John Muir Trail Day 6: Hiker Highs Back Just in Time for Forrester Pass

Waking up beside Tyndall Creek, sitting at an elevation of almost 11,000 feet, meant it was a cold August morning. I immediately noticed that I felt good again. I was so relieved to not have to fight (like I did yesterday) to find the mental and physical energy I desperately needed for our big objective of the day: Forrester Pass.

(Want to see the people, places and all-around mayhem mentioned in this post? Here’s the Instagram Reel I might regret posting…)

Tackling the Highest Pass on the John Muir Trail

We had a five-mile gradual uphill approach that drastically changed into a steep climb to finally arrive at the top of the pass. Once there, we would descend for the next 8.5 miles to Vidette Meadows and our camp for the night.

The morning revealed clear skies and beautiful sunshine, a trend for all six days so far of being on the John Muir Trail. My nose was a sunburned mess from an equal mixture of hating hats and my sun hoodie not extending out far enough to give any kind of protection to my face. At that moment, though, it just didn’t matter because my hiker high was back. I think I’m fully addicted to this feeling, I thought to myself.

My husband Cliff and I packed up our camp quickly and efficiently…so fast, in fact, that we triple checked our campsite and each other’s packs just to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything. 

We hit the trail which left the protection of the forest and led us into the vast open valley surrounded on all sides by mountains and dotted throughout with alpine lakes. We kept an eye out for marmots, spotting one every now and then as we made our way up, over and around low rock formations. As we neared the clear delineation between gradual ascent and the steep climb to Forrester Pass, we passed small groups of hikers taking snack and water breaks in preparation for what was to come. 

I looked up at the soaring rocky face of the mountain in front of me and couldn’t even see where the trail, or even the pass itself, was located. Deciding it just didn’t matter, that I would find the trail as we hiked along, I took one last shot of energy gel and began climbing.

Let’s Do This…

My first steps into the steep ascent reminded me that it was crucial to find a pace I could sustain, as opposed to fast pushes followed by long breaks that ate up energy stores. I found it so odd that my trudging turtle pace always had me passing the hikers that opted for a sprinting rabbit style. We would hopscotch back and forth at the beginning of the climb but, by the time I neared Forrester Pass, they were far behind and I never saw them again. I understood their mindset, fully acknowledging that it took me far too long to adopt the slow persistent pace that made me far more successful in climbing mountains than sprinting spurts ever did.

Making Sure to Celebrate Each Win

As I moved upwards, I made sure to take in the view of how far we had come in just a few hours. I stopped in that moment and turned back to Cliff and said, “We should really celebrate how far we’ve come,” I said as I pointed to a speck off in the far distance. “That was where we camped just this morning.” We high fived and toasted with our Nalgene water bottles before resuming our upward climb.

Almost There

With every switchback, the trail wound through terrain dominated by rock formations and astounding geology. But even more astonishing was the trail construction itself. Many people had created a thoroughfare for foot traffic with very little space with which to work, successfully building safe passage all the way to the top. The foot path itself perfectly blended into its surroundings as it seemed to cling in places to the sheer mountainside. 

All of this provided natural distraction and endless speculation between my husband and I, until we rounded a bend in the trail and saw a group gathered at a nearby saddle in the rocks. One more switchback led us to the group gathered around a sign that announced we were at the summit of Forrester Pass. The sign also advised we were leaving Kings Canyon National Park and were now taking our first steps into Sequoia National Park.

Crossing off the Highest Pass on the John Muir Trail

I was flying high with accomplishment at having traveled on foot from Inyo National Forest into Kings Canyon National Park and now we were stepping into our third park. As I gazed back at the trail that led us to this moment, I couldn’t believe we had also knocked out the tallest peak on the John Muir Trail by summiting Mount Whitney and the tallest mountain pass, where we now stood.

Forrester Pass, as it turned out, consisted of a very small space and far too many humans were perched in the area. We opted to quickly head down the pass and into a new landscape beyond, full of dramatic mountain scenes and valley vistas.

A Picnic with Marmots and Camping in Vidette Meadows

A late lunch beside a clear mountain stream gave us front-row seats to the antics of the neighborhood pikas and marmots. We wished we could have stayed longer but we bid the sweet beasts adieu. We set a fast pace across the valley and made good time into the forests which ultimately ushered into Vidette Meadows.

Once there, we quickly picked a campsite away from other hikers and made fast work of putting together and inhaling a substantial three-course dinner. As the sun sunk below the towering mountains, we found ourselves already tucked into our sleeping quilts, excitedly chatting about the next day.

Day 7 would be our first resupply, our first shower in 6 days and our first opportunity to wash our clothes and grant us glorious access to restaurants with unlimited food. We just had to get up and over Kearsarge Pass first…

Stats for us hiker nerds

Day 6- August 22, 2024

Tindall Creek to Vidette Meadows

Mountain Pass/Summit: Forrester Pass elevation 13,200’ 

Elevation Gain: 2,257’ (from the junction of Shepherd Pass Trail and the JMT to Forrester Pass)

Mileage: 13.5 

Want to see all the people, places and all-around mayhem mentioned in this post?  Head on over to my TikTok and Instagram account at @a.wanderfull.life