Week 16: Muir Pass to Red's Meadow

 Day 108 ( July 17 ): To Muir Pass

I woke up at 4 AM and was on trail at 5:20.

As I  hiked up towards Muir Pass, I passed the "Gang of 3", formerly the Gang of 4 ( the woman that was with them left at Independence). About 2 miles up the trail, I found Sarah and Sven camped on the side of the trail.  I was very surprised, because I was sure they made it over the pass yesterday.  It turns out, they had a late start and got caught in the heavy rain. Their tentsite flooded to the point their tents became waterbeds. Good thing their tents have built in floors ( aka bathtubs). It took Sarah an hour to clean and pack her gear.

Sarah and I started hiking at 8:40.

On our way up the pass, we passed ( and photographed) Helen Lake,

named for Helen Muir ( a daughter of John Muir ). The streams by the lake were flowing high, which made the crossings tricky.

We made it to the top of Muir Pass ( mile 838.6 ) a bit after Noon. We rested, ate lunch and took photos.  There is a shelter at the top, but it isn't waterproof. 

John Muir hut at the top of Muir Pass

Several people took shelter in it during the rain, but it "rained" inside the shelter.  

The ceiling of John Muir Hut

At 12:22 we started hiking, heading down the pass. On our way, we passed Wanda Lake ( named for another daughter of John Muir )

Wanda Lake

and Evolution Lake. I  was worried about the gathering dark clouds, but we decided to press on. 

Evolution Lake 

Sarah and Sven were thinking of going to Muir Trail Ranch to raid the Hiker Box(es). We reached camp at 6:15. I made the mistake of not testing all the corners when testing a tentsite.  As a result, I was only able to set 3 stakes ( I normally use 8 ). I used rocks to hold the rest of the tent. It worked OK in the light wind.

Day 109: Raiding Muir Trail Ranch

I woke up early ( I couldn't sleep), and woke up Sarah at 4 AM. We were on trail at 5:30.

We decided to ford Evolution Creek rather than further impact the meadow by taking the alternate route through the meadow.

We changed into sandals,  but I forgot to roll up my pants, so I had to hike with wet legs. 

I took several photos of the creek

and a few of a horse train coming from Muir Trail Ranch. 

We reached the Trail Ranch at 12:15 and spent the next several hours recharging our electronics and raiding the hiker buckets.

Hikers intending to hike to Muir Trail Ranch on the John Muir Trail mail 5 gallon  buckets of food and other supplies that they pick up at the Ranch for use on the trail. Most of the time, they have to much food in the bucket, so they end up leaving some behind.

When we arrived,  there were 3 "Hiker Buckets" at the Ranch. When we left there were 13. 

As I rested, Sarah visited the nearby Hot Springs. I managed to fit everything I got into my Bear Cannister,  but Sarah picked up  to much. She left at 4PM, hoping to hike 5 miles. I left at 4:42 and managed to catch up to her in about an hour because her pack is to heavy.  My packed weighed 44 pounds with all the food and 2 Liters of water. We stopped at mile 862.5 at 7:45.

Day 110: I'm A BAD BOY !!!

I was supposed to wake Sarah at 4 AM, so we could get to Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR in hiker slang ) but I slept until 5.

We packed up and started hiking as fast as we could.  We reached the top of Seldon Pass at 9:30.

So far Seldon is my favorite. It has a smooth, easy trailwith a gentlegrade on both sides, good views, and ( unique to Seldon Pass ) shade at the top.

We were hoping to make it to VVR, but I  made another mistake and forgot to pay attention to the water sources. As a result, I  had to hike a half mile to get water for us. As a result, it was 5 PM before we reached the trail to VVR. Sarah called and texted VVR, but got no answer, so we decided to camp at the Junction. 

At 6:30 a non-profit group with 10 kids hiked by. They stopped and asked all sorts of questions about through hiking.  I wish I took some photos.  Sarah is a little disappointed, but considering the late start and early stop, we did pretty good.

