting closer and closer to Mount Whitney

I was feeling sluggish and tired even though the trail was not demanding. I was hoping that a good night’s rest would leave me OK for the 17-mile final day. At Crabtree Ranger Station I found a bucket with the famous “Wag Bags” in them. The rule states that one must pack out human waste between this point and all the down to Whitney Portal. I think it is necessary considering the sheer number of people that visit the area every day. Wag Bags are reusable and supposedly deodorizes the “stuff” put in it. I took one and hoped to not have to use it. I stopped eating fiber (dried fruit) 2 days before for this very purpose.

I left Muir Trail Ranch with 10 days of food and now that I was going to finish the last stretch in 9 days, I was able to eat a little more. Consequently, I had a big lunch. Even after 21 days, I still haven’t learned the lesson of taking a little break after eating, before getting back on the trail. I was feeling terrible. Every step was excruciating and I felt like throwing up. I stopped, sat down for 15 minutes, and felt OK again.

I arrived at Timberline Lake and was finally told by a hiker which one was Mount Whitney. It was good to finally know.

Mount Whitney from Timberline Lake

Now that I knew which one Mount Whitney was, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I was getting so close that I felt I could almost touch it with my hands. I arrived at Guitar Lake around 4:30. Right away I saw Marty and Ross, who I had met on the ferry coming out of Vermilion Valley Resort. Also there was Peter from New Zealand, who is 70 years old but looks like he is 50.  He hikes the JMT every year. Very inspirational. Check out his website here. I sat down, had a relaxing conversation with them, and we were later joined by Carla and Gavin, whom they had met earlier. Ever since I left Muir Trail Ranch with Misty, Mark, Mike and Andy and fell behind them, I had been looking for them. Marty told me that they were one day ahead of us. I was good to know they all finished without problems.

I settled down in a nice spot by the lake and snapped a few pictures before it got dark. There were almost no clouds in the sky and it looked like weather was going to be great the next day.

Guitar Lake

Camping by Guitar Lake, with Mount Whitney in the background

Mount Whitney, reflected on Guitar Lake

Mount Whitney during sunset

Mount Whitney at night, 60 second exposure

I had conflicting feelings upon realizing that this was going to be my last night of camping on the JMT. On one hand I was looking forward to a shower and and a real bed after the following day. On the other hand, I didn’t want this experience to end and wanted to enjoy these last few hours as much as possible.

The plan for the next day was to start hiking at 6am, hit the summit before 9am, spend one hour on top, and arrive at Whitney Portal before 5pm.

John Muir Trail Journal Index

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 6, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 13.2 miles, 21.2 km.

For the first time in the entire hike I woke up feeling fatigued. With Forester Pass coming up, I thought I was in for a long and tough day. I made sure I drank a good amount water since I had not been drinking enough in the previous days. I was having only about 3-4 liters per day, not enough while hiking so much.

Deer around Vidette Meadow

The first hour back on the trail, my pace was slow so I could warm up properly. After this, my energy level went up and I was feeling great. I caught up with 4 hikers with huge packs in front of me, and it wasn’t until I was right behind them that I realize that they were the Czechs I had met after Reds Meadow and at Vermilion Valley Resort. Since they were struggling back then, I really wasn’t expecting them to pass me and be in front of me. Last time I talked to them they were behind schedule and didn’t believe they were going to complete the JMT before they had to catch flight out of Los Angeles. Not only were they now right on schedule, but were also not struggling physically anymore. They even went off the JMT and over Kearsarge Pass to resupply at Onion Valley.

Bubbs Creek

I was now about to tackle Forester Pass. For a long while, I kept thinking that the pass was about one mile earlier than where it actually is. While approaching it, the pass is blocked from view by a large ridge until the last mile or so. The trail goes south, then makes a sudden turn heading north before turning south again for the final approach. All these changes of direction are there to make the ascent as smooth as possible. I found Forester Pass (13,200 ft, 4,023 m) to be the most enjoyable of all the passes on the JMT, as it is long but never too strenuous. The views are great, as expected.

Forester Pass on the left

Final approach to Forester Pass

Forester Pass

Forester Pass

As the days went by, I got better and better at predicting how long it would take me to get to a certain location taking into account elevation changes. Before getting back on the trail in the morning, I predicted I would get to the pass between 2:00 and 2:30pm and I got there at 2:10pm. I chatted briefly with 2 guys from Modesto, CA on the top of the pass. They were nice enough to take a picture for me. I decided to stop and eat lunch. It’s not everyday that I get to eat a meal at 13,000 feet. I then saw a hiker named Jim come up from the south side of the pass. He was doing the Pacific Crest Trail in small sections at a time and hoped to complete the entire hike in his lifetime. I learned from him that Forester Pass is the highest pass of not only the JMT, but the PCT as well. He was carrying an 80+ pound backpack but the most amazing thing of all was that he was hiking in flip-flops. Even without carrying a backpack, going up Forester Pass in flip-flops must be quite a feat.

I mentioned, while talking about the types of food in my canister, that I wished I had packed more sweet stuff. I was craving them non-stop. After taking a few pictures for him, he pulled out a Tiger’s Milk bar from his pocket and said to me “This is your reward”. What a great gesture. So many nice people on the trail. We said good bye and continued on opposite directions.

