tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43978165177677550152024-03-13T21:25:19.413-07:00John Muir Trail 2014A mom and her two young daughters backpack the John Muir Trail for Feeding America.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-24376706717415870792014-12-31T10:51:00.000-08:002014-12-31T10:51:11.633-08:00Final Note<div>
Random post-JMT thoughts --</div>
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I've now done two "short" thru-hikes (the Camino de Santiago and the JMT). I hike all the time at home and usually summit a mountain or two every week, but thru-hiking is different from day hiking. When I day hike, I enjoy the woods/vista/mountain, but I look forward to getting back to the house in the evening for a shower and a good meal. When I thru-hike, I live moment to moment. Since I know I will not be going home for that shower and meal, I concentrate more on the environment I am in, the people I meet along the way, and my innermost thoughts. It's a long-term meditation.<div>
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I now feel like I belong outside most of the time, and that, if I did not have two children, I would be content living in a tiny shack with just the bare necessities of life. Don't get me wrong -- I love this chapter of my life, and it is my privilege and honor to share these years with Alex and Sage. My daughters are my purpose right now, as they should be....when they go to college, however, I will be prepared to let them go so they can live their lives. My purpose will appropriately change -- with every passing month, I feel my empty nest years will be spent hiking long-distance trails as long as my legs will keep moving.</div>
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From 2008 until now, and, hopefully, for at least a few more years, I have been/am so fortunate in having two of the best hiking companions anyone could ever ask for. Alex and Sage are cheerful, sweet, and strong. They are good company. I can never assume they will want to hike throughout their childhoods -- it certainly looks that way right now, but teenage-hood is fast approaching and who knows where their independent spirits will take them. I hope they will want to continue to join me every year (and every week, at home) in the mountains and on outdoor adventures. I will treasure every day I have with them out there. If and when they decide they want to hang up their hiking boots, then I will respect that decision. As of right now, they want to do all the <a href="http://www.trishalexsage.com/p/the-terrifying-twenty-five.html"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Terrifying 25</span></b></a> trails with me next summer, they want to ascend Idaho's Borah Peak, and they'd like to do another thru-hike if we can fit it into our 2015 schedule. So I know I at least have one more year with them out there. :)</div>
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As for JMT-specific advice -- I feel I addressed most everything I could offer in terms of my own experience in the blog and in the gear review section. If anyone has any questions that aren't answered in my previous posts, then please feel free to email me at patriciaellisherr@hotmail.com. I am no expert, of course. However, if my experience thru-hiking this trail during the month of August in 2014 can be of use to anyone, then I'm happy to answer whatever questions I can. Of course, what worked for me may or may not work for you. HYOH.</div>
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Peace. I don't yet know for sure which trail we will thru-hike next. I'll post a note on <a href="http://www.trishalexsage.com/"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">my main blog</span></b></a> when I have that information.</div>
Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-24438449560766009012014-12-30T09:56:00.005-08:002014-12-30T09:56:36.100-08:00Gear List/ReviewThe gear list/review is complete!<br />
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<a href="http://girlsonthewayjmt.blogspot.com/p/jmt-gear.html"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Click here</span></b></a> (or the tab above).Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-27260671909003138342014-12-19T17:55:00.000-08:002015-01-19T12:17:20.562-08:00JMT Hiking Day #17: Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal. August 27, 2014**Around 15.5 miles with about 3400 feet of elevation gain and about 6100 feet of elevation loss.<br />
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Our final day!<br />
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I was up at 3am. Looking out my tent flap, I could see multiple headlamps moving along the path through the darkness. I roused the girls and we quietly broke camp; not everyone was waking early so we did our best to not disturb the sleep of those who were not aiming for a sunrise ascent.<br />
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The early morning was nowhere near as cold as I'd anticipated. We loaded our packs, filled the water bottles, and headed up the mountain in relative comfort. Sage led the way. A string of headlamps could be seen all the way up the mountain. We tried to take photos of the hikers before us, but none of the images came out.<br />
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This is Sage in the dark...<br />
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I enjoyed ascending the switchbacks before dawn. The lack of light made the climb feel easy since we couldn't see very far in front of us; there were no psychological issues about how much farther we had to go.<br />
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Slowly, dawn arrived as we neared the intersection with Trail Crest.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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Looking back toward Guitar Lake...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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The sun had risen by the time we reached Trail Crest, but that was okay. We were still glad we had begun hiking so early...it didn't matter that we hadn't seen the sunrise from Whitney's summit. <br />
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We reached the intersection with Trail Crest and dropped our packs (in the photo below, you can see the temporarily discarded packs of other hikers).<br />
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We felt light as feathers as we walked the final 1.9 miles of the JMT toward Whitney's summit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizN1eW_N5LO5REdZnqIiWbPeDmLdZ8yfI4gicDaSAmneg8e0pzDAjq7m1hKpNuKitdARz2jwj2WxARTlqHiaHg4dfRUpTt4-7M_ddCx2P3YPsAsj5ep3VpuzvzvrP29dYRPlkQHJZIxXsD/s1600/IMG_2592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizN1eW_N5LO5REdZnqIiWbPeDmLdZ8yfI4gicDaSAmneg8e0pzDAjq7m1hKpNuKitdARz2jwj2WxARTlqHiaHg4dfRUpTt4-7M_ddCx2P3YPsAsj5ep3VpuzvzvrP29dYRPlkQHJZIxXsD/s1600/IMG_2592.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View through one of the "keyholes"</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgub6ntti3O34YF2abnFLQYYZqYbG5aYWFfANcmsrN9-W4fHuqbD1VwJo-QB3hrezHECf65y4McnIBg0__8AmppfCSh3Nd9k83GfZtVf3At-JJ9ividMkkJQX0OA08keE2CuZrW6Mo9Cbwh/s1600/DSC02042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgub6ntti3O34YF2abnFLQYYZqYbG5aYWFfANcmsrN9-W4fHuqbD1VwJo-QB3hrezHECf65y4McnIBg0__8AmppfCSh3Nd9k83GfZtVf3At-JJ9ividMkkJQX0OA08keE2CuZrW6Mo9Cbwh/s1600/DSC02042.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sage Herr</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzq3f3u1iM30BFSnS7_oaA4hgL3a395LhB0lEj2PuZgWL_qLFvnQxRjz26vBXVjzq2jadCy5in0iH8RY9tvVmzf7eqSM0_BqY9hkS8TfsteKEuByUROYWQ8dOlNTLe3d39vYvDCCsTzJvz/s1600/IMG_2593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzq3f3u1iM30BFSnS7_oaA4hgL3a395LhB0lEj2PuZgWL_qLFvnQxRjz26vBXVjzq2jadCy5in0iH8RY9tvVmzf7eqSM0_BqY9hkS8TfsteKEuByUROYWQ8dOlNTLe3d39vYvDCCsTzJvz/s1600/IMG_2593.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The summit is straight ahead and to the right...<br />
you can kind of see the summit building up there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ECSFA9T6Rh5X0_TEKSrsQszreO5hRT4AcvZzN0gSD4RDWmbXshl1g32W8Vne_WFUJFfxiBV4IgmE-G_sUykH2Sg7DjUirrVlnGBqtg3RxH7gdLFSEgU5AuQ1AC7_NdoJyAE2iypT5jTm/s1600/DSC02450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ECSFA9T6Rh5X0_TEKSrsQszreO5hRT4AcvZzN0gSD4RDWmbXshl1g32W8Vne_WFUJFfxiBV4IgmE-G_sUykH2Sg7DjUirrVlnGBqtg3RxH7gdLFSEgU5AuQ1AC7_NdoJyAE2iypT5jTm/s1600/DSC02450.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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Liz and Mike crossed paths with us -- they had been first to reach the summit that morning and they had enjoyed the sunrise up there. They warned us about the temps -- cold -- and wished us farewell and good fortune. It was nice to see them. Jim and Bryan soon followed -- they too had woken up before us and had already reached the summit. They also warned us about the freezing summit temperatures.<br />
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A few more hikers passed on the way down, each warning about the frigid temps. We never felt that cold up top, however -- I think the extremely early risers had gotten the worst of the cold because they had reached the top immediately after the sun had risen. By the time we arrived up there, the sun had been out for a while and had warmed the rocks and air a bit.<br />
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Approaching the summit, with the hut right before us...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMQ3-erh2h2pSzY4kuRK7Anh26K0_PXRlIAt9BnkD4FPW86Fov6Ob01pjN1gaZazVvO_kRCurw6GLKGYiZyHq7KiFhe4nJE-UGP4UCxIFIVw_-bYdvxmVDQprX4Z7d8nSyOLefJQAxdn5/s1600/IMG_2597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMQ3-erh2h2pSzY4kuRK7Anh26K0_PXRlIAt9BnkD4FPW86Fov6Ob01pjN1gaZazVvO_kRCurw6GLKGYiZyHq7KiFhe4nJE-UGP4UCxIFIVw_-bYdvxmVDQprX4Z7d8nSyOLefJQAxdn5/s1600/IMG_2597.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The (sideways) summit register</td></tr>
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Summit! Our 44th state highpoint -- and the official end of the John Muir Trail! We were technically finished!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0_ZHNC7fD8wfQg9YBVJvpM1VauSgLQMAXreoTPyUr1eUF4RLykv-3htFJ9vd5o0uWhanW7QkEMX7m5Up3nmmjFSHa88zROVG7tneXqItapBGHcZPhy2IDDJJkhJ1mUbF-cgal5vTaY9p/s1600/DSC02045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0_ZHNC7fD8wfQg9YBVJvpM1VauSgLQMAXreoTPyUr1eUF4RLykv-3htFJ9vd5o0uWhanW7QkEMX7m5Up3nmmjFSHa88zROVG7tneXqItapBGHcZPhy2IDDJJkhJ1mUbF-cgal5vTaY9p/s1600/DSC02045.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sage Herr</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiMQDQzpsRMonS9eU1cQSv-vk8fHkYkAQgO3oF0GI6LljowR00tyPffCk5HDj9TbvCTA478H4B5CEPh0MvfsbJudNbcVYu7e8_Y_VPLHnah6_Ku4zW_UzyV0GJUCUj1_7zQliHOxEq3mL/s1600/DSC02453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiMQDQzpsRMonS9eU1cQSv-vk8fHkYkAQgO3oF0GI6LljowR00tyPffCk5HDj9TbvCTA478H4B5CEPh0MvfsbJudNbcVYu7e8_Y_VPLHnah6_Ku4zW_UzyV0GJUCUj1_7zQliHOxEq3mL/s1600/DSC02453.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyaBRLvGIUjvv7PAwci_WXSa1bedqPy_nP31cV3KGM_dnfPbtbP_2o_arx3iXq_lNWnje2GCcvDNJh3vquVkQTY0bvNvwD-Poq4i4Ha8kUF4vkKREH75asK1Lt50WCHseOVNXXqP6cQq8/s1600/DSC02046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyaBRLvGIUjvv7PAwci_WXSa1bedqPy_nP31cV3KGM_dnfPbtbP_2o_arx3iXq_lNWnje2GCcvDNJh3vquVkQTY0bvNvwD-Poq4i4Ha8kUF4vkKREH75asK1Lt50WCHseOVNXXqP6cQq8/s1600/DSC02046.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sage Herr</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We took an hour or so to enjoy and explore the summit and the summit hut.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWsmpg7ptE8Erj7Yuucvsvylc1LJOSl38oHuzoJz4pl4_BscVLKv1ou4Qa5PltaxKotbpQJ4BzXq5vGNrBxEkkHNE-nB-rn3SQSL45teCmlr8FjkPsSoegMTzn5BjLK9sQ30kitLROAjy/s1600/DSC02467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWsmpg7ptE8Erj7Yuucvsvylc1LJOSl38oHuzoJz4pl4_BscVLKv1ou4Qa5PltaxKotbpQJ4BzXq5vGNrBxEkkHNE-nB-rn3SQSL45teCmlr8FjkPsSoegMTzn5BjLK9sQ30kitLROAjy/s1600/DSC02467.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex notices how much JMT trail is embedded in her skin...<br />
we were all fairly filthy at this point.</td></tr>
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Views from the top of the Lower 48...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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We eventually decided to head down. Though we were finished the JMT, we still had to get off the mountain. Eleven miles stood between us and hot food (and milkshakes). Down we went. When we stopped to retrieve our backpacks, we saw Stewart, the fellow we had seen off and on for the past five days. We had caught up with him and gotten past him every day, no matter how much earlier he had begun the day's hiking. He therefore proclaimed that the girls should be dubbed "Freeway" (Sage) and "Lex Express" (Alex) for their speed and endurance. So there you have it -- the girls finally have trailnames.<br />
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Down down down we went, toward Whitney Portal.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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The famous "100 switchbacks" were not a big deal...at least, not to us, going down. I can see how they would feel absolutely awful to a day hiker who wasn't used to the altitude, though. Here we are, at the top of the switchbacks, with the lake at Trail Camp down below.<br />
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One of the more unique switchbacks, near the bottom of the set....<br />
