June 9th
We awoke after our coldest night yet. Not only did the water bottles inside the tent freeze halfway through, the water faucet at the campground had frozen solid. In fact a slow drip created a 10-inch “stalagmite” beneath the faucet. Bruce thawed out the pipe with his propane backpack stove, then built a fire to thaw out the rest of us.
After sorting out groceries we started back up to Trail pass with Bruce, Jill and Mike. The sky is overcast and snow flurries fall intermittently. We’re in no hurry as we have allowed 2 days to hike with them the 20 miles to Crabtree Meadows. It will be nice to arrive there, the “jumping off” point to climb Mt Whitney, well rested.
At Trail Pass we take a long break so that everyone could catch up, rest up and dry off. We start down the PCT and about a mile later the others decide to turn back. Mike was suffering from the altitude and Bruce was recovering from a cold sleepless night. At this altitude and in these conditions I’ts always best to stay within your limits.
There’s no advantage to change our agenda, so we take our time and enjoy Cottonwood Pass, the first of the High Sierra Passes, Chicken Springs Lake and the high ridge we climb with ever expanding views of large meadows below and tall peaks overhead. We encounter our first marmots of the trip.
We caught up with Strut and her dad “Tip” and his friend Tom at their camp at Chicken Springs Lake. The Carrot and I move to a seasonal stream 2.5 miles later, slow but flowing. We make camp in a nice site protected by rocks, at 11,300 feet and we make a fire to protect ourselves from another cold night.