Day 111: It's been a long hard day 

We left camp at 6 AM. At 8, Sarah asked to hike solo for a while.  I let her hike ahead and dallied behind her, taking photos and talking to SoBos.

I caught up to her a Mono Creek and we started hiking together.  At mile 881.7, we met an Americore Crew working on moving some rocks to make it easier for horses to pass the waterfall.

Unfortunately, this means hikers are almost guaranteed to get wet feet, because there are no stones to "rock hop" across the water. 

A while later, Sarah and I stopped for lunch.  As we rested,  we were joined by James, who Sarah had met earlier.  While we chatted, a pack train loaded with tools and a group of Americore workers passed us.

James said that he saw one of the horses fall earlier. 

We resumed hiking, and topped Silver Pass at 4.

We rested a bit before hiking up to "High Point" ( or Gold Pass as I call it, after all Gold is higher than Silver). This is the only place I know where you hike up to a pass ( which is normally the route over or through mountains ) and then have to hike even higher to get over a mountain). We took photos from High Point and hiked on.

Sarah wanted to reach Virginia Lake because it had water, but not a lot of mosquitoes.  I thought we should camp while it was still light, but I followed her like the nice guy ( fool ? ) that I am.

We reached the first campsite at Virginia Lake at dusk, but the campsite was full. So we hiked on, only stopping for water. 

Sarah thought this tree looked 
like a monster in the dark.

We finally reached camp at 9:15.

We weren't the only ones out after dark.. 

I told Sarah two things:

1.) Don't do that again!! Always get to camp 1 hour before sunset.

2.) I am taking a Zero at Red's Meadow the day after tomorrow. 

I just discovered the shoes I bought in Bishop on the 23th are starting to fall apart.

Day 112: Purple and Red

We slept in ( well Sarah did ). I went to the lake and took several photos. We finally left camp at 9:30. 

At 11:30, we reached Purple Lake outlet ( the lake doesn't look Purple to me )

at mile 893.5, where we stopped for lunch and to rest our feet. We were joined by James. As we were resting, a group of horse riders arrived from the west on the other side of the creek.

Two of the riders decided to "take care of business" without checking to see if anyone ( like Sarah and I ) was on the other side of the the creek. OOPS !!! The leader of the pack train gave Sarah and I snacks for the embarrassment.

We were hoping to reach Red's Meadow by sunset, but we opted for Red Cones Tent Site at mile 903.9. Yes, we crossed the ( unmarked ) 900 mile mark without stopping. Red Cones is in an area that has a lot of volcanic rock,

which gives it a distinct red color.

I found out Karen shipped my pack yesterday.  Her email was messed up for a few days. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow or Saturday. 

Day 113: To Red's Meadow 

We didn't start hiking until 8 and took our time hiking to Red's Meadow. 

We arrived at 9:45 and spent the day having meals, showering, doing laundry and recharging our electronics. 

You are here. The distance to
where you want to go is....

I was doing internet through a wi fi signal from James' cell phone because I thought I didn't have a signal. I found out that the pack was shipped FedEx and the Post Office won't accept packages from FedEx. My only hope is to see if Kennedy Meadows North will accept it. Sarah and James left at 4:30. I camped south of the trail Junction 0.25 miles south of Red's Meadow. It turns out I have 4 bars of signal. 

Day 114: Zero in Red's Meadow 

I spent the day updating my blog, trying to figure out what to do with my pack and trying to get some help with my shoes.

I phoned four stores in Mammoth Lakes and was told that there was nothing they could do. Finally,  I called Sage to Summit in Bishop, where I had purchased the shoes. Elliott told me to email him photos of the shoes. When I did, he gave me a refund. Now THAT'S customer service !!!

I called Kennedy Meadows Resort and spoke with a woman who said that FedEx doesn't go there often, but they do accept FedEx packages. I then called the company that shipped the package and told them to change the delivery address. 

I then ordered a new Sun hoodie from REI and had it shipped to Kennedy Meadows Resort.