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