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| The starting group: from left, Gerald, Ray, Alicia, Aaron, and me |
I first became aware of the John Muir Trail as an eleven-year-old boy scout in 1956 on a backpacking trip when one of the adults showed me a copy of Starr's Guide, the classic guidebook to the trail. From that day on, I dreamed of hiking it. I got to do lots of backpacking in the High Sierra over the years, but I still wanted to do the whole thing.
In late 2000, I brought up the idea of hiking the trail with my friend, Gerald Brito, who had accompanied me on several previous trips. Gerald had hiked the trail with a couple of friends about 15 years before, and I had helped resupply them by hiking over Bishop Pass and meeting them in LeConte Canyon. My wife, Maureen was not interested in hiking the trail with us but was willing to let me be away for three weeks.
By February, 2001, we had picked a start date of July 21, and began making calls to reserve a wilderness permit. We were unable to get a permit to begin in Yosemite Valley, but we did get one for Tuolumne Meadows, so we decided to skip the first 20 miles of trail. I was already familiar with much of that part of the trail anyway. We did lots of planning and shopping for food and equipment and working out resupply points.
Our plan was for my son, Aaron, his girlfriend, Alicia, and her brother, Ray, to accompany us for the first four-day leg of the trip. Maureen and her friend, Cherry would come along to see us off and then camp near Mammoth Lakes and meet us there after those four days. We would resupply again at the Muir Trail Ranch with a food cache that we would mail there. Then we would resupply again in LeConte Canyon. Aaron and Alicia would hike in over Bishop Pass and meet us there. Maureen would pick us up at the end of the trip at Whitney Portal.
On the hike, I kept a journal in a small notebook, and that text is what follows:
7-21-01 1:23 pm Lyell Canyon
Well, we've started the big adventure Gerald and I have been planning for nine months. Five of us -- me, Gerald, Aaron, Alicia and Ray -- are sitting under several small lodgepole pines in a beautiful setting -- green, flowery meadows all around, the slow moving Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne right in front of us. The water is a beautiful color -- an almost glowing blue-green with sky blue ripples when the wind blows. Sky is very blue, a couple of small puffy clouds in the northwest. Clumps of willow bushes along the river. A bit cool in the shade, but the sun is bright and warm.
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| Tuolumne River |
7-22 7:51 am Upper Lyell Canyon
Well, we made it up that big climb, but it sure took a lot out of us. We probably walked 10 miles yesterday, and the last mile was a steep one. But we found a nice campsite by the river, set up camp, had dinner as it started to get dark. I slept pretty well -- not as cold as last night. Lay awake a lot, but not uncomfortable. I set up my tarp as a tent. I was still afraid of bears a bit -- I've heard many stories about how bad the bears are in Lyell Canyon. But there were no bears. I don't think I'll worry much about them now.
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| Mt. Lyell from Lyell Canyon |
still 7-22 4:00 pm Marie Lakes Junction
Got a pretty late start this morning, at least for Gerald and I -- around 9:30. Hard climbing all the way to the pass, but very beautiful. Lots of small meadows and flowers, small tarns. Finally made it up to 11,000 ft. Donohue Pass. Nice views all around. Above timberline, miles of shattered granite. Gerald and I went on ahead, coming down, and we kept going until we got here -- about 2.5 miles from the pass, probably 6 or 7 for today. This is an idyllic spot -- green grass under lodgepole pines, a pretty creek cascading by, plenty of flat space to camp. We're debating whether to stay here or go another mile down to Rush Creek. Gerald and I both did some laundry. Hope my stuff dries if we decide to move on. Everyone now lying in shadow or sun, napping or reading.
7-23 6:09 pm Shadow Lake
At Marie Lakes Jct., Gerald and I looked at the map, and decided that we ought to go another mile to Rush Creek. The other three were a bit reluctant, but willing to go on. We packed up and went down into the canyon, and decided on a campsite on some rocks near the creek and trail junction. In the campsite, there were only a few mosquitoes, but down at the creek they were pretty bad. Everybody was very tired. We cooked dinner, then just sat around, talking a bit and watching the sun on the peaks, and darkness slowly falling. We stayed up until the stars were pretty bright, everybody just lying on the rocks, looking up at the sky. It was nice.
This morning, we hit the trail a little before 9. The climb to Island Pass was not too hard. Nice little tarns at the top with good views. Pretty views of Banner Peak as we descended to Thousand Island Lake.
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| Garnet Lake |
I'm sitting by the waterfall right now. Upstream it is marshy, and mosquitos have been bad all the way from Garnet Lake. Our campsite is dry and exposed, so they aren't too bad there. Here on the rocks by the falls, they're not too bad either. Everybody seems to be in better spirits today, even though we've got mosquitos and we hiked about 9 rugged miles.
