June 28, 2009A late start to get things going. I left my stove at home (turns out it was just hidden deep in my backpack). It was a very warm morning, and I was on the trail by 9:30. It was very slow going with a full pack up the switchbacks out of Yosemite valley. I stopped near the top of Nevada falls and watched the day bikers make their way up towards half dome. When I reached the junction I was pretty beat. Having already climbed half dome the day before, I turned right at the fork and continued on towards sunrise camp. Dark was quickly approaching and making sunrise camp was going to be impossible, I stopped after crossing a creek and made camp at the bottom of the switchbacks. Leftover salmon and rice for dinner by a nice warm fire. Finally got away from the crowds of Yosemite valley!
June 29
I awoke to birds chirping this morning, had a fire going and oatmeal breakfast cooking quickly. All packed up and on the move by 8:45 where I saw 8 trail restorers on the switchbacks. Very friendly people! Sunrise camp turned out to be mosquito he'll, so I covered up with every piece of clothing I had, despite the 80 degree heat. I saw a group of people who were lost and without a map looking for the road, so I helped them on their way and proceeded to run for the next mile just to get away from the Mosquitoes. I pulled off the trail for a quick lunch with the bloodsuckers, then came to climbing cathedral pass at 9700 feet and snow! The cathedral lakes area was absolutely awe inspiring, and not too many skeeters here so it was nice to stop and enjoy the view. I met Adrian and Alexis, a couple thru hiking the JMT as well, maybe we'll be cris crossing paths more often. From the lakes on it was fast and easy going. I'd heard rumor that Tuolomne had a grill open until 5pm so I was racing to get myself a burger before it closed. As I got nearer to the camp more and more day hikers materialized. After endless confusing trail signs I made it to the grill at 4:30! A double cheeseburger was just what I needed after a 14 mile day! It started raining during dinner and decided to camp here. I was in bed before sunset and the rain was still coming down hard.June 30
The rain stopped overnight, but it was still dark, cloudy and threatening to rain when I woke up. I took my time breaking camp and cleaning up, hoping the rain clouds would break and the sun would start shining through again. I was out of the backpacker's camp by 8:45 and the rain started coming down again. I got to break out my thus unused rain gear, and continued on my wet, muddy, and southerly way. I saw the first (and only) bear of the entire trip a few miles out of Tuolomne. He was digging in some log looking for breakfast, and when he noticed a hiker with a backpack full of food he immediately took interest. I wasn't in the mood for an extra hiking partner, so scaring him off was the only option. He eventually lumbered off down the river without any further sniffs towards my pack, it sure did give me a start though! First marmots today as well, it seems the rain really brought all of the critters out of their hiding places, or more likely, I've finally gotten far enough away from people to where the four legged animals outnumber the two legged ones. The sun finally broke though the clouds around lunchtime, calling all mosquitoes to my sweating and uncovered arms. The sun penetrating the dark rain clouds really brought out the immense beauty of Yosemite I've been so looking forward to. This is the kind of place I can imagine myself staying for a very long time. I fell in love with the glacier carved canyon walls with dense pine forests coming to an abrupt halt some 100 yards from an oxbow river with water so blue and clear. Sadly, this was not the final destination of the day, and soon I was climbing switchbacks out of Lyell canyon. Ate two dinner rations thanks to the grill serving up burgers last night, and pitched the tent so I could hear the rapids from the river all night long. July 1
Last night was the coldest one yet, makes sense though as the elevation gains. Along the way to Donahue pass the trail seemingly disappeared! I had to skirt around a lake for nearly a half hour trying desperately not to get my socks wet, knowing that a blister this early in the trip would be detrimental. The far side of the pass opened up to unimaginable vistas of the Sierras most dramatic peaks. Banner and Ritter peaks' black granite contrasted with their white snow capped flanks and reflected perfectly in the mirror-like ponds and lakes that dotted the landscape. Fish were abundant in the streams, but I didn't bother stopping to catch any. The day's end came at Thousand Island lake, which was completely deserted. I I didn't want to camp right next to the trail, so with the extra sunlight available I skirted the lake for about a mile until I felt far enough away that I could enjoy this solitude and majesty in peace.
July 2
The moon was so bright last night! I remember waking up a few times thinking I had slept in! The mosquitoes were out in force early this morning, so making camp and leaving was a pretty quick endeavor. Today marks one of the most scenic days on the trail so far. I passed so many alpine lakes and meadows it was hard to keep track. Most of them were quite small, which made each one more spectacular, the perfectly still waters were like mirrors. They reflected every shadow and detail of the surrounding snow-covered granite peaks. There was a couple miles of solid downhill walking towards Johnson meadow, and the time flew by. The day called for a stop at the meadow, but the resupply was only another few miles down the trail, and there was plenty of sunlight left to make it in time before the store closed. On the way I passed Devil's Postpile, it reminded me of Superman's fortress of solitude. Solitude was not really possible here though, a huge group of Asian tourists were swarming all over the place, snapping pictures and reading maps. My backpack and overall dirty appearance did garnish a few puzzled looks. My lack of fluent Mandarin left the questions unanswered, and I moved on quickly. Red's meadow couldn't come fast enough, and much to my surprise they had a restaurant! Another cheeseburger replenished some much needed calories. After that mental reprise, I went next door and picked up the first resupply of the trip. I met up with some other 'kids' my age doing the whole JMT and we passed the time playing hearts at the campsite we shared. Red's meadow even had thermally heated showers! I didn't care how dingy the basins were, the hot water felt incredible! The rest of the daylight was spent organizing all this new food into the cramped space provided by the required bear canister.July 3
It was an early rise for oatmeal again this morning. My body is really getting used to waking up with the sun, and so it wasn't difficult to hit the trail again by the time the sun was just creeping over the surrounding hills. I wasn't going to get going without buying a couple candy bars from the store though! Burnt forest hiking started the day off on what was to be a very dry theme for the rest of the day. Whats left of the trees are charred, but the undergrowth is coming back. Its remarkable how despite the best efforts of people to destroy this planet, Earth responds with equal fighting resolve. The trail took me past Red Cones, the same one's I'd hiked to back in high school cross country during altitude training in Mammoth. A dry and dusty and monotonous trail wound through the trees all day long. No change in scenery or elevation, no dramatic cliffs or lakes, just flat dusty boredom. Finally the end of the day came along and Purple Lake came around the corner. I watched some boy scouts try fishing for a while then set up camp along a creek outlet. I tried my hand at fishing after dinner but only managed to lose a lure.
