Day 56: Mount Whitney

Edited with a couple of updates .... now writing from Mammoth ...
Today I'm taking a side trip to Mount Whitney: the highest mountain of the USA outside Alaska and the highest elevation I ever visited on foot. The elevation is 14,500 feet (4421 meters) above sea level, an elevation gain of 4200 feet (around 1300 meters) from the Crabtree meadow campground. Fortunately I can leave my bear canister and most other stuff in the camp, and only take essentials like warm clothing with me for the hike up. It feels funny hiking with such a light backpack. The trail first climbs only gradually through alpine forest past two lakes: Timberline Lake and Guitar Lake.






Above guitar lake there are only few shrubs; the trail resembles a stream much of the time; and crosses some little snowfields. Most of the snow has already melted and there's lots of water everywhere. Marmots are watching from the rocks and I also hear and see a coyote climbing up a hillside.






From 12,000 ft elevation upwards the climb becomes steeper, around same steepness as the Y trail in Provo, but the thin air and high elevation makes it a very strenuous climb. I meet a few hikers already coming back from top - they started climbing at night and reached summit just in time for sunrise. The surrounding mountains start appearing lower as the trail ascends up the switchbacks. Across the glacial  valley is the scary looking Mount Hitchcock with dark colored lakes below.








Finally after taking deep breaths every couple of steps I reach the trail junction. From here it is less than 2 miles to the summit. More Mountains and lakes can be seen below and there are also more hikers, some of them have climbed up here via Whitney Portal on the east side of the mountain.






The main summit can be seen in a distance. It I still a long hike to get there. Views open up into the deep desert valley on the east side, then we cross a snowfield, and finally we see the little hut on the top.








The weather via perfect and the views are amazing. The "beak" on my nose is for prevention of sunburn from the strong UV in the thin mountain air.










I enjoy the view, chat with other hikers - two of theme are also BYU cougars and one speaks Czech :-) and then start the long descent back.

In one saddle on the sharp ridge I have signal, so I send my blog posts from there.

Next update will be from Mammoth Lakes, about 10 days from today. More high mountain wilderness lies ahead!

Upozornění pro čtenáře: příští aktualizaci plánuji zhruba za 10 dní z Mammoth Lakes po přechodu vysoké Sierry.

The way down from the summit was easier than up in the case of Whitney. I came back down to crabtree meadow campground, met my Czech friends Lucy, Rocksteady and Petra who were planning to climb up for next day sunrise, and luckily the campground had a toilet - because on my way up to summit under a rock I found a plastic bag with human poop and I carried it in my backpack back pocket all the way up and back down. Finally in campground toilet I got rid of the shit :-)

After eating a big early supper I decided to hike a bit further to get me closer to Forrester Pass. The next section of the PCT goes through the high Sierras through seven very high mountain passes, each one above the tree line and with snow on ground  long into summer months. The names of the passes are: Forrester, Glen, Pinchot, Mather, Muir, Selden and Silver. Luckily for hikers like me the Pacific Crest trail does not go on the main Sierra crest in this section - that would be only for professional mountaineers. Still, just getting over the passes will be a challenge requiring good physical endurance, timing and weather. One pass per day is more than enough. It is recommended to be up in the pass before noon, while the snow still is firm enough to walk on.

At Wallace Creek it was already almost dark. I took off my shoes and pants to ford the deep water, and then found a site under a pine tree on the other side to pitch my bivy tent and get good sleep before tomorrow's climb.

Den 55: Jezero

Skalní ostroh u průsmyku Cottonwood Pass - kemp u rangerské stanice "Crabtree Meadow"
Míle 748 - 766 + 1 míle odbočky směrem na Mount Whitney
Celkem 19 mil

Probouzím se za bílého rána za ptačího zpěvu. I ve vysoké výšce (skoro 3300 metrů nad mořem) je překvapivě teplo. Dole pod horami je teď nejspíš jako v peci. V horském sedle "Cottonwood Pass" vítám vycházející sluníčko. Odtud je to necelý kilometr k prvnímu horskému jezeru. Ledovcové pleso "Chicken Spring Lake" je obklopené strmými svahy se zbytky sněhu. Tábořit přímo na břehu je zakázáno, ale plavat v jezeře se smí, a tak se ponořuji do ledové vody, plavu doprostřed jezera a zpátky ke břehu.

Voda je čistá a studená a plave v ní spousta korýšů a potápníků. Kousek za jezerem stezka vstupuje na území národního parku Sequoia. Pro přenocování v národním parku je třeba povolení. Jako hajkr na PCT mám povolení, které mi umožňuje tábořit v přírodě,ve všech národních parcích na trase hřebenovky.