7-24 7:41 am Shadow Lake
Mosquitoes seemed to get worse as we had dinner last night. The clouds all cleared and the air was still. We all went to bed around dark. Ray did a nice drawing of the north canyon wall -- done in near darkness. Looking forward to seeing Maureen again this evening. We have around 9 miles to cover today.
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| Shadow Lake |
7-25 8:02 pm Deer Creek Crossing
We started off with a pretty long climb up out of Shadow Lake. We all did pretty well. After passing Rosalie and Gladys Lakes, it was all downhill. At first, we descended gradually past a series of marshy, shallow lakes. Then we went steadily down through red fir forest and pumice dust. Mosquitoes pretty bad along the lakes, then biting flies below.
We stopped at the bottom of the canyon for lunch near marshy Johnson Lake. Several other hikers passed, including a youngish solo hiker and a couple of guys our age -- all doing the Muir Trail too. It was pretty warm. We continued down into Devils Postpile, and a bit of culture shock -- all the tourists in their clean white outfits. We were annoyed with the shuttle buses because we had to wait nearly an hour, while two of them stopped but wouldn't let us on.
We were all dead tired after 9 miles of hiking and felt pretty out of it when the bus dumped us at the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. We started trying to find Ray's truck, when suddenly, there was Maureen and Cherry coming across the parking lot. It was so good to see Maureen, but I was too tired and thirsty to talk much. We took showers at the Mammoth Mtn. Inn, then drove down to Berger's Restaurant and stuffed ourselves with real food and beer. I had a big 1/2 lb. hamburger and a couple of beers, a big salad, and lots of fries -- it sure was good. We did shopping at Von's, laundry at a laundromat. At Maureen and Cherry's camp at Sherwin Creek, we set up tents and sat around the lantern, talking about our recent experiences.
Got up this morning about 6:30, had cereal for breakfast -- then Maureen cooked biscuits, and Ray cooked eggs -- so we ate well. Sorted out all our gear, deciding to leave several things behind. Maureen drove us to the ski area and we caught the shuttle to Red's Meadow. We were soon back on the Muir Trail again. For a couple of miles, it went through burnt forest -- hot and dusty -- then into healthy Red Fir forest again, climbing for a couple more miles. An interesting spring on the way -- glowing blue pool of water bubbling out of the mountainside and running down the hill.
We stopped for a few minutes at Crater Creek, where it comes down between Red Cones, two red cinder cones on the mountainside. We were pretty tired, and biting flies were bad everywhere. We continued up through little meadows, forest, pumice flats, and finally got here to Deer Creek. The flies were awful and I couldn't see staying here, but our alternatives weren't good. It is a long ways to anywhere else we could camp. We found a campsite on a little hill above the creek, ate lunch, and sat around for an hour or so. I was a bit depressed, I guess. I was so tired and the flies were so miserable, that I couldn't get motivated to do anything. Besides, I was missing Maureen a lot. Finally, I got up, got washed up in the creek, and felt a bit better. We made tea, cooked dinner, then had a little nip of brandy, and Gerald retreated to his tent to write or read. The flies have been replaced by mosquitoes, which are pretty bad too. But this place has grown on me. At first, I couldn't stand it, but gradually, the flies eased up, and I noticed what a beautiful spot it is. Lodgepole pine forest, pretty creek, flowery meadows. Late in the afternoon, the weather got a bit strange -- hazy cloudiness, but I don't think it will rain.
7-26 10:57 am Duck Lake outlet creek
I slept OK, but woke a lot -- stuffy nose making breathing difficult. But I'm OK this morning. We got up at 6 and started hiking at 7:45. Long climb through forest, then leveling off along the mountainside. Mile after mile of panoramic views of Cascade Valley and the Silver Divide. The creek out of Duck Lake is a pretty one. Soaked my feet a few minutes -- my right achilles tendon is sore and swollen. Hope it doesn't get worse.
still 7-26 5:50 pm Cascade Valley
Great views of Cascade Valley again as we climbed around the mountain shoulder to Purple Lake. Big puffy clouds. Purple Lake was very pretty, but lots of flies. At times they would leave us alone for a while, and we both took a very refreshing dip in the lake. We ate lunch, washed a few clothes. Hiking on, we climbing 700 ft. or so and passed through a mountain notch beside a granite crag and a big rockslide -- with huge, house sized boulders. Descended to Virginia Lake, an even more beautiful lake, with lots of meadows and craggy peaks to the east. We rested there a few minutes, then crossed a low divide and then switchbacked a long way down into Tully Hole. All the way down, a really spectacular panorama of peaks, and the pretty meadows of Tully Hole at the bottom with a big creek meandering through it. At the left of the view was Red Slate Mtn., which I remember climbing the summer after I graduated from high school. At the bottom, we kept going down the canyon beside a pretty rushing creek. Just after crossing the creek on a big steel bridge, we stopped here at the edge of Cascade Valley. It's a very pretty spot, on a slope with lodgepole pines, and low green currant bushes and grass. Across the creek are cliffs with junipers and pines clinging to ledges. Gerald just said it reminded him of some Asian art -- and it started a discussion of a couple of Japanese artists -- Hiroshige and Obata.
