Day 9: Muir Trail Ranch to Evolution Basin

Woke up early this morning with the sound of the San Joaquin River moving only a few feet away from my tent. Jeff and I told Erica we would meet her at 10am at Muir Trail Ranch. So we go to sleep in a bit, which was really nice.

We packed up camp and headed back to MTR to meet up with Erica. We hung out at MTR for a while, resupplied on some food and got some fresh water. Around 10:15am or so we set out back out on the trail.

Trail leaving MTR

We all hiked pretty spread out today, it was nice to hike in solitude for the most of the day. The trail followed along the San Joaquin River for some time before coming to a bridge over Piute Creek. This marked the trail now entering Kings Canyon National Park. I stood on the bridge for a few minutes taking in the scenery and reflecting on my journey thus far. It was pretty incredible to me how far I had traveled by foot, never in my life would I have thought I could do this!

 Bridge over Piute Creek

Now entering Kings Canyon!

I continued down the trail and for once it was pretty wooded, occasionally poking out into the granite canyon that the San Joaquin was roaring through.

Trail in the woods along the San Joaquin

San Joaquin River

I caught up to Jeff at another bridge that cross the river, we continued on for a few miles, then stopped to take a short break before we had to climb up to Evolution Valley. We ran into a pack horse train coming down the trail, it amazes me that to get any work done out here that they have to bring all equipment in on horseback, so cool!

Jeff along the bridge

Jeff again on the bridge

Pack train coming through

We began the climb up to Evolution Valley. The climb wasn't too steep, just seemed a bit long. Once you start nearing the end of the climb you can hear the roaring of Evolution Creek, that runs through the valley. From reading other hikers trail journals, I knew this would be a tricky river crossing with the creek being pretty wide. But, with it being so late in the summer, the creek wasn't very deep and was easy to cross.

Looking back while climbing into Evolution Valley

Evolution Creek

Jeff and I hiked a few more miles before stopping to eat and wait for Erica. We found a nice shaded spot and rested. Today wasn't too strenuous, or maybe I just felt better because of my hot spring soak last night.

Erica came strolling along and urged us to cut our break short and hike another mile or so and break in McClure Meadow. And boy, was she right! We hiked another mile or so (Jeff did this part in his Crocs!) and the views of the meadow were unbelievable.

Evolution creek running through McClure Meadow

My favorite place on the trail!

We hung out here for a while and ate a little bit before continuing down the trail. We planned to camp just above Colby Meadow.

Jeff and Erica taking in the sights.

Erica and Jeff relaxing

More relxing

We arrive at the camp site and it was pretty awesome. Secluded in the woods and right next to a waterfall, can't get any better than that right? We set up camp and started to make dinner, we were all very happy with our camp for the night.

Creek from our campsite.

My tent at our best "campsite" ever.

Jeff and our camp on the granite slab.

Waterfall next to our campsite.

Enjoying the waterfall!

Jeff soaking his feet

Then Chops came along. The previous night, we had discussed with Chops the possibility of doing a Night Hike on the trail, and Chops wanted to go tonight. This would mean giving up our amazing campsite.

After much pondering, we all decided to go for it. We packed up and gear and said goodbye to our campsite. The trail rose about 1200 feet into the Evolution Basin and the view were amazing. Unfortunately, I did not have a nice camera to take any photos of it, so I'll try to describe it as best we could.

The moon was so bright we didn't even need our headlamps, the trail was fully illuminated with moonlight. The granite all around the basin was so lit up you could see the most details on the rocks. I felt like I was walking on the moon.

Our goal for the night was to make it to the Muir Hut on top of Muir Pass, only a few miles along the trail, but all started to get pretty winded and tired. The temperature had really dropped as well and it was getting pretty hard to hike with tired muscles. We set up campsite somewhere near Sapphire Lake in the basin, about 200 feet from the water. The only thing was that we had zero tree cover and were pretty exposed in the basin, this concerned me a bit, and rightfully so. This evening it rained really hard and the wind was violently shaking my tent all night. I have no idea how I slept through it. I would occasionally wake up to the sound of thunder off in the distance.

Chops packed up his camp sometime around 4am and headed for Muir Hut. The sound of the rain slapping on the tent was so loud that we had to yell at each other to understand what we were saying. Erica, Jeff and I waited out the storm and woke up in the clouds, literally.

Waking up to this was a little freaky

Evolution Basin

What a wild day/night!

Day Summary:

Miles Hiked: 15.1  mi
Total Miles on JMT: 123.9 mi                                    Day 10: Evolution Basin to Leconte Canyon

Day 6: Lake Virginia to Quail Meadows

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.

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.

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.

Erica, Brad, Kristen and Anita at Squaw Lake

View looking South from Squaw Lake. Jeff in the foreground

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.

Anita ahead of me at the Goodale Pass Junction

Erica charging up the trail from Squaw Lake

   

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!

Amazing view south from Silver Pass

Panoramic looking south from Silver Pass

Jeff relaxing in his "Throne" atop Silver Pass

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.

