Day 6 on the John Muir Trail…
I woke up before sunrise to take  photos. Thousand Island Lake was still, reflecting Banner Peak like a mirror. The sun cast a brilliant yellow glow as it struck the mountains, and we welcomed the warm rays.
At 9,850 feet, Thousand Island Lake is just below the tree line. It got downright cold overnight, although we were comfortable in our sleeping bags and tent. “Tent-less” Hari awoke to a dust of frost on his pad and sleeping bag, but even he was warm inside. The hard part is getting up and out.
Cumulative Distance: 63.8 miles
Total Ascent: 2,619 ft
Cumulative Ascent: 17,389 ft
Harrison Map Sheets 11 & 10
When you look at the elevation profile, it looks like it’s “mostly” downhill. Beware! Elevation profiles can be deceiving. The scale of the profile might lead you to think that there’s a few little hills, but a largely downhill hike. While there is more down than up on this segment, those “little hills” amounted to nearly 2000 feet of elevation gain. At over 13 miles, this was also one of our longest days so far.
So we struck out early and began the hiking the “roller coaster” trail that strings together the lakes named for precious gems: Emerald, Ruby and Garnet Lakes.
Emerald and Ruby Lakes are small, but stunning. The aquamarine waters run very deep, and we could see the trout swimming about.
Garnet Lake looks similar to Thousand Island Lake, and offers views of both Mt. Ritter and Banner Peak (left and right, respectively). I had summited Banner Peak 34 years earlier, and the area brings back fond memories.
Soon we descended towards Shadow Creek. The JMT follows the creek along a series of beautiful rapids and falls. A perfect spot for our lunch.
The creek empties into Shadow Lake, another beauty, but off-limits for camping due to over use.
The JMT skirts the west and southern edge of Shadow Lake, then heads up over another “little hill.” Finally we were on the descent to Red’s Meadow. This section was seemed longer than it was. Being at a lower elevation, the forest was thicker and shaded us from the afternoon sun. But the trail never seemed to end.
Finally we heard the roar of Minaret Falls. We were on the last steep descent to the valley and Red’s Meadow.
When we reached the junction with the trail to Devil’s Postpile, we strayed from the JMT. The Devil’s Postpile is a National Landmark and one of the finest examples of columnar basalt in the world.
The hexagonal columns rise over sixty feet up. Take time to take the trail to the top, where the tops of the columns have been sheared smooth by glaciers many years ago. The result looks a lot like a tile floor.
Jeffrey, Joan and I finally located the Red’s Meadow campground. Hari arrived ahead of us, and after determining that all the campsites were already taken, struck up a friendship with Chris Ryerson, who shared his site with us. We paid the campsite fee, setup camp, and headed to the Red’s Meadow Bath House.
The Red’s Meadow Bath House is free to use (expect a line). The water is fed from natural hot springs. The “baths” are a little “rustic” and there are no controls on the heat, but it was HOT! It felt really good to wash away the dust and grime. Even though some of us had gone for a dip in a nearby lake, this was the cleanest we felt in a week. We were refreshed and recharged, and thankfully done with hiking for the day. UPDATE: Sadly, the Bath House is closed. You can hike over to Reds Meadow Resort and get a shower for $7, but the free, hot spring fed bath house pictured below is closed. Hopefully they’ll reopen it someday.
Thousand Island Lake to Red’s Meadow
John Muir Trail Day Six Photo Gallery
Click on any photo to view a larger version. You can also leave comments on any photo.
Got a question about the JMT? Something you’d like more info on? Post a question in the JMT forum!
Tomorrow morning, we would pick-up our resupply package and have breakfast at the cafe before hitting the JMT and continuing our journey south to Deer Creek.Â
Originally hiked on August 1, 2010.
That looks sooooooo beautiful! I am jealous right now!!
Thanks, Anne. It is absolutely beautiful. That’s why I’ve hiked the JMT twice… and I’ll hike it again!
Jeff, great job with this “revamped” JMT report and your site in general. I first ran across your site when the idea of hiking the JMT started hatching in my mind about three years ago. As it was getting less of an armchair dream and more of actual planning, your site was one of the sources of a very good and detailed info about the hike. I also want to thank you for some emails we exchanged a year ago, pretty much days before my hike. I’m reading your “3rd Anniversary Report” with a great deal of interest as it brings great memories from the hike I did last August with my two friends from Poland. Due to some mishap (lost passport in Yosemite) we didn’t complete the entire trail but in 2 wks we got to MTR and back to VVR – some 145 miles and UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES. I pretty much know that I WILL be back to finish it!
Thanks Wacek! As I said in my intro post to the series, this has been in the works for a long time. It’s been a joy to relive the trail — three years to the day, on the day.
Glad to hear the site was helpful for your own JMT trip. Definitely go back and finish. I’m already planning my NEXT trip on the JMT.
Really enjoying your JMT blog. How are you transmitting from the more remote parts of the trail?
Marla, I’m not in the mountains right now. My JMT thru-hike was in 2010 (and the first one in 1980). These posts are going live exactly three years to the day that they happened — a sort of anniversary series. Why three years later? I’ve been busy. 🙂
I tried to post “live” from the JMT but it really doesn’t work well. There are very few places where you can get to the Internet. Doing it from home after the fact lets me add a lot more detail than I could ever do from the trail.
Thanks for the feedback, and I hope you stay with the series to the end!
Thanks, Jeff! I’ll keep reading for sure.
Great write-up. I’m sorry I missed a Red’s Meadow stop. I’ll definitely plan to make a stop there when I take my wife!
What time of year? Very important. Also, what year? I may have missed this info, but did look for it. Big water year, drought year?
Hi, Jeff! I just hiked HI to (almost) Mather Pass. Many people on the trail said your blog had been especially helpful to them in preparing and conditioning. Red’s Meadow bathhouse has been closed down. You can hike over to Red’s Meadow for a shower ($7) and to do laundry ($2.50) but sadly – no more hot springs.
@tomandvivianblogom — This trip was in 2010 — a good year for snow/water but not the mega year that 2011 was (200% normal!). The date of this specific segment was August 1, 2010 (it took me a while to post these). 🙂
@Sharon – Thanks for the update! I have added a note that the Bath House is (sadly) closed but that you can get a shower at the resort. Hopefully they’ll reopen it someday.
Is there a place to camp just beyond Red’s Meadow?
I like the helpful info you supply to your articles.
I’ll bookmark your blog and take a look at once more here frequently.
I’m somewhat sure I will be informed many new stuff proper right here!
Good luck for the following!