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 well worth it).
Cumulative Distance: 123.9 miles
Total Ascent: 4,036 ft
Cumulative Ascent: 33,471 ft
Harrison Map Sheets 7 and 6
Jeffrey and Hari took the purist approach, retracing our steps up the valley to the junction we left the JMT at yesterday. Joan and I opted for the easier trail along the valley bottom. Both trails met up at the 1.6 mile mark.
A bit further beyond that was the John Muir Trail Cabin. This wasn’t a cabin that Muir himself ever stayed in, but it was built in his honor.
Today we would hike into Kings Canyon National Park. This park easily rivals Yosemite in beauty, but is much more wild and unspoiled. We bid farewell to the John Muir Wilderness, and crossed this bridge into Kings Canyon.
The JMT follows along the South Fork of the San Joaquin River for over six miles, and the canyon becomes narrow, steep and rugged.
The trail winds through the canyon, climbing ever higher and crossing the fast-moving water on two more bridges. These bridges are amazing feats of engineering, especially given their remote location. And we were thankful they were there. The water ran high and fast, and I can’t imagine crossing any other way.
At mile 6.6, we crossed the third bridge for the day, and began the super steep switchbacks climbing up beside Evolution Creek. At the crest, you get a little breather and then, a boots-off creek crossing. This was thigh-high water, and while it doesn’t look treacherous, it is flowing fast and has a strong pull.
On the other side of Evolution Creek, we decided to stop for dinner. We fired up the stove and enjoyed some warm food, then cleaned up and hiked on to McClure Meadow.
One of the questions thru-hikers grapple with is where to cook and eat. Because the John Muir Trail runs through bear country, it is recommended that you don’t cook or eat where you sleep, as the scents from the food will attract bears.
Some thru-hikers take this very seriously, stopping to cook and eat, then cleaning up, packing up and hiking the final one or two miles to camp, as we did tonight.
For us, we would typically cook, eat and clean well away from our sleeping area, but within eye’s view. We found it easier than stopping and starting again.
Jeffrey, Joan and I finished the final 2-1/2 miles and rolled into camp right at sundown. Hari had already set up camp with another JMT thru-hiker named Brian. We warmed up around a campfire sipping hot chocolate and sharing our tales from the trail.
Trail Map: Muir Trail Ranch to McClure Meadow
JMT Day 13 Photo Gallery
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Tomorrow, we head over Muir Pass!
Originally hiked on August 8, 2010.
Hey Jeff – my name is Ray Murray. I plan on hiking the JMT in August 2014. It is my retirement gift to me. I was wondering if there is a good place to solicit a hiking partner for the JMT. I am prepared to hike it solo – but I find I have a hard time entertaining myself 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Ray! Glad to hear you’ll be tackling the JMT this year — what a great way to celebrate your retirement!
As for finding a hiking partner, the best advice I would give is to let it be known that you’re hiking and looking for a hiking partner. That’s the approach I took back in 2009 when I was planning for my 2010 trip, and it worked.
One of the people I met through a Meetup group (hiking) and two others “found” me through SoCalHiker.net.
I would also highly recommend joining the JMT Group on Yahoo and posting there as well: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/johnmuirtrail/info
Good luck!
1987 A friend, a grandson, and I hiked in from Florence Lake to bring supplies to some friends who were trying to do the JMT. Camped at the head if the lake where we experience an earthquake from Mammoth. It sounded like train was passing. We spent the night with our friends and enjoyed the hot springs.
It was a short fun trip and I’m glad we did it.