Tyndall Creek to 0.4 miles up from Guitar Lake

Mileage: 11.5 miles, total 206.3 miles

Campsite elevation: 11,658 feet

Last night ended up being quite cold at Tyndall Creek. It was the first night on the trail which I have had the sleeping bag zipped right up and wore long clothes to sleep in. It didn’t warm up until the sun rose above the mountains.

Today was basically a day to get us set up for the ascent of Mt Whitney tomorrow. Although it could technically be done in a day, there is too much of a risk of dangerous thunderstorms occurring on the summit in late afternoon. Whilst the forecast for us was good, we thought we would go the safety first route and camp at Guitar Lake before our summit attempt in the morning.

After a short climb up from Tyndall Creek, we arrived at the Bighorn Plateau which was a dry treeless plain with views across to various mountains. It was here we got our first view of Mt Whitney which, even though it was still a few miles away, was clearly bigger than the rest of the surrounding peaks.

The trail then descended through some beautiful meadows to Wright Creek and later Wallace Creek. We got some nice views along the trail and were just thankful for the fact we had a break from the endless climbs.

Within a few miles of Crabtree Ranger Station, we came across the first ranger we had met out in the wilderness. Ranger Gooch was happy to chat. She asked about our permits and whether we had a bear canister which we showed her. She was happy to answer all our questions.

Apparently, rangers are stationed at Crabtree from June to October. They conduct routine patrols throughout the wilderness and are also trained EMTs and are first responders in search and rescue operations. All the supplies for the ranger stations are flown in by helicopter. She mentioned people often call in at the ranger station for any issues they have or just for a general chat. Sounds like a great job to me although I’m sure it also has its hard parts.

After the turn off to Crabtree, it was time to start the climb up to Guitar Lake. This was the only meaningful climb today and we took it slow and steady on the way up. Not too slow, however, as there are only limited camping areas at Guitar Lake and we wanted to be sure of getting a good spot near water.

The trail climbed up past Timberline Lake. Camping is not permitted here as the environment is just too fragile. That was understandable looking at the delicate reed beds encircling the lake.

From there, the environment became far more alpine and we were fully above treeline. It was a short climb up to Guitar Lake but not as easy as it would have been at lower altitudes. Eventually, however, we rounded a corner and there was Guitar Lake in all its glory.

Rather than camp at Guitar Lake, we decided to camp a little further on at two small lakes higher up as it would save us some walking tomorrow. It was a tight squeeze to fit the tents in between the rocks but we managed it.

We arrived at camp at about 2pm so had plenty of time to relax. The afternoon was incredibly hot at camp so we were willing the sun to set faster so it would cool down. It was hard to believe they had a hailstorm here only two days ago.

Tomorrow we will get up around 3.30 AM to start the haul to the summit. Most people get an alpine start at 1 AM to ensure they are at the top for sunrise. I have done this before on other climbs and, in my view, it is hugely overrated unless needed for safety or other reasons. Not only do you miss the views on the way up, it will be below freezing until the sun rises and you will be completely wiped from lack of sleep by the time you get to Whitney Portal.

Our plan is to reach the summit by 9 AM tomorrow when the temperature will have risen above freezing and it will be well before the afternoon thunderstorm risk. Whitney has its own weather patterns and thunderstorms can occur despite favourable forecasts. If lightning is in the vicinity, the summit is too dangerous to be on. The summit shelter will be no protection as it has a metal roof.

We are looking forward to tomorrow as it marks the completion of our John Muir Trail thru-hike. We have been very lucky with the weather this year so just need one more day of blue skies.