Nacházím se na horní hranici lesa. Vysoké štíty velehor jsou na dosah ruky. Stromy jsou zohybané větrem, dneska ráno je výjimečně bezvětří a jasně modrá obloha. Lepší počasí na přechod velehor jsem si nemohl přát.

Ve výšce si  jednotlivé stromy od sebe navzájem udržují uctivou vzdálenost. V půdě je jen omezené množství živin, a tak každý strom rozprostírá své kořeny do širokého okolí. Mnohem hustší lesní porost je v údolích u potoků. Stezka přechází jeden z mnoha čistých horských potůčků. Zdravím se s Laurou, rangerkou národního parku. Laura kontroluje můj permit (povolení k pobytu v divočině).

V údolí je hustý les a už z dálky je slyšet hučení dravé horské bystřiny. Potok se nazývá "Rock Creek" (Skalní potok). Potoky, říčky a mokřadní louky mi připomínají oblast Povydří na Šumavě. Přes potok nevede žádný most: poprvé nazouvám vodní orienťácké boty a brodím se po kolena hlubokým rychlým proudem.

Po úspěšném překonání bystřiny následuje strmý výšlap do dalšího horského sedla. Nejprve serpentinami na náhorní plošinu s horským lesem, pak do sedla "Guyot Pass" ve výšce 3350 m. Řídký vzduch je znát, po pár krocích se vždycky musím zastavit a zhluboka dýchat.

V sedle si spolu s dalšími hajkry dávám pauzu a vařím vydanou večeři (kuskus). Pak pokračuji do dalšího údolí potoka "Whitney Creek". V závěru údolí je vidět mohutný horský masív Mount Whitney: cíl zítřejšího výšlapu.

Opět přezouvám boty, brodím potok, a skoro za šera stavím stan v tábořišti u rangerské stanice "Crabtree Meadow" na odbočce směrem na Mount Whitney. Výše na stezce k vrcholu je táboření zakázáno. Zítra mě čeká výstup na nejvyšší bod.

Day 54: A Little Bit of Snow

Granite boulders - cowboy camp under Trail Peak
Mile 734 - 748
Total 14 miles

The full moon was up all night. The mosquitoes were also up all night, but I was happy they weren't able to fly through the thin walls of my little bivy tent. With first light I got up, walked past a few hikers still asleep in their tents, and reached a saddle with a view deep down to the east. The pools of salty water on the valley floor are all that remains of Owens Lake - this used to be a large lake full of life, until water flowing into the lake was diverted into the Los Angeles aquaduct.
Here is also a rare spot with cellphone reception and so I spend more time in the saddle, cooking breakfast and updating the blog posts from last couple of days. Among the hikers passing by is a very brave hiker who hikes all naked (except shoes). This is because today is the summer solstice, longest day of year, and "naked hiking day". I'm not a mosquito lover like him and so I chicken out and don't follow the tradition.

The next section of trail winds through rocky terrain towards the flat valley of Diaz Creek. At first the water looks a bit dirty. However there are trouts swimming in the creek so the water can't be too bad. Still I'm glad I decided to keep carrying my water filter through the Sierras. With another hiker "Shadow" from Texas we tank up water, eat lunch and watch the colorful trouts. Shadow is a very swift hiker; he started from Mexico on 18th May.

After a long break I head back on trail, climbing higher and higher through sparse forest of conifer trees. This is how the forest in the southern Sierra Nevada looks like: the trees like to keep a big distance from each other.

The PCT has reached its highest elevation since Mexico border: 10,800 feet. That is even higher than back south on Mount San Jacinto. Back there the Sierra looked like an unreachable dream; now I'm privileged to walk even higher! From Cottonwood Pass and Trail Pass, the swamp of Horseshoe Meadow can be seen deep down. There must be clouds of mosquitoes down there. Up on the ridge the mosquitoes are quite OK, they only seem to be active in the morning and evening. A gentle breeze also helps.

A little bit higher in east facing slope of Trail Peak I hear bubbling of water. A strong flowing spring is emerging between the rocks, and above the spring I touch the first little bit of Sierra snow. It's just enough snow to build a little baby snowman.

About half mile further there is another strong flowing spring fed by recently melted snow. I clean my whole body in the tumbling current. It is great to be in an area with abundance of water - from now on, hiking one week or longer without washing is a thing of the past!

From the spring I cross over to other side of the ridge and in almost 11,000 feet (3300 meters) elevation find a cozy hidden spot behind granite boulders and old twisted trees.

There's no need to build tent for tonight; the mosquitoes are just a few and inexperienced. I cook supper, hide the bear canister between rocks in a safe distance, and fall asleep on a warm summer night, higher than I had ever camped before.