Last night was cold, very cold. My Marmot sleeping back is only rated to 30 degrees, so thank god I was wearing a few layers while I slept.
We woke up pretty early, we had 13.2 miles to go today and had to tackle Silver Pass along the way. I made a warm breakfast of oatmeal this morning. I needed it because it was so darn cold the night before. I finished eating and started to pack up my stuff. We hit the trail just as the sun was rising over the horizon which lit up Lake Virginia beautifully.
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| Looking back at Lake Virginia |
We crossed over to the eastern side of the lake, crossing its' outlet and towards Tully Hole. The trail descended quickly about 500 feet. I stopped here to shed some layers because the morning sun was starting to make me overheat. The trail continued down from Tully Hole to the end of Cascade Valley. There was as beautiful bridge here that crossed Fish Creek, there were some amazing campsites here as well.
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| Bridge over Fish Creek |
From Fish Creek, it was only another 2.8 miles to the top of Silver Pass. I knew there would be some good stopping points along the way up, so I pushed ahead with a pretty quick pace. The trail wound up through the trees and eventually breaking out over the timberline. This is one of the first times where I looked down from the trail and thought, "If I fall, I might die." The trail ran along a ridge just above the timberline before rising up to Squaw Lake.
Here I stopped to soak my feet and refill on some water. Also resting at Squaw Lake were Jeff, Chops, Anita and two others I had not met previously. Their names were Kristen and Brad, two good friends hiking the JMT. I sat down next to Chops and told him about my plan to exit the trail. He told me that Bishop Pass was a good option and wasn't too bad (he had done it the year before on the PCT). He even gave me a map of the trail that exited down over the pass. This was very helpful because I did not have a map of that area.
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Erica, Brad, Kristen and Anita at Squaw Lake
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View looking South from Squaw Lake. Jeff in the foreground
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| Having a great time on the trail! |
Feel confident with my exit strategy in place, I started the climb back up Silver Pass with a new found confidence. The trail rose quickly, I could feel the air getting thinner and my pace slowing. I took frequent breaks along the way, taking a longer break at the Goodale Pass Junction. Anita was also here, deciding whether to take Goodale Pass or stay on the JMT to get to Vermilion Valley Resort, where she had a resupply. We showed her our maps and she proceeded on down to Goodale Pass to get her supplies.
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| Anita ahead of me at the Goodale Pass Junction |
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Erica charging up the trail from Squaw Lake
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Erica had caught up to me and we both charged up the last .9 miles to the top of Silver Pass, and what a view! It was absolutely gorgeous from the top, barely a cloud in the sky, clear views in all directions. The coolest view was looking south from the pass, you could see in the distance Banner Peak and Mt. Ritter, where we camped 3 days before, nearly 35 miles away! So Cool!
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Amazing view south from Silver Pass
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| Panoramic looking south from Silver Pass |
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Jeff relaxing in his "Throne" atop Silver Pass
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| Erica relaxing on Silver Pass |
We rested on top of the pass for a bit, taking pictures and soaking in the view. This was definitely my favorite spot so far on the trail. The winds began to blow in, so we started our decent down the from the pass. The trail wound through an open wilderness, running in between two lakes.
Here, Erica and I spotted a small pack of what we thought were coyote cubs, drinking from a small lake to the East of the trail. I was a bit nervous because they were somewhat far away but we couldn't be sure they were cubs, so proceeded down the trail quickly and quietly past the small lake.
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| Large Thumb rising up along Silver Pass Crek |
We stopped to eat a proper lunch just before the Mott Creek junction. We had nice little spot along Silver Pass Creek, it's hard to explain but it was a very ideal spot to stop and eat. Large rocks to lay upon and dip your feet in the creek, sun peaking through the branches of the trees above. I was very content.
After about an hour we continued down the trail into Pocket Meadow. There were some very steep switchbacks here and descended very quickly. I couldn't imagine going up those switchbacks with a full pack. Luckily from here, the trail meandered downhill through some very beautiful Aspen Groves before dropping us down in Quail Meadows.
I met a Russian hiker coming the other way and we chatted for a bit and all he could talk about was these long and hard switchbacks that he had come down. He said he never thought that they would end. Of course, I knew exactly what he was referring to, Bear Ridge, a 2,000 ft climb over 4.6 miles. I was hoping to tackle it early in the morning before the sun came up, hopefully it wouldn't be as bad as the Russian thought it was.
We found a nice campsite in Quail Meadows near Mono Creek. This was the first campsite where there was an actual fire ring set up. You are only allowed to have campfires in the wilderness at established fire rings, but we elected not to start a fire due to the ridiculously dry season in the Sierra. One spark could potentially cause big problems.
I ate my Kung Pao Chicken and rice meal and crawled into my tent. These dehydrated meals were all starting to taste the same and I was getting sick of it. But in two days we would be at Muir Trail Ranch where I could pick up my resupply and have new tasty food.
But all I could think about was the climb up Bear Ridge tomorrow. Oh God...
Day Summary:
Miles Hiked: 13.2 mi
Total Miles on JMT: 87.6 mi
Day 7: Quail Meadows to Marie Lake
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