The wind woke me up many times at night. It finally subsided toward the dawn and I almost missed the sunrise. I opened the tent to put the propane canister in my sleeping bag, and saw the first light on Mt. Muir and the needles on the ridge connecting it to Mt. Whitney. I ran out to take a few shots. It was a chilly morning, and the lake next to the camp was partially frozen over. We took it easy, and left the camp around 8:45.

First light on Mt. Muir	Icy bubbles	Lake at Trail Camp and Mt. Muir	Mt. Muir		Alone
BW reflection	Reflection	Pumping water

It is 99 switchbacks from Trail Camp to Trail Crest, a saddle at 13,600ft on Whitney's south ridge. If you ask me, there should be only a half of the switchbacks as the grade is quite mild. We made a good pace the whole way up the switchbacks and also the final two and a half miles to the summit. Views open up to the west after reaching Trail Crest. The trail stays on the west side and only occasionally is one afforded a look down the east face through a few windows between the cliffs. The summit itself is, well, flat and large, but being on top of a fourteener for the first time in eight years felt special anyway.

Starting up 99 switchbacks	Leaving Trail Camp	Railing	Myself on the switchbacks	Justin on the switchbacks	BW Trail Crest view
Hitchcock Lakes	Hiker on the ridge	Ridges	Window to the east	Summit photo
USGS marker	Iceberg Lake and Owens Valley	Looking south	Commemorative sign	Justin	Summit life - chipmonk

I paused often on the way down to enjoy the views and snap a few pictures. A few switchbacks down from Trail Crest, we met Jason on his way up. Shortly after 2pm, we reached Trail Camp where Laku was waiting for us.

Window	Triangles	Hikers on Whitney's south ridge	Hiker	Intersection with John Muir Trail	Trail Crest
Trail Crest	Jason on the switchbacks	A hiker and Mt. Muir	Myself	Our campsite	Lake at Trail Camp

I packed up quickly so Laku and I could continue back down toward the trailhead. It was some 7 miles and we made it in about 4 hours, just as the night fell. We got back to the Bay Area around 3am.

Hiking down	Hiker below Trail Camp	Valley	Laku and Thor Peak	Mirror Lake and Thor Peak
Tree	Mt. Whitney and a tree	Wind shaped trees	Thor Peak