From JMT mile 201.5 to 205.8+ Total: 11.4 miles hiked 8/20
On the twenty second day of my John Muir Trail trek I finished the 200-plus miles of trail by summiting Mount Whitney, beginning at Guitar Lake and ending the day at Outpost Camp within the Whitney Zone.
Keith and I ignored the midnight hikers that tried to wake us up in the middle of the night. We had our alarms set for 4am, and that’s when we started getting ready. We ate our usual hot breakfast and packed up our gear. We left camp at first light, at about 5:30am, and we were hiking using our headlamps. After three weeks on the trail, what used to be first light at that hour was now barely the beginning of light, as Summer waned toward Autumn. But we didn’t care. We could see where we were walking, and my phone was quite good at low-light photography. Onward to the summit of Mount Whitney!
The sky got lighter as we climbed up above Guitar Lake, and alpenglow color appeared on the distant Kaweah Range to the west. Guitar Lake started looking like a proper guitar, in other words. We were on the west side of the Sierra Crest, so we didn’t have to worry about the heat of the sun for a long time. And it was quite cool that morning, with the same constant breeze flowing into our faces from out of the south that we’d had the last three days. You’d think a southerly breeze would be warm, but no. I kept my gloves on and hiked hard to stay warm.
After the trail jogged south, climbing all the while, it decided to attack the slope directly, via multiple short switchbacks. We climbed and climbed. We were just about as fast as everyone else, except for one slackpacker who was only going up and back down to Guitar Lake with minimal weight. We were doing OK, just plodding along at our usual machine-like pace.
There was yet another set of longer switchbacks up above the first. We kept getting good views out to the west, at the Hitchcock Lakes and beyond. Meanwhile, the trail itself was a marvel of construction. The trail builders really outdid themselves. The entire slope was made of huge blocks of cracked granite, and making a stable path through that madness was impressive. Hiking it was a lot of fun, and there weren’t too many giant-sized Bob-Steps (named in honor of our comrade Bob, who left us two weeks ago).
Way up high, near the 13000-foot mark, were a few crazy campsites perched on the side of the mountain. I met someone last year who stayed in one. They had great views, but you had to carry a lot of water to stay there overnight.
After two and a half hours, at 8am, we arrived at Trail Crest. Not bad for three miles while climbing 2000 feet. This was the spot where we planned to drop off our heavy gear. Whitney was a two mile there-and-back climb of an additional 1000 feet. When we arrived, we said hello to our old pal Chris! I met him the first day on the trail, back in Yosemite. I guess we both had similar ideas of how long this trail should take (three weeks). I think we intersected at least nine times in the past 22 days. He was just getting back from the summit after being there at dawn. He was about to head all the way out to Whitney Portal, a nine mile hike dropping nearly 5000 feet! I’ve done it twice, once in 2018 with a full pack, and again in 2022 with a day-pack. My knees and legs didn’t appreciate it, to tell the truth. That’s why Keith and I were going to split it in two.
We unpacked our heavy stuff and cached it as best we could. The trail sign said we had 1.9 miles to go! And we laughed at the Lightning sign, because there was zero chance of lightning today (unlike my 2018 summit excitement). Then we said good-bye to Chris, and wished him well. It was time to move on to the proverbial End of the Trail.
The first part of the two mile journey to Whitney was hiking along some big switchbacks, which cut across a steep slope and approached Mount Muir. This mountain was on the main Whitney ridge, and was a fourteener all on its own. Maybe someday I’ll climb it. Maybe. I’m not that much of a Peakbagger, so maybe not.
I pointed out the 99 Switchbacks to Keith, and they didn’t look so bad. But they were a problem for later on. Our next task was to hike along the awesome stony section of trail across the west face of Mount Muir. Yes, I took videos of this with my phone on wide-angle mode. I took too many too-long videos and tons of photos. If you don’t like it, scroll on past. If you’re scared of heights, you probably shouldn’t be reading this at all!
It should be noted that Keith used his hiking sticks for stability, but I didn’t use any. I used the “Zen Hiking” method, by flowing along the trail, perfectly balanced and perfectly focused. Or so I’d like to think. Anyway, the next section, after Mount Muir, was along some similar rocky terrain that led to the southern towers and pinnacles.
The trail was built such that it travelled just below the gaps between the pinnacles. That way if you wanted a view to the east, directly down a thousand-foot cliff, you could climb up about ten feet and get a peek over the top. I liked doing this. I love killer views. As long as they don’t kill me.