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Once down the switchbacks, we walked past Trail Camp and down into the woods...<br />
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The descent felt like it took forever. The closer we got to the bottom, the more each of us very much wanted to be done. We knew there was a cafe down there, and a nearby town with hostels, so once we got close to the bottom, out of the Whitney Zone and a few miles from Whitney Portal, the hike became psychologically DIFFICULT. The path just went on and on and on...and the worst part was that we could tell where we had to go but we couldn't go directly there. We had to hike back and forth across a gazillion long switchbacks. Sage in particular was unhappy with the switchback situation. She's a mellow kid who almost never complains about anything, but we are used to NH hiking, which almost always means hiking straight up and down mountains, She likes her hiking to be direct, not meandering all over the side of a slope when all you really want to do is hike straight toward the goal. I assured her that I was as frustrated as she was, and we encouraged each other by talking about how much food we were soon going to eat at the cafe.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We can see the road!</td></tr>
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Those last switchbacks did eventually end, and we found ourselves at the trailhead by the parking lot.<br />
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Woo-hoo! We'd hiked from Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal in 23 days (17 hiking days plus 6 rest days). I dumped our wag bags in the specified dumpsters (right by the trailhead) and we walked toward the glorious cafe.<br />
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Jim and Bryan were at the cafe, and they led other hikers in a round of applause when we arrived. That was very kind of them.<br />
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The cafe had burgers (yum!), milk, and Sprite (and other drinks)...but alas, no milkshakes..those would have to wait. No worries, though. We ate cheeseburgers and I downed a bottle of milk -- I craved calcium! We couldn't completely finish the burgers -- they were delicious, but our stomachs had shrunk...we became full very quickly.<br />
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The kind owner of the cafe gave me the name of Whitney Hostel in nearby Lone Pine. We had finished our hike a full day early, so I had no reservations for the evening. Luckily, the hostel had space. We finished our food, hitched a ride to Lone Pine (which is what everyone else does), and arrived at Lone Pine in the late afternoon.<br />
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We booked a private room (there's a traditional hostel area if you want to pay less and share) and took a good look at ourselves in the mirror. None of us had looked in a mirror since Muir Trail Ranch, which had been nine days ago.<br />
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We were so dirty! I took photos to celebrate our lack of hygiene. Mind you, we'd been living and hiking in these same clothes, unwashed, for the past nine days.<br />
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Our packs had held up well (love Gossamer Gear!) --<br />
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Two showers later, I still had dirt embedded in my skin. I didn't mind.<br />
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The rest of the evening was spent doing laundry, eating pizza, finding and consuming milkshakes, and watching TV.<br />
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This had been a wonderful adventure. <br />
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I'll finish the gear review during the coming week, and I'll post a general summation of tips and JMT-specific advice soon after that.<br />
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I hope this journal continues to be helpful to those planning their own hikes.<br />
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--Trish<br />
<br />Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-53144549434979261682014-12-11T18:02:00.003-08:002015-01-19T12:18:23.604-08:00JMT Hiking Day #16: Forester Pass to Guitar Lake. Aug. 26, 2014***20 miles with around 2400 feet of total elevation gain (lots of ups and downs!).<br />
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Our next to last day! The girls and I were excited as we began the climb to Forester Pass. We had camped just a couple of miles down from the Pass itself, so we didn't have far to go.<br />
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It was a cool morning, but we had camped so high that the sun hit us quickly -- there were no steep valley walls blocking our light and warmth. We climbed climbed climbed; it didn't seem difficult. We were propelled by the excitement of being almost finished. <br />
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We reached Forester Pass around 10:15am. Here are the girls on the pass with a view northward.<br />
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Here they are facing the other direction, with the famous sign between them.<br />
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Two older fellows arrived ten minutes after we did. Their trailnames were M&M and Wiley. One of them took this photo for us (thanks, kind guy!).<br />
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One more photo of the girls...<br />
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The Beanie Boos shared our joy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sage Herr</td></tr>
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M&M and Wiley were doing a JMT section hike from Whitney to Reds Meadow Resort. They had a ton of food with them, and they offered us cheese. We scarfed it down...we hadn't had any cheese since Muir Trail Ranch, so this particular cheese tasted fabulous.<br />
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Lisa, the nice woman I spoke to by Charlotte Lake while waiting for our resupply, arrived and the six of us hung about for a long while and chatted. The day was gorgeous. While we shot the breeze, a man with a small backpack approached from the south and stopped to take a short break. His trailname was Handy Andy, and he had started hiking from Whitney Portal at midnight...he was in the process of trying to break the JMT speed record. It was 10:30 in the morning and this fellow had hiked all the way from Whitney Portal, 31 miles away, in ten and a half hours. He ate a bit and drank a bit, and then he was on his way. We wished him well. After I returned home, I discovered <b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://www.palantepacks.com/blog/pct#comments">he had indeed broken the unsupported speed record (the new one now stands at 3 days and 10 hours!)</a></span></b>.<br />
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We eventually got a move on. We didn't have nearly the distance ahead of us that Handy Andy did, but still...if we wanted to make Guitar Lake before nightfall, then we had to hoof it.<br />
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Down we went...<br />
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Love this sunbathing marmot...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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Down toward the junction to Lake South America...<br />
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I don't have any photos of the forested portions of the day. We went up and over Bighorn Plateau, and up and over a few bumps in between that and Crabtree Meadow. The photos below are either of the Plateau, or from one of the other bumps. Now that I'm home and the hike was three and a half months ago, I no longer remember exactly where the following four photos were taken.<br />
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At some point during the day, we took a break and traded our butter toffee almonds for salami. A kind couple, named Mike and Liz, were anxious to get rid of their excess meat and we were anxious to lose our excess nuts. It was a wonderful trade. The girls and I demolished the entire salami in about half an hour. We hadn't eaten any meat since Muir Trail Ranch. The meat went straight to our legs and made the rest of our long day easier.<br />
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Contrary to what the ranger at Yosemite had insisted, there were indeed wag bags at Crabtree Meadow. A huge box of them awaits, right next to the trail, as soon as you enter Whitney Zone.<br />
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Though we were excited, the last climb up toward Guitar Lake was a killer. It was late in the day, and I worried about finding a camping spot. We had only seen a handful of people that day, but I had heard Guitar Lake was always Tent City. When we arrived, I found the rumor to be true -- there were tents on every sandy spot, tents tucked up into natural walls formed by boulders, and tents on top of the boulders themselves. Luckily, there were still many, many spots left -- that area can hold quite a few people -- so we made our way to the top of a bunch of boulders and picked a relatively flat and clear surface. Previous hikers had built a few windbreaks out of smaller rocks up there, so I set up our tent next to one of those windbreaks and secured the guylines with large stones.<br />
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Mike and Liz found a spot not far from us...and we were pleased to see Jim and Bryan nearby. We had miraculously caught up with them.</div>
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After setting up camp, we ate, used our wag bags (not as difficult as one might expect), and tried to decide when we should break camp. Most people get up at 2am and try to make the summit by sunrise. We weren't sure we wanted to get up that early, so we decided we'd go to sleep and see what happened. If I naturally woke up early, then I'd wake the girls and we'd pack our things and go.</div>
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It was difficult to believe that this time the next evening we'd be in a hotel room drinking milkshakes. The girls and I felt proud and happy -- and ready to be finished. Sage was ready for hot food, Alex was ready to take a rest, and I was ready for...well, you know...milkshakes.</div>
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The next journal entry, Mt. Whitney and Whitney Portal, will be posted late Thursday evening (December 18).Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-8545768718167738332014-12-07T04:00:00.000-08:002014-12-07T04:27:07.501-08:00JMT Hiking Day #15: Charlotte Lake to Unnamed Lake Below Forester Pass. Aug. 25, 2014***About 8 miles with approximately 1350 feet net elevation gain (800 feet down and around 2150 feet up).<br />
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We awoke to condensation again. However, we had four hours or so before our resupply from Sequoia Kings Pack Trains would arrive, so there was plenty of time to dry our sleeping bags and tent in the hot Sierra sun. We packed our things, walked past the lake and up the small hill, and sat by the intersection where we were to meet the mules and driver. There, we took our the tent and sleeping bags and lay them on rocks in the sun. The girls played cards and wrote in their journals while I paced back and forth. The mules and driver weren't late, but it felt strange not to be walking.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The intersection by Charlotte Lake<br />
where we met our pack mules and driver.</td></tr>
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A few hikers passed while we waited. One, a woman named Lisa we'd meet again the next day, was especially friendly. She and I spoke for a while before she continued onward.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here they come!</td></tr>
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Our mules and driver arrived at 11:20am, which was well within our agreed-upon time frame. <br />
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The driver was kind. He got down from his mules and initially gave us the wrong bucket. This wouldn't have been a big deal, except that we were paying for an unshared resupply...meaning, I had given Dee Berner of Sequoia Kings Pack Trains $550 because she had said there was no one else resupplying on our scheduled day. If someone else has a bucket brought up on the same day, then the price is supposed to go down substantially. When the driver gave me the wrong bucket, I thought someone else had booked services for the same resupply date after all, and that I would therefore be refunded a portion of my payment when I returned home. I was wrong, which gives me mixed feelings about using Sequoia Kings Pack Trains. Yes, the driver was sweet and on time, and yes, our resupply buckets arrived undamaged...BUT -- the pricing structure is a) not written down anywhere and b) unclear. After returning from the JMT, I called Dee Berner to ask if I would receive a partial refund. Since someone else used the mule service on the same day as I had, then that someone and I should split the costs of the resupply trip. At least, that had been my understanding of the unwritten policy. Dee said that someone had asked for emergency resupply services, and that person had originally booked their resupply trip for another day, so this meant I would not get a refund even though the mules had been used for two parties instead of just one. It's confusing, I know. I don't understand it, and I said so to Dee. She offered to refund half my payment, and I told her I didn't mind paying full price if there was a valid reason and if her explanation made sense to me...I just wanted to know why I was still charged full price when someone else had also used the mules for the same day (and the same drop-off location). Dee told me she would call me again later to explain further after she looked into the matter more....but she never did...and my checks were cashed. There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this -- Sequoia Kings Pack Trains has been around for a long time, and they are indeed reliable when it comes to getting your food to you on time way out in the wilderness, but right now I feel as though I spent too much for the service.<br />