Gerald and I feel pretty good about our progress today. 13 miles, and we're very tired, but still in good spirits. For me, I think the beauty of the scenery kept me pretty high.
7-27 6:01 pm Bear Ridge
The evening was very nice. We had dinner, then sat overlooking the creek and drank a little brandy and talked.
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| On the climb to Silver Pass |
We met this guy hiking alone a couple of days ago, and he told us his story about how his buddy had a bad knee and dropped out, and he had to drive him to Reno. He plans to go out over Piute Pass (about 3 days hike from here). We ran into him again at the Mono Creek bridge, and he told us the same story all over again. It sounded like he wanted us to invite him to join us, but that would make things way too complicated.
After a couple of hours, we packed up and continued on, feeling pretty good. We wanted to get the climb up Bear Ridge behind us to make the next two days easier. The trail climbed through beautiful aspen forest, then red fir, then lodgepole. Soon, we were exhausted. I kept on going and I'm now where the trail begins to flatten out on top. Gerald's behind, and having trouble. I'm going to wait for him, then we can decide what to do. We could camp here -- it's flat enough, but there's no water. We passed some about a mile back down the mountain. I've got a quart, and Gerald probably has less than that. If we go on, we may have to go another 3 miles before we find water (we've already done 13 today). I hope Gerald makes it up here. I don't want to have to go back for him.
7-28 4:50 pm Marie Lake
Just as I finished writing, Gerald came up the trail. He didn't want to go any farther, so we cooked our dinner and used up our water, then I walked back down the trail for more water. Luckily, I didn't have to go all the way back. A half mile or so down, I noticed that an area of forest was all green and flowery, so I looked around and found a small spring, and filled up our water bottles. Walking back up, the sun was setting and it was very pretty. And I noticed that it was totally silent. Gerald and I had tea and brandy, then went to bed as it was getting dark.
This morning, we started hiking at about 7:50, crossed Bear Ridge, and descended into Bear Creek canyon through beautiful Aspen forest. Then we followed the canyon upstream, gradually climbing for a long way. The creek was very pretty, but it was quite warm, almost hot, and the mosquitos and flies were pretty bad. I think we were both worn out from the last two days. I started wondering to myself why I ever wanted to do this, and the thought that we would be going on this way for 2 more weeks, was not much fun. Getting more tired, we climbed through meadows and open forest up here to Marie Lake. This is a very pretty lake, surrounded by rugged granite peaks, ringed by clumps of pines and little meadows, and with lots of rocky islands. We both took a dip in the lake and washed some clothes. Then I wrote a letter to Maureen. Feeling much better about the trip, now that I'm clean and we haven't been bothered by mosquitoes or flies.
7-29 5:41 pm Piute Creek
I wandered around the lakeshore a bit and took a few pictures. It is such a beautiful place, and everywhere I looked, there was another possible picture. I had to settle for just a few. After dinner, Gerald and I walked out on a penninsula which almost divides the lake. The sun had gone down, but to the north and east, the peaks were still touched with sunlight.
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| Marie Lake and Seven Gables |
This morning -- up at 6, on the trail by 7:30 -- which is becoming our routine. Climbed pretty easily up to Selden Pass, then down past Heart Lake -- almost perfectly still, in shadow, but the sunlit peak west of it reflected beautifully. Then past pretty, forest-ringed Sally Keyes Lakes. Saw small trout feeding near shore in the still, blue-green water. Continued on down through meadows and forest, then many switchbacks down a manzanita covered slope, finally to the bottom at Muir Trail Ranch.
The ranch was a picturesque little collection of rustic buildings in a beautiful setting of pines and cottonwoods. A corral full of horses. The place seemed deserted, but I found an elderly lady who found our food cache (which we had mailed) and sold us some fuel. A younger woman and a couple of men appeared. They were all very nice, but didn't have much to offer besides our food cache, and a tiny store. What bothered me most was that I had told Maureen that I would phone her from there, but they had no phones. We divided up the food and seemed to have a little left over, so Gerald gave it to a couple of German backpackers who seemed quite lost. We took a trail to the river, the South Fork of the San Joaquin, waded across (a big, fast moving river, maybe 100 ft. across but only about a foot deep with big, round rocks). We found the hot spring, and soaked for a while, then ate lunch and hit the trail again about 3 pm. It was hard with our heavier packs, and very warm. The trail climbed up the slope from the river, through a dry, dusty, rocky area with scattered pines and junipers. After about 3 miles, we came to a steel bridge crossing Piute Creek, and we found a campsite nearby. Two big canyons come together here, and it is a nice spot. Gerald wants to come back sometime and fish here.
