Perinne Bridge

The Perinne bridge crosses the snake river at the town of Twin Falls in southern Idaho. It has the distinction of being the only place on the US where you can BASE jump any time any day without any permission or paperwork. 

So if red tape is what is keeping you from this endeavor, come on down to Twin Falls. 

John Muir Trail: Day 20

On Day 20 I visited Thousand Island Lake and crossed over Donahue Pass into Yosemite National Park.  I spent the night in Lyell Canyon, a few miles away from Tuolumne Meadows.

I hiked 13 miles and climbed 2200 ft.

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 20 elevation profile in yellow

Day 20 route in blue

The day started with an easy walk down into Thousand Island Lake basin.  Storm clouds were threatening and the combination of clouds, mountains, snow and reflections on the water make it difficult to tell where the lake ends and the land begins.  If you look closely it is not where you think.

Looking south west across Thousand Island Lake

Thousand Island Lake

After leaving Thousand Island Lake the trail rises gently to Island Pass.  I was daydreaming a bit and didn't even notice that I had gone over the pass, that is how intense Island Pass is.

Island Pass marks the southern boundary of the Rush Creek watershed.  Donahue Pass marks the northern boundary.  Rush Creek drains into Mono Lake in Mono Valley on the eastern side of the Sierras.  It is the only waterway along the John Muir Trail that drains to the eastern side.

I spent much of the time in the Rush Creek drainage thinking that Donahue was the pointy peak and that Donahue Pass was to the right of the flat peak.  It turned out that the flat peak is Donahue and the pass is to its left.  Navigation is a continual process.  You have to always be reviewing your surrounds and matching it to the map.  Of course on the JMT it is not that big of a deal, you just follow the trail and you will get there.

Looking north from Island Pass.  Donahue Peak is the flat topped mountain in the middle.  Donahue Pass is to its left.

The next section was hard to figure out what I was crossing, even when I looked at SPOT data vs. camera time stamp.  There are more creeks on the ground than on the map so the captions are my best guesses as to where these creeks came from.

The path on the right is for people, the path on the left is for stock.

Davis Lakes Creek crossing

The quality of the "bridges" varied greatly in this area.  This log bridge had the tops of the logs flattened to make it easier to walk, but the log had twisted over the years so the surface was no longer parallel to the ground.

Davis Lakes Creek crossing

Rodgers Lakes Creek crossing

This bridge was particularly interesting.  It was rotten and sagging.  The stock path is on the right.  I would take that next time.

Rush Creek crossing

This was the only stone beam bridge I saw the whole trip.  Very cool.

Unnamed Creek crossing

I stopped to figure out where I was and which peak was Donahue Peak.  After a bit of map and compass work I figured out that this was Donahue Peak and that I was just over 10,000 ft.

Add caption

Fortunately I didn't need to know exactly where I was, only that I was on the right trail heading in the right direction.  That I knew with certainty, so I carried on.

Donahue Pass at about 10,300 ft

During all of the trips I have taken over the past 6 years I never felt like I was in the back country until I had crossed the first major pass and was out of range of day hikers.  Donahue Pass was the last barrier between me and Tioga Highway and Tuolumne Meadows.  Once I crossed it I had a ways to walk, but it would not be too long after crossing that I would be within range of day hikers.  In fact I did see day hikers by the end of the day and on Day 21 and on Day 22.  Don't get me wrong, I love day hiking, but it doesn't compare to getting deep in the wilderness.

Looking south from the top of Donahue Pass

After spending some time on Donahue talking to a lady that had just finished a 30 day tour of the hot springs in the Sierras, I turned my attention toward Lyell Canyon.

Looking north from the top of Donahue Pass

At about 11000 ft Lyell Canyon comes into view.  It is a long broad valley that I had seen many times on the map.  Nothing I had imagined compared to the grandeur that was there in person.  From this point I would walk 5.5 miles to where I camped and I would be halfway through the canyon.

Looking north into Lyell Canyon

At about 10200 ft you cross the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River for the second time.  The first one was an easy rock hop.  This one was wet sock style.  Once across the trail drops into the canyon and into the forest.

Crossing Lyell Creek at about 10,200 ft

At about 9700 ft you cross Lyell Fork for the third time.  At this crossing this bridge is there to help you across.

This is a popular spot to stop for people going the other way.

Bridge across Lyell Creek at about 9,600 ft.

Just past the bridge I came across this rope hanging from a tree with the end frayed.  I am just guessing but I think a bear got someone food after it was not hung properly.

