Hello Steve,
I thought you might enjoy my attempt at reversing the route. How hard could that be? From Crabtree meadow, I found the packer trail, found the packer camp, found the granite knob, then missed the correct chute going down. I'm old school (maybe just old), so I didn't have a GPS. I did make it to the bottom, but the route I took seemed more like fourth class in places. I also got some great manzanita scars to help me remember the experience. The route was very efficient (3 hours from Crabtree to Kern), but I'm not sure I'd want to do that again. No fault of your outstanding directions, but a reminder to me that things can look very different from the top rather than the bottom.
BTW: the trip was magnificent. Over "Old" Army Pass, through Miter Basin, Crabtree to Kern, up Colby canyon, across Milestone shoulder into Milestone basin, wander around the headwaters of the Kern (including Lake South America), then return along PCT. Between COVID and the 5.8 earthquake a few days prior to my departure, the backcountry was deserted.
Happy Hiking Steve,
John.