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Again, the driver was great -- he was on time, cordial, and pleasant to speak with. He and the other drivers apparently get to keep all the extra food the hikers don't want from their buckets, so he appreciated the excess half-bucket of goodies I was able to leave behind.<br />
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My advice to other hikers is to either fully resupply at MTR, hike out over Kearsarge Pass into Onion Valley and resupply there (<a href="http://mtwilliamsonmotel.com/"><b>Mt. Williamson Hotel is one thru-hiker option</b></a>), or use Sequoia Kings Pack Trains BUT get a firm, written pricing policy before you do so there is no room for confusion.<br />
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Once we had our resupply, we indulged ourselves in treats I had specifically packed with the intention of eating as soon as we opened the buckets. Zebra cakes and oatmeal pies went down our hatches in a flash. A huge bag of Fritos, miraculously unsmushed, was consumed with gusto.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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The extra sugar and fat went straight to our legs in the best way possible. The girls flew - and I do mean <i>flew</i> -- down into Vidette Meadows. We then decided to hike up as far as we could toward Forester Pass before setting up camp for the evening. Though we'd had a late start, we made excellent time (thanks to all the sugar in our resupply goodies). We zoomed past the campsites by the larger trees and took our chances on finding some spots up near the "stunted pines." There are indeed a few such spots, just before the lake at 12,250 feet. Just off the trail, to the right, we found three small, close-together spots with just enough cover to make me feel fairly safe from potential storms (the clouds looked calm, but still -- I don't like to be completely exposed).<br />
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Here's the view from our site, looking down into the valley.<br />
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The girls and I set up camp, ate a ton of ranch-flavored sesame seeds (YUM!), and discussed our plans for the next day. Guitar Lake was 20 miles away. If we could make that in one day, then we'd summit Whitney a day earlier than we'd expected and therefore be able to get Sprite and vanilla milkshakes that much faster. <br />
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We were having a fantastic time, but being so close to the end made us yearn for some specific comforts. None of those comforts included a shower, however. The three of us had not showered, bathed, or even properly cleaned ourselves since we'd left Muir Trail Ranch seven days beforehand. I hadn't even changed my socks. Seriously, all I did, every single night, was beat the socks against a rock to get out the dust and dirt. In the morning, I'd slather my feet with Vaseline and put the socks right back on again. As for bathing...both girls always had a layer of dirt on their faces and we had worn the exact same clothes for seven days.<br />
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Anyway, the thought of Guitar Lake being only twenty miles away made us antsy. We decided we would try to make it there the very next day. If the mileage become too much, then we could always stop and camp before reaching our intended destination.<br />
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We went to sleep excited at the prospect of ascending Whitney a whole day earlier than planned.<br />
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The next entry, "Forester Pass to Guitar Lake," will be posted by late Thursday evening.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-2424540882776439672014-12-02T12:02:00.001-08:002015-01-19T12:22:01.541-08:00JMT Hiking Day #14: Rae Lakes to Charlotte Lake (over Glen Pass). Aug. 24, 2014***5.6 miles with about 1350 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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Condensation dripped from the inside of our tent. It was difficult getting everything, including ourselves, out without unleashing our own rainstorm, but we made it. I packed the tent wet, and the girls stuffed their damp sleeping bags into their sacks. We didn't worry too much, though -- we had a short day ahead of us, so there would be plenty of time to dry our gear in the sun before nightfall.<br />
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The hike up Glen Pass felt wonderful. Seriously. I had read and heard all about how difficult and steep this climb was, but to a New Hampshire hiker, it should feel like home. The girls -- Sage, especially -- appreciated the directness. There were no long, gentle switchbacks, no false summits. Just straight up with quick, steep, switchbacks. Sage had complained about the JMT switchbacks on each and every pass before this one, since to her (and, frankly, to me), it had been irritating to know where you were eventually headed but unable to take the most direct route there. Instead, in order to ascend most of the passes, one has to traverse the entire side of a mountain using gentle switchbacks. The girls and I are used to just hiking straight up a mountain. In New Hampshire, the trails are straight up, over rocks and boulders, and most definitely NOT graded for stock. Glen Pass, though still graded for stock, felt more natural to us and therefore much easier than any of the JMT passes we had previously undertaken. Direct, steep, to the point -- that's our hiking style.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">View on the way up Glen Pass</td></tr>
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We arrived at the top and spent a long time enjoying the morning. The girls and I ate, drank, and chatted with Don and Debbie, and Jim and Bryan. We hung about on the summit and celebrated the day...we also watched as a pack mule team came up Glen Pass toward us from the south. Turns out, it belonged to the same company that would resupply us the next day. After lounging for what felt like a solid hour, we bid a fond farewell to D&D and J&B. D&D were going to hike out near Kearsarge Pass into Onion Valley to resupply and J&B were going to hike onward as usual. We had to stop and wait at nearby Charlotte Lake for almost an entire day for our resupply to arrive, so we assumed we wouldn't see any of our new hiking friends again. We felt sad as we descended. It had been a great pleasure to see these good people day after day.<br />
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View from Glen Pass--<br />
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You can see Charlotte Lake as you walk down from Glen Pass. It appears on your right, large and beautiful.<br />
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We arrived hours before bedtime, so there was plenty of time to dry our tent and sleeping bags in the sun. We had the lake to ourselves for a while, then four fellows who were northbounding the JMT arrived. Soon after, a group of women who had hiked over Glen Pass set up camp not far from our tent. They were on a two or three day backpacking trip...they were so clean compared to us...I could smell the laundry detergent from their clothes even though we were twenty feet away.<br />
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Our home for the evening, just up a small hill from the lake...<br />
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Sage took this photo of Charlotte Lake not long before we retired for the evening.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Photo by Sage Herr</td></tr>
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The next entry, from Charlotte Lake to an unnamed lake just below Forester Pass, will be posted by Saturday, December 6.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-89424188348772820802014-12-01T15:17:00.000-08:002015-01-19T12:27:41.871-08:00JMT Hiking Day #13: Sawmill Pass Junction to Rae Lakes. Aug. 23, 2014***9.3 miles, net 200 feet elevation gain (1800-ish feet of descent followed by around 2000 feet of elevation gain).<br />
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I dreamed we didn't have enough to eat. I awoke craving Sprite and vanilla milkshakes.<br />
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It was FREEZING when we got out of the tent. All of us were hungry; I made us consume about 1000 calories of nuts and granola each before hitting the trail. That was a mistake on two counts. 1) We became chilled while eating...we should have walked a mile or so to warm up before having breakfast. 2) It was too much food. All of us were hungry when we woke up, but our stomachs had shrunk. We needed to eat more snacks more often, not more food all at once. We therefore hit the trail feeling sick and freezing.<br />
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A mile or so later, we were more comfortable. The sun came out and we warmed...quickly. Within ten minutes of walking in direct Sierra sunshine, we were hot. That's one thing about the Sierra -- it's all about extremes.<br />
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Our route took us downhill...and to the most frightening part of the entire John Muir Trail, as far as I'm concerned. <br />
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This suspension bridge did NOT look safe. I sent Sage first, since she was the lightest. She tackled it cheerfully and with gusto. She even turned around halfway across and waved at us, which did nothing good for my nerves.<br />
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Alex went next. She too thought the bridge was a blast.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sage Herr</td></tr>
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I went last. That bridge was not fun, not for me, no way! The whole thing swayed and moved...and some of the boards were missing...and one looked like it had broken when someone had stepped on it. I had zero confidence about my safety. It was a million feet straight down to the river from the planks of that wobbly bridge. Seriously, this was the most frightening part of our entire journey.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the bridge of death. Photo by Alex Herr</td></tr>
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I made it safely to the other side. We were all happy to be alive.<br />
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Two kind guys were waiting on the other side of the bridge -- Jim and Bryan. We had met them before, on Mather Pass. They were so kind; we had enjoyed our conversation with them up on Mather Pass, and we enjoyed conversation with them now, as we ate and took a break. Bryan graciously gave me his extra Platypus water bag, after I told him three (!) of our Sawyer Squeeze bags had torn/broken. (That Platypus bag was robust, and our Sawyer Squeeze filter attached to it perfectly).<br />
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Don and Debbie arrived, then we spent the next couple of hours playing leapfrog with them, as we had done the day before. The day became hot, so every once in a while we'd stick our heads in a stream. My thoughts kept turning to Sprite and vanilla milkshakes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex, Sage, Debbie, and Don</td></tr>
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The steep switchbacks toward Dollar Lake felt...well...HOT (I thought of little else but Sprite and vanilla milkshakes the entire way up), so we dunked our heads again once we reached the little oasis. Fin Dome and Painted Lady are in the background...<br />
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Jim and Bryan were there fishing when we arrived. They headed onward while we hydrated, then we carried on.<br />
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Rae Lakes was the destination...and the three or so miles between Dollar Lake and Rae Lakes felt mellow and easy...and I enjoyed my daydreams of vanilla milkshakes...but when we got to Rae Lakes, we were a little disappointed. It is beautiful, no doubt, but there are multiple trails in the vicinity, which means many people take two or three day backpacking trips and stop there for the evening. In other words, it was crowded. Jim and Bryan were already there, and they showed us a spot where we could camp nearby, but the spot was a bit too small for our liking and we searched the area for a place that would a) fit our three-person tent and b) not infringe upon anyone else's privacy. It was difficult -- Rae Lakes is Tent City. We finally found a spot that was kinda-sorta in the middle of a walkway, but it was the best we could do.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rae Lakes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only secluded spot we could find...for the moment.</td></tr>