By this time, 8:30am, we got some excellent views to the west. Guitar Lake was now in sunlight, and we could see the Whitney Creek drainage in all its glory, as well as the Kern Trench below it, and the Kaweah Range across the way. This is also when the summit of Mount Whitney came into view. The Smithsonian Summit Hut could be seen as a tiny rectangle up near its tip. This is when the “towers” were now called “needles” and became taller and wider, remaining connected to the steep sloping western side of Whitney’s south ridge. The trail didn’t bother with switchbacks any longer; it was simply a long continuous climb to the north.
Once we reached the deep cleft just before the Whitney massif and after the Keeler Needle, we turned around to look back the way we came. I love that view, of the broad sloping western slope that the trail follows, with Mount Langley, Cirque, and Olancha in the far distance beyond Mount Muir. Once we got onto the massif, we had to climb some more. This year, in mid-August, the usual snow patch was much smaller. It had already melted beyond the suncup stage, and was now more like a zone of penitentes which we had to negotiate carefully. Of course, we could have avoided the snow entirely by climbing on the big talus, but there wasn’t much fun in that.
Once we passed the snow, we were on the flatter summit zone of Whitney. We still had plenty of climbing to do, but at least the trail wandered along the edges so we could get views west, north, and south. This is the zone above 14000 feet, and we met some dayhikers that were having oxygen issues around here. Keith and I were still operating like Hiking Machines, fully acclimated to elevation, plodding onward and only pausing when we wanted to take a photo.
Eventually, the summit hut came into view. This was due to the curvature of the massif; it was too steep back near the snow, and got more horizontal as we neared the top. We arrived at the hut and signed the register. We also took a peek inside the southern half of the hut, where you could theoretically shelter, but it had no door and had yet another one of those lightning warning signs. Last year, in early July 2024, when I was up here the room was still half full of snow! But it looked pretty comfy right now, as there was still a cold, steady breeze blowing out of the south. Not that we cared. Our goal was the actual summit. It wasn’t very far away.
We immediately stood near the edge of the deadly drop-off to the east, and took the requisite summit photos. There were quite a few hikers up there, taking a well-deserved break in the sun. I turned off airplane mode on my phone, and got plenty of cell signal from Lone Pine, all the way down in the Owens Valley. Texts and photos were sent to friends and family. I even called Vicki! It was only 9:30am, and we were on top of Whitney. I felt that we made decent time. Five miles in four hours, with a 3000 foot elevation gain. Not bad at all, for a couple of old guys like us.
More importantly, I texted a photo of me and Keith to Bob, who didn’t make it up here with us. Maybe next year? I also texted him that we tried to replace him with a lovely 25 year old German girl, but she turned out to be too fast for us. That made him laugh. I would have texted Sabrina but she was still out there on the trail, a day behind us. She sent me photos of all three of us standing on Glen Pass a few days later.
The most important thing, we realized, was that our John Muir Trail trek was theoretically complete. This was the southern terminus of the trail. Getting down from here wasn’t part of the deal. In theory. Calling in a helicopter to get us wouldn’t subtract from our accomplishment in any way. It would probably annoy Sequoia National Park and cost us a whopping fine, not to mention the expense of the chopper. How’s that for a pipe dream? Maybe it was due to a lack of oxygen.
Sadly, we still had another six miles to go to reach camp. We reluctantly left the summit, and began the two mile hike back to Trail Crest and repack our gear. The long downhill had begun.
Step one: Descending the Whitney massif, crossing the icy penitentes, and blasting past the big needles. Fun!
Step two: The towers and pinnacles, and the stony path below Mount Muir. This was my favorite part of the Whitney Trail. Big stones and sudden-death drop-offs everywhere you looked. You really felt alive hiking that section, not only because of the killer views, but also because you really had to concentrate. It’s that Zen-thing, yet again, like rock-hopping across a raging creek, but extended for over a mile. Good times.
We left the summit at 10am, and arrived at Trail Crest by 11am. We spent some time repacking our backpacks and talking to some fellow hikers, then slung them onto our backs again. It was time to head out, like proper backpackers. It should be noted that this Trail Crest wasn’t the real Trail Crest. This was the western one. The real one was up on the actual Sierra Crest itself, and was a short distance away. Uphill, of course. Ugh!
