John Muir Trail: Day 3

The plan for day 3 was to check out Crabtree Pass and decide whether or not I could make it over. I didn't make it to the pass.  As I got close I had been crawling up and down boulders and ice and found myself near a frozen lake with a stream running across my path underneath ice. I was expecting it to get worse as I continued and I knew it was a long way around, so I decided at that point to turn around.  My decision ended up costing me two days, but I got to see the middle part of Rock Creek and Crabtree Lakes as a result.  All in all it worked out well.

Day 3 ended up being 16 miles with 2300 ft of elevation gain.

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

Day 3 elevation profile in yellow

Day 3 route in blue

I started backpacking in 2011, which was the last really wet year that we had.  I didn't go very far that year and didn't deal with any ice or snow where I was.  All of my other experience has been in relatively dry conditions in the intervening years.

Looking back at the pictures there appear to be ways up to the pass. At the time it didn't look that way.  It is easy enough to walk across the snow, but I was concerned about falling through into a lake. By the end of my trip I think I had gained enough confidence and experience navigating over snow that I think I would have gone, but on day 3 I wasn't there.

Looking up at Crabtree Pass

After my change of plan, I followed Rock Creek back through Miter Basin past the point where I had come in from Soldier Lake and scrambled down a steep rocky ravine with just a hint of a trail.  The creek and the scenery were amazing, but the traveling was slow.

Rock Creek cascades out of Miter Basin before it lands in a relatively flat valley that takes it to the Kern River.

Rock Creek falls out of Miter Basin and lands in this meadow.  When I finally got there I was happy to have a trail again and was able to cover more ground.

Rock Creek below Miter Basin

This was the first of many crossings I made.  The creek was knee deep and about 20 ft across.  It was flowing pretty good, but not as dangerous as many creeks had been in early July.  You could still get wet if you weren't paying attention.

Rock Creek Crossing

After crossing Rock Creek the trail climbs quickly toward Gyote Pass. The next six miles is dry, the only water it turned out was at Gyote Creek. Since I hadn't planned on coming this way my maps were not adequate and I loaded up 3 liters of water to make sure I had enough.  My pack was heavy as I climbed the initial 750 ft in only 0.7 miles.

The trail up from Rock Creek is steep.  Steps are built to help with climbing and with erosion.

The section between the Rock Creek crossing and Crabtree Meadow is very dry.  The ground is completely void of plants giving it a lifeless feeling in spite of the trees.  This section seemed to go on forever.  I was tired and sore and just wanted a place to camp.  Nothing appealing presented itself until I was at Crabtree Meadow.

Gyote Flat

There are several approaches to stream crossing.  The old school way is to take off your boots and wear stream crossing shoes of some sort, or no shoes at all.  Many people are opting for lightweight breathable footwear instead of boots.  These can simply be worn while crossing.  Within a mile most of the water has been squeezed and drained out.  Fifteen minutes in the sun on a rock during a break will get them to 90% dry.

Shoes and socks drying on a rock.

The seemingly endless slog through Gyote Flat thankfully ended with the descent into Crabtree Meadow.  This was the single most crowded back country camping area on the trail as it is the jumping off point to climb Mount Whitney from the west side.

Mount Whitney comes into view just as the descent from Gyote Flat to Crabtree Meadow begins.

By turning off the main trail to Whitney, I was able to find a nice quiet campsite amongst the trees.

Camp 3 near Crabtree Meadow

All pictures of Miter Basin
All pictures of Rock Creek
All pictures of Gyote Pass and Gyote Flat
All pictures of Crabtree Meadow