Day 6. Backpacking Day 5.
Crabtree Meadow to Upper Tyndall Creek

I awoke to a sunny morning and hung my gear to dry everything out. After a slow start I hiked north on the JMT with dry gear. I hiked down Whitney Creek, then turned north over a saddle and dropped into Wallace Creek. The hail and lightning had started as I came down off the saddle, so I laid up along Wallace Creek for a couple of midday hours waiting for the storm to pass.

Hiking north, I climbed over the Bighorn Plateau. Fortunately, while on this high and barren plateau, the lightning stayed off among the mountain peaks and never got too close.

I arrived at Tyndall Creek, a popular camp area looking for a site, but the area was crowded with campers. There was one official spot left, next to the communal food storage locker, but I decided to hike on hoping to find a quiet place.

I hiked up Tyndall Valley into the late evening looking for solitude, and eventually found a nice site in a small group of timberline trees near a spring.

When I slid into my sleeping bag, I noticed a sore spot on the front of my right shin. Little did I know, it was the start of shin splints, which I'd never experienced, and this marked the beginning of the end of my trip.