John Muir Trail, 2007: Day 13 - Vidette Meadow to Tyndall Creek

What an incredible day! This was the day I had both been looking forward to and also dreading - it was one of my higher mileage days, along with the biggest climb yet. But, since I had been on the trail nearly two weeks I had nothing to worry about - it was much easier than I expected. The highlight of the day was Forester Pass, which, at 13,200 ft, is the highest pass on the PCT. I had never been over this pass before and had heard how scenic it was, and it didn't let me down.

Again, the clouds built up but ended up fizzling away into nothing. The smoke interfered with views on the south side of Forester Pass, but I could still make out my first glimpse of Mt Whitney in the distance, and even managed a fuzzy photo through the smoke. I also defended our packs from a roving gang of killer marmots at a lake below the pass while Dave refilled water.

This day's stats:

• Mileage: 13.01 mi
  
• Ascending: 3587 ft
  
• Descending: 2220 ft
  
• Cumulative Mileage: 133.56 mi
  
• Cumulative Ascending: 26,011 ft
  
• Cumulative Descending: 23,552 ft