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Of course, once we had set up and eaten dinner (alas, no Sprite, no vanilla milkshakes), we discovered a huge, gorgeous, secluded spot with its own private access to the lake. So -- future JMT hikers, take note -- once you come into the main area from the trail, take a right, walk past the bear boxes, and continue until you're almost at the lake. Then take a right, walk uphill a bit...and voila, your own private, huge camping area. There must have been over fifty people camping at Rae Lakes that evening, and not one of them discovered that gorgeous spot.<br />
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Our next day would bring us over Glen Pass and to Charlotte Lake, where we would stop and wait for our resupply to arrive on the 25th.<br />
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Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-68045601971835808032014-11-23T05:20:00.000-08:002014-11-23T05:49:56.285-08:00JMT Hiking Day #12: Upper Palisade Lake to Sawmill Pass Junction (Mather Pass and Pinchot Pass). Aug. 22, 2014***18 miles, with around 3500 feet of elevation gain<br />
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I woke in the middle of the night unable to breathe. It wasn't a gasping sort of problem, it was a lack of oxygen problem. I laid still and listened to the girls; they were sleeping soundly and breathing deeply. A self-inventory revealed no issues. My head did not hurt, my muscles were not cramping, my stomach was not upset. I simply didn't feel like I was getting enough oxygen.<br />
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The thought of waking the girls, packing everything up, and hiking down in the middle of the night...in mountain lion territory no less...did not appeal to me. I therefore closed my eyes, mentally reached out into the unknown, and connected with the force of life that flowed around me.<br />
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I am not a religious person, but I do feel connected to what I feel is a power greater than myself when I am in the midst of nature. I do not call this higher power a god or goddess. Rather, it is what I termed it above, a life force. The life and the power and the energy from all the living things around me -- the birds, the trees, the insects, the marmots, the spiders -- the hum from every living cell -- it all flows and travels over and around and through everything. I never feel this way inside a building, surrounded by dead materials. I almost never feel this way surrounded by other people, either -- too many people carry too much vanity, insecurities, and preoccupation with things that don't matter. Outside, however, in the midst of the wilderness -- that is where the honesty is. That's where I feel at home, connected. It's where I feel most alive, and most safe.<br />
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I focused on my breathing and asked all the life around me to protect my kids if something bad should happen. At least fifteen other thru-hikers slept nearby, including Don and Debbie, so I was never worried Alex and Sage would become lost or left alone for long (on the JMT, if you get into trouble, all you have to do is sit on the trail...someone you've probably met will be along in an hour or less...the trail is that popular). I tried to envision my own life source blending in with everything around me, and having that source support my breathing. A phrase crept into my head -- "You're getting all the oxygen you need." I repeated that phrase over and over to myself as the minutes dragged on. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, I fell back asleep. Just before I drifted into dreamland, however, I vowed to write about that experience and to share it with my kids. So, for what it's worth, I'm now writing about it and, in doing so, fulfilling that part of the promise. I'm sure some of you will think this is hokey, and that's fine, I understand. Nevertheless, I told myself I'd make a written and public note of the experience, and so there it is.<br />
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When I awoke, it was dawn..and freezing...but I felt fine. The girls and I broke camp and began ascending Mather Pass. Don and Debbie had packed up and left before us. Phil was still sleeping in his spot down the hill from the trail.<br />
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The sun didn't reach our part of the trail until we were most of the way up. The climb to Mather Pass was therefore chilly, though the climb warmed us enough to necessitate a delayer break.<br />
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We caught up with Don and Debbie near the top. Once at the pass, Sage took one of her Beanie Boo photos.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sage Herr</td></tr>
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Debbie graciously took this photo of us --</div>
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We ate snacks up top and chatted with D&D for a while. A couple of fellows approached from the other side of the pass, and we spoke with them for a while too. The morning was gorgeous, and we all felt on top of the world. More people arrived, and everyone felt like we were part of some secret, spontaneous party. Eventually, D&D said goodbye and headed down the pass, then other folks came and went, and, finally, we decided we'd better get a move-on too.<br />
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Down we went, down steep switchbacks into a gorgeous valley. Near the bottom of the switchbacks, I realized I had left the day's map at the top of the pass. I had the guidebook, so the map wasn't crucial, but I asked some folks who were on their way up if they could look for it and pack it out for me. They agreed, and we carried onward.<br />
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At first, the valley was pretty. We kept leapfrogging D&D until they stopped for a snack and we got a ways ahead. We walked and walked and walked...and the valley began to feel monotonous. At one point, I worried we had missed a turn, but just when we began to panic, we ran into a fellow named Stewart. We had seen Stewart before, most recently near the Palisade Lakes. He assured us we were on the right trail, and he let me take a photo of his map. Relieved, we carried onward.<br />
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The dry, steep switchbacks up toward Marjorie Lake felt difficult for some reason. Thankfully, the immediate mile after the switchbacks was flat and easy. We passed the lake, checked the time, and felt strong enough to continue up and over Pinchot Pass.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful lake near the top of Pinchot Pass. Photo by Alex.</td></tr>
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Pinchot Pass looks easy on the map, but there are many false "summits." There came a time when I wanted to shout, "Aren't we there already??" Finally, we made it to the top. The wind was fierce, but there was a little nook where the boulders created a natural wall. We squished in there together and refueled/rehydrated.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex drinking water on Pinchot Pass. Photo by Sage Herr</td></tr>
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We hung about for a while, admiring the view, then we headed down the steep switchbacks toward the Sawmill intersection.<br />
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3.8 miles later, we reached the intersection and looked for the camping spots. They were along the Sawmill Trail, 50 feet or so from the JMT. We took one of the very few spaces, then discovered three tents perched above us, on a shelf of rock. They belonged to some older gentlemen who were hiking the Sawmill Trail.<br />
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Didn't see anyone from the night before -- we weren't sure who traveled over Pinchot Pass and who camped near Marjorie Lake. More peanut butter and Nutella wraps, then we fell asleep rather quickly. Two passes and 18 miles...we were beat.<br />
<br />Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-43829467010948915752014-11-19T05:02:00.002-08:002014-11-22T05:29:32.329-08:00JMT Hiking Day #11: Pete's Meadow to Upper Palisade Lake. August 21, 2014***About 13 miles with around 2700 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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The same family of deer wandered all through our site as we awoke and broke camp. They weren't bothered by our presence in the slightest, and they watched as we dusted all the dried deer poop off the bottom of our tent. After cleaning our hands and eating, we shouldered our packs and headed on our way.<br />
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A half mile or so later, we stopped to delayer by the intersection with the trail leading to Bishop Pass. There, we saw a man named Mike waiting for the llama-fellow we had met the day before. Mike told us that he, the other fellow, and the llamas had started from Whitney ten days ago and were trying to hike north along the JMT. Unfortunately, one of the llamas had become sick before reaching Glen Pass. They waited two days for the llama to recover, but it died. Next, one of the other llamas broke its leg and had to be airlifted out. Then, another llama fell ill with what they think was food poisoning. Now, it appears yet another llama is ill with food poisoning. The man seemed to have a decent sense of humor about it all, but he understandably stated that this was the last time he was ever going to hike with a group of llamas.<br />
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While we were listening, Don and Debbie passed, as well as a fellow named Phil (we had first met him on Selden Pass, before Muir Trail Ranch). We would play leapfrog with D&D and Phil all day....which we didn't mind, because all three were cool individuals. Turns out D&D had camped just a tenth of a mile or so away from us.<br />
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After listening intently to the tale of llama drama, we wished Mike good luck and continued on our way.<br />
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The goal for this day was to get as close as we could to Mather Pass without actually going over it. We figured we'd camp alongside either Lower or Upper Palisade Lake.<br />
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The trail felt easy in the beginning...we wandered through trees on the dirt path, happily discussing how lucky we were not to have llamas in tow. The sky was mostly clear, but there were some clouds forming way off in the horizon.<br />
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When we came to what I thought was the last bit of tall trees before our climb up the "Golden Staircase," we stopped to refuel and re-hydrate. Once again, Phil, and then Don & Debbie, approached and joined us. We ate together, remarked on the somewhat-cloudy sky, and then the girls and I moved on. I wanted to get up past the exposed part and back into the trees before any potential storm could form.<br />
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Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the Golden Staircase -- it's a series of exposed, short and steep switchbacks tucked into the side of a cliff. Thankfully, tiny streams of water seep out from the rocks and cross the trail from time to time, which is wonderful, because that Sierra sun is HOT. The girls and I kept our bandannas wet so we could better wipe the sweat from our faces.<br />
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Once up and over the Golden Staircase, the land looks like this --<br />
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Clouds were still forming behind us, but, as you can tell, most of the sky remained clear.<br />
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We reached Lower Palisade Lake and saw the one camping spot mentioned in the guidebook. It was completely out in the open. I didn't like the thought of camping there, completely exposed, knowing we'd have to get up the next morning and make our way past both lakes. We therefore rejected this spot and headed toward nearby Upper Palisade Lake.<br />
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Our guidebook said there were a few camping spots at Upper Palisade Lake, but the first spots we came to, just off the trail on the right, immediately after topping a steep stretch, were taken. Looking toward the curve of the lake and the way the trees were situated, I felt certain there must be a few more camping spots along the curve of the trail, before passing the lake entirely. I was right -- this choice spot was less than a tenth of a mile away from the previous camping area. <br />
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There were also a few smaller spots close by, each just large enough for a small tent -- Don and Debbie came along and took the one closest to us, and when Phil arrived, he took one that was situated closer to the lake, downhill from the trail.<br />
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The girls were excited to have dinner because I'd promised them we could have Nutella and peanut butter wraps. We sat and ate these delicious, can-only-eat-this-while-thru-hiking concoctions for half an hour. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKAAjoy4ON2rrXy2btWuA_mXw2z1O6BsprMGFLuX89W8N5hhzdpZ4LPVnvVTbb5lj0LNBiHCzs1JEq7DSzr1_Ka_s3pFwaurqWixYKU8gcWjPkECpIm5jAl9eqbAQ1ByVWSuMrKcWhzrU/s1600/IMG_2488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKAAjoy4ON2rrXy2btWuA_mXw2z1O6BsprMGFLuX89W8N5hhzdpZ4LPVnvVTbb5lj0LNBiHCzs1JEq7DSzr1_Ka_s3pFwaurqWixYKU8gcWjPkECpIm5jAl9eqbAQ1ByVWSuMrKcWhzrU/s1600/IMG_2488.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View toward Upper Palisade Lake from our dinner rock.</td></tr>
