Day 14 started off with a bang! Bobcat sighting at Aspen Meadow! After the initial excitement I made my way to Muir Trail Ranch and pickup up my resupply bucket. After a brief attempt to get across the South Fork of the San Joaquin River to Blayney Hot Springs, I headed up, up and up toward Selden Pass.
At the end of the day I had walked 11 miles and climbed 3400 ft. All of the climbing was with my newly weighed down pack.
This account is from my journal, written immediately after the episode, so it is the least elaborated of the versions I have told :-)
It is early morning, about 6:00. I have been awake for 30 minutes, maybe more listening to the river and thinking about stuff. Suddenly a large cat runs directly in front of my tent, stops, turns and runs back the way it came. I hissed at it instinctively when I saw it. No sign of it now. It had a stub tail, orange and yellow fur, large paws and was probably 24-30 inches high at the shoulder. Maybe it was just a Maine Coon. The speed of its approach surprised me. Perhaps it was hunting something on the other side of my tent. When it tried to run between my tent and the large tree that I am only two feet from, it realized I was here, changed direction suddenly and left.
Then after I had looked around outside for a bit, I added...
New theory. It ran into the orange guy line in front of my tent and got scared, turned and ran.
However it happened, it woke me up.
My view from inside my tent
Bobcat's eye view of my tent. I think he saw a squirrel through the gap between my tent and the tree.
This squirrel may have been the bobcat's intended victim.
This is the narrative I made that morning. I don't think I will get a job as a TV news reporter.
The skid mark from the cat's paw was about three 3 feet long and about 3 inches wide.
Bobcat skid mark with 3" x 5" notebook for reference
The cat put on the brakes quickly. It stopped fast enough to throw debris all over my backpack.
Debris thrown onto my pack during the violent stop and reverse of direction.
I didn't have time to get my camera in the fraction of a second that I saw the cat, but I found this picture on the internet. It was similar in color and size.
A bobcat, similar in color and size to the one I saw.
After my encounter with the bobcat I packed up and made breakfast. While I was eating, the unthinkable happened, I spilled my coffee! Since it was my last day before resupply, I didn't have any more, so I would have to wait until I picked up my resupply bucket to have any coffee.
Muir Rock is perhaps the easiest to miss icon on the trail. This rock is about 8 feet across. It sits below the level of the trail next to the river with a bunch of other rocks. It wasn't put there, it was just selected to carve some text into to commemorate the construction of the trail. The writing is big, but on a mottled granite rock with lichen all over it, it is hard to read even when standing there.
Muir Rock. The inscription says "1917 Muir Trail" It was hard to read when I was there.
The South Fork San Joaquin River drops away from the trail in foamy white glory. The jagged canyon walls and the river crashing through it made for spectacular scenery.
The South Fork San Joaquin River
It was hot and dry along the river. Perfect place for the gnarled, weather beaten juniper trees. They are spectacular to look at, but if I was a tree, this is one of the last ones I would want to be.
Juniper Tree
Piute Creek drains an enormous lake basin north of the trail. After collecting water from the basin it comes crashing down Piute Canyon to meet the South Fork San Joaquin River. Without this bridge you would have a long walk upstream to find a place to cross.
Bridge across Piute Creek
Muir Trail Hut is easy to miss heading north on the trail. I walked past it, realized I had gone too far and walked back about a quarter mile. It was easy to spot going south. It was built as a place for hikers to stay, but I wouldn't recommend it. The attic is a breeding ground for mice and I am sure it is full of Hanta virus.
Muir Trail Hut
The trail leading down to Muir Trail Ranch from Piute Creek is below 8000 feet and it is dry and dusty.
The area was very dry
I arrived at Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) about 11:00. When I picked up my bucket I was told that there were four guys from Korea whose food did not arrive. They were trying to scratch together 8 days of food for their trip south to Whitney. 8 days, 4 people, 3 meals a day means they needed 96 meals. A lot of people pack too much food and MTR has a series of bucket for food, toiletries, etc where you can leave what you don't need and take what you do need. These guys had scrounged about 30 meals from there by the time I arrived. I gave them two days of meals from the 11 days that I had picked up. I figured either that I would finish ahead of schedule or I could buy food at the market at either Reds Meadow or Tuolumne Meadows. I met some folks a few days later who had been to MTR after I was there and they didn't see the Koreans, so I guess they got what they needed.
Muir Trail Ranch
After I finished my business at Muir Trail Ranch, I decided to see if I could get to Blayney Hot Springs on the other side of the river. I got to this crossing location, dropped my pack, emptied my pockets and stepped out into the current with my hiking poles. After about two steps the water was above my knees and moving faster than anything I has crossed thus far. I probed further out with my poles and discovered that it got deep quickly. I guessed I would be at least up to my chest and wouldn't have a chance of staying on my feet, so I turned back.
The South Fork San Joaquin River crossing to Blayney Hot Springs
Before leaving the river, I loaded up with water for the dry ascent to Selden Pass. With the 9 days of food and the water I added, my pack had gone from about 22 lbs before lunch to about 38 lbs after lunch. It hadn't been this heavy since Mount Whitney.
Leaving Muir Trail Ranch, the switchbacks started immediately. Even with the switchbacks, the trail was steep. To make it worse, it was hot and dry and there was no shade. I settled into a rhythm and just chugged along.
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About 2 hours, 2.5 miles and 2000 ft of elevation gain later I stopped to look back where I had come from. MTR is hidden in the trees. Florence Lake is to the right around the mountain. The trail I came from is to the left along the valley floor.
Muir Trail Ranch is in the valley below. To the right around the mountain is Florence Lake,
an artificial lake managed by Southern California Edison for producing hydro-electric power.
The climb out of MTR seemed like the hardest of the trip. I think in part because it was hot and exposed, in part because I had just added 16 lbs to my pack and in part because I was in a funk. Despite my best efforts I had not figured out how to have a positive attitude about the remainder of my trip.
At about 9800 ft, the terrain flattens out and the trail crosses Senger Creek. There is a sudden and very noticeable change if flora here from manzanitas and sparse pines to ferns and dense pines. I was back in the high mountains.
After what seemed like an eternity I finally arrived at the Sallie Keyes Lakes. I took a long rest here and debated finding a place to set up camp early.
Lower Sallie Keyes Lake
Upper Sallie Keyes Lake
After I had rested I felt better. It was still early so I decided to press on to get as close to Selden Pass as I could before making camp.
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I arrived at Heart Lake at about 5:00. I was tired and my legs felt weak. If I kept going I would probably have to cross Selden Pass and continue on for a while before I would find a place to stay, so I hunted around the lake until I found a nice spot away from the crowds. There were at least 8 other people at the lake and they were all camped in the same spot. I don't get it.
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