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

Day 5: Reds Meadow to Lake Virginia

I am going to start out by saying this was one of the worst days of hiking on the JMT. I knew this going into it, every hiker forum I've been on says that the day after Reds Meadow is boring and just a long gradual uphill that will wear you down. That's exactly what this was.

Jeff and I woke up and early and headed over to the Mulehouse Cafe for some breakfast. Coffee, Eggs and Bacon, what a great way to start off the day. The cafe reminded me of any inner city diner, but with a cabin feel. It was great to meet the staff and a few other hikers grabbing breakfast.

After we gobbled down our breakfast, Jeff and I headed back to the bunk house to pack up and get ready for the day. I ran to the store to grab some last minute snacks and water. I picked up 1 litre bottle of water since I decided to ditch using my water bladder. The bladder was convenient because it held 3 liters of water, but to fill it I had to basically remove everything from my pack and fill it up, which was a hassle when I just needed a quick refill on water. The combination of the 1 liter bottle and my 32oz Gatorade bottle proved to work out better.

Sign leaving Reds Meadow Resort

We waited outside the store for Erica to get ready and then set out on the trail. We got a late start, 10am, I blame it on the large breakfast. The trail lead south out of Reds Meadow and up towards the Red Cones, large hills that are covered in some sort of red grass.

View leaving Reds Meadow

Through this portion of the hike I hung back from Erica and Friz. They seemed to be getting into some good conversation but for some reason I was holding back. I am usually a shy person around strangers, but it was beginning to frustrate me. I knew they were more experienced backpackers than myself and I guess for that reason I felt a bit excluded. But hiking experience aside, I was a person just like them, with a normal job and normal life somewhere miles away. I had no reason to be shy out in the wilderness, I knew Erica and Friz were great people and wouldn't judge me for thoughts. So I quickly raced to catch up with them and join the conversation.

We winded through Upper Crater Meadow, which was nice, but it was hot out today which made it not so nice. I tried my best to stay in the shade at all times to avoid the burn from the sun. The trail was a slight uphill until we got to Deer Creek, where we decided to stop for lunch.

Here we met another hiker, Chops, who looked like a hiking machine. Tall, long legged, with a very athletic frame, this guy was made for hiking. We chatted with him for a bit over lunch, the previous summer he had hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail which is over 2,500 miles!

Chops!

From here the day was just all downhill, not literally, it was uphill, but it was terrible. The afternoon heat was very hot and the trail continued uphill along a ravine for about 6 miles. 6 miles of the same scenery can get very boring. The view down into Cascade Valley was very beautiful, Erica and I stopped for a bit to rest and take in the view.

View down into Cascade Valley.

The video below shows the valley and some great commentary from Erica.

                 

We pressed up, up this god damned ravine to Duck Creek, Where we found Jeff and Chops soaking their feet in the water. They were joined with a few others, an older woman, Anita, and a group of younger hikers from Stanford University. We rested and chatted a bit. I ate a granola bar and soaked my feet in the creek.

I was developing some nasty blisters on my feet and toes. Luckily I had treated them early on in the trail so they wouldn't become infected or get any worse. So a good soak always felt amazing on my feet. A few people here decided to make fun of my white fuzzy slippers. I didn't feel embarrassed at all, as a first time backpacker I felt like I was establishing my trail persona, I was becoming "Slippers".

Only about another 4 miles to Lake Virginia and boy would they be tough. This involved a large incline up to Purple Lake and another incline to Lake Virginia. I hung back with Erica because we were both struggling to keep a strong pace throughout the day. And yes, it was still very hot out.

After trudging 2.3 miles, the sight of Purple Lake was a refreshing one. The lake seemed pretty crowded, I noticed quite a few tents set up along the shore and a number of people fishing. Erica and I were considering camping here for the night since we were both so exhausted. We caught up with Anita and Jeff and talked to them about camping at Purple Lake. They wanted to push on to Lake Virginia, and after some convincing, we all agreed to continue on.

Man fishing in Purple Lake

At this time I wondered where Chops was, but Erica pointed him out jumping naked into Purple Lake! I was very jealous because I had not had the opportunity to swim in a lake yet on the trip.

Erica was having some trouble through this section of the day. She had a asthma attack while climbing out form Purple Lake. We stopped to give her some water and let her rest. I slightly started to panic as well, the one thing I was probably least prepared for was First-Aid on the trial. Basic First-Aid I was okay with, but anything more than that threw my brain into a frenzy. But like the champ she is, Erica mounted her pack back up and began to charge up the trail again.

We hiked out of Purple Lake and across a very rocky terrain that to me seemed almost like a foreign planet. There was very to little vegetation anywhere and just piles of broken rock that had fallen from the peaks above. The trail wound through a tight canyon of broken rock with two peaks scaling up either side of the trail.

The trail somewhere between Purple Lake and Lake Virginia

Jeff and Erica on our way to Lake Virginia

We finally made it down to Lake Virginia as the sun was setting and found a good campsite along it's western shore. We ate in the dark and soaked in the stars again. I think everyone was pretty drained on this evening and was eager to get to sleep. I was a bit excited though, tomorrow we would be going over Silver Pass.

