Day 17 on the John Muir Trail… We awoke just before sunrise, with frozen beads of condensation clinging to outside of our tent. It was chilly. Boil water! Make coffee! Stat! Most of this trip, we were spending all day in shorts and short sleeves. I put on my knit cap at night to keep […]
Muir Monday: Going Out is Really Going In
I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” – John Muir Three years ago today was our 17th day on the John Muir Trail. Joan and I were hiking over Pinchot Pass and towards Woods Creek — famous for […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: The Golden Staircase and Mather Pass to Kings River
Day 16 on the John Muir Trail… Today we climb the Golden Staircase, past the Palisade Lakes and up over Mather Pass (12,100ft). We will climb 4,682 feet and descend 2,486 feet, logging 12.6 miles in the process. In other words, this will be a big day in every respect. We started up the valley paralleling Palisade […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Le Conte Canyon to Palisade Creek
Day 15 on the John Muir Trail… It gets cold at high elevations. We were camped just below Muir Pass, and well above 11,000 feet. We lingered in the warmth of our tent, emerging when sunlight illuminated the tops of the peaks to our west. Our campsite was entirely exposed, and yet completely private. We […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Over Muir Pass to Helen Lake
Day 14 on the John Muir Trail… This morning we warmed ourselves by a campfire as our new friend Brian defrosted his pants, still wet from his creek crossing yesterday. Today we would hike over Muir Pass (11,955′) — our highest pass to date and home to the iconic stone Muir Hut. Our distance was […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Muir Trail Ranch to McClure Meadow
Day 13 on the John Muir Trail… We slept not too far away from Muir Trail Ranch, with the headwaters of the San Joaquin providing our soundtrack for the night. Fortunately, our bear bag was unmolested. We broke camp and hiked about a quarter mile back to MTR to enjoy the promised breakfast (it was […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Rosemarie Meadow to Muir Trail Ranch
Day 12 on the John Muir Trail… Today was a relatively easy day. We started just below 10,000 feet, so our climb up Seldon Pass (10,900′) wasn’t too difficult. From here, we headed down, down, down to Muir Trail Ranch for our final resupply. Yes, you read correctly. Muir Trail Ranch would be our final resupply […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Mono Creek to Rosemarie Meadow
Day 11 on the John Muir Trail… With our packs on our backs, our bear canisters filled and our bodies rested from our zero day, we settled up at VVR and took the ferry back to the east end of Lake Edison. From the ferry landing on the northeast shore, we hike about 2 miles […]
