Anticipation for the 2013 Section Hike
I wasn't sure if I was going to do a Journal this year, at least not an online journal, since when one departs from certain starting points in the Sierras, the journal doesn't get updated until one leaves the trail. After talking to several people who like to follow us on the trail, I decided, what the heck, at least it would be recorded this way.
Last year I left the trail early due to numerous reasons (thunderstorms, lightning, hailstorms, shelter issues, developing painful corns between toes). It was also a shock to my system that I ended up going solo literally at the very last minute, which I was mentally unprepared for. There were many firsts on that trip, which has actually made me a stronger, more savvy backpacker. This year my hiker buddy Jingle Bell, who has gone with me on most of the section hikes (couldn't go last year due to back surgery), is joining me again this year in tackling a large portion of the JMT/PCT section. Based on my experiences last year, I have much more confidence on what to expect and have also changed out a few things in the equipment area (like my shelter and my hiking shoes).
We plan to spend two nights in Mammoth Lakes to acclimate to the higher altitude and then hit the trail at Reds Meadows. We have our fingers crossed that we will be able to get a walk-in wilderness permit and start on the day we want to.
Looking forward to getting back on the trail!
July 20th: Arrived at Mammoth Lakes
Arrived in Mammoth Lakes about 11:30am and went straight to the Visitors Center to see if we could get a wilderness permit. Yay! We got one and we start the trail tomorrow morning. Found a good burger place for lunch, did some last minute shopping, watched the kiddies on the climbing wall and zip lines, and then checked into our hotel room. Thunder clouds rolled in and some cooler air came with it. It was quite a relief to have some fresh air to walk around in.
The next few days are calling for thunderstorms and the possibility of rain and hail, so I'm glad I packed my pack cover this year and my rain pants. My new umbrella may even get some use as long as there isn't any lightning around!
There won't be any cell service until we reach Mt Whitney so check back every few days for updates.
July 21st: Miles: 11 First Day on the Trail
Checked out of the hotel, parked the car hopefully in a spot that won't be disturbed, and caught the Reds Meadows shuttle around 8am. We started hiking about 9am and boy was it a hot day. We arrived at Deer Creek about noon (six miles) and had lunch. Decided we still had enough energy to continue on towards Duck Creek, another five miles down the trail. Forecast called for thunderstorms and sure enough thunder heads started rolling in about 2pm. Heard some thunder in the distance but didn't see any lightning. The clouds provided relief from the intense sun. Had a few light rain showers and my new umbrella came in really handy, both for the rain and the sun.
Arrived at Duck Creek about 5pm. Elevation about 10,000 from. Made dinner, cleaned up, and hit the rack at 7:15pm. Thunderstorms and rain started up again at 7:30pm. So nice to be tucked in bed and listening to the storm!
July 22nd: Miles: 11 Squaw Lake
Had a thunderstorm just before bed and enjoyed listening to it. Had a tough time falling asleep, was probably from the rushing noise of the creek.
Was on the trail by 7:30am and as usual, it started with an uphill climb. Stopped at Purple Lake and soaked the feet and lower legs. One of the issues of hiking in the intense heat yesterday caused a heat rash from my ankles to my knees. Spent the evening soaking my legs with cold water trying to reduce the inflammation. On we went up to Virginia Lake and had a nice chat with three men from Woodenville, CA. From there we had a nice long downhill to a bridge where we stopped and had lunch. There has been quite a bit of difference from last year's hike to this year's hike with the bugs. Almost no bugs last year - this year we are covered with them when we stop. I'm kicking myself on only bringing one tube of Deet. I sure hope they have some for sale at the Muir Trail Ranch when we arrive there on Saturday.
After 11 miles we arrived at Squaw Lake and decided this was our home for the night. It was a little early to stop, but this way we will be ready to tackle our first pass - Silver Pass. Thunderstorms started rolling in so we quickly made dinner and dashed into our tents. The thunderstorm was over in about an hour and a half, but the rain continued for hours.