July 4
What a way to spend Independence Day! I tried to get up early and get moving, but my body still wouldn't wake up before 7:00. Immediate climbing towards Silver Pass after breakfast. The climbing wasn't really that bad, it was just relentless, not much of a break, ever. Looking back over the terrain where I had just come from was unbelievable, there's no way those mountains are where I was sleeping just two nights ago! They seem so far away and impassable. Silver Pass was snowy, wind, and very cold. The mountains blocked all direct sunlight, and the pass was more of a chute through the mountain where the wind would just whip through, carrying the cold snowy air with it. Extreme downhill into Tully Hole. This secluded place is a real jewel of the trail. A single round meadow and small pond surrounded by 10,000 foot peaks capped with snow. It was all downhill from here and it was easy to catch a rhythm. The trail crossed a dramatic waterfall, and in hindsight I should have stopped here and took some pictures, but now I have something to go back for! The flowers were all in bloom on the descent towards Thomas Edison Lake. I made it to the lake at dusk, and quickly changed out of my wet and sweaty clothes and built a fire to dry things out. Other hikers and campers were here waiting for the ferry in the morning. We were the biggest hodgepodge I've ever seen. Gear was scattered everywhere, everyone's faces were covered with dirt and grime, we all smell terrible, but somehow I can't think of a better way to spend the Fourth of July evening than with people I'd just met.
July 5
Rest day at Vermillion. The breakfast was incredible, after a week of nothing but oatmeal (I hate oatmeal) a breakfast burrito, pancakes, and biscuits and gravy were too much for my stomach to handle. I felt sick and lazy the rest of the day, but was invited by some locals to go cliff jumping at Dorris lake. The water was crystal clear and jumping from 25+ feet into the snow melt lake was awesome! I didn't bother eating dinner, but everyone in camp spent the evening around the campfire telling stories and playing guitar.
July 6
I woke up in the army style tent provided free of charge by Vermillion, and ate the same breakfast as yesterday. I got on the boat back across the river and was busy making phone calls for about a half hour. Climbing bear ridge was slow going, probably due to my added fat-assness from the amazing food. I quickly realized that the beautiful meadows I was crossing were havens for mosquitoes, so instead of stopping to rest in the picturesque greenery, I quickly moved past the aspen trees and stagnant pools to higher ground. The end of the day came with a surprise, a swollen creek. The summer snow melt had made this usually trickling stream into a torrent. I decided to cross the water barefoot, and continued on the trail for about another mile without boots until finally making camp just before another string of torturous meadows. I was still full from breakfast, so I didn't bother eating dinner.
July 7
I woke up to lots of mosquitoes swarming my tent, hoping for their own breakfast. I was not about to give them the pleasure, so I cooked my own disappointing oatmeal breakfast inside the tent. After quickly packing up to avoid the nasty buggers, it was a quick climb to Seldon pass at 10,900 feet, almost no snow on the summit. From there on it was all fast moving with a pack completely devoid of food all the way to Muir Trail Ranch. This place was a huge disappointment after Vermillion. It had no store, no place to look around, pretty much just pick up your food bucket and get the hell out. While organizing the food into the ridiculously small bear canisters required in the Sierras, I realized there was no way it was all going to fit. I had sent myself too much food for the bear canister! Oh well I guess, I'm not going to leave any food behind. I camped about a mile further down the trail with a bunch of other backpackers, and tried crossing the river to get to some hot springs but the current was too fast. Camped under a big pine tree for the night.
July 8
Pine cones falling on the tent this morning woke me up. Fairly early start, most people were still cooking breakfast when I left. Best idea ever was to grab some food out of the hiker barrels before leaving, there was stuff in there that I hadn't though to bring and sounded amazing. Now I definitely have too much food! My pack was extremely heavy, and I rested a lot on the way into Sequoia National Park. The trail followed a lazy river for a while before hitting the switchbacks into evolution valley. I was worried about the difficulty of the switchbacks as I'd heard about their notoriousness. Turns out they weren't bad at all. Evolution canyon is amazingly beautiful. Everything is so green and peaceful, and I had the place all to myself! I actually managed to catch a fish in the river, and ate it with dinner!
July 9
I decided to take a half rest day, by this point I am ahead of schedule and feeling pretty lazy. I slept in until 10, made breakfast and slowly left camp around noon. Climbed out of Evolution valley all day until finally stopping at Sapphire lake, just a few miles below Muir Pass. I heard Muir Pass was covered in snow for two miles on each side of the summit, so I wanted to get over the snow before the mid day sun started melting it. A big dinner tonight as I was feeling pretty hungry and cold.
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