Step three: Get to Trail Crest, take some photos, and have a lunch break. An easy plan. We walked a bit past the crest and down into the Whitney Zone, which began here and extended all the way down to Lone Pine Lake. It was a fine spot for a break, and we ate our lunch while dozens of dayhikers headed downward.
Step Four: Descend the world-famous 99 Switchbacks. Some people say that there are actually 97, others 98, but 99 sounds best so that’s why the name stuck. We had to drop about 1800 feet in 2.2 miles, which is a very steep trail. There are smooth sections but mostly there were stone steps, which aren’t fun for knees. Some of the steps were very large, and we encountered spots where rockfall had occurred, which made for some dangerous footing. I got out my single hiking stick for this one. I used it on the big steps, to ease the strain on my knees when they had to lower me and my heavy pack downward. I also decided to begin the first switchback by saying “One!” out loud, followed by two, three, etcetera. It gave us something to do. Since some of them were quite long, it was hard to be sure you didn’t skip one, or forget your place. This time, I was at 87 when I got to the bottom. Somewhere along the way I must’ve repeated the tens column. Oops!
Keith was waiting for me at the bottom. I wasn’t used to hiking sticks and it slowed me down. But we still made it in about an hour and a half. It was getting toward 1pm, and we were in Trail Camp, the highest legal campsite in the Whitney Zone. I asked Keith if he wanted to camp here, but both of us decided that it was way too early. Plus, there was no shade at 12000 feet elevation. We were still feeling strong so we didn’t stop for a long break. It was time to move on.
Our original plan, back when Bob was still hiking with us, was to camp just off-trail at Consultation Lake. At 11,680 feet, it was a major alpine lake. There were patches of snow leading right down to the surface. I had a feeling that Keith would take a bath in it if we stayed here. However, since Bob was still planning to return to finish the trail in 2026, we decided to leave Consultation Lake for next year. It was the least we could do for him.
The trail meandered around rocky ridges and glaciated granite outcroppings. Whoever built it really did an amazing job, even though I began to hate all the too-big stony steps. Where was I? Step five? Anyway, the next place of interest was Trailside Meadow, which was a skinny green patch of mossy tundra where the upper headwaters of Lone Pine descended. Calling it a meadow was generous. And no camping was allowed.
Step six was getting ourselves down to Mirror Lake. This one made Keith happy. He would be able to go fishing! At 10667 feet, it was about 900 feet below Consultation Lake. According to my JMT Trout Fishing Guide, Mirror Lake contained Brook Trout. It was also a good place for a break. It was 2:30pm, and I needed some more snack. Keith only needed a fly rod. Soon enough, he hauled in a couple of Brookies. He let them go again. Mirror Lake was quite pretty, nestled in a granite bowl, and there was no camping allowed there either.
Step seven brought us to Heaven: Outpost Camp. At 10,400 feet, it was a good elevation for us, and it probably wouldn’t be too cold in the morning. Plus, we were a lot closer to Whitney Portal, and my car. There was also a proper waterfall in this campground. Lone Pine Creek shot right out into the air, and then ran right through the campground. And there were actual pine trees, with shade. So much nicer than bleak, stony Trail Camp.
When I got there, I was shocked to see what happened to the camp. Back in August 2023, the remnants of Hurricane Hilary did untold destruction to both SoCal and the southern Sierra Nevada. There were umpteen tons of rocks and debris spread all across the camp. It was difficult to find a decent flat spot, and the ones we found had been made by previous campers. Thanks! We set up our tents, filtered some water, and got ready to eat dinner.
I checked out my fancy Garmin Enduro 3 smartwatch. It had an SPO2 sensor and was able to calculate my acclimation readiness. It said that I was 100% acclimated to 10500 feet! Pretty cool. The display also showed an altitude plot where you could see the high passes we crossed during the last week of hiking: Mather, Pinchot, Glen, Kearsarge twice, Forester, and Mount Whitney. The flat spots were the times we spent in camp: Palisade Lake, Lake Marjorie, Arrowhead Lake, Flower Lake, Bubbs Creek, Tyndall Creek, and Guitar Lake.
Keith and I hung out and ate dinner while watching the waterfall. We made our plans for tomorrow. We would get up early (of course!) and head down to Lone Pine Lake, to catch some trout at dawn, the perfect time. Then we’d head the rest of the way to Whitney Portal, load our backpacks into my car, and get ourselves a burrito. After that, Keith had some town chores to do, and we had a motel reservation. Civilization! It was about time.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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