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We lounged, ate, and wrote in our journals for a long while. After an hour or so of enjoying the views, the fresh air, and life in general, we thoroughly cleaned our eating area and ourselves, readied ourselves for bed, looked up at the gorgeous sky...and saw this fellow in a tree above our tent, staring down at us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCullPR7am6ssPBFqfzLFbT1VO_1bH5XQRXSR9wMFqV0_5K9DUBC7AB0PIuUfs-QnqLp-XgEKqA2hR-xvK9Q_8JuPiPtbmLEEpV-jueDV5YXlD0UpJ29C5UYxERs8C9T2rvbrNfiqghRg6/s1600/DSC02431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCullPR7am6ssPBFqfzLFbT1VO_1bH5XQRXSR9wMFqV0_5K9DUBC7AB0PIuUfs-QnqLp-XgEKqA2hR-xvK9Q_8JuPiPtbmLEEpV-jueDV5YXlD0UpJ29C5UYxERs8C9T2rvbrNfiqghRg6/s1600/DSC02431.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex</td></tr>
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He/she was a moderate-sized bird of prey. He/she didn't seem bothered by us at all -- in fact, the critter stared down at us continuously as we looked up and returned the gaze. Alex fetched a Sierra birding book she had bought at VVR and identified it as a Cooper's Hawk. I walked over to Don and Debbie's area and invited them over to see our new friend. The five of us stared in admiration as the fellow/gal calmly sat and stared back. Eventually, we all went to bed. I kept our rain fly up so we could continue to look at the magnificent creature in the moonlight while we dozed off. It was still there when I fell asleep.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-63838964836541250862014-11-08T06:02:00.001-08:002014-11-08T06:02:37.000-08:00 JMT Hiking Day #10: McClure Meadow to Pete's Meadow via Muir Pass. Aug. 20, 2014About 16 miles with about 2300 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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--As I mentioned in a previous post, the girls and I limited the number of photos we took per day to two or three each. We were worried we would run out of battery power before we arrived at Whitney (I had a solar charger with me, but it was as helpful as a sack of rocks). I therefore have only a handful of photos to share. However, if you'd like to see some large, beautiful images of Evolution Basin and Muir Pass, then check out <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://cookingintongues.com/2014/10/06/jmt-evolution-basin-to-big-pete-meadow-via-muir-pass-kings-canyon-natl-park-ca/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">this post on the Cooking in Tongues website</span></a>. </span>Don and Debbie, the folks who write the Cooking in Tongues blog, hiked through Evolution Basin the same day we did.<br />
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The girls and I woke early and were up and out before anyone else in our little camping spot. It's a long, exposed, ten-mile haul from McClure Meadow to Muir Pass, and we wanted to be sure we could get up and over before nasty-looking afternoon clouds could form. We set our pace to Fast and reached the edge of Evolution Basin in short order. The grade from McClure Meadow to the inlet of Evolution Lake is moderate, so covering this ground quickly was not a problem.<br />
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Evolution Basin is breathtakingly beautiful. Here we are, on the edge of it (thanks, kind guy hiker, for taking this photo).<br />
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The path is almost flat as you walk by and around Evolution and Sapphire Lakes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NQDszKMLakWjkZK_xtau2hHn0qhyphenhypheneyZE8N9LpacOAlc6_j0bIRqaf70t2G3dngEX06R6okcZTIDk9Zpgcmp7lSWOpGtQeSpMSX1o6NxN2r-rt3OGEwlbMyF8bDro7v5a5xIBLgRXtWOj/s1600/DSC02427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NQDszKMLakWjkZK_xtau2hHn0qhyphenhypheneyZE8N9LpacOAlc6_j0bIRqaf70t2G3dngEX06R6okcZTIDk9Zpgcmp7lSWOpGtQeSpMSX1o6NxN2r-rt3OGEwlbMyF8bDro7v5a5xIBLgRXtWOj/s1600/DSC02427.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Alex</td></tr>
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Then, however, the trail goes up. There are a series of steep switchbacks, and they give the impression that you are about to top off near the pass...but no, you end up by Wanda Lake. You can then see, far away and above you, a lump in the distance on the top of a pass...that's Muir Hut. You then realize just how far you still have to go. Though the scenery is gorgeous throughout this entire area, the path feels a bit like a never-ending journey. The last few switchbacks are tough -- the grade becomes steeper and the altitude starts to wear you down. I wasn't enjoying life during the last five minutes of the climb..but then we were there, and it felt wonderful to be up top.<br />
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Sage took a photo of our critters at the entrance to the hut --<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sage</td></tr>
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The hut itself --<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGy1dElrroljMqCHDKnmdLJN3X2pOEnPOBlm0DRngcOABNCbPxIx9bF_nCReQG5oofzHOhmN9FS0xgXMilelfU43WWWEp92mK8PoQPCuAZAEXIp9hho3Cv43CinwPFUVM6-OplaKGaKPA/s1600/DSC02027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGy1dElrroljMqCHDKnmdLJN3X2pOEnPOBlm0DRngcOABNCbPxIx9bF_nCReQG5oofzHOhmN9FS0xgXMilelfU43WWWEp92mK8PoQPCuAZAEXIp9hho3Cv43CinwPFUVM6-OplaKGaKPA/s1600/DSC02027.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sage</td></tr>
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Inside the hut, a hiker was telling his friends how safe the structure would be during a thunderstorm. Though it did feel cozy in there -- the fireplace looked lovely, and there were benches -- I spoke up and told them that this hut, a lone structure at 11,955 feet, would be the last place I'd cower if caught in a storm. There are no lightning rods and stone is an excellent conductor of electricity. In other words, this hut is a great way to get out of the wind, but it's a deathtrap during a thunderstorm. The guy argued with me, saying the hut was safe because it was "solidly built." He actually got testy about it...I gave up trying to inform him of basic lightning safety facts. I highly encourage all of YOU good readers, however, to learn your lightning facts before hiking the JMT -- Muir Hut and the structure on Whitney were <b>not</b> built with lightning safety in mind. <a href="http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/2012-Wilderness-Trip-Planner-Text-22-32-Edit-2012-6-8.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Open this pdf file from the National Park Service and scroll down to the lightning section for more information.</b></span></a><br />
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The views in both directions were gorgeous, so we sat and took a long lunch break. We demolished most of a large bag of ranch-flavored sunflower seeds (scrumptious!), said hello to some familiar faces as they reached Muir Hut, and then finally began the hike down the rocky eastern side of Muir Pass.<br />
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We descended into the trees and walked toward Starr Camp, my Plan A camping spot for the evening. It was still early when we reached this area, though, so we kept going. We said hello to the infamous Rock Monster...<br />
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...and continued on toward Pete's Meadow, where we came to an area with a few tiny camping spots right next to the trail (legal, since the trail-to-camp spacing requirements are minimal along this section of the JMT). One of the spots was occupied by a tent and a bunch of harnesses...the owner emerged as we were walking past. I asked the fellow if he had mules, but he told me no, he had llamas. Sure enough, less than a tenth of a mile later, we came across a grassy area where four or five llamas stood chewing. They stopped and stared at us as we passed. We bid them a calm and quiet greeting and continued on our way. A tenth of a mile or so after that, we saw a spur path to our right. Following it, we found a large camping area. I was done for the day so, even though the area was littered with deer poop, we pitched our tent.<br />
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I enjoyed this site, but Alex and Sage didn't. I liked it because it was quiet and peaceful, and a family of deer kept wandering through our space. The girls didn't care for all the poop. There was quite a bit, but it had all dried so there was no smell. One just had to be careful where to sit and step.<br />
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As we were eating dinner, a helicopter flew by, circled around, then came and lowered itself right over us. It was a "fire" helicopter -- we could tell by the symbol on the bottom section. I told the girls not to wave, since I thought this helicopter might be looking for someone and I didn't want them to think we were lost and therefore trying to attract attention. The helicopter hovered for a few seconds, then tried to land on a nearby boulder. That didn't work out, so it lifted back into the air. I heard it move toward the field where the llamas had grazed, then land there. I waited for men to appear, since, by now, I was half-convinced Hugh had called Search and Rescue on us (since we hadn't had cell or internet contact in days). Nobody appeared, however, and, a little while later, we heard the 'copter fly off.<br />
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A trail crew was camped nearby. I saw some of the fellows after they returned from their day's work, and I asked them about the helicopter. One of them told me it was indeed a Search and Rescue 'copter, and that it was involved with the recovery of a person who had gone missing. A couple of days later, we were told from other hikers about <a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/08/20/body-found-in-the-sierra-may-be-fremont-2nd-grade-teacher-missing-during-solo-backpacking-trip-sierra-nevada-kings-canyon-national-park-gregory-muck-search-and-rescue/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Gregory Muck</span></b></a>. That's a sad story, and I feel for his family and friends.<br />
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The next day, we'd hear more about the 'copter...and about the llamas (lots of drama with those llamas!). More on that in my next entry, which I'll post by Friday the 14th. I truly wish I could post more entries more often, but the girls' academic and extracurricular schedule, along with some personal deadlines, are making it difficult for me to grab more than a few minutes of free time a day. I do hope this blog is proving informative, however, to those who are researching the JMT for their own adventure. I'll definitely complete all posts by the end of this year (December 2014), including the gear list/review.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-52624559799202833232014-11-01T10:18:00.003-07:002014-11-01T10:18:11.804-07:00JMT Hiking Day #9 (Trail Day #15). Muir Trail Ranch to McClure Meadow. August 19, 2014**About 11.5 miles with approximately 1800 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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Nothing better prepares you for a nine or ten day hike in the wilderness than a giant breakfast of chocolate-chip pancakes and maple sausage. Muir Trail Ranch's cooks are nothing short of amazing.<br />
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The girls and I ate heartily, said goodbye to Don and Debbie (who were leaving the same day, but an hour or so later), spoke a while with Bobby and Melissa (who had arrived the night before and, I thought, were staying another evening), and headed into the lounge to pat Honey one final time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honey, the Muir Trail Ranch cat. Photo taken by Alex</td></tr>
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After the girls took another few photos of Honey, we hit the trail. My pack was 42 pounds and I carried an additional 8 pounds in my arms (Ursack). I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that we would eat through the weight after a day or two of hiking. All this food would get us to our resupply rendezvous on Aug. 25. The plan was to meet Sequoia Kings Pack Trains on the trail a couple of days from Whitney to receive our mailed food. They did meet us as planned, but I have mixed feelings about their service...more on that later, when I've gotten to that portion of our trip.<br />
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Alex, Sage, and I agreed to take only two or three photos per day from this point forward. There are no places to charge batteries between Muir Trail Ranch and Whitney, so we couldn't take all the images we wanted without risking losing our camera capabilities before the end of our hike. It's a pity, because the scenery every day, in almost every location, was drop-dead gorgeous. We did the best we could...between our blog and all the other JMT blogs out there, you should be able to get an idea of what the southern portion of the JMT looks like.<br />
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The first 3.2 miles out of Muir Trail Ranch felt rather flat. The trail leads you through beautiful meadows and underneath gorgeous Jeffrey pines.<br />
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After crossing a steel footbridge and entering Kings Canyon National Park (where there are plenty of campsites), we hiked another few flat-ish miles before ascending a mile and a half's worth of switchbacks. Ordinarily, those switchbacks probably wouldn't have seemed like a big deal, but my pack was heavy from the extra food. This part of the day, therefore, wasn't much fun for me. <br />
