John Muir Trail: Epilogue

After 22 days in the wilderness I had no desire to stay the night in crowded, smoky Yosemite Valley.

I caught the first bus out of the valley and arrived in Merced after 9:00 pm on Day 22.  I stayed the night in a motel, had a hot shower and slept on a mattress.  Because I got there so late I had to cook a backpacking meal in my room for dinner.  The following morning I stopped at Starbucks on my way to the train.  It was perhaps the best cup of coffee I have ever had.

Bus stop in Half Dome Village

Motel in Merced

Coffee never tasted so good

The next day was August 21st, the day of the solar eclipse.  I watched the eclipse by way of the shadows of leaves on concrete and the shadow cast on paper through a pinhole while I was waiting for my train.

Merced Amtrak station

Crescent shadow during the solar eclipse

The train took me south to Bakersfield, where the tracks end.  From there I took a bus the rest of the way to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.  In Los Angeles I transferred to a Metrolink train to Buena Park.  In Buena Park I caught an OCTA bus which dropped me off 2 miles from my door.  I walked the last two miles home.  Jacob rode his bike out to meet me and walked the last mile with me.  It was the perfect way to end my trip.

Hiking home from the bus stop

There are a lot of ways to look at this hike.  I am a numbers guy, so here are a few numbers.  I hiked 270 miles and climbed up 53,400 ft and down 59,300 ft.  I spent two days in the Owens River drainage, 5 days in the Kern River drainage, 5 days in the Kings River drainage, 8 days in the San Joaquin River drainage, and 1 day each in the Tuolumne River and Merced River drainages.  My pack weighed 42 lbs when I started with 1 liter of water, 25 fl oz of denatured alcohol for fuel, and 14 days of food.  It weighted 17 lbs without water, fuel or food.  I ate 1.4 lbs per day, about 2,600 calories.  I burned roughly 5000 calories a day, when I got home I had lost 17 lbs.

The most memorable part of the trip was the scenery.  The jagged mountain peaks are mesmerizing.  The streams, creeks and rivers sang me to sleep many nights and during many breaks.  The wildflowers offered a contrast to the rugged peaks.  The forests were dynamic and showed off all phases of the life of a forest.  Together they almost overwhelm the senses.

I had been planning this trip for almost two years.  I had intended to go the summer of 2016 but ended up pushing it back a year so we could go take a family trip.  I reserved my Cottonwood Lakes trail head permit on January 30, 2017.  I started faxing in applications for the Happy Isles trail head on January 10, 2017.  I was in the lottery for 64 consecutive days and never got a spot.

I tried different foods and different equipment as part of my preparation.  I changed my cooking fuel from isobutane to denatured alcohol and changed my stove with it.  I stopped using a mummy bag and started using a quilt.  I changed my tent and my water filter system, revamped my first aid kit, agonized over what camera to bring and ended up bringing two.  I changed my clothing system, including my socks and shoes. I tried out as much of it as I could as often as I could.  I bought enough food in March to pack a smaller bear vault (I own three sizes now) so I could have a good idea of how many days would fit in the big one.  I went on close to 2 dozen hikes leading up to this trip to prepare physically and test gear.  Jessica was also preparing for a big hike on Catalina so she hiked some with me.  Jacob hiked with me for fun and for his hiking merit badge.  I left no stone unturned, but if I keep looking, I am sure I will find more stones.

After I was home I found that I had trouble talking about the trip.  I could relay one or two stories, but I didn't think that it conveyed the real feeling of the trip.  Hopefully these descriptions of my JMT experience have done that.

Thank you to all who followed me during my journey using SPOT, and to all of you who have read about it here.  Sharing my experience in that way kept me from feeling like I had just disappeared off the face of the Earth while I was out of touch.

A special thank you to my wife Rebecca.  I spent our 18 year anniversary camped on a ledge overlooking the South Fork of the Kings River.  It was a full moon that night.  Without her support and understanding I would not have been able to pull this off.