7-30 2:12 pm MacLure Meadow, Evolution Valley
After dinner, Gerald and I had a little brandy (small flask in food cache), then walked down to the bridge and spent a while watching the water. Gerald explained how he would fish the stream below.
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| South Fork San Joaqun River in Goddard Canyon |
7-31 12:54 pm Muir Pass
After an hour or so, Gerald woke up, so we moved on, hiking up the valley. Gerald wanted to make it to Evolution Lake, a 1000 ft. climb from the valley, but we weren't sure we were up to it. We stopped for a rest at the foot of the climb, made some tea, which helped revive Gerald, then we started up the switchbacks. It was hard, since we were already very tired, but we made it up to Evolution Lake about 6:30. It is one of the most spectacular places I've seen, and the evening light was beautiful, so I immediately wandered around taking pictures.
We started dinner and I decided to shoot a panorama right there, so Gerald took over finishing dinner and I got it shot. Should be a good one. Later the peaks glowed with some of the pinkest alpenglow I've seen. More pictures. Then we had some brandy, and walked out to the lake outlet where the stream drops off 1000 ft. to the valley. It was nearly dark, but there was a red-orange glow beyond distant ridges far to the west, and the creek through the meadows below reflected the sky.
Yesterday, there was a note at the ranger station about a problem bear in the area, and about 3 or 4 this morning, I woke up to some noise, then heard someone clearly call from some distance away, 'look out for the bear!'. I was still only half awake, and pictured a big bear charging out onto the peninsula on which we were camped. I tried to call Gerald, but my voice didn't work very well. Finally, wide awake, I sat up and tried to see in the darkness and fumbled around for my flashlight. No bear came, Gerald slept through it all, and now I'm not sure if it was real or a dream. Guess I'll never know.
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| Evolution Lake |
Got up at 6, breakfast, packed, started off around the lake. Beautiful early morning light. We continued on up the basin, lake after lake, a bit of climbing between each.
We ran into a ranger coming down, and I told him about leaving the note, and not being able to call Maureen. He got on his portable radio, and gave the information to a dispatcher, who would call Maureen.
A big relief for me, but two days late. He also told us that he was supposed to try out some new equipment on the problem bears. Some kind of large pepper spray can, and a sling shot. He said that they also tried paint-ball guns. I told Gerald that I pictured polka-dotted paint-spattered bears
We continued past barren Wanda Lake, and a hard, slow climb up here to the pass. We ate lunch, and now we're sitting in the doorway to the hut because it is shady. The light here is intense, even with sunglasses. The view in both directions is like the end of the world -- rugged rock, patches of snow, and nothing green, but a few tufts of grasses and flowers near the hut. A resident marmot has been poking around, coming quite near.
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| Muir Pass |
8-1 12:35 pm Little Pete Meadow, LeConte Canyon
From Muir Pass, the trail went down and down and down, mostly over loose rock, very tiring. Lots of colorful rock as well as granite. Passed desolate Helen Lake, and another smaller lake below it. The canyon bends back and forth, so every mile or two, a new downward vista appears. A third lake had a few scrawny trees around, and then the canyon became forested. We stopped for a rest and were joined for a couple of minutes by a thirtyish woman from England hiking by herself, doing the Bishop Pass, Muir Pass, Piute Pass loop. Pretty gutsy. The trail led down near a lake at the foot of Black Giant, and the mountain lived up to its name -- massive, dark, and looming. Past several falls, finally our descent became less steep and more forested. Finally made it down to Little Pete Meadow, very tired and sore. It must have been around 6. We took a dip in the river, and began cooking dinner. Suddenly, Aaron and Alicia appeared. They had hiked over Bishop Pass and down through Dusy Basin, and were pretty tired too. We all had dinner, talked a bit, and went to bed around 9. We all decided to spend the next day (today) as a layover day. During the night -- bright moon approaching full, horses with bells wandering near our camp.
I got up late for me at about 7:30, but the rest of them slept 'til 9. I wrote a PS to Maureen's letter, and gave it and my exposed film to Aaron to take out. Gerald and I, after doing some laundry, walked down to the ranger station a half mile or so, and asked the ranger, a nice 40-ish, slow-talking woman, if she could spare us a little fuel. She gave us some, and we talked a bit. She said the smokiness that was in the air yesterday and today was from a fire in Simpson Meadow -- about 15 miles away. Back at camp, we sat around with Aaron & Alicia talking, eating lunch. Now Aaron & Alicia are heading for the river to swim and lie in the sun.
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It is very pleasant here, almost no mosquitoes, warm sun, cool breezes. I looked around a while ago, and thought -- it's like having Yosemite Valley all to ourselves.
