Yesterday (8/11) I finished the High Sierra Trail, having camped at Hamilton Lake, Kern Hot Springs, and Guitar Lake. Here are some observations for those who plan to soon approach Mt Whitney this way (From the Tallest Trees to the Highest Mountain).
(1) Heading up to the Hamilton Lakes (8/8) and descending from Mt Whitney (8/11), numerous hikers were encountered. However, for the 30 miles between the Kaweah Gap and the junction with the JMT, not a single person was seen, except for five people camping at Kern Hot Springs.
(2) Seasonal water sources that might have gone dry by now, pleasantly seemed to have been rejuvenated by the "monsoons."
(3) However, the water levels in the bigger creeks mostly appeared below normal. Still at Whitney Creek and Wallace Creek, the usual logs were needed to cross (100 yards upstream for the former, 50 yards downstream for the latter). Unlike in some years, a fall off these logs would likely be survived. Trail work done in the last two years at the Wright Creek crossing seemed to have eliminated any risk there. Thanks, trail crew!
(4) The locks on all the bear boxes on the trail now work.
(5) Mosquitoes were nonexistent.
(6) A snake was seen at Timberline Lake (11,000 elevation).
(7) There was no rain the first three days of the hike. But on the final day, starting at 3 AM at the Guitar Lake camp until finishing in the afternoon at the Whitney Portal Store, there was intermittent rain, hail, snow, and lightning. On the summit plateau of Mt Whitney, the visibility was typically 25-50 yards. Obviously, there were none of the sensational views one expects to enjoy from the summit. The trail on the plateau had snow on it. The tactic was to not lose the trail.
At the end of the wet final day on the HST, it was nice to get out from under the waterfall , see friends (Earlene, Doug Sr, Miles, Jack,...), and get a good cheeseburger at the Store.
Thanks to the ladies I met on the summit who graciously provided me with a ride on my trip back to Crescent Meadow to retrieve my faithful Toyota Corolla.
Jim F
