Return to Yosemite – The Long Way

Well I wanted to hike some more of the John Muir Trail.  I found out that there is a shuttle service that runs between Yosemite Valley and Mammoth Lakes.  Using this shuttle I could hike the northern section of the JMT.  So I planned out a 52 mile route from Agnew Meadows to the valley.  I also decided to test my limits and only allowed three days for the trip.

It would be a lightweight assault – starting weight of 22 pounds.  I pretty well stripped everything down to the minimum.  Left the stove, fuel, and cookware behind and just ate non-perishables for the trip – beef jerkey, summer sausage, tortillas, tuna fish, Snickers bars, Peanut M&Ms, granola, etc.  Next time I plan to add peanut butter, honey, cheese, pitas.

Day 1

The goal was to travel 23.4 miles over two passes and into Lyell Canyon before camping.  Caught a shuttle to the trailhead and was moving along by 7:40.  Still a lot of smoke from all the forest fires so the views were somewhat obscured but still some nice looks at nearby mountains.  Marched along through increasing mosquito activity before loading on the DEET.  Nothing like bathing in pesticide, but it did keep the little buggers off me.  I charged ahead, further up and further in, rejoicing in the light pack and laughing as the miles fell behind.  The first pass fell behind before I knew it.  Soon after the second pass fell, 14.4 miles in.  Was that 14 miles?  Ha! Another nine to go?  Bring it.  A few threatening clouds and some distant thunder signaled the charge down into Lyell Canyon.  Pounding down…down….down….then before too long the side stream coming in, indicating that the camp had been reached.  I felt surprisingly good for over 23 miles.  I looked around and found a spot to pitch the tent.  I then turned around and looked at the sky……dark and menacing…..then some thunder announced that I would be having a speed trial for setting up the tent.  In the blink of an eye (or several minutes) the tent was up, everything under cover, and had just finished untying the boots as the first raindrops fell.  I hunkered down in the tent, nice and dry, till the storm passed by.  Best of all a good day was followed by a good night of sleep.

Day 2

No weakness.  Even though I had allowed myself two more days to cover the last 29 miles, I set a goal to cover 22 more miles.  I set the alarm for 7 am and woke up at 8 (I guess alarms don’t phase me).  Standard procedure – wake up, eat food, then put your house on your back and start walking.  Passed by Tuolumne Meadows where there is a great place to get burgers.  An extra 1.2 miles for a burger.  Maybe next time.  The day was mostly spent on flat ground or downhill with only one small climb for a few miles.  Sounds great right?  Wrong.  Downhill and flat is much more painful for the body.  But again I smiled as mile after mile fell behind.  One section of the trail near the Sunrise High Sierra camp has about 2 miles worth of meadow area.  It is also a breeding ground for mosquitos.  I had intended to take a much needed break about this time but ended up ripping through this section, trying to avoid breathing in too many mosquitos.  Finally cleared the meadows and escaped the mosquito mayhem.  Then it was another 5 or 6 miles with 3000 feet of brutal downhill pounding.  Another quick break and then the last 1.8 miles of stumbling to the campsite.  There I met two guys, Don and Stan, who had done almost the same route as me.  It was nice to chat with them for the evening and then we hiked out together the next day.

Day 3

The last 7 miles down to Yosemite Valley.  Most of it was along the trail to Half Dome.  We easily passed 400+ people on the way down.  Tourist mayhem.  Being way cool backpackers, we shared some good laughs watching people suffering their way up the trail.  The shuttle bus that I was planning to take didn’t leave the valley until 5 pm and wouldn’t get back to my car until 9 pm.  As it happens, Don and Stan had set up a shuttle, with Stan’s truck being parked about 10 feet away from my Subaru.  They offered me a lift back which I happily accepted.  We laughed, chatted, and swapped stories the whole way back, then shared some pizza and went out separate ways.  Always some good comraderie with my fellow dirtbags.

Not sure what is next.  A part of me doesn’t want to leave the Sierra yet.  Another part wants to see the Northwest.  Only a month and a half left…

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/SierraMammothToYosemite

Sierras – North Lake to South Lake Loop

So back into the High Sierra.  I put together a 57-mile loop that would get me deep into the Sierra and also let me hike a 25 mile stretch of the John Muir Trail.  I planned to do it in five days.  On the previous trip over Mono Pass I had started with a pack weight of 40 lbs.  The heavy pack gave me a lot of trouble and I suffered through 8-10 mile days.  So this trip I decided to cut the weight down.  Water tablets instead of filter.  Cut a pocket and zipper off the camera case.  Shortened some straps on the pack that were too long.  Even left behind the top pouch of my pack.  Still took a few luxuries like a book and my comfortable sleeping pad, but managed to get my starting pack weight down to 28 lbs.  What a difference your pack weight makes!