A cautionary tail for the counterbalance method

I complain a lot about the bear canister, but it does make life simple.  Birds, rodents, foxes, coyotes, bears, deer.  None of them can get your food.  You don't have to find a mythical tree with just the right branch.  All you have to do is close the canister and put it on the ground away from your tent.  And you don't have to worry about this.

What broke the rope?

I left the trail again around 9400 feet because I caught a glimpse of this view.  I found my way to a rocky highpoint out of the trees and sat for a while and ate something.

Lyell Canyon

Yosemite gets a lot of visitors and they like their trails to be durable.  This trail will outlast your feet for certain.

Trail down Lyell Canyon

At 9000 ft the canyon floor flattens out.  Over the next 10 miles it drops only about 400 ft.

Meadow in Lyell Canyon

The river is a slow meander all the way through the canyon.

Lyell Creek in Lyell Canyon

Here I think someone got a little zealous about marking the trail.  These boulders easily weigh 200 lbs each and walking on the rock on either side of the prescribed lane would not affect anything.  I guess the rocks won't get washed away in the spring melt.  I walked up the left side.

Excessive trail markers

Campsites in Lyell Canyon were hard to find.  I passed a large campsite a few hours before this, but it was too early and I  figured that site would get crowded.  The only other camp along this stretch was at the Evelyn Lake trail and I had heard that it was already crowded.  Beyond the Evelyn Lake trail camping is not allowed until you get to the backpackers camp in Tuolumne Meadows.

I left the trail and walked into the forest looking for a clearing.  After some zig zagging I found this spot less than 100 yards from the trail.  The hardest part of the search was finding a place that was flat enough.  I had to clear off the Lodgepole pine cones, but then had a fine campsite.

Camp 20, location is top secret

All photos of Thousand Island Lake
All photos of Rush Creek
All photos of Donahue Pass
All photos of Lyell Canyon

John Muir Trail: Day 13

Day 13 was a very relaxing meander through Evolution Valley.  I traveled 5 slightly downhill miles in 4 hours.  That is slow. There was no real climbing the whole day as you can see in the elevation profile.

It was all downhill and only 11 miles.

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 13 elevation profile in yellow

Day 13 route in blue

I slept in a little bit and it was very marshy and damp where I camped my tent was wet and my sleeping bag was damp.  The sun was still not over the mountains so I packed everything up wet and started walking.  I hadn't gone far when I saw an opportunity for a view so I left the trail and scrambled up a hillside and around to this view below.

Evolution Valley is arguably the most beautiful place on Earth.  Its trees, flowers, creeks, mountains and animals combine to make this very remote place idyllic.  From my perch on the side of this mountain I could see the entire valley, Evolution Creek running through it, Colby Meadow, McClure Meadow and Evolution Meadow, all the way to where it drops quickly to meet the South Fork of the San Joaquin River.  And at the head of it all, just out of frame on the left in the picture below, is The Hermit.  The Hermit is a 12,328 foot mountain that rises over 2,000 ft from the valley floor.  It is visible the entier length of the valley and dominates many of the spectacular views along the way.

With this prelude before me, I laid my gear out to dry, cooked breakfast, and enjoyed the most leisurely cup of coffee of the whole trip.

Looking over Evolution Valley

Darwin Bench and Darwin Canyon, on the north side of Evolution Valley, lead to Lamarck Col.  This is a popular cross country route to get into or out of the valley.  The lakes in Darwin Canyon and Darwin Bench drain down to Evolution Creek.  Despite the rocks I waded through wet foot style.

Darwin Creek Crossing

Did I mention that The Hermit dominates many of the views from the valley floor.  I swear it was following me, every time I turned around it was there.  Evolution Creek does flatten out and get wide though much of the valley, but here it was still swift and "songful", as John Muir would have said.

Evolution Creek above Colby Meadow with The Hermit

The first of three meadows along the valley is Colby Meadow.  The creek is away from the trail for this part so the meadow, full of wildflowers, gets some attention.

Colby Meadow with The Hermit

A bee in Colby Meadow

I stopped for lunch at McClure Meadow.  This buck was grazing in the meadow and looked up to see what I was doing.  Deciding I was not a threat, he laid down among the tall grass so that others may not see him as well.

A young buck in McClure Meadow

McClure Meadows was a great place to eat my lunch and enjoy the views.  I wandered  happily through this section of trail, stopping as often as I could, remembering to look over my shoulder.  The Hermit was still following me.

Wildflowers in McClure Meadow with The Hermit

Evolution Creek flows slow and wide through this part of the valley.  The Hermit is there reliably, and standing guard on the other side are Mount Mendel (named after the father of genetics) and Mount Darwin (famous for studying pigeons and going on vacation to the Galapagos Islands).

