John Muir Trail: Day 2

The plan for day 2 was to get to the upper end of Miter Basin.  From there I could launch my ascent of Mount Whitney the following day, which was going to be a long day.  There was no place past the uppermost lake to camp so I was in no hurry.

It was a mere 4 miles with 1800 feet of elevation gain.

Be sure to use the map at https://caltopo.com/m/DKGD to see place names and such.

Day 2 elevation profile in yellow

Day 2 route in blue

Miter Basin is a beautiful valley with Rock Creek running through it.  It is named after a rock formation called the Miter.  The Miter can be seen in the picture below in the middle, in front of the high mountains.

I spent a very relaxing day meandering along Rock Creek.  For most of the day I didn't see anyone. In the afternoon I saw a group of people on the other side of the valley heading down, and I ran into a Park Ranger who had summited Mount Mallory on her day off.  She mentioned that there had been a lot of ice and snow on the north side of Crabtree Pass two week before and recommended caution.

The Lower End of Miter Basin with Rock Creek running through it.

The middle part of Miter Basin is a marshy area with several braids of Rock Creek winding through.  Some of these braids come cascading out of Sky Blue Lake toward the upper end of the basin.

The middle part of Miter Basin.

Cascades coming down from Sky Blue Lake

At least one person I passed was raving about Sky Blue Lake.  I didn't find a great place to camp so I kept going, winding my way around to get above it.

Looking back at Sky Blue Lake with Mount Langley in the background.

There are many lakes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and not all of them are named.  Some are not identified at all and some are labeled with an elevation. Lake 12129 is at the upper end of Miter Basin. Behind Lake 12129 is Crabtree Pass, which I intended to cross the next day.

Lake 12129 with Crabtree Pass just hidden from view behind it.

I made camp on the south side of Lake 12129 on a sandy spot amongst a pile of boulders.  I was expecting wind but had a relatively calm, if not cold, night.

Camp 2, Lake 12129

All pictures of Soldier Lake
All pictures of Miter Basin