Day 51 – 6/17/11 – 15 (10 PCT) miles (766)

Another beautiful and mosquito-free day in the Sierra. Last night was well below freezing, but I was very warm in my new sleeping bag. I’m so glad I decided to get it. I didn’t even need to wear my booties.
The morning started out similar to yesterday. KBomb and I lost trail often, but were able to keep moving the right direction with the maps. About 5 miles in we caught up to Spock, Twiggy, Dutch, and Roadrunner and hiked with them the rest of the day. We got to glissade, ford some creeks, and enjoy excellent scenery. We departed from the PCT at Crabtree Meadow to take a side trail toward Mt Whitney. We will summit tomorrow and return to the PCT.
We planned to camp at Guitar lake tonight, but some other hikers on their way down said there was no good camping there, still snowed over. So here we are at Timberline lake, about 6 miles from Whitney. Today was nicely paced with time this evening to relax, skip rocks on the lake, and witness an avalanche on a mountain face opposite us.