John Muir Trail: Day 22

Day 22 was my last day on the trail.  I had intended to go up to Clouds Rest to get a view of Yosemite Valley, then spend the night along the trail near Sunrise Creek.  By this time I knew that there were two fires burning south of Yosemite Valley.  The Empire Fire was smaller but closer, near Bridalveil Campground and the Southfork Fire, near the town of Wawona.  These fires produced the smoke that I had been seeing since Silver Pass.  As the wind changed I would have clear days or smoky days.  For most of Day 22 it was smoky, and the closer I got to Yosemite, the smokier it got.  By the time I reached the trail up to Clouds Rest, the smoke was thick.  I thought about climbing 2000 ft to get a hazy view of the valley.  I decided to save that for another trip.  Without the trip to Clouds Rest, it became very reasonable to reach Yosemite.  If I didn't reach Yosemite I would have to stop at Little Yosemite Valley, which is almost like a backpackers camp.

It ended up being my longest day of the trip, I hiked 18 miles.  It was almost all downhill, with about 1500 ft of elevation gain, but the 7100 ft of elevation loss was very hard on the knees.

My daily progress and major trail milestones can be seen at https://caltopo.com/m/DKGD, or on Google Earth using https://www.dropbox.com/s/9cy12lzxnuvatsa/2017.07.30_JMT_Actuals.kml?dl=0. The CalTopo website is the best place to look to find the place name I use.

Day 22 elevation profile in yellow

Day 22 route in blue

The spires, Columbia Finger, Unicorn Peak, Cathedral Peak and others, are formed by glaciers passing close on either side as they retreated, but leaving spire to mark where they merged.

Looking north at Columbia Finger from Long Meadow

Looking south from Long Meadow the Clark Range of mountains can be seen on the other side of the Merced River. Triple Divide Peak anchors this range at the southern end.

Looking south along Long Valley.  Triple Divide Peak in the background

As I approached Sunrise High Sierra Camp I found a service cover marked "SEWER".  It definitely was out of place.  The camp never opened this year because the ground water level was too high for them to use the septic system that is their sewer.

Long Valley near Sunrise High Sierra Camp.  Something here is out of place...

Walking through the High Sierra Camp things were just the way they had been left last Fall.  I met one person on the way down to the valley that had won a spot in the High Sierra Camp loop lottery but was unable to go because they never opened.

Sunrise High Sierra Camp

A rare picture of me not take awkwardly from a tripod or from the end of my hand.  From this spot on the trail the views were magnificent.

Your intrepid traveler with Echo Peaks over my shoulder

The 2014 Meadow fire burned the mountainside from above the trail, down to the Merced River and up the hillside to the south of the river.  As I saw at the Rainbow fire in particular, it will be decades before the forest is restored.

Smoke from the Empire and South Fork fires

Contributing to my decision to exit on this day was the scarred landscape where I was going to camp if I had stayed.  It was either here, Little Yosemite Valley or Yosemite.  From this image Clouds Rest appears to be clear, but it was smoky all around as you can see in the next picture of Half Dome.

Clouds Rest looks clear, but...

Half Dome shrouded in smoke

I saw a lot of deer.  Most of them were not shy, but I saw a six point buck in Lyell Canyon that I would have loved to get a picture of.  Alas he was smart enough to stay away from people.  I guess that is how he lived long enough to get six points.  In general the does were less shy than the bucks.

This deer was oblivious to me until I was almost next to her, then she took off.

Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall

Last year Jacob and I spent our last night on the trail at Little Yosemite Valley.  On our last day we summited Half Dome then hauled butt down the John Muir Trail to the valley floor to catch our bus.  Because we didn't take the Mist Trail, we didn't see Vernal Fall

"Only" 0.3 miles

I would have loved to have been here in late June or early July, when the flow was at its peak.  These waterfalls and the others in Yosemite must have been a sight to see.  They were still impressive with slightly less water.