8-2 1:04 pm Palisade Creek
I read for quite a while, and just sat around talking with Aaron and Alicia. I also wandered around the meadow and took a few pictures. Gerald and I divided up all our food again. He decided he didn't want the pemmican bars we've been eating for breakfast, so he walked down the trail and gave them to the ranger. We all went to bed around 8:30, as the first stars were appearing, and bats were flying overhead.
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| LeConte Canyon |
The night was damp, and pretty cool. Gerald and I had breakfast and packed and left around 7:45. Aaron and Alicia got up before we left and said goodbye. The 3.5 miles down the canyon didn't seem too hard -- pretty scenery and easy trail, but as soon as we started climbing up Palisade Creek, it got hard and our packs got heavy. It's very pretty -- nice creek, forests, lots of aspens, and big areas of ferns and flowers. Now we are having lunch at the foot of the big climb to Palisade Lakes. I'm a bit anxious about it because my knees have been hurting a bit.
8-3 1:01 pm Upper Basin
Well, I was right to be anxious about the climb to Palisade Lakes -- which I have since learned is called the "Golden Staircase". My knees were a bit sore, but mostly it was the climb that was hard. Spectacular views, though. It was hot, mid-afternoon, and the trail leaves the forest, climbing toward a couple of waterfalls coming down the canyon headwall. Sagebrush and lots of very aromatic herbs and flowers. Then the trail goes in tight switchbacks up several chimneys between granite ribs. Finally, after nearly 2000 exhausting feet, it eases up and comes to an area of flat granite and bits of meadow and Lower Palisade Lake.
On the way up, we met a guy who we call Pennsylvania Jim. He first passed us back at Johnson Meadow. He is a young guy with a blond beard & shaggy hair sticking out from his hat. Very friendly and seems to love being here. We ran across him yesterday on the Golden Staircase, and saw him later at the lake. He told us 'we don't have anything like this in Pennsylvania'.
We quickly picked a spot to camp. Soon several other parties camped around us. We were exhausted. Made some tea, washed up a bit, set up tents, and made dinner. Finished off the last of the brandy. A guy came over from another camp just to talk a bit. We probably won't see him again because his group is keeping up a much faster pace than ours.
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| Our camp at Lower Palisade Lake |
We stopped for a rest by a creek, and Gerald is taking a nap. Looks like we are just about at timberline, and soon we will be in trees. In this spot, which is a bit greener, near the creek, there are countless grasshoppers. Every step, 20 or 30 of them jump away. It's Friday. A week from tomorrow and we'll be done. It still sounds like a very long time, but getting closer. I'm looking forward to it. I am enjoying being here, but it is hard, and I will be happy to be back with Maureen.
still 8-3 8:09 pm Unnamed lake above South Fork of Kings River
After our rest stop in Upper Basin, we gradually descended mile after mile, into forest and flowery hillside meadows. Finally, we crossed the young South Fork of the Kings, and climbed again to this unnamed lake. It is a beautiful spot -- little shallow lake, hillside meadows rising high above, forests, and great views.
When we got here, very tired, Gerald went up the hillside meadow a few feet from the trail and said he was going to camp there. There was a nice grove of pines, maybe 50 yards away, and when I checked it out, there was a great little campsite with several flat areas, so I left my pack there. After a dip in the creek, we felt better. I saw that Gerald wasn't going to give up his campsite, so I finally moved my stuff over to the hillside. We enjoyed dinner -- out in the open with the great view, the sun down but still lighting the peaks. Gerald got into his tent to read; I'm sitting on a rock nearby, but it's getting pretty dark now.
8-4 5:16 pm Woods Creek
Seemed a bit colder than usual last night, but I slept well. I was surprised this morning to find everything covered with thick frost. And as soon as I got up I found out that it was cold! I was up at 6 and pretty much ready to go at about 7:15. Gerald taped up his feet and took a long time packing, so we didn't get going until 8:30. The sun finally hit us just as we were ready to leave, but we had already packed up our wet tents. Another long hard climb to Pinchot Pass, but not as bad as Mather, I don't think.
We met Frank and Bob on the way up (the guys we had talked to on Mather Pass) and we had a nice talk with them on top. Frank is a math teacher at Chico State, and Bob just retired from a Navy lab and moved to Chico, and this trip is his retirement present to himself. They are about a year older than Gerald and I. We also met another couple doing the trail. 30ish, in short shorts, small packs. They obviously were going for speed. They showed it when they took off down from the pass.
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| Pinchot Pass |
On the way down, I stopped because I thought there was something in my boot. It turned out to be a sliver or thorn in the sole of my foot. Gerald got out a needle and we tried to get it out. I don't think we got it, but it feels OK now. At the bottom, we were too tired to hike much more. We crossed the creek on a big swaying suspension bridge. Kind of wobbly and scary. The place is swarming with teenage boys -- probably scouts. We found a nice site on a rock, in the open, and a bit away from the crowds. I took a dip in the creek, washed the stuff I wore today. Gerald did the same.