Day 1 – North Lake to junction of Paiute Canyon and JMT – 17.5 miles, 2100′

The day started with a 2100′ climb up to Paiute Pass with the standard views of towering granite mountains and alpine lakes.  I have discovered that hiking in the Sierras is rather dangerous.  You spend so much time looking around you that end up tripping on stuff on the trail.  The non-stop view continued as I descended into Paiute Canyon.  The plan was to spend the first night at Hutchinson Meadows, 12 miles in.  However, it was smooth cruising so I continuted on to the JMT junction to round out the day at 17.5 miles.  Like I said, pack weight makes a difference.

Day 2 – JMT junction to Evolution Lake – 12 miles, 2500′

This day would be spent climbing up Evolution Valley toward Muir Pass.  I met quite a few PCTers (thru hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail) throughout the day.  As I got closer to Muir Pass, people started saying “Are you ready for some snow?”  As it turns out there is still a lot of snow up in Muir Pass.  Being that the days are warm, the snow starts to soften and soon you start postholing constantly.  I had been planning to hike up to where I was just a mile or two from Muir Pass, but several people said I should stop at Evolution Lake (before the snow starts) and tackle the pass early in the morning when snow condition would be better.  So I took their advice and set up camp at Evolution Lake.  A beautiful place to spend the night.  Despite being at 10,800′ the lake had quite a few native trout making me wish I had a fishing pole.  I was treated to a nice sunset which was followed by that delightful time of the evening after the sun sets but before it gets dark.  I sat by the lake in the growing darkness, enjoying the silence and watching the trout catch flies.

Day 3 – Evolution Lake to Dusy Basin – 18 miles, 3200′

Woke up with the sun (about 5:45 AM).  A cool breeze was blowing off the lake which encouraged me to pack quickly and start moving.  I was on the trail by 6:20, hoping to cross Muir Pass and clear the snowfields before the snow got too soft.  It was six miles from Evolution Lake to Muir Pass.  As I climbed further up into Evolution Basin the wind died down and I found myself alone amidst a silence broken only by the occasional flowing water and the sound of my footsteps.  For several miles I trudged across the sun-cupped snow enjoying the quiet solitude.  I reached Wanda Lake, a large lake just a little ways below the pass.  The lake was still frozen over and snowcovered.  While walking along the edge of the lake I stopped at one point where there was a just a thin, clear area of ice where I could see bluish water turn to a deep emerald color as the lake got deeper and the bottom disappeared.  A strange feeling struck me…it was as if I was looking through a window into another world, like looking through the door of the wardrobe.  A silent, mysterious world, a world of infinte oneness, frozen in time, if time can even exist in such a place.  In any other place it would have been bizarre but it seemed perfectly at home in the silence of that mountainous landscape.  After looking into the window for a few minutes, I continued my lonesome way up to the pass.  I finally ran into the first person of the day at the top of Muir Pass.  After chatting for a few minutes I continued down the other side of the pass.  Another two miles of snow travel amidst frozen lakes brought me down to the upper end of LeConte canyon.  The snow was just starting to soften as I cleared the last snowfield, postholing several times in the last 20 yards.  It was well worth the early wakeup.  After a short break I continued down LeConte Canyon, an impressive canyon with steep sides climbing up to sharp granite peaks.  Finally I reached the junction with the Bishop Pass trail and decided to end the day with a 3 mile, 2000′ climb up into Dusy Basin.  The extra push would allow me to finish the loop in only 4 days instead of 5.  It was well worth it as Dusy Basin in a beautiful place to spend an evening.

Day 4 – Dusy Basin to South Lake – 9 miles, 1200′

Slept in a little bit and then started the climb up to Bishop Pass.  Because of some nearby forest fires, views were much more limited by a heavy haze.  Still plenty of good views of the nearby peaks though.  From Bishop Pass it was 6 miles of pounding downhill past mosquito infested lakes to the South Lake trailhead.  Oh yeah, I ended at a different trailhead than where I had parked my car, so I had to hitch a ride back to the start point.  Fortunately the first people I asked were glad to give me a lift.  I’m now relaxing in Bishop and trying to figure out what is next.  I suspect there is a pizza in the near future…

oh yeah, I took a lot of pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/SierraNorthLakeToSouthLakeLoop

Missing Hiker!

This week, a ranger for Sierra National Forest came across an abandoned pack deep in the Sierra Nevada mountains.  The hiker is assumed to be missing at this point.  According to the Ranger the pack “looked like it has been ferociously attacked and torn open.”  Most of the food remained in the pack except for a bag of Peanut M&Ms which had been ripped open and all the M&Ms were gone.  The Forest Service has released the following photo, saying that it was the last photo taken by the missing hiker.

It seems the Stevie Bear has struck again.