Day 11 - August 21st
Today was a short 12 miles hike for us but we were going to climb the tallest pass - Forester Pass (13,200ft). After 10 days on the JMT, we haven't gotten tired of the view. Since this was going to be a short hike, we broke down camp and were already to hike around 7am. We could get used to these routine of hiking in the forest and enjoyed the morning sun. Seeing deers became a familiar everyday scene. I personally tried to imprint these moments in my mind since I knew eventually all these wonderful experience would end as i got back to my daily life.
We were looking for a long climb of 7 miles with 3600ft elevation gain to Forester Pass. The scenery was changing fast from green forest that where we were there couple hours ago to rough terrain as we climbd above the treeline. We officially entered Sequoia National Park. On top of Forester Pass was the highlight of today's hike and of course, we were eagerly blowing our whistles for the 9th time. The view was nothing short but breathtaking. This was an incredible vast area as we looked down from the mountain pass. The 5 miles descent toward Tyndall Creek campground was not bad either. The moonlike landscape was surreal. Our thoughts began to wonder with mixed emotions as we got closer to our campsite. We were sad that our journey would end soon but also very happy of what we accomplished so far and lucky enough to be able to check off our bucket list of things to do in life. It was very unusual that we arrived at our campground so early in the day. It wasn't even 4pm in the afternoon. The water stream was so nearby that we took a bath and did our laundry while the sun was still out. Dinner was right next to the water and appreciated each other's company. It was a long journey and we were good trekking partners. Other hikers started to arrive and setup camp but we got the best spot. We camped at mile 194 of JMT.