We've noticed a couple of guys about our age on the trail with folding chairs tied to their packs. Here at Woods Creek, I ran into one of them, Ron (his brother is Ken), and talked to him a while. Despite the crowd of boys, this is a very pretty, pleasant place. It feels good to be warm in the sun at lower elevation.
8-5 5:34 pm Tarns north of Glen pass
In the evening, we heard a couple of scout yells. The second one sounded like "204". Could they be from my old troop? Didn't seem possible.
Slept well, Gerald got up before me, around 6. We were on the trail by about 8, I think. Lots of climbing as we went up the canyon of the South Fork of Woods Creek. Rocky, dry areas of sagebrush and juniper, lodgpole pines, scattered and in groves with lots of ferns and flowers, aspens in lots of places. Very pretty. Big mountain slopes -- dark metamorphic rock on the east, light granite on the west.We made a rest stop at the first lake, Dollar Lake.
As we were leaving, scouts arrived, wearing red bandanas like I used to wear when I backpacked with troop 204. We passed a couple more lakes, and a couple of scouts came up behind us. I asked where they were from. They were from Lafayette, Troop 204, my old troop. I couldn't believe it. I told them that I had gone on my first backpacking trip with the troop 45 years ago.
They went on ahead, and soon we were at Rae Lakes. I'd heard that it was a beautiful place, and it was. We saw Pennsylvania Jim's buddy, a young, muscular guy, and he said that the bears were very aggressive. He was resting and one tried to get his pack. They were all around in the trees watching us. We didn't know how much to believe. We went on to the end of the second lake, and ate lunch on the shore. Lots of teenagers playing around with an inflatable raft and making lots of noise. Lots of people everywhere. I saw the scouts again, so I asked them where their dads were. They pointed, and we went over and talked to them. They were as surprised as I was, and wanted a group photo of all of us.
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| Rae Lakes |
It was a steep climb, but we finally saw the tarns a bit below us. There was an older couple sitting on a rock, and we stopped to talk. He said that he was 71; she didn't offer her age. They told us about some of their past trips, about how to deal with bears (chase him up a tree and hit him in the butt with a rock -- he'll never bother you again). The man had a tripod on his pack, and said he had been taking photographs of flowers. They got out some homemade pemmican bars.
We left them and descended some talus and circled the tarns until we found a flat gravely spot in the sloping smooth granite, and stopped there. Pretty barren. A few stunted trees around. I set up my tent because it is a bit windy, but Gerald just made a little stone wall to shelter his sleeping bag. I went in one of the tarns. It was not too bad -- the wind was colder than the water. Gerald wasn't going to go in, but when he saw me, he changed his mind. Now he's lying on a smooth rock in the sun. I found a rock ledge to lean against, but it's not perfectly comfortable. They hardly ever are. All around here, 360 degrees, are rugged cliffs and peaks. A couple of them are streaked with dark gray, white, pink and orange rock. Very pretty.
8-6 1:33 pm Bubbs Creek
Our camp turned out to be fine. The wind stopped and it was very quiet and peaceful as we ate dinner and watched the light on the peaks turn to alpenglow. There was some wispy cirrus cloud above, and a hazy bank of high cloud to the east, and they were lit up pink by the sunset. Went to bed at late dusk as usual, slept well.
Got up, got everything together, and, as usual, I waited quite a while for Gerald. Hiked on up to Glen Pass -- didn't seem too hard, since we were already pretty high up, and we were fresh. Good views, but I was a little disappointed that we couldn't see much to the south because of a mountain spur in the way. The lake on south side of pass is very pretty -- barren, but you can see deeply through the blue-green water. Hiked down, and kept going all the way to the canyon bottom near Bubbs Creek, with only one very short break. Lots of good views going down.
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| Bubbs Creek |
At the trail junction to Charlotte Lake, there is a big sandy flat -- very dry and kind of barren. Then there's a great view down into Bubbs Creek and some very impressive peaks of the Kings-Kern divide. The forest gets moister, and there were pretty areas of skunk cabbage and ferns and flowers going down. We rested at the bottom, then climbed, quite steeply at times, until the trail got near the creek, and we stopped here for lunch. Nice spot with pretty cascades. Gerald just commented that we're both pretty quiet today, and it's true. I think the trip is wearing us down a bit.
8-7 7:41 am Upper Bubbs Creek canyon
We got moving again and hiked up the canyon to near its top, where it ends in a headwall below Mt. Stanford. Once we got moving, we did pretty well, but we were pretty tired when we got here. All afternoon, it was cloudy, and there was not much sun. It's a pretty canyon, much of the way through lodgepole pine forest, some open areas with sagebrush. Nice meadows. Passed a couple of campsites, one with a bear box and a sign saying that hanging food doesn't work here anymore. The map showed the trail coming back close to the creek farther on, so we kept climbing, until we realized that the map must be wrong, so we stopped by a tiny creeklet and found a nice campsite with great views. I went quite a ways down the mountainside to the creek to bathe. I made it a quick job with mostly splashing water on myself because there was no sun, the water was cold, and it was windy. Found a good orthopedic rock and read for a while. Then dinner, and tea, and standing around talking until it was pretty dark. Nice watching the evening light on the Kearsarge Pinnacles and the canyon below. There was still an orange glow to the west when we went to bed.
