john muir trail Archives

Back over Forester and Kearsarge: Summer Sierra Trip Report part 6

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 9, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

Mt Williamson: We will be back! (also, eep on that route!)

For the final part of this trip report, I’m mostly revisiting terrain we crossed our first and second days. But the views are so great that it’s totally worth it! Unfortunately, our idea to climb Mt Williamson didn’t work out as planned. Feeling a bit spooked about the route after chatting with some other climbers and learning that just getting to the base of the peak was 9 hours round trip, we started considering other options.
The next morning, the intended day of our climb, we woke to gusting winds that nearly blew me off my feet, and waiting it out wasn’t working. The wind was picking up and we were well past the window of time where we should have left for Williamson.
So instead we decided to pack up and make it a long day on the trail, working our way back towards Forester Pass and hopefully making it to Kearsarge Lakes for the night. We estimated it to be about an 18 mile day with about 4000 ft of gain, including a 1500 ft climb to cap thins off right at the end. It wasn’t going to be an easy day. Considering we were already getting a late start due to our attempts to wait out the wind, I wasn’t completely confident we’d make it to Kearsarge Lakes that night. But we hoped to in order to meet up with some friends we thought might be staying there that night.
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Over Forester Pass to Tyndall Creek : Summer Sierra Trip Report Part 2

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 1, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
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Despite being pretty wiped out from a long first day, I woke up feeling pretty refreshed and ready for another haul on Day 2 of our week long trip. This…

Kearsarge Pass to Vidette Meadow: Summer Sierra Trip Report Part 1

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 30, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
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After missing my week in the Sierra last year due to injury, I couldn’t wait to get on the trail this year! The plan was to hike in over Kearsarge Pass and head south along the John Muir Trail, then off-trail to explore Wright Lakes Basin and the 14ers of the Shepherd Pass region (Tyndall and Williamson).
We drove out on Friday night and met up with Pavla at Whoa Nellie. Then we headed south to a decent campsite about a mile off of 395 that would get us some sleep above 7k to help with acclimation. In the morning we headed south to Bishop to fuel up at Jack’s with a big breakfast, then picked up our permit after the White Mountain Ranger District office opened at 8 am.
A couple more stops delayed us a bit, most important was Pavla’s search for packets of spam singles. They weren’t at her normal spot but the Bishop K-Mart delivered! David also picked up a pair of socks at Wilsons. Finally we were on our way to the trailhead at Onion Valley.
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Split Mountain from Upper Basin

Split Mountain: 14,058 ft

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 7, 2011
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

There are plenty of options for getting to the summit of Split Mountain, from the walk-up to the technical. Split could be considered the easiest 14k peak in California when looking…

The Old John Muir Trail, Cartridge Pass, and Upper Basin

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 6, 2011
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:2 Comments

This was the day with the biggest number of unknowns. The beginning of the day started off without concern, following the trail back to the John Muir Trail (JMT) and…

Tuolumne to Agnew Meadows, Day 2: Donohue Pass to Thousand Island Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 9, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:1 Comment

Donohue Pass is the first pass you have to climb when going the north to south direction along the JMT, so it has the reputation of being a tough one.…

Tuolumne to Agnew Meadows, Day 1: Lyell Canyon

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 8, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:3 Comments

One of my goals for this summer’s backpacking trips is to get back to some of my favorite stretches of the John Muir Trail. I have two longer trips planned, and the first trip back was a five day stroll last week from Tuolumne Meadows to Agnew Meadows. The purpose wasn’t just to hike the John Muir Trail again – rather it was to take time to fish, relax, explore off-trail, and just enjoy the amazing surroundings. When I did the JMT I flew through this stretch in about 48 hours, so it was good to see it at a slower pace!
We drove out towards Mammoth on Wednesday night and crashed at the Glass Creek campground around midnight (less than a mile off of 395, it’s not perfect but it’s free and easy to get to in the dark). Alarms went off about 5:15 and we were quickly on our way to Mammoth to catch the 7 am YARTS bus after dropping a car at the Inn. At $8 a ticket for the one-way to Tuolumne, YARTS is a bargain.

We were in Tuolumne by 9 am and waited (and waited) in line for our permits. A group of 14 was hogging all the rangers’ time since they had come completely unprepared without a permit reservation and expected to get a walk-up for one of the most popular trailheads that day. Um, no. About an hour later I finally had my (reserved) permit in hand and we started up Lyell Canyon by 10:30.
Lyell Canyon is a perfect way to ease into a hike at altitude. For 8 miles it follows a flat and open canyon along the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. It is enjoyable and hardly strenuous. Hiking the JMT through Lyell will eventually take you to Donohue Pass and out of Yosemite (into Ansel Adams Wilderness). It is about a 2500 foot climb to Donohue Pass from the canyon, and the beginning of the climb seems that much harder because you’ve been lulled into a sense of comfort and ease during those eight flat miles.

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Whitney Benchmark

John Muir Trail, 2007: Day 15 – Guitar Lake to Mt Whitney, and then out at Whitney Portal

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 9, 2007
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:2 Comments

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…

Guitar Lake Sunset

John Muir Trail, 2007: Day 14 – Tyndall Creek to Guitar Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 9, 2007
Post Category:Trip Reports

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.

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