July 23rd: Miles: 7.3 Edison Lake Trailhead
Quite the weather storm last night. Thunder, rain, and strong wind. Had to put my tent in storm mode. Jingle Bell woke up thinking a bear was shaking her tent it was thrashing around so much. In the morning, we had to pack up between rain showers. Finally on trail at 9am, heading up to Silver Pass amidst heavy overcast skies. Used my umbrella all the way up. Found an empty green water bottle lying on the trail and sure enough, we found its owner a mile up the trail digging through his pack looking for it. Took some pictures at the top of the pass but everything looked gray, especially with the clouds and overcast. Down we went on the other side and passed several groups of riders and pack horses. It was drier on this side so the umbrella was packed away. From Silver Pass to the Lake Edison trailhead, it is mostly downhill with a very steep section. We leapfrogged several small groups of hikers along the way. I remembered a spot on the trail from last year that I was able to get cell service, so we stopped and gave the hubbies a call. They like to hear from us once in a while to make sure we are still alive. Our original game plan was to camp at Bear Creek tonight but by the time we arrived at Quail Meadows (near Lake Edison), it was 3pm and we decided to tackle the five mile uphill in the morning. Most everybody else had decided to do the same thing too. Was visiting with some of the hikers when we all noticed forest fire smoke filling the valley and campground. It was getting thicker by the minute. Had scratchy cell service but was able to send a text to hubby asking if he could find out anything. He called the Vermilion Valley Resort who said that there was a fire 20 miles to the west of them and that we were okay where we were, and that we were not in any danger to continue hiking the JMT/PCT tomorrow. The news spread through the campground quickly as everybody was worried and was very thankful for the report. Kudos to husband Dave! Finished up the evening with a great dinner of chicken alfredo.
July 24th: Miles: 10.2 Rose Lake Trailhead
Got an earlier start this morning at 7:30am and started the uphill grind. It wasnt as bad as I had feared. The only minor issue was the smoke. We were breathing it the whole day. Met up with a mother/daughter duo, Ruth and Laura, and took turns passing each other all day. Jingle Bell and I are like the hare, zoom zoom, rest, and Ruth and Laura are like the tortoise, slowly making their way without stopping. It was most enjoyable visiting with them. Have noticed quite a few more women on the trail now. My friend Amy who is reading my journal and tracking our progress via the SPOT, has mentioned how beautiful the area is that we are hiking in. She is correct; it is gorgeous here, although the fire smoke has impacted the scenery here at the moment. At lunch we stopped at Bear Creek and had a little cleanup time. We werent sure where we were going to camp for the night. A handful of gals we have been visiting with stated that they were going to stay at Little Italy trailhead for the night. It was a little early for us to stop, so we trudged on upward. Not sure if it was a good decision as we continued climbing through rocks and boulders with no places to camp and no water. Then we finally found a nice camp with nearby water, decided to call it home for the night and were attacked by mosquitoes. We ripped out the Deet and spread it on as quickly as we could, but I was eaten alive. Must have a 100 bites from the top of my head to my ankles. Pushed on until we arrived at the Rose Lake trailhead and made camp. Mosquitoes here, but not as thick. Used our mosquito headnets while setting up camp, dinner, and prepping for bed. Sunset was beautiful due to the smoky conditions. Scratch, scratch, scratch... darn mosquitoes...
July 25th: Miles: 4 Sallie Keyes Lakes
No rain or thunderstorms last night. We only had a short hike over Seldon Pass and down to Sallie Keyes Lakes today. We are planning a zero day on the trail at the lake as we are ahead of schedule for our planned Muir Trail Ranch reservation on July 27th. On the uphill climb we met a gal going northbound, stopped to visit and it was Yellowstone! She had signed my Postholer guestbook before I left for the trail and we actually got to meet each other! It was great to visit with her. I wish her all the best on finishing the miles she has left to complete her PCT journey.
At the top of the pass we were going to stop and have a snack, but we heard the rumblings of a thunderstorm starting. We headed down to the lake, set up camp just in time for the 1:30pm thunder and lightning show. The temperature dropped quickly and we were awarded hail the size of thumbnails pounding on our tents. It was so loud against the tent fabric, that I put in my earplugs to deaden the noise. Molly, who we met at the Lake Edison trailhead a couple of days ago, showed up at 3pm looking drenched. She and others were caught at the top of the pass during the storm. Molly is from Brooklyn, New York, is currently a copy editor, has traveled the world, and is hilarious to talk to. We also met White Lightning who is a thru-hiker and is hoping to get through his whole trip without too many issues. At this point, he should be already entering Oregon, so he is a little behind the power curve. At 4pm, the show began again, but didn't last as long.
July 26th: Miles: 0 Zero Day
Zero day - rest up day before Muir Trail Ranch and the last 10 days of our hike. Did the usual chores, took care of our feet, take pics of wildlife, etc. Fire smoke rolled in again around 3pm. To pass the time, I built a stone house with fire pit and yard decorated with pine cones. Couldn't find a roof though. Not to be outdone, Jingle Bell built a volcano, complete with sticks of wood simulating fire and vegetation. She has an edge over me since she is a preschool teacher and has a great imagination. Thats about it for the day.