Vernal Fall

From the bottom of Vernal Fall to the valley floor the Merced River crashes over piles of rocks.  The canyon from here on up to Nevada Fall at the top is shrouded in mist many days from all the water thrown in the air.  That's why the trail that follows the river up the canyon is called the Mist Trail.

The Merced River

This sign is a mystery to me. It is an icon of the trail since it is at the northern terminus and lists the length of the trail to the top of Whitney. However, if you map out all the places listed you get several branches of trails and in no way do they form a loop.

At any rate, if you can't tell from the picture, I was very excited to get there.

The John Muir Trail sign

The "official" end of the trail is this bridge along a paved road just past the "High Sierra Loop Trail" sign.

Happy Isles Bridge

All photos of Cathedral Pass
All photos of Sunrise Creek
All photos of Merced River

John Muir Trail: Day 21

Day 21 I spent exploring Tuolumne Meadows.  I left in the late afternoon and crossed over Cathedral Pass before I made camp.

It was a very long day because of the camping restrictions.  I hiked 17 miles and climbed 2000 ft, all after leaving Tuolumne Meadows.

My daily progress and major trail milestones can be seen at https://caltopo.com/m/DKGD, or on Google Earth using https://www.dropbox.com/s/9cy12lzxnuvatsa/2017.07.30_JMT_Actuals.kml?dl=0. The caltopo website is the best place to look to find the place name I use.

Day 21 elevation profile in yellow

Day 21 route in blue

Walking through Lyell Canyon is about as easy as walking gets.  The path is flat and smooth, not rocky at all.  I put my sticks away and just walked on.  It is hard to overstate how big the meadow in the canyon is.  It is about a quarter mile across and 3 miles end to end of continuous meadow. 

Meadow in Lyell Canyon above Evelyn Lake trail junction

Meadows are formed in low areas left by glaciers.  They start as lakes then fill in with sediment until the water just flows through in a stream.  Since the underlying rock retains the water, meadows are too wet for trees to take hold and so are left open for grasses and wildflowers that would otherwise be overshadowed by the trees.  In dry periods the trees may encroach a bit on the meadow, but when the wet years come the trees retreat.

Meadow in Lyell Canyon above Evelyn Lake trail junction

Wetfoot crossings were becoming more infrequent.  There were more and more bridges because there are more hikers in Yosemite.  There were some fallen logs near this crossing but I chose to wade through.

Ireland Creek crossing

I spotted a building across the meadow in the trees.  It looks like the roofing used on the Ranger's housing I had seen elsewhere, but there is no Ranger stationed in Lyell Canyon.  I asked a permit Ranger about it and she had no idea. I could also see solar panels positioned out in the meadow.

Something in the trees in Lyell Canyon above Evelyn Lake trail junction

The Belding's ground squirrels were everywhere.  When I saw this guy he scurried.  I stopped and stood perfectly still for what seemed like a few minutes.  After a while he no longer registered me as a threat and stood up again to keep watch.  I was able to stealthily capture this picture, then when I started walking he scurried away.

Belding's ground squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi) in Lyell Canyon

During the walk down the second half of Lyell Canyon these mountains dominate the background.  The peak on the left is Ragged Peak.  The highest peak visible is unnamed but it has the uppermost of the Young Lakes just below it on the other side.

Ragged Peak and the mountains in front of Young Lakes from Lyell Canyon

Lyell Fork meanders back and forth across the canyon floor as so it a recurring presence but is absent for much of the hike.

Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River near the lower end of Lyell Canyon

At this trail junction I was back in territory I had traveled before.  Jacob and I hiked from Tuolumne Meadows, up the Rafferty Creek trail and over Vogelsang Pass last year.  I had hoped he would be able to join me for part of this hike, but it didn't work out.

Rafferty Creek trail junction

To give an idea of the amount of water there was this year compared to other years, look at the two photos below.  The first one is from this year, the second is from last year.  Last year the snowpack was just at the historical average.  This year it had been in excess of twice the historical average.  Even as late as August Rafferty Creek was flowing, whereas last year it was dry at roughly the same time.