Once again, it wasn't as cold as we expected. Maybe it's just that with the tarp, the sleeping bag is plenty warm. Up at 6, rosy alpenglow on the high peaks, and pink clouds. Right now, I'm packed and waiting for Gerald. Thinking more about how long 'til next Saturday when we will be done. My feet are hurting quite a bit, and my knees some too. Just hope they keep me going to the end.
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| View north on the way up Forester Pass |
still 8-7 5:46 pm Tyndall Creek
Hiked all the way up to Forester Pass with just one rest stop. Pretty good trail, graded well. Ran into quite a few other people, including a group of teenage boys. The scenery is spectacular as we near the pass -- a barren world of rock, crags, blue-green lakes, and steep patches of snow. We rested at the top, then went down the other side, where the trail is cut into the cliffs, and built up with rock walls with nearly sheer drops. My feet were hurting quite a bit. Then miles of barren basin, with a few lakes. Like Upper Basin below Mather Pass -- nearly a desert -- but this one is bigger. We stopped for lunch by a tiny trickle of water, and I took one of my 600 mg Motrin tablets to help with my foot. We continued on down, finally getting into trees and arriving at Tyndall Creek. We found a campsite, bathed, washed, then sat on a rock and read for maybe a couple of hours.
We had planned to make today a short day of hiking because we're finding ourselves ahead of schedule, but we've covered 7 or 8 miles. We heard thunder in the distance, and the clouds looked a bit threatening. My laundry isn't dry, but I better bring it in. I washed my jeans, and I'm wearing them wet to dry them. It's only 6, but we're going to cook dinner for lack of anything better to do.
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| Tyndall Creek |
8-8 3:43 pm Crabtree Ranger Station
Just as we were about to cook dinner, it began to rain. We got into our tents, and soon it was hailing. The runoff from the tent sides started coming under the tent, so I quickly dug little trenches with a rock to drain away the water. The rain only lasted a half hour or so, and when it stopped, we cooked dinner, then had tea later, and talked until nearly dark.
Got up at 6:30; Gerald slept until about 7:30. We didn't rush -- Gerald took an especially long time to pack, but it was OK -- I read while I was waiting. We left just before 10. Hiked up out of Tyndall Creek onto the Bighorn Plateau -- a surprisingly beautiful place. Scattered forest of Foxtail Pine (I believe), many of them picturesque dead snags, in a barren rolling landscape with peaks all around. We came down to a creek that we thought was Wallace Creek, and had lunch, and I soaked my feet. My left foot has been OK today, but the right still hurt a lot as we started out. After a while, I could walk without a limp and the pain became more tolerable. I took another Motrin this morning, and one this afternoon.
After lunch, we descended to the real Wallace Creek, then made quite a climb out of it. Walked a long time through open forest, past meadows sloping away down gentle swales. Lots of other hikers on the trail today. In fact, ever since about Woods Creek, the trail has been pretty busy. We finally arrived here at Whitney Creek near the Crabtree Ranger Station. The sign says it's 7.5 miles to Mt. Whitney. It's good to know that we are close to the end. One hard day's hiking could get us out. It's also good to know, considering the trouble with my foot. We've thought about several possibilities of hiking out early, but all would be complicated -- since Maureen and Chris are picking us up on Saturday, and we have no way to contact them to change plans.
Right now, I'm lying under my tarp tent in the rain. It's been raining for about a half hour now, and it seems to be tapering off. It never did rain heavily. There have been clouds overhead most of the day, but puffy white ones. We just got here when I noticed a dark cloud across the canyon coming this way. I told Gerald that I was going to put up my tent and he kind of made fun of me as a weatherman. But he had barely said it, when drops started falling, and we quickly set up our tents and got everything stowed. I think my tent will work well. The head is up against a big log which mostly seals off that end. And the ground is thick pine needles and cones, and the runoff should soak in rather than puddle under my tent.
8-9 1:09 pm Guitar Lake
When I finished writing, the rain had let up for a while. Gerald and I went down to the creek to pump water and I was half way done when a young woman ranger came up to us and asked us to move downstream because a helicopter was about to land to evacuate someone. In a minute or so, the helicopter came over, then landed in the small meadow above us. We waited a while to see what was happening, but nothing seemed to be going on for a long time, so we went back to camp as it began to rain again. I read for a while in my tent. About 6:30, it seemed to be clearing, so we made tea, then dinner. We stood around talking until dark.
