John Muir Trail: Day 12

Day 12 would take me up and over Muir Pass.  On the way I would attempt to summit Black Giant. It was an exhausting and demanding day and I limped into camp completely spent.

By the end of the day I had gone 13 miles and climbed 3400 difficult feet.

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 12 elevation profile in yellow

Day 12 route in blue

The trail from my campsite up to Helen Lake passed through a narrow canyon.  Earlier in the year it had all been covered in deep snow and people had picked whichever path across the snow seemed easiest.  Now the snow was melting and the stream were running under the snow and the snow bridges that were criss crossing the trail were of unknown thickness.  This had been the talk of the trail for the past few days.  The thing to do, as it turned out, was just to follow the trail.  The trail followed the north side of the creek and crossed only at the lake inlets and outlets.  Using this plan I got my feet wet a bit but had no problems with snow.

The creek was flowing under snow for much of the way between Helen Lake
and the lake below Helen at 10,830 ft elevation.

The trail was buried in snow for a couple of hundred yards at a time.  Existing tracks through the snow sometimes
made it easier, but sometimes it was easier just to make your own path.

Helen Lake was about 80% covered with ice.

I was feeling good when I got to Helen Lake and it was still early, so I made a decision to go for the summit of Black Giant.  I had taken a picture of the peak in 2011 from Knapsack Pass and was determined to get there even though I had otherwise abandoned the idea of taking side trips.  I decided to just take it one step at a time and turn back if things got out of hand.

From where I am standing in the picture below, I plotted a path around the snow and through the boulders to the summit.

Looking up at Black Giant from the west side of the mountain

At 12,600 ft I stepped on a large boulder with my right foot and it rolled. My foot rolled with it and under it and the boulder rolled onto my leg. I was falling to my right, trying to collapse quickly to avoid bending my leg. I could feel the bone bending under the load and I was sure it would break. I hit the ground and everything stopped. I took a moment and did a damage assessment. No blood, no protruding bones. I could move my toes and my foot. I could move my knee. It felt like I had been kicked hard in the shin but maybe that was all. I took a moment then gathered myself together and stood up. I could put weight on in. I took a few steps. I seemed to have gotten lucky.

My turn around point on Black Giant

I sat back down to consider what to do next. I peak was at 13,330 so I still had over 700 ft to climb over steep (and getting steeper) rocky terrain. I looked down at Muir Pass, where the nearest people were. No one could see me, even if I jumped and shouted and waved my hands. If I did get hurt I had to limp down on my own or push the SOS button on my SPOT and bring in the helicopter.

If I kept going I had another hour to two hours before I reached the summit, then another hour or more to get back to where I was.  After that I would still need to get down somewhere where I could camp for the night.  I had enough food for today and two more days and it was 20 miles from Muir Pass to Muir Trail Ranch so I wasn't at risk of running out of food, but I would put myself in a position where I needed to rush through Evolution Valley or spend the night near Muir Trail Ranch, neither of which I wanted to do.

In the end I decided that I was there to finish the trail, not bag a bunch of peaks.  That would be a different trip with different objectives, different preparation and a different agenda.  I would camp closer to the peak, I would bring a day pack, I would do a bunch of things differently.  This side trip was over and I was going back to the trail, humbled and grateful.

From my turn around point on Black Giant I looked down to where I needed to go. I needed to avoid lake 11939, its outlet stream and the small lakes below it.  I would have to drop down to the trail, almost to where I had left at Helen Lake, then resume the climb back up to the pass.  I worked my way back down the boulders on the slope of Black Giant.  I slid down the snow fields on my butt to save some time and energy. The snow was soft and I got wet and cold.  On the rocks it was typical cross country travel, slow and full of backtracking little bits and trying a different way.  Normally I enjoy this kind of thing but under the circumstances I just wanted to be back on the trail.

Looking down at Muir Pass

In the end it took me one hour to get from Helen Lake up to where I fell and another two hours to get off the mountain and up to Muir Pass.  My ankle felt like it may be waiting to surprise me in the morning.  My shin was throbbing.  My legs felt weak.  I rested a while at Muir Hut for a bit and then pressed on.

Muir Hut

The Muir Hut sits at the top of Muir Pass.  It was built in 1931 by the Sierra Club as a storm shelter.

Inside Muir Hut.  Click the image for the full panorama.

The trail from the top of Muir Pass to the north end of Wanda Lake is a barren moonscape.  It was mostly free of snow on the north side of the pass and walking became easier.

Muir Pass is on the Goddard Divide.  Rain and snow that falls east/south of the pass drains to the Kings River.  Rain and snow that fall west/north of the pass drains to the San Joaquin River via Evolution Creek.

Wanda Lake, Muir Pass and Black Giant on the other side of the pass.
The peak to the right of the pass is mount Solomons.

The San Joaquin River is the third longest river in California at 365 miles. Only the Colorado River and the Sacramento River are longer. It is also the most dammed and diverted river in California and provides much of the water to the San Joaquin Valley that makes California an agricultural powerhouse.

Most of the other rivers that drain out of the Central and Southern Sierra used to either drain to the San Joaquin River or create seasonal lakes that would fill in the spring and dry out during summer. Those lakes don't form anymore because the rivers are all dammed and diverted to capture the water for crop irrigation and urban use.

Rivers and Passes of the John Muir Trail

I crossed Evolution Creek twice.  This was the first crossing, I would make the second tomorrow. In spite of the stones placed across the creek, I waded in and walked across wet footed.  At the deepest part it was up to my knees.

Evolution Creek crossing above Evolution Lake

Evolution lake is a big lake.  The trail along the shore is more than a mile and a half.  I was looking for the first appealing spot, but didn't find one until I was clear at the other end of the lake.

Evolution Lake

Last summer Jacob and I hiked from Tuolumne Meadows across Vogelsang Pass and down to Yosemite Valley.  Along Rafferty Creek was where we first saw and heard the Sooty Grouse.  They make a low grunting sound and walk around like chickens.  They are not shy at all and this one stood quite still while I fumbled with my camera and took some pictures.

Sooty Grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus)

After walking past all that water all afternoon I arrived in camp dry.  I was probably a quarter mile from the lake and all the water near me was stagnant and nasty.  I had to walk quite a ways to find running water.  Lesson learned, fill up on water as soon as you start looking for a campsite.

I was battered and tired after the days adventure.  I used one of my soft water bottles as an ice pack for my ankle, took some Advil and lay down with my foot elevated while I wrote in my journal and reviewed the maps for the next day.  When I woke up the next day my ankle felt fine and the only sign of the incident on Black Giant was a slight bruise on my shin.

Camp 12.  Near the outlet of Evolution Lake.  Appropriately, Mount Mendel and
Mount Darwin form the backdrop for my camp.

All photos of Muir Pass