Rafferty Creek 8/19/2017

Rafferty Creek 8/14/2016

I left the JMT to explore Tuolumne Meadows.  The "official" route has changed over the years and currently stays south of the meadow in the forest.  I decided that was silly and took the trail north at the eastern end of Tuolumne Meadows.

Bridge across the Lyell Fork in Tuolumne Meadows

This is yet another view I found by leaving the trail.  Staying on the trail through this part of the meadows keeps you in the forest with nothing to see.  Leaving the trail and finding a high point rewards you with this view of Cathedral Peak at the western end of the meadows.

Cathedral Peak as seen from the eastern end of Tuolumne Meadows

The trail crosses the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River.  On the other side of the bridge the trail to the right goes to the "Tuolumne Meadows Lodge".  This "Lodge" is made up of canvas tents with wooden or concrete floors.  It is part of the High Sierra Camps in Yosemite, but no one stayed there when it was called a High Sierra Camp.  They changed the name to the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and now they are sold out most of the summer.

Bridge across the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River

At the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge I called Rebecca collect and bought an ice cream.  It was a cold, overcast day and the cashier looked at me funny when I bought the ice cream.  I hadn't made a collect call or used a payphone in more than 15 years.  I wonder if my kids will ever make a collect call.

Ice Cream!

Leaving the lodge I followed the Dana Fork to the confluence with the Lyell Fork.  Along the way I found this young buck grazing amongst the Lodgepole pines and their annoying pine cones.  He looked at me and then ran off.

A young buck in Tuolumne Meadows

The Dana Fork of the Tuolumne starts north east of Tuolumne Meadows just south of the peak of Mount Dana.  I followed the northern bank to where it joins the Lyell Fork and becomes the Tuolumne River.

Dana Fork in Tuolumne Meadows

Two spires are visible from most of the meadow.  Unicorn Peak and its more famous sister, Cathedral Peak.

Unicorn Peak, 10,823 ft

Cathedral Peak, 10,911 ft

When I was in Mono Creek on Day 16 I had no idea what the mounds of earth with red dirt and water bubbling out of them were.  When I got to soda springs there was a sign that revealed all.  The wooden structure was built around the springs in the 1800's to keep animals from trampling on them.  The bubbles in the water comes from carbon dioxide being dissolved under pressure underground, then coming out of solution at the surface.

Soda Springs

Soda Springs

John Muir was fascinated by the Sierras.  In his book, "My First Summer in the Sierras" he describes his experience herding sheep from the San Joaquin Valley up the ridge north of Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows.  After that trip he didn't heard sheep again.  He described them as "locusts" that would strip a meadow bare as they passed through.  It was in large parts his writing about Yosemite that got it declared the second National Park in 1890. 

Tuolumne Meadows

I left Tuolumne Meadows in the late afternoon and headed for Cathedral Pass.  There is no camping allowed within four trail miles of the wilderness boundary, so essentially I had to get to the top of the pass before I could camp.  I took this diversion down to Lower Cathedral Lake, but it was crowded and very buggy, so I went back to the trail and kept going.

Cathedral Peak from Lower Cathedral Lake

Cathedral Pass was not a dramatic as the passes in the southern portion of the trail.  It rounds off slowly and there is no clear "you are here" marker.  As the last pass of my journey it was a bit anti climactic. 

Cathedral Pass

It did have something that none of the other passes had.  Flowers!  All of the other passes were barren moonscapes (except the exceedingly underwhelming Island Pass).  Matthes Crest provides a backdrop for these Wild Lupines.

Matthes Crest

There were no places to camp anywhere near the trail, so I went off trail and found this secluded spot.  Even here in the clearing I had to clear Lodgepole pine cones off the ground to have a place to sleep.  This was my last camp of the trip even though I didn't know it at the time.  I had planned to spend one more night, but events tomorrow changed my plans.

Camp 21, near Cathedral Pass

All photos of Lyell Canyon
All photos of Tuolumne Meadow
All photos of Cathedral Pass