Brutal switchbacks going down Forester Pass

Going down Forester Pass

On most of the passes on the JMT, I got the feeling that going up in my opposite direction (Northbound instead of Southbound) was much steeper and demanding. Forester Pass was no different. The switchbacks on the other side were relentless. The trail then makes a smooth and gradual descent. I hiked 4.7 miles to Shepherd Pass Junction.

Shepherd Pass Junction

I planned to end the day here but after looking around and seeing another familiar looking campsite surrounded by lodgepole forest, I decided to push for another 2 miles to Bighorn Plateau, hoping for better views. After a long day, this last stretch going up 500 ft in elevation felt demanding.

Fire ravished tree

Ultimately, I was glad I kept going. Bighorn Plateau is like no other place on the JMT. As Ross (who I met on the trail) told me later, it looks like something out of a Salvador Dali painting. It felt like a desert with an oasis in the middle, with almost no vegetation at all. Hundreds of ravens were flying around. I ate dinner (with Jim’s Tiger’s Milk bar as dessert) and got all my chores done quickly because I wanted make sure I had time to take pictures of the amazing sunset.

Camping at Bighorn Plateau

Camping at Bighorn Plateau

Sunset at Bighorn Plateau

The Great Western Divide from Bighorn Plateau

The sun went down and suddenly there were complete quietness and stillness. There was nobody else around. No running water and no wind at all. What a great and strange feeling.

Looking back, this was my favorite day of the entire hike, mainly due to Forester Pass and Bighorn Plateau. I had spent 3 weeks on the trail and now had 2 more days to complete the last 27 miles. The next day was going to be an easy 9.5 mile hike to Guitar Lake.

John Muir Trail Journal Index

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 5, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 14.0 miles, 22.5 km.

For the second night in a row, I woke up a lot during sleep. This was mainly due to feeling a bit cold, strange dreams, condensation dropping on my face from the tent ceiling,  and uncomfortable sleeping positions. When I got out of the tent around 7am, it was still very cold outside, around 35° F (about 2° C). Everything was wet and took a while to dry. From all the campsites I’d used on the JMT, Woods Creek was one of the lowest in elevation and, as a result, surrounded by mountains. It took a while for the sun to rise above them and hit me directly.

I crossed the suspension bridge two more times just for fun before getting back on the trail.

Woods Creek suspension bridge

I wasn’t feeling as energized as I was the day before. I’d been wanting to take a dip in one of the lakes for the last few days but the weather had not been appropriate. This day was perfect though, with not one single cloud in the sky.

A sunny day, finally

The long hike up torwards Glen Pass

I run into the guided tour group with the horse pack right before Dollar Lake. I stopped to chat with them and found out that they were doing a 14-day hike from Florence Lake to Mount Whitney. Nice people, and they all looked like they were enjoying themselves. Once at Dollar Lake, I stopped for the long awaited dip. The last shower I had taken was 8 days ago at Vermillion Valley Resort. The water was a bit cold but didn’t affect much. While waiting for the sun to dry me, I ate lunch by the lake. Beautiful views.

Dollar Lake with Fin Dome in the background

As I was getting ready to get back on the trail, I met 3 guys from the Los Angeles area coming from Baxter Pass, which according to them was a miserable experience. They told me about the huge fire in the Angeles National Forest, which was the worst they’ve ever seen. I also found out from them that it was Labor Day weekend which I wasn’t aware of at all.

Back on the trail and after a couple of miles, I arrived at Rae Lakes. There were a good number of people here since this is a very popular area.

Rae Lakes

Rae Lakes

The final ascent to Glen Pass (11,798 ft, 3,596 m) came right after the lakes. The climb is in two parts. The first one to a plateau before a final one up a series of very steep switchbacks. I struggled a lot and my legs were getting very fatigued. I had to stop many times to catch my breath. I was starting to get a bit frustrated until I convinced myself to enjoy the moment and the views. This was not something one gets to experience everyday. It was the toughest pass I did on the JMT.

Views from Glen Pass

Views from Glen Pass

I saw a lot of hikers coming up from the other side of the pass and I sympathized with them. The descent (ascent for them) was very steep and brutal, much worse than the one I had just finished on the opposite side. My heels and ankles got sore from the pounding. Thinking about Forester Pass the following day, I was hoping that a good night’s rest would fix everything. It was already 3:30pm and I still had about 5.5 miles to go, so I picked up the pace. I run into a friendly park ranger who asked me if I was carrying a bear canister.

Burnt tree

I arrived at Vidette Meadow a little bit before 6pm. I passed by two fairly covered campsites until I found one that was more open. I camped about 50 yards away from 3 other hikers, which ended up being a mistake since they were up chatting and laughing pretty loud well after dark. It was starting to get cold pretty fast, and while my last few attempts had failed, I decided to give it one more go at starting a fire. Surprisingly, I was successful. What difference the fire made. Camp chores were much more fun and less rushed with the fire there to keep me warm.

Camping at Vidette Meadow

John Muir Trail Journal Index