John Muir Trail: Day 10

I woke up early on day 10. It was a cold morning so I decided to cover some ground and wait for it to warm up a bit before I made breakfast. The first river crossing was cold and I second guessed my decision but pressed on. On this day I would cross the South Fork of Kings River, climb up and over Mather Pass and make camp below the Lower Palisade Lake. Today was only to be 12 miles and 2300 ft of climbing.

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 10 elevation profile in yellow

Day 10 route in blue

Many people have asked me how much water I carried.  On this trail you don't need to carry a lot. Besides the major stream crossings that I have mentioned so far there are dozens and dozens of small stream crossings.  The picture below shows every stream crossing on the map.  In a wet year like this year they all have water in them.  Most of them don't require you to get your shoes wet, you can simply step across, or easily navigate a couple of boulder hops.  The longest stretch of the trail without water is about 5 miles.  I carried one liter most of the time but I had capacity for three liters. That way I could camp away from water sources and have enough water to get through dinner and breakfast plus cleaning.

All water crossing on the JMT

The trail crosses the South Fork of the Kings River at about 10,000 ft elevation.  Because of all the snow this year there had been several drownings in rivers in the Sierra, especially in late June and early July when the spring melt was at its peak.  By the time I got here the water was down to a more manageable level.

A common question was if I was concerned about bears and mountain lions.  It is a natural fear to have, but the fact is that people die by drowning and falling in the mountains, not by animal attack. Making good choices is your best protection.

Trail crossing of the South Fork of the Kings River

Still, because one of the drownings had occurred here, the Ranger was recommending an alternate trail up the east side of the river that would cross higher up where there was less water.  See the note taped to the sign below.

On my way up the east side of the river, I kept an eye out for a place to cross.  Most of the river looked like this.  Even when it flattened out enough to not be white the water was deep and swift.

The sight and sound of the cascades just kept coming.  I wanted to stop and enjoy each one but I would still be there if I did.

A cascade on South Fork Kings River at about 10,400 ft elevation.

I had been watching the river as I move up along the eastern bank.  I tried a couple times to cross but found once I was standing in it, the water was deeper and faster than it appeared when i was standing on the bank.  Finally I found this spot, just below where the creek from Cardinal Lake joins the South Fork of the Kings River.  It was just below knee deep, about 20 ft across and moving pretty fast.

My crossing point for the South Fork of the Kings River, 10,500 ft elevation.

By this point the terrain had flattened out and by the time I crossed the river again a mile later I had only gained 100 ft of elevation.  The river here was much tamer.

Word of the alternate route had spread on the trail and people coming south were looking for a sign, but there wasn't one.  They would ask where to cross and I would say as soon as you can.  Somehow they figured I was an expert.

Upper crossing of the South Fork of the Kings River, 10,600 ft elevation.

Just as Mather Pass was visible for much of the walk down from Pinchot Pass, The way up to Pinchot Pass and my campsite from the previous night were visible for much of walk up to Mather Pass.  If you remember to turn around that is.  I did my best to convince other hikers that it was a great place to stay, but I never took other peoples advice on campsites and I doubt they took mine.

Looking south toward Pinchot Pass.  Camp 9 is about a third of the way in from the right
and just above treeline on the other side of the river.

The only way to get up or down a mountain pass is one step at a time.  If you try and take the whole thing in it is overwhelming.  For example, there are three people coming down the pass in the picture below.  I knew they were there when I took the picture and I still struggled to find them.  I blew them up and circled them in red and I still struggle to find them.

Mather Pass.  There are three people just above the snow on the left

These three folks were among the few who were not JMT or PCT hikers.  They were on a cross country adventure.  They turned westward across Upper Basin and crossed across another pass toward Amphitheater Lake.

The three black dots circled in red are people.

Split Mountain was on my list of potential side trip.  It is the slope going up to the patch of snow near the summit.  This approach from the north is considered class 2, meaning there is not a trail but you can walk up it without using your hands.  Further to the right of the picture you can see the diagonal split in the mountain that gives it its name.

Split Mountain as seen from Mather Pass

Looking north from Mather Pass.  Upper Palisade Lake is the lake in the middle.
North Palisade (14,242) is the high peak in the middle.

I was tired when I got to Lower Palisade Lake but not so tired that I was going to give up on stealth camping.  I wandered around in the area north of the trail for a while and got some great views but no good campsites.  I came back south of the trail and settled for this site.  Just another scenic wonder.

Camp 10 with Mount Williams, Norman Clyde Peak, Middle Palisade and
Disappointment Peak in the back from left to right.

All photos of South Fork Kings River
All photos of Mather Pass