Steve C, it was a weird weather pattern. We arrived on Tuesday night and it was beautiful in Lone Pine, Wednesday we had great weather for the hike, and then Thursday the skies opened up. I was really looking forward to some dramatic views from the highest peak in the lower 48 - however - the dense cloud cover almost made it feel more personal. I think it was great either way, and we DID actually manage to catch a few glimpses of brilliance to the west as the clouds parted ever so often.

Gary, I met Doug and actually got a picture with him but never had time to get food at the portal store, either on the way up the mountain or coming down. Also didn't do the bourbon at the peak. In spite of feeling really good at the summit (hungry as a horse), I thought the whole experience was beyond bourbon or dance parties or anything else. It was just quiet solitude as we were the only ones there and my buddy felt pretty exhausted. He chilled out in the hut while I walked around looking at the benchmarks and trying to catch some views between the clouds. Signing the register and writing my kids names down made for a pretty emotional moment. I put the bourbon away and enjoyed it at the hotel later on.

Brent, glad you got down safely. We were worried about you guys. When we got off the mountain we laid in the tent for 10 minutes recovering and the snow piled up against the tent very fast. We had 3 new inches of snow when we got done resting and the tracks to our tent were virtually gone. It was nearly impossible to pack up in the wind and driving snow. Everything was soaked to the core because the snow got into everything. I left trail camp at 4:10 pm and got to the portal at about 6:45 pm. Wondering how much snow was dumped on that area when everything was said and done...

On Thursday, we woke up at 3:30am and got on the switchbacks by 4:45am. We were the 5th and 6th hikers on the mountain. We made it to Trail Crest by dawn (7am) and then to the summit by about 10:20am. We hung out for a while and then left by 11am. We got back to trail camp by about 3pm. Packed up and out of there at 4:10pm, back to the portal by about 6:45pm. Just at dusk.

We heard thunder, saw lightning, had rain, sleet, snow, heavy snow, hail, etc. The precipitation stopped at around Outpost Camp, but was snow was on the ground until the John Muir Wilderness sign on the way down.

John, I think there were about 10 tents at Outpost Camp on the way up, a few groups coming down on Wednesday that were completing the JMT, and there were about 6 or 7 tents at Trail Camp when we got there at 4:30pm on Wednesday. We also saw several people that were doing dayhikes. So I think there were about 40-50 people on the mountain. I think we ran across every person that attempted the summit that day. 3 from outpost camp and 1 unknown that made it before us, then Johnathan and I, and then 4 dayhikers, and 2 more unknown. I know 3 of the dayhikers made it because they passed us on the way back down and we talked.

It's fun to recap, so maybe I'll do a trail report and dive into all the details.

Bob