Snowcamping at Dewey Point
El Cap We seem to be on the right track for snowcamping this year. Two years ago it stormed every time we tried to get out. Last year there was…
El Cap We seem to be on the right track for snowcamping this year. Two years ago it stormed every time we tried to get out. Last year there was…
To put it mildly, last winter's minimal snowfall was dissapointing. We only got out on one snowcamping outing, and there was so little snow that we were able to have…
It's the last day on the John Muir Trail, and the biggest one as well. We got up early so we could hit the trail just before sunrise, hiking by…
Our second to last day on the John Muir Trail. Boo! After yesterday’s big day over Forester Pass, today was a relatively easy day from Tyndall Creek to Guitar Lake. There were no real steep ups or down – the trail was rolling and gently graded through this stretch. The day’s highlight was Big Horn Plateau, a large, barren, flat area a couple of miles beyond our campsite. Unfortunately the smoke once again interfered with the views, but it was still impressive.
What an incredible day! On day 13 of my John Muir Trail adventure we hiked from Vidette Meadow to Tyndall Creek via Forester Pass. This was the day I had both been looking forward to and also dreading – it was one of my higher mileage days, along with the biggest climb yet. But, since I had been on the trail nearly two weeks I had nothing to worry about – it was much easier than I expected. The highlight of the day was Forester Pass, which, at 13,200 ft, is the highest pass on the PCT. I had never been over this pass before and had heard how scenic it was, and it didn’t let me down.
I was a bit concerned about today's logistics and timing, but it turns out that everything went quite smoothly. We left Bishop at about 9 am and drove down to…
I awoke to the smell of smoke. The distant smoke from the previous night that had given me such a stunning sunset had blown into Humprey’s Basin overnight. I had no idea where the smoke was coming from, so I was glad that today I would be getting off the trail. This day’s plan was to hike out to the North Lake trailhead over Piute Pass and catch a ride into Bishop, where I had reservations at the Ramada. Dave would be driving out from the Bay Area that evening and would meet me there.
The smell of smoke was a bit overwhelming – I’m sure the air was just terrific for me to be breathing in while hiking. Some of the peaks that had been so beautiful the night before were now completely obscured by the smoke. But, as I climbed the short 2 miles and 400 or so feet up to Piute Pass, I quickly got out of the smoke. It had settled in the Basin, so at the Pass I was just above it. I ran into a couple at the Pass who told me that they had heard the smoke wasn’t a fire in the Sierra at all – it was actually smoke blowing in from the Zaca fire in Santa Barbara.
Today was the day I said goodbye to my hiking friends and headed off on my own. While Mary, Michael, and Kerry continued south, I left the JMT to head…
Another beautiful day on the trail today, starting off with a climb to Selden Pass that took us by the stunning Marie Lake. I regretted not making it all the way to Marie for camp the night before, but it was a bit windy up there so at least it wasn’t a perfect spot.
The climb to Selden was easy, as was the descent past Heart and Sallie Keys Lakes. The lakes in here were beautiful – I wish we’d been able to camp around there, but the schedule just didn’t work out. Next time. A couple of miles beyond Sallie Keys the trail spit us out onto a steep hillside covered in manzanita. I swear that the temperature instantly jumped 20 degrees. As we went down the long, never ending switchbacks I found myself desperately longing for the next small spot of shade. Unfortunately, as the trail descended to Muir Trail Ranch it just got dustier, sunnier, and hotter.
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