Rattlesnake Creek and the location of our second camp. Not bad at all.

After the long, but still rewarding descent down Rattlesnake Canyon, one emerges in the giant trench of the Kern River, seen here. With over ten miles of trudging along down here it seems to last forever.
photo: Mike Wade

So, with that dispensed with, let's hop up to Guitar Lake and Mt. Whitney. Alpenglow on the mountain herself, while the bear cans etc are getting colder by the minute.

Lovely light in the early morning on the way up to the summit of Mt. Whitney.

Weaving our way along the craggy pinnacles, we still have an hour or so to go. The windblasted summit is the bright blur in the upper left corner.