Category: John Muir Trail

Our next section was 10 days and 80 miles to next resupply and extra rest day in Independence.

We spent quite a bit of time preparing resupply for this section, to carry enough calories at minimum weight. And we were quite happy to carry it all in our backpacks – our resupply bucket mailed in advance disappeared for several days, we worried it was lost and even started preparing replacement, in a hurry, as we had only two days left before leaving for California. It turned out, it was moving along fine, just much slower, and was never scanned anywhere until it happily appeared at the destination post office. Nobody knew where it was while in transit. We received notification just as we were heading to the post office to mail the replacement. It made its way to Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) Resupply Center several days later.

Joanna was “trading” on backpackers supply exchanges at all resupply stops, always found something interesting to add to our limited diet. Made some adjustments because we were hiking faster saving some food, but we sticked to the plan developed at home most of the time. Our rations were sufficient, barely. We always had some food reserve we could dig-in, if needed. Piotr experienced obvious calorie deficiency twice when we started hiking before full breakfast.

Now we just had to lift the weight up 1000 m over the following two days to pull ourselves out of the valley. It (carrying the weight) was actually not as bad as we feared, two weeks of backpacking started to make a difference. This post covers the first half of the section.

First day was easy without big altitude drops/gains, simply walking upstream South Fork San Joaquin River to Evolution Creek. We found good campsite at their confluence, some 100 m from large well established site, just below first switchbacks which we decided to leave for next day. Our bear canister was filled to capacity. We ate dinner and were left with some non-food items we decided to hang on tree – Piotr found a decent tree with long branches, but doing it right is not as easy as it sounds. Nothing got stolen. We were now at lower elevation on trails with more hikers where bear encounters happen more frequently. Not as frequent as in, for example, Smoky Mountains NP, and are rare at higher elevation this time of year at least. We talked to other hikers and rangers, and heard only one report of bear sighting on JMT – the bear was following us on trail, but we did not see it (just photo taken by another hiker).

Hiking upstream of Evolution Creek was broken into two steep sections with easier terrain in the middle. Relaxing sight of water rolling slowly through green meadows – pleasant distraction from by now familiar scenery of high rocky mountains and lakes. Water level in the creek was low (~2 feet) – the only wet crossing on our route was not big deal. We arrived at Evolution Lake relatively early.  Looking down on the lake from the trail we saw attractive sites near the lake. We settled on flat peninsula, decent distance from trail and prescribed distance from water – the best camp of entire hike. Evolution Basin was our favorite part of the trail.  We were now back above 3000 m, yes more blue mountain lakes and austere white and grey rocky mountains around us, heading to Muir Pass. Pleasant hike on the way up, quite tiring on the way down. We rested at Muir Hut and started descending down Middle Fork Kings River. Geology suddenly changed – from mostly granite to more colorful volcanic rocks and rusted mountains, pleasant surprise. That day was the only time we had problem finding campsite at selected location (too many backpackers), we walked further and found good spot on the river.

Evolution Lake

Evolution Lake

Wanda Lake

Wanda Lake

 

Another day of walking down (Kings) river valley with short ascent up Palisade Creek to end the day. Followed by another day of hiking  up the creek, this time gaining more altitude (750 m). We passed Lower Palisade Lake. It was still early and we wanted to be closer to Mather Pass. At this point, we already knew how to look for campsites. There were some nice spots near the trail above Upper Palisade Lake, nice views, but the best one  on rock outcrop was too small for our tent. We walked up further above the trail along Palisade Creek which flows down from lakes higher up towards the lake below – we had private waterfall shower in our backyard.

Selecting campsite can be really hard, when two people try to decide between two spots. We like camping – finding good spots is important. Joanna’s priority was protection from wind and noise, Piotr wanted the flattest spot safe from potential rain water flow. We were learning how to pitch tent between rocks and trees, using stones, wood and hiking poles as alternative to stakes (this new experience came handy later on). We often cooked dinner after dark and never took off in the morning without coffee.  Most JMT hikers start at dawn and snore at dusk – some spatial separation was needed. We searched for nice views, and waited for sun in the morning to warm-up and dry out (condensation).

Mather Pass is next (next post).

This post covers our second, 57-mile 7-day section. We were gaining confidence and getting used to daily routine, moving systematically along JMT at our own slow pace. Looking around more, taking fewer photos.

After good rest and extra meals at Red’s Meadow we were back on JMT hiking up  on volcanic slopes above Middle Fork San Joaquin River. Signs of 1992 fire are evident. Quite dry stretch  of ash/cinder and without water until Crater Creek near Red Cones – cinder/lava cones from volcanic activity as recent as 5000 years ago. We continued upstream along Crater Creek for a while and then jumped over to Deer Creek. We experienced passing (single-cloud) rain which we waited out under large trees. It was first day when we saw many hikers camping almost on the trail or very near the creek. The plan was to camp somewhere near Dear Creek crossing, but after checking the site out we decided to backtrack couple hundred meters to look for something more suitable. We camped under big pines in area less frequented by hikers.

