Well the day had finally come when I had to exit the trail. I was very sad that I would not be able to summit Mt. Whitney with my new trail friends. It was tough to think about but I had come to terms with it, it was time to go.
I woke up around 5:30am and began to pack up camp. I was going to have to hitch a ride from the South Lake Trailhead so I wanted to get there as early as possible, I had never hitch-hiked before in my life and was very nervous about doing so.
I must have woken up Erica while packing up my gear, she informed me that she wouldn't be exiting the trail and would press on to Mt. Whitney. I was very happy she decided to continue on, this was her second attempt at thru-hiking the JMT, her first attempt thwarted a year earlier by a wildfire in the Sierra.
We said our goodbyes and I headed on down the trail. This was a sad goodbye, hiking with Erica and Jeff the past 10 days had been amazing. I had learned so much from them about backpacking and I was sad to be solo again on the trail. These two had really been a blessing, no way would my time on the trail had been nearly as amazing without them. Trail magic usually comes in the form of a surprise food drop, but in my case it was meeting these two great people.
The trail was very wet between the rainfall the day before and the morning due and it was still plenty dark out so I had to blaze down the trail with my headlamp on. I felt really good, no knee pain and was cruising right along.
I then reached the LeConte Canyon Ranger Station, where the Bishop Pass trail connects with the JMT. This is where I would be saying goodbye to the John Muir Trail. I noticed quite a few tents here and in the distance I saw what looked like Jeff's tent. It was much too early to try to wake him up to say goodbye, so I guess a mental "goodbye" would have to do. Not going to lie, I started to tear up a bit here, I didn't think leaving the trail would be so emotional but I guess when you're out there for 10 days you start to become attached to it. This was not an easy goodbye and would get worse as the day continued.
The trail headed east towards Bishop Pass, I had a gnarly climb ahead of but it wasn't too bad in the cool morning air. I came across a deer and her dawn while climbing toward The Dusy Basin. It's funny how we see Deer in civilization all the time but never stop to think that they exist in the wild. These Deer look shocked to see me and were intrigued by my presence. It took nearly 25 minutes of an awkward standoff before they left the trail and headed into the woods.
I stopped at a bridge that crossed over a creek for some breakfast and to gather some water. I was making good time and sun was just started to shine down into the canyon.
Not shortly after breakfast I reached the Dusy Basin. Another High Sierra basin that is littered with small lakes that butt up to high granite peaks.
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| Dusy Basin |
The sun was beating down on me now, so I stopped to shed some layers and continue on my way. The basin seemed very dry, almost desert like with very little vegetation anywhere.
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| Looking back into Dusy Basin |
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| Stopping to shed layers. |
The trail wound around a few lakes and over some hills before finally gradually climbing up to Bishop Pass. The views were stunning so I decided to stop and eat lunch atop the pass. I met a trail crew member at the summit who was waiting on a coworker to join him to do some surveying of the trail. We chatted for a bit then I continued down the trail.
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| Looking east from the summit of Bishop Pass |
Looking down towards the South Lake trailhead I could see a lot of people hiking around the many lakes, this was a good sign for hitch hiking later.
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| Long Lake |
The trail flattened out and wound through trees and lakes and here I met a group of about 8 elderly couples. I told them of my journey and that I needed a ride down to Bishop. They said they would be happy to take me but wouldn't be leaving for a few hours. I told them I would wait at the parking lot for them. I was so relieved, my worries had vanished and I could take my sweet time hiking down the trail.
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| You are now leaving the John Muir Wilderness |
Just before I reached the parking lot I passed a sign for the John Muir Wilderness. A feeling of deep regret struck me, I almost wanted to break down at the foot of the sign in failure. I was so sad to leave the trail and not be able to finish what I started. While standing next to the sign an older hiker came up and asked where I was hiking. I told him about my trip and how I had to leave the JMT early to make it back home. "Ahh the JMT," he said "Took me 4 tries to finish it. Do not worry, it isn't going anywhere."
His kind words filled me with hope that I would one day return to the Sierra to complete the John Muir Trail and instantly a new goal was set.
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| Fist hitch hiking experience. |
I ended up finding a trail angel, Katherine, who let me ride in the bed of her pickup truck back into Bishop. (What a way to hitch hike right?). It was a great journey down from the mountains and I took this time to reflect on my time on the trail and how much I had changed. I was in very high spirits and
excited to see my family and friends.
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| Saying goodbye to the Sierra. |
It was a great journey, one I would not trade for anything, but one I must go back to complete.
- Patrick
