27 Aug Day 128 – Cold Start

At mile 766.3. Hiked 15.5 miles today plus 1.2 miles on Crabtree Meadows trail. August 27, 2018

I’m seeing a lot more people now. Most of the hikers are out to climb Mt Whitney. Some are hiking the John Muir Trail. I met one hiker who told me he was giving up. He had started at Cottonwood Pass with intent to hike the JMT northbound. After 20 miles he is hiking back to Cottonwood Pass. He told me that he had gotten dehydrated. 

The heat is real. It is bothering a lot of hikers slower than me because they are exposed longer and take longer to reach water sources. After today everything north is supposed to have frequent water.

It may be hot during the day, but it is cold at night. I had to zip my sleeping bag the whole way and close the tent doors. I’m guessing that it was around 35 degrees at Chicken Spring Lake where I camped last night. I began hiking this morning wearing literally all the clothing I have. That included long silk underwear, long pants, down vest, wool hat, and precip rain jacket. This is the coldest it has been since Oregon.

The cold morning had me out of camp and on the trail early just to warm up. Here is a photo before the sunrise.

I watched the moon as it neared setting.

It was a blue sky day without a cloud.

Here is the daily trail photo.

I passed through wide-open meadows.

And more meadows.

Here is the toilet at Crabtree Meadows. With many hikers camping at Crabtree Meadows while on the way or returning from a summit of Mount Whitney, this single toilet sees a lot of use. It is wise to do your business before you begin your Mt Whitney ascent. Those climbers exiting via Whitney Portal are required to pack out their “waste” in a blue bag.