My knee seemed to be holding up alright, still a lot of pain in the mornings and at night, but it was tolerable. Here I was considering different options to leave the trail. I wanted to leave on the East side of the Sierra so I could catch the shuttle to the Reno Airport. It seemed my only option to do that was to hike out over Bishop Pass in a few days. I decided to put off the decision for a couple of days until we got to our next resupply.

Finally arrived at Lake Virginia

Looking for a campsite along Lake Virginia

And still looking....

Day Summary:

Miles Hiked: 15.7  mi
Total Miles on JMT: 74.4 mi                                                  Day 6: Lake Virginia to Quail Meadows

Day 4: Garnet Lake to Reds Meadow Resort

After loading up on Ibuprofen and Aleve before heading to bed, I felt pretty decent in the morning. My knee felt tight but hopefully it would loosen up and be okay for the day. Today's hike would be mostly downhill into Reds Meadow Resort where I would be picking up my first resupply.

I woke up around 7am and the view of our campsite was beautiful. I had to take a picture. So I did, then minutes later the sun started to rise on Banner Peak over the lake. Even more beautiful!

First picture of my campsite at Garnet Lake

Second and way more awesome picture of campsite!

We started on our way to the other side of Garnet Lake then up a ridge and down into the Shadow Creek area. Here we passed both Shadow Lake and Rosalie Lake. These lakes were looked like they both would have been great campsites.

I find myself repeatedly sing the same song in my head over and over for some reason, "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electronic Light Orchestra. I think the ridiculously blue skies made this song resonate even more in my head. I occasionally found myself singing it out loud, my singing voice isn't great but who was around to hear it anyways?

Looking over Garnet Lake 

Crossing Garnet Lake outlet to the East.

Erica said fuck the bridge!

Shadow Lake

Jeff hanging out at Shadow Lake

Erica looking out over Shadow Lake

What could have been an awesome campsite at Rosalie Lake

We stopped to fill up our water at Shadow land and at this point Jeff made the goal to make it to Reds Meadow by 3PM that day. It was only another 7 miles and all downhill for the most part. We set off and quickly become separated, I tried to keep up with Jeff but he seemed to be on a mission. I kept looking back and would see Erica a few hundred yards behind me, so I knew we were all on a good pace to make it to Reds Meadow by the early afternoon.

Today was a great day to hike alone, it wasn't too hot and I was walking in the shade most of the day. Along this easy cruise downhill I met a few Northbound JMTers who had started at Mt. Whitney. We chatted for a bit and continued on our way. A little bit further down the trail I passed a man who was hiking barefoot! Ouch, I thought to myself, but he seemed to have no problems. Meanwhile, "Mr. Blue Sky" is still jamming out it my head.

Now entering Devils Postpile

I was cruising down the trail when I got to the Devil's Postpile National Monument junction. I knew this area was tricky to navigate, a few different trails meet at the same point. The JMT continued South and West of Devil's Postpile but I was unsure how it connected and got to Reds Meadow Resort. I knew going through Devil's Postpile would get me closer to the resort, so I chose that route.

Devils Postpile is a rock formation that forms in hexagonal "posts". It was a really cool thing to see and I was unaware at how big it would be! The posts seemed to tower over the trail. I stopped and gazed at them for a while before continuing on.

Devils Postpile National Monument

More Devils Postpile

I continued on the trail and it dumped me out on a two lane road with no signs. A bit panicked, I turned and walked north up the road and found a sign for Red's Meadow Campground. I didn't want to go to the campground, I wanted to go to the resort! I pulled out my maps trying to pinpoint where I was when a large bus pulled up. I'll admit, it was a bit weird to see a car since I haven't seen one in a almost a week. The bus driver picked me up and took my south down the road to the resort free of charege. Slight trail magic I suppose?

I found Jeff relaxing in a chair outside the general store, and was already enjoying a tall Sierra Nevada IPA. I walked into the store to pick up my resupply of food bought a beer to join Jeff. I sorted through my food outside the shop and chatted with a few other hikers who had been strolling in. Unfortunately, the restaurant at the resort closed at 2:30pm and wouldn't open back up until the morning. This came as a big disappointment, I was really looking forward to a nice burger and fries.

Reds Meadow General Store

Various hiker's packs at Reds Meadow

Mulehouse Cafe at Reds Meadow 

 Jeff managed to get us a night in the Backpackers Bunk Room which was great! That gave us access to showers and laundry services at the resort. A shower was much needed and felt amazing! Like so so amazing! Laundry was obviously needed too.

Self explanatory

Jeff and my bunk house for the evening.

Erica showed up about an hour later and we got settled and started some laundry. Jeff and I drank a few beers and hung out in the bunk house for a bit. Erica then came up with the idea to go down into Mammoth Lakes and get some real food. So we got on the last bus for the night and headed on down to Mammoth Lakes.

Day Summary:

Miles Hiked: 13.7  mi
Total Miles on JMT: 58.7 mi

To Mamoth We Go!