Last night, Yair analyzed my cold nights problem, suggesting that maybe it’s because I have a short sleeping pad, and a quilt. The bit where my quilt gets off the pad is open underneath, and the heat escapes from inside.

View towards Mt. Guyot and Siberian Pass Creek
View towards Mt. Guyot and Siberian Pass Creek

I used his rain jacket at night, to put it over the gap, and I think it did help a little. I am now considering getting a short z-rest pad to close that gap, or replacing my short pad for a regular length one. I’ll see in Lone Pine.

Idan and Yair crossing Rock Creek
Idan and Yair crossing Rock Creek

Today was an easy day. It felt like it was mostly down, even though it was about as much uphill. There were many water sources, and we stopped to rest at two of them. We also got a good look towards Forrester Pass, the highest point on the PCT, which we will cross in two days.

Crossing Whitney Creek, right before taking the side trail up to Whiteney
Crossing Whitney Creek, right before taking the side trail up to Whiteney

We got to Crabtree Meadows at around 16:30. It’s very nice and relaxed here. We washed our feet in icy cold water, and cleaned our socks.

View from Lower Crabtree Meadows
View from Lower Crabtree Meadows

At about 18:00, Happy Pants, Big Boots, Sock Pot and Leapfrog came down from Whitney. They said it wasn’t too cold up there, and that there are no major snow sections. They only climbed up and down today, but we plan on hiking 5 miles more after we get down, so we will get up at 5:00 tomorrow, and hope to make a good time climbing to the peak.