Evolution Creek in McClure Meadow with The Hermit

All of that peacefully flowing water meets a change in elevation, gravity takes over and the gentle creek becomes a ragin torrent of whitewater.

Evolution Creek below McClure Meadow

Another tributary to Evolution Creek.  This one flows down from Lake 11092 on the north side of Evolution Valley.  Not designed for a high water year, this crossing is flooded for about three times the width of the stream.  My socks got wet again.

Lake 11092 Creek crossing

In late June and early July there were reports on the internet forums claiming that the main crossing of Evolution Creek was neck deep.  Neck deep?  That sounds like an exaggeration (I haven't made any exaggerations in the telling of my trip :-).  At any rate, it does get deep enough often enough that the Park Service posted a permanent sign offering an alternative.  This is a step beyond the piece of paper the ranger taped to the sign at the South Fork Kings River crossing on day 10.  I decided to check out the main crossing for myself before making a decision.

Warning sign for Evolution Creek Crossing

Mountain meadows are typically lakes that have been filled in with setiment.  The glacier comes through and carves out the valley, leaving some low spots.  The low spots fill with water and become lakes.  Each year when the snow melts, setiment is carried into the lakes where it settles.  Over the coursse of many years, the lake gets shallow enough that reeds grow out of the water.  Eventually the lake bed gets higher than the surface of the lake and you have dry land.  Meadows still trap a lot of water so it is too wet for trees to grow and they stay open.  You can see this progression clearly starting with Evolution Lake, Colby Meadow, McClure Meadow and finally Evolution Meadow. There is less water and more dry land as you progress down through the valley.

The Hermit is still following me.

Evolution Creek in Evolution Meadow in Evolution Valley and, you guessed it, The Hermit

Evolution Creek crossing is the biggest crossing of the trip.  It was knee deep and moving swiftly and about 40 ft across.  If it was truly neck deep in late June that would have been incredible.  I decided not to go back and use the alternate crossing.  Be sure to view the panorama picture to get the full effect.

Evolution Creek Crossing.  Click the image for the full panorama.

My Sawyer Squeeze water filtration system has a soft bottle that the filter screws onto.  The idea is that you can squeeze it into another bottle or drink directly from the filter.  I much preferred the gravity method.  Once I got it started it would filter the entire liter without my help.  I could spend that time snoozing or drying my socks.

Gravity fed water filtration

Below the crossing, Evolution Creek drops quickly to the South Fork of the San Joaquin River.  The trail moves away from the creek for much of the descent, but you are presented with a few cascades before things get dry.

Waterfall on Evolution Creek below the crossing

Muir Trail Ranch sits at the other end of this canyon.  As I descended to the canyon floor below I felt as though my trip was over and that the next 100 miles was simply a way to get home.  I had come through 14 days and 160 miles of uninterrupted wilderness and tomorrow I would be somewhere with electricity and buildings.  Beyond that I would never be more than 3 days between access to a store and telephone.  I had enjoyed the solitude that isolation had forced on me and I was not looking forward to giving it up.

As I walked along I forced myself to reset my expectations.  Mentally I cut the trip into a separate section, as I had done at the top of Whitney.  Tomorrow would be the transition from phase 2 to phase 3, and I would try to take it as it came.

Shortly after the crossing Evolution Creek plunges 500 ft in half a mile into this valley to
meet the South Fork of the San Joaquin River

At the bottom of the descent from Evolution Valley is the first of two bridges crossing the South Fork of the San Joaquin River.  This one is upstream of the confluence with Evolution Creek.  Still, a lot of water.

The bridge across the South Fork of the San Joaquin River at the Goddard Canyon trail junction

On the map, the river under the bridge above and this crossing look the same.  Only by looking at the area of the drainage would you guess that one would have more water than the other.

Mount Henry Creek crossing

The second crossing of the South Fork of the San Joaquin river.  This crossing would not have been possible this year without a bridge.

The bridge across the South Fork of the San Joaquin River below the confluence with Evolution Creek

The South Fork of the San Joaquin is a delightfully noisy whitewater spectacle for most of the trip to Muir Trail Ranch.

South Fork of the San Joaquin River above Aspen Meadow

I found this campsite next to this enormous old Lodgepole Pine.  The little pinecones of the Lodgepole Pine were annoying but otherwise it was a great camp.

Camp 13.  Aspen Meadow

All photos of Evolution Valley
All photos of South Fork San Joaquin River