July 27th: Miles: 5.8 Muir Trail Ranch Resupply
Hit the trail at 7:30am and arrived at MTR at 10:30pm. Check in wasn't until 2pm so we headed down to the river so cross over to the natural hot springs. The water looked a bit fast and we were unsure about taking our packs over so we unhitched, removed socks and shoes and replaced with sandals. The river was deeper in spots, about calf height, but we made it over without issues. Followed the paths through the meadow and found all three pools. Each pool was a different temperature. Met a mom and her two daughters sitting in the hottest one. We stripped down to our undies and joined them. Jingle Bell had a nice visit while I moved over to the second pool which was a bit cooler. After a couple of hours we decided to head back over the river, collect the packs and make our way back over to MTR. Still too early to check in so we went through the hiker boxes (where people toss perfectly good stuff they don't want to carry anymore or cant stand the thought of eating another oatmeal). Bonus! I found an unused phone charger for my phone! We also scored an 8 oz fuel canister for free! 2pm finally arrived and we were shown to our tent cabin. So adorable. There were cabins available as people started canceling their trips thinking that the Huntington fire was going to impact MTR. Gathered our resupply buckets, resupplied our bear canisters (ugh, 10 day supply = 12 lbs), took outdoor showers, and started a load of wash. Meanwhile a thunderstorm arrived and dumped rain. Suddenly the lights went out and sure enough the generator that supplies power to the whole ranch died. It took a while but they were able to get their backup generator going. Well, our clothes just sat in the washer in cold water with detergent floating on top. Got it started again. Dinner bell rang and all the hikers and campers headed to the dining room. We had heard how good the food was at MTR and all the rumors were true. Baked salmon, pilaf, green salad, corn salsa, garlic bread, with homemade chocolate chip cookies and flan for dessert. Too bad Jingle Bell doesnt like salmon! Thats okay, I ate her portion in addition to mine. The cook was generous enough to cook up a separate chicken breast for her. Afterwards we retrieved our laundry and hung on our lines in our room to dry. Finally crashed for the night.
July 28th: Miles: 12.3 Colby Meadows
Breakfast wasn't served until 7am so we collected our bear canisters from the kitchen and prepped our packs. Jingle Bell was concerned that her clothes were still damp. One of the employees offered to dry her clothes even though it was against MTR policy. I just wore mine dry and hung the extra socks and undies on the back of the pack. Breakfast was great - frittatas, sausage, and fried potatoes, plus an assortment of hot/cold cereal, fruit, yogurt, coffee, etc. All the fixin's were available to make sandwiches for the trail. Finally departed at 8-ish and made our way back to the main trail. We could see thunder clouds rolling in with the wind bringing in the smoke from the Huntington fire. Spent all day gaining elevation, plus had to ford Evolution Creek. Hikers like to watch other hikers crossing the creek. It was way higher than last year. Today is was above the knees, thigh high, and flowing fast. Made it across without any issues. Finally arrived at Colby Meadows around 4pm. We had hoped to go another two miles but we were beat. Jingle Bell had broken her plastic spoon back at the second night at Sallie Keyes Lakes, and bought a metal spoon at MTR yesterday, and promptly lost it somewhere on the trail today. She was sad about it and ate her dinner with her fingers. I felt sorry for her and went over to where the Virginians were camped and asked if they had an extra spoon they were willing to give up. One fellow said yes, and gave the reminder that one should always carry a backup spoon. Jingle Bell was so happy...
July 29th: Miles: 12.3 Muir Pass and Le Conte Canyon
Damn poison oak! Another batch just popped up on my right arm. How can this be? To make matters worse, I left the calamine lotion back at MTR since the other two patches have healed. All I can think of is my poles. I will give them a thorough scrub down this evening. I used my Benadryl and Jingle Bell has given me a couple more to see if they will help with the itching. My hand sanitizer is alcohol based so I will use that to help dry any weeping that may occur.
Got an early start this morning as we knew we had a big climb over Muir Pass today. Heard through the trail grapevine that the weather has finally changed for the better. Evolution Lakes were beautiful and the temperature was actually cold as we hiked around them. We reached the pass about 1pm. It was gorgeous views 360 degrees. Had lunch and then headed down the other side. Kept leapfrogging with people we have met on the trail. So interesting where people come from. Arrived at Le Conte Canyon and it is as beautiful as it was last year, except no rain and no thunderstorms!
July 30th: Miles: 11.1 Deer Meadow
Got a late start this morning due to a ton of condensation on both tents and on most everything else. Jingle Bell got her line tangled up on a limb last night trying to hang a bear bag. Took some time using a long heavy tree limb (found on ground) to persuade the line to let go of the tree. Had a lovely 7.7 mile downhill and saw a few deer along the way. It started to get really hot mid-afternoon and of course we had 3.4 miles of uphill to go. Jingle Bell was really suffering from the heat and developed a pain on the right hand side below the ribcage. It was pretty concerning. She thought it was a combination of the heavy pack and heat. I had hoped to make it to the Lower Palisades Lake at 10,616 ft in preparation to cross Mathers Pass at 12,100 ft. We made it to Deer Meadows along with the Virginians. This means we have two hard areas to climb tomorrow the Golden Staircase and Mather Pass.