Next day, we continued rather flat hike on the slopes above Fish Creek, San Joaquin River tributary, to Purple Lake. Camp sites at the trail junction at the lake were not appealing and the main site on the lake was occupied by several volunteers repairing trails. Ranger who supervised them gave us directions to good  site away from the trail, but without lake view. We got good look at the lake next morning.

Now, the plan was to go as far as possible towards Goodale Pass, as we decided to stick to our plan and walk down to Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) for rest day and skip short segment of JMT. Lake Edison ferry from JMT junction  is not running this year because water level is too low so we had to walk all the way. We stopped at Lake Virginia, walked down to Tully Hole and Fish Creek, and started gaining altitude again to Squaw Lake. Nice place, but too early to camp. We left JMT and arrived at Papoose Lake shortly. We spent a lot of time looking for camp site, not too close to the trail and not too close to beautiful lake.  Mountains around the lake were nicely lit by evening and morning sunlight. Goodale Pass is not far away.

Dark clouds started to gather just as we were on the way to Goodale Pass next morning and soon we were hit with small (melting) hail. Thunders and main storm/rain were quite distant, except a few lightnings hitting a bit closer. Storm was coming from the same direction as we did, so it was better to continue towards the pass. Under such circumstances we walk much faster, no lingering, nor photos on the pass. The dark clouds were also making their way across the pass, so we just kept going. It was still mostly sunny. When we saw llamas (with small group of travelers) making their way up towards the pass, we thought we were back in the Andes. We tried to outrun the rain, but no luck – it caught-up with us as we were walking down Cold Creek towards Lake Edison. We hid under trees and rocks for a while, but when the rain became less intense we continued hiking. It was in this part of the forest, which burned last year, that we lost the trail for couple hundred meters. Soil erosion was bad with many run-off streams/marks at times indistinguishable from true path. Checked GPS and corrected direction – not really the kind of terrain one could get lost for too long. Blackened forest looked sad.

Rooms were not available at VVR, so we pitched our tent at backpackers quarters (Mushroom City, almost empty that evening, packed next day), waited out another short rain and were ready to eat and rest, shower and laundry. We talked to hikers, some of whom we already met before, and explored good backpacker supply exchange (we had another 3 days to our next resupply). Into the evening and next day. Joanna was able to send messages using local computer; our phone had no cellular signal. With time to spare on the rest day, we walked 2-hour loop on the bottom of the lake exposed by drought.

Rested and with lighter load, we started making our way back to JMT going up Bear Creek trail. Got shuttle ride (couple of miles) to trailhead, crossed over hill to the creek and then continued along the creek for the rest of the day. We liked the scenery, different from other days: Bear Creek changes  every hundred meters from running cascades to pools of water standing between rocks. Clouds were following us all day and light rain caught-up with us at one point.  We camped between rocks above the creek less than a mile from JMT, beautiful spot again, all for ourselves.

Next stop Marie Lake – large lake with irregular shape and many peninsulas and islands. We arrived earlier, found very nice campsite with views of multiple lakes. We had time to walk along waterfront and heard coyotes in the evening. Selden Pass is only 100 m above Marie Lake, we crossed it quickly next morning. The rest of the day was just walking down to Hart Lake and Sallie Keyes Lakes, followed by steep descent to South Fork San Joaquin River where Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) is located – almost 1000 m drop from the pass.

MTR backpackers resupply station is located outside of the ranch, there are no services, but personnel was friendly and helpful. Our package was waiting in good shape. We charged batteries, send out messages (local computer connected via satellite) and packed food for the next 10 days – our backpacks hit max weight. We had comfortable campsite nearby (however, this was the only place where sanitation was an issue). Blayney hot springs are in a meadow on the other side of the river. We followed rope at river crossing and soaked in small pool of hot water springing from between rocks, very nice. Piotr dived into (cold)  river on the way back. Next morning, we finished packing, eating what we did not want to carry, charging batteries and it was time to gain back all the altitude we lost the previous day.

Marie Lake

Marie Lake

Clark’s Nutcracker at Marie Lake

Clark’s Nutcracker at Marie Lake

 

We are ready to go, from Lyell Canyon trailhead to Whitney Portal starting next week. The logistics is quite different from our other hikes: we had to send food to three resupply points, quite a bit of extra planning what to pack. Calories per gram matter, only meals easy and fast to prepare (no boiling). Our packages will wait for us. We need to buy fuel and we will be able to purchase some food for the days at resupply stops. We are learning how to pack lighter and lighter. Location of the resupply points also dictated hiking plan. We will have four sections: 5, 7, 10 and 7 days. Heavier load (food) at the beginning of each one.

We will drive to Yosemite camping on the way, but will stay in hotel in Lee Vining to get good rest and shower, and dinner. We will leave the car near the start (Lee Vining or Tuolumne Meadow) and will use public buses to get back to it from Lone Pine after the hike.

The trail is very well established and we do not anticipate any navigation problems. We spaced campsites evenly as much as possible to get a steady pace: 12 km and 500m total ascent each day on average. Plus one full rest day. But the plan is flexible. There are many camping options and we will make some days shorter and some longer as needed. We are not in a hurry and will go slow. 30 days, 350 km, 14500 m total ascent. No cellular signal most of the time.

Quite an adventure.