DAY FORTY-TWO, June 20, 30.5 Miles (12.5 on Whitney side trip)
At mile 784.3
Got a rather brisk 6am start. Took me about two hours to get to the top of Whitney. 14,494ft, the highest point in the U.S. excluding Alaska, obviously also the highest point I'll reach on the walk (but not the highest point on the trail as it's officially a side-trip). I was surprised to feel the altitude and whipped out my Nepal breathing skills to combat it. Fair bit of snow around, but no axe, no problems. On a busy day like today about 100 people will summit so it was nice to have the summit to myself briefly, then to share it with Todd and another thru-hiker, Whitefish. Was fairly cold up there and the wind did not help matters. My camera refused to work. Of course. Back down, down, down, past some of the masses. Rejoined the PCT, now also the John Muir Trail and headed for Forester. Walking through some very nice parts of the country right now. Forester Pass is the first major pass for North-bounders, and also the highest on-trail point at 13,200ft. And my, what a pass. It's a tiny notch about ten metres wide, quite steep on the Southern side, and definitely the most intense and impressive pass I've crossed. Loads of snow going down the North side and it took a couple of hours to get to where me and Todd had planned to camp. Ended up being a little after nine and quite dark. Huge day, 5500ft of ups, 6500ft of downs.
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