I got up about 6:20 this morning, and my right foot hurt a lot when I tried to walk. I limped around a bit, hoping to loosen it up. I also took another Motrin. Our plan now was to hike 2.7 miles up to Guitar Lake, near the base of the last steep climb, then take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow we will go up to the pass, leave our packs, go to the summit and back, then descend the east side to the first decent campsite.
Once we started hiking (about 9:15), my foot wasn't so bad, and we made it up here with steady hiking without a break. Guitar Lake is pretty nice, but barren, being above timberline. There are some meadows around the shore. There was a big group already camped here, and many more have come in since we arrived. Gerald and I set up our tents (the weather could be like yesterday) and then bathed, laundered and ate lunch. So our chores are pretty much done for today. Clouds getting bigger and darker, and the sun comes and goes. Not so bad, really, since the sun is warm and there is no shade here. Feeling pretty lazy. The altitude (11,500 or so) plus Motrin making me unenergetic and dizzy at times.
8-10 5:29 pm Mirror Lake
In the afternoon, we were able to be lazy for a little while, but all of a sudden, we were hit by a big thunderstorm. Just a little rain at first, but then I could look out the end of my tent and see the lake, and it looked like it was boiling. Then the hail hit, 1/4' chunks of it, coming down furiously, and it kept up for quite a long time -- maybe a half hour. Then heavy rain, and all along, loud claps of thunder. At one point, it eased a bit, and I got out and tightened up my tent. The hail was piled up against the sides and I swept it away. I tried to dig trenches to keep the water out, only partially successfully. One problem was that the head of the tent was up against a big rock, but there was a gap of a few inches, and the hail bounced off the rock and into the gap, so I held my jacket up to shield the sleeping bag from hail. When the storm settled down to steady rain, I read for a while. Finally, about 4, it all stopped, and within minutes, the clouds blew over, and we had clear blue sky and sun. I managed to keep most of my stuff dry, but the sun let us dry everything. Gerald had forgotten to bring in all of his socks drying on a rock, so he had to wring them out and dry them again. All the other campers were also trying to dry out their stuff.
We had a pleasant evening -- dinner and just watching the light change on the peaks.
An hour or two after we went to bed, we heard a big rock slide. It sounded a lot like the thunder of the earlier storm.
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| On the way up Mt. Whitney |
I did feel the 14,000 ft. elevation, but it didn't slow us down too much, since we are quite used to it. The summit was a circus, with probably 40-50 people on it. The views were spectacular, though to the west, the late morning light made everything look rather flat, and to the north, the air was rather hazy. The best views were east and south, of the rugged cliffs and pinnacles, and huge elevation drop -- 10,000 ft. down to Owens Valley. We didn't stay long. We came back down to the trail junction and ate lunch about 12:30. Then we hiked up to the pass -- Trail Crest -- then down about 1500 ft. of switchbacks on a steep mountainside. At the bottom, Trail Camp was barren, and there were lots of people camped there. We didn't like it, so we continued down. The trail keeps going down steep rounded granite ridges, with no really good campsites. We finally got down here to Mirror Lake, at about 10,500 ft., and found a pretty good site on rocks above the lake. Both of us were very tired. I took a dip in the lake. Gerald took a nap, I think -- now he is on another rock, reading. At first, I was too tired to appreciate it, but this is a very pretty little lake.
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| Mirror Lake |
8-11 11:25 am Whitney Portal
After his rest, Gerald walked down to the lake's outlet and noticed a sign saying 'no camping'. By that time, we were all set up and ready to start dinner, so we just decided to take our chances of getting caught. We had dinner and talked a while.
This morning, I was up at 6:30, and even though we were not trying to get an early start, we were hiking by 8:50. The trail goes steadily down this very steep canyon, with lots of switchbacks. There are lots of other hikers -- especially as we got nearer the trailhead. There were lots of people looking like they were just out for a short hike.
From foxtail pines at Mirror Lake, we descended to jeffrey pines and white fir, and sagebrush in the sunny areas. Whitney Portal is a busy place. I'm sitting in the shade of pines next to the beginning of the trail, groups gathering at the sign for group pictures, cars cruising the parking lot. There wasn't much in the store, but we got a couple of cokes.
Later. . .
We waited about 3 hours, until 2, and finally, Maureen drove up. We threw the packs into the car, and we were on our way home. It was hot down in the valley as we drove north, catching up on all that had happened over the last couple of weeks.
At the Motel 6 in Mammoth, we showered, then went out to dinner at Whiskey Creek. Gerald and I both had big steaks, and a couple of beers, and we were feeling quite stuffed when we drove up to see the lakes as the sun was setting. Later, it was very pleasant as we sat by the motel pool and sipped brandy.
Sunday, we had a long, uneventful drive over Sonora Pass (Tioga Pass had been closed by a rock slide) and back home to resume our normal lives.