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Evolution Creek was low, so we had no problems crossing it. We removed our shoes and waded through the slow-moving water -- even on the girls, the water didn't come up past our calves. I have heard this creek can cause problems in high-water seasons, and there are signs by each bank advising hikers not to cross if the water is high and fast-moving. We had no issues, though.<br />
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After a couple more miles of gently uphill trekking, we reached McClure Meadow.<br />
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Our goal for the evening was to camp close to the Ranger Station, so we began looking for a place to pitch our tent immediately after passing the Station on our left (the cabin is up from the trail a bit, on a hill...you can see bits of it from the trail if you're keeping an eye out). Soon after crossing a little stream, we saw a herd path leading to our right. We found a perfect camping spot not far from the trail, right by the meadow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken by Sage</td></tr>
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We were first at the spot, since it was only 1:45. We weren't tired, but our guidebook stated there were no other places to camp for the next 10 miles. I didn't want to schlep all that food any farther, so we settled in and ate as much as we could manage. <br />
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The skies grew overcast and thunder rumbled in the distance...other hikers began showing up and tents were pitched every which way. No one wanted to continue with the threat of lightning, so our secluded area became a temporary tent city. It was nice to have so much company, actually -- we met a nice fellow named Keith, a guy named Larry, and a slew of other folks whose names all now escape me (sorry!). Bobby and Melissa arrived an hour or so before nightfall -- I didn't expect to see them because I had mistakenly thought they were staying at Muir Trail Ranch another night. Everyone hung about within the trees and watched the sky. It rained for about half a second at one point, but most of the storm passed us by. This would be the last time we would see so many hikers in such a small area until we reached Guitar Lake on the 26th.<br />
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The girls played their usual game of cards and wrote in their journals (I had extra paper in my resupply, so Alex and Sage began writing down their own impressions of their journey). It got dark, we went to sleep...and the next day, we hiked through Evolution Basin and over Muir Pass. Those details will be included in the next entry, which I intend to post by Wednesday evening (Nov. 5).Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-100656048550617592014-10-30T16:30:00.001-07:002014-10-30T16:31:10.647-07:00JMT, from Muir Trail Ranch to McClure Meadow......will be posted Saturday. Had a last-minute deadline that needed to be taken care of last night, so I couldn't get the JMT entry out on time. Will try to get two entries taken care of this week...hope to have the entire blog finished, including the gear review, by the end of November.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-22188249536024166402014-10-26T19:06:00.001-07:002014-10-26T19:12:06.223-07:00JMT Rest Day #6 (Trail Day #14). Muir Trail Ranch. Aug. 18, 2014<br />
This was our scheduled rest day at Muir Trail Ranch. We had arrived early the day before, therefore the descriptions and many photos of our cabin and one of the hot springs can be found <a href="http://girlsonthewayjmt.blogspot.com/2014/10/jmt-hiking-day-8-trip-day-13-sallie.html"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">here, in this previous entry</span></b></a>.<br />
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Our rest day was spent lounging in the other private hot spring and hanging about the lounge. The lounge housed Honey, the Ranch's cat. The girls loved Honey and took a thousand photos of her...they even loved her when she brought in a chipmunk and ate it behind the fireplace. This feline is sweet (to humans, anyway), so give her a gentle pet on the head when you visit. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honey, the cat of Muir Trail Ranch</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Private hot spring</td></tr>
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<br />Our bodies felt fine and ready to roll by the end of our stay. Sage's cough was almost completely gone, and we looked forward to the nine days ahead of us. No more rest stops, no more "zero days." From here, we would travel over the wildest, roughest, most isolated section of the John Muir Trail before climbing up and over the highest mountain in the continental United States. We had planned to do this section in ten days, but we were easily able to make it in nine. The scenery was gorgeous and the weather couldn't have been better...but you'll see the photos in the posts to come.<br />
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The next entry, detailing our journey from Muir Trail Ranch to McClure Meadow, will be posted by Wednesday, October 29.<br />
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<br />Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-30471671883351361422014-10-22T04:56:00.001-07:002014-12-23T19:18:20.059-08:00JMT Hiking Day #8 (Trip Day #13). Sallie Keyes Lakes to Muir Trail Ranch. Aug. 17, 2014<span style="color: #990000;"><b>EDIT 12/23/2014 - In an earlier post, I stated that our room at VVR was cleaner and more spacious than what we had at Muir Trail Ranch. THIS WAS A MISTAKE. I meant to write that our room at VVF cost about the same, yet was more spacious and cleaner, than our room at Reds Meadow Resort. I just now -- more than a month later -- caught that mistake. I am so sorry -- we LOVED our time at MMR, as this post, and the one that follows, should abundantly show. --Trish</b></span><br />
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As usual, I awoke before the kids.<br />
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After they roused themselves, we broke camp and walked the six miles of easy downhill trail toward Muir Trail Ranch.<br />
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We arrived around 10am and let ourselves in at the gate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horses!</td></tr>
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Muir Trail Ranch feels like two separate businesses. First, it's an excellent resupply stop. You mail your resupply bucket from home, pay them $65 for each bucket they hold for you, then, when you arrive, your bucket is there on the date you specify, and there's a shaded area for you to go through it and ditch what you don't need. All those buckets in a row below, plus more you can't see, are filled with food and supplies other hikers have left behind. You can take whatever you like from those buckets and leave whatever you don't want from your own. Everything is neatly organized. There's also a long power strip for folks to charge their gadgets, and there's a faucet with fresh drinking water. It's a nice operation. The only thing you can't do, unless you're staying the night as a paid guest, is use their toilets. That shouldn't be a big deal for anyone who's been backpacking in the woods for days/weeks.<br />
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The second business is the resort itself. There are beautiful cabins, private hot springs, and a to-die-for dining service. It's a lovely place to stay; the usual clientele hike or ride horses into the ranch from the Florence Lake area.<br />
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We were too early to check in, so I took my time going through the two buckets I had mailed. Alex and Sage looked through what other hikers had left behind and scored some Rice Krispie squares, beef jerky, and a few other enticing tidbits. They ate their finds while I stuffed everything back in my pack and weighed my Gossamer Gear Gorilla. 42 pounds, plus another eight lbs I was carrying by hand in my Ursack (I'll review that excellent piece of gear this weekend).<br />
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Not long after we arrived, a couple we recognized from Vermilion Valley Resort walked into the resupply area. The man's name was Don and the woman's name was Debbie; they were from Washington DC. We introduced ourselves (we hadn't spoken at VVR, I just remember seeing their faces) and chatted until the MMR folks told us we could check in. Don and Debbie were staying two nights, as we were, so we took the tour together and then went into our respective cabins.<br />
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The cabins are rustic, individual buildings that dot the banks of a lovely stream. <br />
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The interior of our cabin was spacious and charming.<br />
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After we settled in, we tackled our laundry. The girls and I had fun using the old-fashioned washing machine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguc5rbuVzIlXlYAfg4Av0k1ki9UqXsDJNYR7HtbFhyphenhyphencdTs69Sx5Qyg6Q3H2SnWvFQaUHhC_u4VvwADsc3AcTEUKeZbm1TB9g9pbQz4mFk0p03zT52o4G5tIlBLMNfncwo6Fr2qO2qcjm64/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguc5rbuVzIlXlYAfg4Av0k1ki9UqXsDJNYR7HtbFhyphenhyphencdTs69Sx5Qyg6Q3H2SnWvFQaUHhC_u4VvwADsc3AcTEUKeZbm1TB9g9pbQz4mFk0p03zT52o4G5tIlBLMNfncwo6Fr2qO2qcjm64/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sage using the old-fashioned wringer.</td></tr>
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Once the chores were complete, we headed for the private hot springs. There's an outdoor area in which you must bathe and wash hair before entering the clean water. We were more than happy to wash the trail dust and body grime off ourselves.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Private hot spring!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning ourselves before entering the water.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good times.</td></tr>
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Clothes cleaned and bodies rejuvenated, we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging about and waiting for dinner. We saw the Dartmouth guys come through and pick up their resupply buckets -- we hadn't seen them since that first night at Little Yosemite Valley. They now numbered four instead of six -- two of the fellas had left the trail. We exchanged pleasantries with the four that remained, and then they left...they said they planned on ascending Whitney on the 26th. We didn't see them again, so they were probably a day or two ahead of us from that point forward.<br />
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I'll describe more features of Muir Trail Ranch in my next entry, which will be posted late Saturday evening, Aug. 25.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-40489106319108450222014-10-17T18:17:00.000-07:002014-10-17T18:17:28.713-07:00JMT Hiking Day #7 (Trip Day #12 ): VVR to Sallie Keyes Lakes. Aug. 16, 2014Around 18 miles with about 3300 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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VVR runs a shuttle to Bear Creek Cut-Off Trail. Taking this trail, plus Bear Creek Trail, puts you back on the JMT. You end up just past the switchbacks of Bear Ridge. Some elevation gain is saved using this route, and many JMT hikers do it, so the girls and I didn't mind not hiking the exact JMT for those few miles.<br />
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Here's the trailhead for Bear Creek Cut-Off Trail. We were there nice and early, around 7:15.<br />
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This trail is fairly flat...<br />
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These pine cones were HUGE -- and heavy! If one were to fall on your head, you'd get quite the concussion!<br />
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The Cut-Off Trail ends at an intersection...we took a sharp left and continued our hike on the Bear Creek Trail. This trail gently ascends toward the JMT...the views were, as usual, gorgeous.<br />
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After 10.2 miles of easy to moderate trekking, we reached the intersection with the JMT. Sage looked at the map while Alex and I had a snack.<br />
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Shortly after our break, a trail crew passed. They'd been working at Marie Lake for a few days, and they seemed jovial and polite. There was a ranger with the crew -- after a few minutes of happy conversation, he asked to see my permit. He seemed almost apologetic about asking me...I told him, truthfully, that I really didn't mind. If I have to carry the permit during my entire trip, then I'm more than happy to show it to people.<br />
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We continued onward, passing over streams...<br />
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...and through Rosemarie Meadow...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHY23EP7zkzk5Sj7cH8Gc2aj35SmnQsg_Su-3eT7zR25-QArZlyOZPHKMBCc5EbAlYIdhnnGEzdfJ0zMg7IsuL1LdzezEIwBgBukSXJPeDmc4EBED1xBvNvejCuFO76WeW8jrCkjmUFoXJ/s1600/IMG_2346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHY23EP7zkzk5Sj7cH8Gc2aj35SmnQsg_Su-3eT7zR25-QArZlyOZPHKMBCc5EbAlYIdhnnGEzdfJ0zMg7IsuL1LdzezEIwBgBukSXJPeDmc4EBED1xBvNvejCuFO76WeW8jrCkjmUFoXJ/s1600/IMG_2346.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sage and Alex in Rosemarie Meadow</td></tr>
