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
