Day 3 - Click on Map
Day 3 (July 28) took us from Crabtree Meadow to just below Forester Pass on the south side. We had some rain during the day, starting at about noon at Tyndall Creek. We pitched the tent and hung out for the afternoon waiting for the storm to clear so we could make our way closer to Forester for the next days ascent. Did a little bit of fishing at Wallace Creek where I caught my first golden trout ever! Boy are they a beautiful looking fish. Coming up and over Bighorn Plateau the clouds started to build and they let loose around noon just as we were crossing Tyndall Creek. The storm started to break by mid-afternoon but the skies were still covered with thunder clouds and we could hear the thunder in the distance. As we wanted to get up closer to Forester above tree line, we held back until later in the afternoon when the storm started to clear. Today was the third straight day of afternoon rain, starting in at noon and causing a five hour rain delay. We wound up breaking camp at about 5 pm and started our last climb up to the lakes on the south side of Forester Pass at about 12,000 feet. We cooked up dinner and hit the sack early.

The day started out nice as we left Crabtree and made our way through Sandy Meadow where we noticed a few deer grazing. On our way over to Wallace Creek, we ran into a couple of ladies that were finishing their southbound trip on the JMT and we shared some stories and information. We also ran into a nice elderly gentleman who was on an eleven day trip out of Sawmill Pass. He was 72 years old and going strong. I think Mike got some inspiration from him for his future years on the trail. At the same time we also spoke with a group of three gentlemen who informed us of the many trout to be caught in the creeks and streams ahead. So we high tailed it over to Wallace and donned our creek shoes for the crossing and broke out the fly rods for the first fish of the trip. Mike caught the first trout and we both wound up with around 10 golden each. All catch and release.

The trip up and over to Wright's Creek was nice with some very beautiful sights of Whitney and the Western Divide. We rock hopped over Wright's above the trail crossing with another family and started our ascent to Bighorn Plateau. At the top of Bighorn Plateau, we came across a pair of aluminum trekking poles that were left by the trail. Apparently the previous owner was not in the mood to carry them across this plateau during the previous days thunderstorms! I don't blame them! We left them for their future owner to make cover in the trees on the way down to Tyndall Creek. It was a nice drop into Tyndall and it was unfortunate that it was raining as much as it was, because it would have been fun to fish this creek for an hour or so. As it was, I was able to take advantage of the break in the storm to catch one fish in the fast moving creek.

On the way up to the 12,000 foot lakes, we ran across a bunny rabbit (the cottontail variety) in the tree cover near 11,000 feet. Kind of odd sight to see a rabbit mixed in with the marmots!

To view photos of our trip please refer to the Photo Albums section of this site!