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...up toward Marie Lake.<br />
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Marie Lake was beautiful, but there were no obvious campsites. Perhaps this was what the trail crew had been doing...returning everything back to nature, and erasing all signs of obvious camping? The girls and I had planned on stopping here for the night, but given the 100% pristine state of the area, we decided to continue up and over nearby Selden Pass. Both girls felt strong, and we had plenty of time before nightfall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoJn7lTaZ-Vki_tv0zm635sGtlu65dmzrQRYqHRuk7f8tymA4kH_cE5W8q56Afabpf32xDlHz95neRQzeeH67i0jBIZHGDVkhb_eEhx1dVpK8Kil0fyd2Se-UOgcp1O6Io98pIwTFfHGO/s1600/IMG_2355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoJn7lTaZ-Vki_tv0zm635sGtlu65dmzrQRYqHRuk7f8tymA4kH_cE5W8q56Afabpf32xDlHz95neRQzeeH67i0jBIZHGDVkhb_eEhx1dVpK8Kil0fyd2Se-UOgcp1O6Io98pIwTFfHGO/s1600/IMG_2355.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sage at Marie Lake, near Selden Pass</td></tr>
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We continued onward...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back at Marie Lake</td></tr>
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The climb to Selden Pass felt mellow and short. It was nowhere near as strenuous as Donohue Pass had been, and it was nothing like the passes we had yet to climb.<br />
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The view from the top was gorgeous! The lake down below is Heart Lake, which does look like a heart from one specific angle (I didn't get a decent picture of it).<br />
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We met a fellow named Phil on top of the pass. He was a kind fellow and we exchanged pleasantries. We'd see him off and on for the next five or six days.<br />
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The girls spent a lot of time taking photos. When they were ready, we headed down...<br />
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Sallie Keyes Lakes looked lovely and inviting. The girls and I decided we would definitely sleep there.<br />
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Excellent campsites abound in the forested bit of land between the two lakes (you can see the strip of trees in the image above, between the two bodies of water...lots of good camping in there).<br />
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At least seven other sets of hikers had arrived before us. We pitched our tent as far away from others as we could in an attempt to respect personal space.<br />
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The sun went down soon after we finished our evening chores...<br />
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A coyote howled on one side of the lake. Its friend answered from the other side. The girls and I listened happily to the canine conversation until we fell asleep.</div>
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JMT Hiking Day #8 (Trip Day #13): Sallie Keyes Lakes to Muir Trail Ranch. Aug. 17, 2014Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-3333203246004999552014-10-15T05:09:00.000-07:002014-10-15T05:09:02.195-07:00Quick note - the girls and I are swamped with homeschooling duties and activities, hence my posting only one or two entries a week. Also, Alex is about to finish another hiking list -- I'm blogging about those hikes on our main site, www.trishalexsage.com.<br />
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The next entry in the JMT journal will be posted Thursday or Friday evening. In the meantime, I'm adding another gear review item right now -- look for our review on the Sawyer Squeeze (which, unfortunately, is less than 100% positive).Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-92069296587903673222014-10-10T09:41:00.000-07:002014-12-23T19:05:56.357-08:00JMT Rest Days #4 and #5 (Trail Days #10 and #11 ). Vermilion Valley Resort. August 14 and 15, 2014Had we stuck with our original schedule, we would have arrived at the lake's ferry landing this evening instead of the previous night. We now found ourselves in the wonderful position of having two days of rest ahead of us instead of one. This was fortuitous, since it gave Sage even more time to get over her cold/virus. She now looked and acted 100% normal, but every once in a while she'd let loose with a 200 decibel cough. Extra rest time couldn't hurt, given her situation.<br />
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We woke early and took our things to the ferry landing which, due to the drought, was in the middle of the lake bed.<br />
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In past years, Vermilion Valley Resort used an actual ferryboat to transport JMT/PCT hikers across the lake. Now, unfortunately, there isn't enough water in the lake to support a large boat, so the good people at VVR use a small motorboat instead. <br />
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There's room for four or five people in the boat. We shared our ride with two gentlemen who had camped at the intersection with the JMT (instead of on the lake bed). They'd had an interesting evening...two bears roam the campground by that intersection, and one had tried to intimidate the fellows out of their dinner. One of the fellows threw a rock at the bruin. The rock missed its mark, but Yogi got the message and left.<br />
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The boat ride was fun -- Alex and Sage took a million pictures and enjoyed themselves immensely.<br />
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An eagle flew overhead (my photo's terrible, sorry) --<br />
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A helicopter kept flying to the lake, dipping its giant bucket into the water, and flying off again. Apparently, there was a fire nearby...<br />
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The water no longer reaches the resort. The boat therefore takes you as far as it can, then the driver puts you into a white van. You sit on milk crates and hold onto whatever you're able as the van bumps and rocks over the lake bed toward VVR. The girls thought this was even more fun than the boat ride.<br />
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We arrived at the resort in fine spirits.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tctWAqGPwyCgEy6pIUOOzfIGkUlnbGNdviMSuCdFRumup3Dau1NezVS4DOeRPtqZUKXHi1TZWWjrWoJUO5aOX6tUHmXQmfNGD-_BfwVhzwN_6aVEM02INlP1nmOq8useJJFSWMRjJC_2/s1600/IMG_2280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tctWAqGPwyCgEy6pIUOOzfIGkUlnbGNdviMSuCdFRumup3Dau1NezVS4DOeRPtqZUKXHi1TZWWjrWoJUO5aOX6tUHmXQmfNGD-_BfwVhzwN_6aVEM02INlP1nmOq8useJJFSWMRjJC_2/s1600/IMG_2280.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front of VVR</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">VVR's hang-out space, close to the hiker buckets</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside eating area</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Display by the front door</td></tr>
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The girls and I looked through the hiker buckets. We took toilet paper and various hard candies, and I donated a bottle of sunblock.<br />
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I went inside and met the owner, Jim, while the girls hung about outside and indulged in the sweets. Though we were about five hours early, Jim had our reserved room ready.<br />
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Our room, which cost about the same as the room we'd had at Reds Meadow Resort, was lovely. It was much cleaner and cozier than what we'd had at Reds.<br />
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Outside, we had our own patio, grill, and fire ring. We were extremely happy with these accommodations!<br />
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The lake used to extend all the way to the resort -- check out the dry lake bed in the photos below.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASmzd_kIQ81zyxS2GhNrcDF_wdoo85ikr-gDzrYzw2oMry4VzvrgCOv4C6Nw8boWnJVMAHQaQl5Vqe2Qie5wfhHM3wPiakNUqSMNBjYcoyCw5rV05jeiBwMN2blv61NY4LM7IgaV_v0vr/s1600/IMG_2296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASmzd_kIQ81zyxS2GhNrcDF_wdoo85ikr-gDzrYzw2oMry4VzvrgCOv4C6Nw8boWnJVMAHQaQl5Vqe2Qie5wfhHM3wPiakNUqSMNBjYcoyCw5rV05jeiBwMN2blv61NY4LM7IgaV_v0vr/s1600/IMG_2296.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The normal ferry boat rests where the water used to be.</td></tr>
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The girls and I spent our two days at VVR resting, eating the DELICIOUS homemade, home-grown food (the meals are seriously wonderful!!), and playing various board games. Sage's cough diminished, but never fully went away. We'd be hanging out, having fun, when she'd suddenly erupt into a cough and frighten everyone around her. Other that that, she seemed happy and healthy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sage builds structures out of dominoes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex writes in her journal.</td></tr>
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The highlight of Sage's time at VVR was her discovery of that old game, Risk. We spent four hours playing one afternoon. Sage absolutely relished her attempts at world domination.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sage discovers her inner Napoleon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blood ties be damned, Sage is taking over the world.</td></tr>
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Fortunately for Alex and me, Sage's strategy of attacking everyone no matter what, even with a tiny army, didn't pay off. She kept trying to take over well-armed territories with minimal troops, so she quickly lost most of her battles. She loved fighting everyone anyway, and she asked for this game for Christmas.<br />
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By the time we left, Sage was 99% better (she still had that occasional cough), and we'd met some new-to-us thru-hikers and touched base with a few folks we'd already met. By the time the morning of the 16th rolled around, we felt completely rejuvenated and ready to get back on the trail.<br />
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Next entry -- JMT Hiking Day #7, VVR to Sallie Keyes Lakes, -- will be posted within five or six days. Wish I could crank out all these entries at once, but the girls and I are swamped with homeschooling responsibilities and obligations. Also, Alex and I will hopefully finish the Trailwrights hiking list soon (weather permitting).<br />
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I'll post another gear review entry late tomorrow evening.</div>
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Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-35533733737052562312014-10-04T04:28:00.000-07:002014-10-04T04:31:59.115-07:00JMT Hiking Day #6 (Trail Day #9): Mosquito Flats (Mammoth Lakes) to VVR Ferry Landing at Lake Edison. August 13, 2014Mosquito Flats (trailhead south of Mammoth Lakes, CA) to VVR Ferry Landing (Lake Edison). <br />
About 19 miles with roughly 2000 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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We awoke early the next morning with a solid couple of plans in hand. Plan A -- If Sage's oxygen saturation was high, and if she showed no signs of impending demise, then we would hike up and over Mono Pass (the route suggested by the doctor) and head toward Lake Edison. This plan would put us very high very fast, since the trailhead rests at 10,000 feet and Mono Pass is at 12,045 feet. However, the high altitude hiking occurs only in the first 3.5 miles, and the rest of the day is a descent to 7700 feet. If Sage did well, but showed signs of weakness later in the day, well...we'd be descending at that point anyway, and we'd be heading toward Vermilion Valley Resort. Plan B -- If Sage's oxygen saturation was low, or if we began the hike and she looked/felt awful at high altitude, then we'd spend another day in Mammoth Lakes.<br />
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Few people were at the hospital when we arrived at 6am.<br />
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The kind ER folks let us in and checked Sage's oxygen saturation. 98%. That, plus her cheery disposition and general health, tipped the scales in favor of us getting back on the trail.<br />
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I called a cab and we waited in the empty hospital...<br />
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The cab ride was half an hour long and cost about $55 -- again, if any of you folks need to visit Mammoth Lakes, and you need to get back on the trail quickly, then this is the way to do it. It's not for the purists -- you will skip a bit of the official JMT. However, if you find yourself in the same position we were in -- needing time off, but also needing to stay on schedule because of paid-for, nonrefundable reservations -- then this is the route to take. Read on...<br />
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The taxi dropped us off at Mosquito Flats (near Rock Creek, south of Mammoth Lakes) and we began our ascent. Sage seemed fine, though her cough persisted a bit. There were no other symptoms, however, and she looked and felt good. Up we went.<br />
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Mono Creek Trail ascends past beautiful Ruby Lake...<br />
