Another unusually warm night's sleep, another early wake-up call... We were getting to be quite good at the whole wake up, make breakfast, pack, and hit the trail routine.
Not far from where we had camped, we passed the unmarked junction with the old Center Basin trail, the former JMT route, and the campsite with the bear locker we'd stayed at on a few previous trips. A bit upriver from our campsite, we could see the peaks surrounding Forester Pass, including the northern spur and "tower" that the trail climbs from the north.
Past the Center Basin junction campsite, we saw one of Sierra's kind collecting grasses for the (hopefully) long winter ahead.
Below the highest campsites at treeline, we smelled smoke. At first we thought some idiot had had a campfire well above the "no fires" elevation, and we even look at a few nearby campsites for signs of a smoldering fire, but found nothing. A sign a bit farther up indicated a nearby natural fire.
The trail carried us slowly but steadily towards the pass.
We stopped for a snack and a final water-bottle fill-up at the highest large lake north of the pass.
After this brief rest, we resumed the climb.
Near the top we saw several bunches of Sky Pilot.
We eventually reached the top where we posed for the obligatory summit group photo and hung out for awhile enjoying the views.
Forester Pass is where E and A met back in 2008. They've returned to this pass several times (and JWK and I have been lucky enough to be with them for many of these)--not a bad tradition to have.
Eventually we had to move on, so we started the descent down the south wall-like side of Forester.
I'm always still amazed that Forester Pass was named for the US Forest Service people who discovered this pass, replacing the convoluted Shepherd/Junction Pass route. From the south, it doesn't seem to have been as much "discovered" than "blasted" or "hewn" out of the rock.
In any case, the well-built trail carried us safely down to the Tyndall Creek headwaters, with the rugged Kaweah Peaks looming tall in the distance.
I don't remember anyone mentioning the clouds, but the air did have a familiar calm to it.
Looking back at Forester we could see the cleft that is the pass; much like the east side of Frozen Lake Pass, the location of the true pass does not appear to be the obvious easiest route.
We soon got our first view of Mt. Whitney's summit and could even make out the "emergency" shelter on top.
The Tyndall headwaters is unlike anything else on the JMT. Perhaps its superficially similar to Upper Basin, but the foxtail pines and different vegetation give it a drier, high-desert feel that is not common north of the Kern drainage.
After stopping at Tyndall Creek--the last cold water before camp--for a soak, we climbed towards our destination: Bighorn Plateau. The final part of this climb is through a particularly picturesque stand of dead and alive foxtail pines.
Eventually we reached the top of the plateau and it's large, warm tarn. Unlike our previous visits where we had had Bighorn Plateau to ourselves, there were a few other parties camped on Bighorn--far enough away that none were visible to us.
The clouds were by this time dark enough that we pitched our shelters for the first time since before the resupply at MTR.
From our camp with its panoramic vista, we could see tomorrow's destination: Mt. Whitney.
Although we would not have another clear, starry night, we were greeted with a wonderful sunset.
