![\"IMG_1449\"](\"http:\/\/skelmo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/IMG_1449.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nOnce over the pass, we dropped into a small lake basin for a few miles, only then to descend 1,000 feet back to the JMT along the path of Bubbs Creek.\u00a0 The trail follows Bubbs south for 7 miles until it hits\u00a0Forester<\/span> Pass.\u00a0 The valley is very\u00a0sheer and is surrounded by 13,000-foot peaks.\u00a0 The picture below was taken at the top of the switchbacks above the creek.<\/p>\n We climbed the trail until we hit the last large creek at close to 11,000ft and then we set up camp. \u00a0We had hiked about 11 miles that day.\u00a0 The campsite was nice, but since we were in the woods and the peaks were so high, it got shady very early and that meant cold.\u00a0 We were in the tent\u00a0before 7pm in our sleeping bags.\u00a0 It only got worse, we woke up around 4am, not able to stay warm in our sleeping bags.\u00a0 It was below freezing so I got the coffee brewing and we\u00a0started to pack up for what was going to be the\u00a0longest day of the trip.\u00a0 We were on the trail before sunrise and started the long climb up Forester Pass.\u00a0\u00a0 We had a great moon and the barren environment is very pretty when the rising sun strikes it.<\/p>\n The pass is the highest on the trail, reaching 13,200 feet in elevation.\u00a0 The approach is very long and switches up a box canyon to a small slot on the saddle between two of the peaks.\u00a0 Once you crest the slot, the other side is a miracle of engineering.\u00a0 The trail is carved into the face of a sheer cliff.\u00a0 The pictures below show us on the top of the pass, plus a picture of Tracy descending the 5-foot wide carved trail on the other side.<\/p>\n After the pass, the grind started.\u00a0 Our goal was to reach Guitar Lake, which is the last camping spot before Mt. Whitney. \u00a0The bad news was that it would require a 20+ mile hike with a ton of elevation change.\u00a0 One of the ways we passed time was to look for marmots. \u00a0These fat, furry creatures live in the rocky barren areas of the high basins.\u00a0 They dig elaborate tunnel systems below the rocks, but most often are seen sunning themselves perched on boulders.\u00a0 They make a chirping sound that caused us to constantly play the “find the marmot” game.<\/p>\n We also saw a lot of deer.\u00a0 They were usually in pairs and would appear on or around the trail in front of us.\u00a0 They don’t feel threatened by humans but are still frightened if you get too close.<\/p>\n The last section of the hike required us to turn east and climb into the Whitney Lake basin.\u00a0 It was late in the afternoon and both of us were exhausted.\u00a0 The picture below shows Tracy after the final climb\u00a0of 1,600 feet to Guitar Lake.\u00a0 We ended up climbing almost 5,000 feet over 21 miles on this day.<\/p>\n Guitar Lake has lots of camping restrictions in place to make sure that the last water source prior to Whitney is not polluted by the mass of people that camp there.\u00a0 It was close to 6pm when we pulled in so we got the slim pickings from what was left, which was a lumpy piece of sand about 100 feet from the trail.\u00a0 Tracy went to soak her legs by standing in the icy lake, and I got water (no picture this time).\u00a0 By the time we got camp set up, the sun had set so we cooked dinner in the vestibule\u00a0of the tent.\u00a0\u00a0We set the alarm for 3am so we could summit close to sunrise.\u00a0 The morning came fast and we were packed up and climbing by a little after 4am.\u00a0 The trail ascended 2,200ft to the intersection of the crest trail (the one that takes\u00a0you down the other side) and the Mt. Whitney summit trail.\u00a0 The intersection is called “pack rest” since the last two miles of the summit trail is an out-and-back, so we were able to leave our packs here and climb to the summit.\u00a0 The sun was just rising so the colors were striking\u00a0coming through the pinnacles along the trail.\u00a0 The actual summit is the far\u00a0plateau above Tracy’s head in the picture below.<\/p>\n We made the summit before 7:30am.\u00a0 There were a few people already there, including a group that had just completed the JMT.\u00a0 They took the picture below of us.<\/p>\n Getting\u00a0to the top\u00a0is only half the effort – the descent from Whitney is straining on the body.\u00a0 It requires over 10 miles of down-dropping\u00a0more 6,000ft to the Whitney Portal.\u00a0 The drop is through multiple lake basins that contain countless switchbacks.<\/p>\n After many hours of knee jarring steps, we made it.\u00a0 We had beer and champagne at the store to celebrate our successful trip, and Tracy made a sign so we could hitch a ride to Lone Pine where we had reservations at a hotel for\u00a0the night.\u00a0\u00a0 The plan today is to catch the bus to Lancaster, CA., rent a car to Burbank, and then fly home. \u00a0 If all goes well, we will be in our own bed by midnight.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n