We passed Upper Cathedral Lake and continued to Cathedral Pass, where we got our first views of Matthes Crest.
We stopped for lunch where the trail reaches its true high point near Columbia Finger.
Just past this spot we heard from the Advance Party and confirmed our general destination for the night. From there we continued down to Long Meadow and onward to Sunrise High Sierra Camp. The store was open, but the selection of treats to get for the Advance Party was limited.
After filling up with water and chatting with some JMT hikers, we headed down the JMT to the Forsyth Trail junction. We were taking a round-about route to our destination, but it would allow me to check off some TrailQuest segments. Fortunately M was OK with a route that included several hundred feet of unnecessary elevation loss and (re)gain. Near the junction we entered forest that had been burned by the Meadow Fire a few years ago.
After a break at Sunrise Creek we started the slog up the Forsyth Trail. I remember that in the edition of the Schaffer guide book I had read the author's comment was along the lines of "...the Forsyth trail, not worth taking..." While the trail was steep in places, it wasn't bad, and the views were actually quite good--perhaps due to the recent fire.
We passed four hikers heading down the Forsyth Trail... perhaps it is worth taking. We loaded up on water at a spring that was still flowing quite well near the top of the climb, then continued to our campsite near Clouds Rest. We arrived in plenty of time for the wonderful sunset.
The wind was calm and the nighttime temperatures were quite mild, making for a very restful night.
The Advance Party had hiked over and around Clouds Rest the previous day--while we were climbing the Forsyth Trail. After our usual pancakes-and-bacon breakfast, we all returned to the summit of the peak.
After the obligatory summit photos we continued down the south side to the junction with the "bypass" trail, where we parted with the Advance Party, who would continue down to Happy Isles.
M and I took the "bypass" back around Clouds Rest, then headed out via the well-traveled Clouds Rest/Sunrise trail.
Perhaps it was because it was a free-admission day at the park, but there were a lot of day hikers on the trail enjoying the excellent, clear--and warm--weather.
We reached Tenaya Lake mid-afternoon, where of course we had to stop for an obligatory swim in the warm water.
After that--and an hour wait for our the shuttle bus--we returned to our car and headed home. It had been a (comparatively) short but enjoyable trip, and I could check off a few more TrailQuest segments.
