Fri. August 19         Miles today: 22.5      Total so far: 1,680.1         Sierras Section G     Crabtree Meadows

Well, the alarm went off OK this morning, and we were eager to head out so we could discover WHERE we were!  And it didn’t take long before we hit a SIGNED trail junction.  Whew!  It meant that our mileage yesterday wasn’t that great, but we vowed to do our best today.  What a relief to know we were on the PCT and not wandered off somewhere else!

Much of the morning we spent going through foxtail pine forest with lots of gray boulders and an occasional view.  By 10:00 am, we were at 11,700 foot Cottonwood Pass.  Then came more miles of pines and boulders.  The trail alternated between deep sand (like walking on a beach!) and rough rocks, neither of which made for easy going.  I must admit to being a little bit disappointed in the scenery.  The mountains we were going through were basically just big boulder piles–no cliffs, no spires, no peaks.   Even the wildflowers were few, except for some occasional pretty yellow ones.  About the most impressive things I saw were the HUGE boulders. 

As the day went on, though, things got greener and prettier, till finally we reached Rock Creek.  There were lots of nice campsites there, plus a cute little “baby size” bear box.  We crossed the creek on narrow side-by-side logs.  I am getting braver about this, with God’s help!  Then came a KILLER rough uphill to Guyot Creek, where we got some water.  When the elevation is over 10,000 feet, steep uphills with big rocks are tough.   Puff, puff, pant, pant!    It was almost 7:00 pm before we began the downhill into Crabtree Meadows.  Soon we were getting great views of Mt. Whitney!  Almost at the bottom of the trail down is a box canyon where horses can stay, but to keep them from wandering, there’s a wooden pole gate that you open and close by sliding the crossbars.  Once through that gate, we wasted no time in finding a campsite by the meadow with a Whitney view.   There were enough mosquitoes around that we rigged the net tent, and then collapsed into our sleeping bags.  We were both VERY tired.  The trail today was “way tough.”  I looked at our mileage figures and scratched my head, though.  It sure SEEMED like we did more than just 22 miles.  But tomorrow comes the highest point on the PCT–Forester Pass.   We were really looking forward to it!