John Muir Trail: Day 19

Day 19 had quite a pleasant surprise.  Once again I would find it by wandering off of the trail for a while.  This day had me visit several lakes along the eastern edge of the Ritter Range.  These lakes all drain to the east into a valley that gathers the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River.  The uppermost of these lakes is Thousand Island Lake, which I will visit on Day 20.

By the end of the day I hiked 11 miles and climbed 3700 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 19 elevation profile in yellow

Day 19 route in blue

When I woke up on Day 19 everything was wet, and not just damp this time.  My hiking pants and shirt hadn't dried at all overnight, my tent was wet with dew on the outside and condensation inside and my sleeping bag had absorbed a lot of moisture from brushing against the tent.  My shoes and sock were wet from the late afternoon creek crossing yesterday.

It would probably be two hours or more before the sun made it above the mountains and down to my campsite, so instead of waiting I packed up all of my wet gear and set off up the mountain wearing rain pants and a synthetic fleece pullover.

After about an hour of hiking and 1000 ft of elevation gain I found this spot just off the trail.  I had made it up the the ridge of the mountain so I was no longer in the shade and the sun was bright and warm.

I unpacked absolutely everything and laid it all out in this clearing to dry, then I set about making breakfast.  After about an hour my things were dry and I was fed and warm.  I packed everything back up and hit the trail.  My pack felt about 10 pounds lighter than it was when I left camp.

I stopped here to dry out my gear and eat breakfast

The first in the series of lakes I would visit today was Trinity Lakes.  Actually a series of lakes, they are marshy and shallow and hidden in the trees.  I spotted some ducks here (shouldn't they be at Duck Lake?).

Ducks on one of the Trinity Lakes

The next lake along the trail was Gladys Lake.  Gladys is a small lake perched on the eastern edge of the mountain, just before it drops into the glacial valley that is the where the San Joaquin River starts.

Gladys Lake

I walked around the shore of Gladys Lake until I came to the outlet.  It was a small stream that runs down the dark crevice in the picture below to the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River.  Mammoth Mountain can still be seen in the distance.

The lake outlet was quiet and shady with the sound of the stream trickling through.  I sat down and stayed a while.

Looking south east into the San Joaquin River Valley from Gladys Lake

Rosalie Lake is much bigger than Gladys.  The scenery is spectacular with pine trees and granite hills rising from the shoreline.  This view is looking south west across the lake at the inlet and the trail up to Lois Lake.

Rosalie Lake

As I left Rosalie Lake, the trail traverses through a small pass before a series of switchbacks zig zag down to Shadow Lake.  At the first switchback the trail turns left.  I turned right and left the trail.  I ended up on top of this granite mound north of Rosalie Lake.

The view was spectacular.  In the distance Ritter and Banner provided a dramatic backdrop.  Below me was Shadow Lake, buried deep in a hole surrounded by mountains and pine trees.  I stopped here for lunch and just enjoyed the view.  Behind me in the panorama photo is the San Joaquin River Valley.  This was one of the most memorable views of the trip, in part because it was unexpected.

Shadow Lake with Ritter and Banner behind. Click the image for the full panorama.

Leaving Shadow Lake the trail follows Shadow Creek.  Shadow Creek has a large drainage area that includes the eastern side of Ritter and Banner.

Shadow Creek

The trail then turns north and climbs to the top of this rock mound.  The higher peaks of the Ritter Range are hidden from view at this point, but the lower peaks are still dramatic, ragged and laced with snow.

Volcanic Ridge with the Minarets on the right

Still higher, the trail follows this canyon to the crest that makes the southern shore of Garnet Lake. By now I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to get there.  There are a lot of false summits and slight turns in the ascent that make you thing you are almost there when you still have a long way to go.

The pass to Garnet Lake

After what seemed like an eternity I crested the ridge and was rewarded with a spectacular view of Garnet Lake.

Garnet Lake from the south side

I toyed with the idea of walking around the lake.  I went down to the shore and started around the lake counterclockwise.  I passed the point where the JMT turned north again toward Thousand Island Lake and continued along the shore.  The path became more difficult and rugged as I went and after a while I decided that walking around the lake would take a lot longer than I had originally thought and decided to save it for another trip.  I headed back to the JMT.

Garnet Lake with Ritter and Banner behind

In the middle of the divide between Garnet Lake and Thousand Island Lake is Ruby Lake.  It is a small lake with steep wall on three sides and the outlet draining to the San Joaquin River to the east. I found a quiet spot at the south end of the lake and made camp.

Camp 19.  Ruby Lake.

The snow at the north end of Ruby Lake was about 6 or 8 feet thick. There was a large crack that looked as though it may cleave off, but alas no such luck while I was there.

Snow at Ruby Lake

All photos of Middle Fork San Joaquin River to Shadow Lake
All photos of Garnet Lake
All photos of Thousand Island Lake