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...and then continues up switchbacks toward the pass. I made sure we stopped often to drink plenty of water. Both girls seemed fine. Sage acted like she was back in tip-top hiking shape (though she did cough every once in a while).<br />
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We reached the top of the pass...and felt like we were on the moon. It was so peaceful...and quiet!<br />
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The path ahead looked very different from the path we had just traveled. As you can see in the photo below, the color green showed up...our descent would take us into the valley's forest, and we'd continue to hike down through that forest for the rest of the day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feelin' fine.</td></tr>
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We walked at a steady pace down, down, down, toward the intersection with the JMT, toward Lake Edison. Most of the path looked like the scene in the photo above. Every once in a while, we'd come across a massive tree...<br />
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We reached the intersection with the JMT around 5pm -- Sage felt great, and we were thrilled to be back on the official trail. <br />
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Once on the John Muir Trail, we found ourselves within a bubble of thru-hikers who were planning on staying at a nearby camping area. These folks weren't visiting Vermilion Valley Resort, so there was no reason for them to hike the 1.4 additional miles to the lake. The girls and I decided to continue onward and camp close to the ferry landing, so we could get to VVR first thing the following morning. We'd then be almost a full day ahead of schedule, thanks to our 19-mile day on the Mono Creek Trail. We'd then have two days to rest at VVR (where we had reservations) before heading back out on the JMT.<br />
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(I heard later that two bears roam that camping area at the JMT/Lake Edison intersection...one tried to intimidate some hikers into giving it food...so backpackers, beware).<br />
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The California drought is so bad that the lake now looks like this...here's where the ferry landing used to be...<br />
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Hikers now need to walk across the dry lake bed for what feels like a mile or so. We finally found water and the American flag that marks the pick-up point. We picked a flat-ish section of sand on the lake bed, not too far from the pick-up spot, and set up the tent.<br />
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Here's the view from our campsite, toward what's left of the lake...<br />
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It had been a long day, but both girls felt strong and Sage showed no signs of imminent demise. We ate, got ready for bed, watched the sunset, and retired for the evening.<br />
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Next post -- Vermilion Valley Resort. Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-71252014901441084882014-10-01T03:55:00.000-07:002014-10-04T04:28:38.432-07:00JMT Rest Day #3 (Trail Day #8): Mammoth Lakes Hospital. August 12, 2014Sage's cough persisted even after two days of rest at Reds Meadow Resort, so I thought it best to have her checked out by a doctor before continuing as planned. From Reds, we took a shuttle into Mammoth Lakes, where we then took a bus that dropped us off right in front of the hospital. The entire commute, including waiting time, took about an hour and a half.<br />
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We entered the ER and Sage's vitals were checked. Her oxygen saturation was 90%, which was troubling to me since we'd been at low altitude for two days...what had been her saturation level three days ago, while we were up high, when she was having trouble breathing...? The doctor ordered x-rays, which showed healthy lungs. He then stated that she may or may not have been experiencing the onset of HAPE three days ago -- regardless, she did not have HAPE now. Her x-rays cleared her of bronchitis and pneumonia...so her cough was probably due to a virus. He advised another day of rest, then, after another oxygen check at the hospital first thing the next morning, Sage could continue on the JMT if her oxygen saturation was high enough and if she felt willing and able.<br />
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Another day of rest made complete sense, and I was more than happy to follow that advice. However, we had reservations at Vermilion Valley Resort and Muir Trail Ranch, and therefore we had a schedule I wanted to keep, if keeping it was at all possible. Thankfully, the doctor who treated Sage was also an avid hiker. I showed him my map and he explained how we could get back on the JMT without going back up to Reds. In the morning, assuming Sage was well, we could take a cab to Mosquito Flats (half an hour south of Mammoth Lakes) and take the Mono Creek Trail west, over Mono Pass, until it intersected with the JMT 2.8 miles from Lake Thomas Edison. Yes, this would mean trading a day and a half's hike on the JMT for a day's hike on Mono Creek Trail, but we'd end up where we'd want to be exactly on schedule, AND Sage would get her extra day of rest. Though the girls and I are purists at heart, this plan sounded just fine given the circumstances. I checked into a nearby hotel, bought the girls a million liters of their favorite drinks, and joined them in an afternoon of vegging in front of the television.<br />
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Sage was indeed a thousand times better the next morning, and we did take the good doctor's advice and hike over Mono Pass. In fact, we made it all the way to Lake Edison and slept next to Vermilion Valley Resort's ferry landing the very next evening. I'll describe that day in my next post.<br />
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If anyone has to take a day off in Mammoth Lakes and needs to quickly catch up on the JMT so they can be where they're supposed to be for the purposes of keeping paid-for reservations, then Mono Pass/Mono Creek Trail is the way to do it. I'll describe the route -- which is GORGEOUS -- in my next post, which will hopefully be up by late Friday evening.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-49530325330686403402014-09-26T15:23:00.002-07:002014-09-26T15:27:19.105-07:00JMT Rest Days #1 and #2 (Trail Days #6 and #7) : Reds Meadow Resort. August 10-11, 2014With the morning came sunshine, and not just the solar variety. Sage beamed. She didn't wheeze, she didn't seem exhausted. She beamed.<br />
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She also kept coughing. Not as much as she had the day before, but enough to make me glad we had arrived at Reds a day early and would therefore have two days of lounging instead of one. We couldn't check into our reserved room until the afternoon, but we could hang about the resort and eat a ton of food at Reds' cafe.<br />
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Reds Meadow Campground has a check-out time of noon, so we left our tent and walked the 0.2 miles to Reds Meadow Resort (there's a trail leading to the resort from the campground -- it starts behind the dumpsters by the restrooms).<br />
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There, at the cafe, we had hot chocolate and pancakes. That hot chocolate was the creamiest, most delicious thing...I felt like I was pouring liquid life into my stomach. After two sips, I realized how much my body needed hot food...going without a stove was the right choice for weight reasons, but my goodness, how we missed hot meals!</div>
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We didn't demolish the pancakes like I thought we would. We felt full rather quickly...I guess our stomachs had shrunk over the past few days. We took our time and ate as much as we could, then we walked back to the campground and packed our things. Sage coughed every five minutes or so, and she seemed tired and sniffly, but besides that, she was fine. Still, I was glad we had two days of rest ahead of us.</div>
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Once packed, we walked back to the resort and looked through the hiker bucket (a bucket where thru-hikers can ditch things they no longer want and/or take things other hikers have ditched). The girls scored a bunch of lollipops and hard candies, and I took some beef jerky. We then sat outside and played cards until early afternoon.</div>
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We saw Connie again. She had arrived last night, and now she was on her way out -- meaning, she was getting off the trail and taking road transportation south. She wanted to ascend Whitney, and she was behind schedule, so she was going to skip part of the trail. I said goodbye to her...and I have no idea what became of her. If you ever read this, Connie, then know it was a pleasure meeting you.</div>
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We also saw the kind fellow we had spoken to on top of Donohue Pass. He was getting off the trail as well. Unfortunately, he had sustained a knee injury and didn't think he could continue without making it worse.</div>
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The time came for us to check in, so we picked up the key from the General Store (seen below, with the red hiker bucket to the right of the door).</div>
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Our room for the next two evenings was the left section of a nearby building...<br />
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Our room had two large beds and a bathroom. There was no television, but the internet access was fast and reliable. The girls borrowed some books from the cafe, and we settled in for what would be two days of resting, eating, and pushing fluids. During those two days, Sage's cough and sniffles persisted. Though I was no longer worried about her succumbing to HAPE, I did need to know exactly what was going on with her so I could figure out how to proceed. I therefore decided to take her to Mammoth Lakes Hospital after we checked out of Reds, just to be safe. This would potentially put us a day behind schedule, but hey...who cares. I needed to be 100% certain Sage was healthy enough to continue before heading back out on the trail.<br />
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**Next post -- Mammoth Lakes Hospital, and how we managed to give Sage an extra day of rest yet still wind up ahead of schedule.<br />
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I'm behind on our gear review -- I'll try to add another review late tomorrow evening. I promise, by the end of this journal, everything we carried will be listed and reviewed.<br />
<br />Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-50631489005351319462014-09-24T05:11:00.003-07:002014-09-24T05:20:47.123-07:00JMT Hiking Day #5: Thousand Island Lake to Reds Meadow Campground. August 9, 2014**Around 16 miles with 800-1000 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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<i>***Some of the day's photos were accidentally deleted during the evening of August 9. As I frantically used my iPhone to search the internet for information on High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, my clumsy fingers hit the camera button more than once and somehow managed to erase a few images. My apologies for this post's relative lack of pictures.</i><br />
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We awoke to cold drops of water falling on our faces. Again. The condensation was much worse this morning. I roused the girls and we took turns carefully moving all our belongs out of the tent.<br />
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We were ahead of schedule; our reservations for Reds Meadow Resort were for August 10 and 11. We therefore decided to have a short hiking day, since we didn't want to arrive at Reds a day early. The morning sun warmed the rocky banks of the lake, so we took advantage of the light and draped our tent over some boulders. We took our time eating breakfast and enjoyed wandering up and down the rocks. I took a trip down to the water where we'd heard the lapping sounds, hoping to find some prints on the sparse sand. No such luck -- there were no prints of any kind.<br />
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Connie appeared and walked down to the water; as she filled her bottles, she told us where she had camped, which happened to be about fifty feet higher from where we had pitched our tent. We spoke for a while, then she moved on. She was hoping to reach Reds Meadow Resort by early evening, so she needed to get going. We casually waved goodbye and continued to lounge.<br />
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10:00 came and went before we moved on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking away from Thousand Island Lake</td></tr>
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After an initial ascent, we hiked downward, first toward the beautiful Emerald Lake, which looked like a fantastic place to swim, then toward the even more picturesque Ruby Lake...which also looked like a fantastic place to swim. It was nearing midday by the time we reached Garnet Lake, which most definitely looked like a fantastic place to swim. So we swam. Well, the kids swam. I waded a bit, since my older bones too quickly feel the chill of mountain lakes. Alex and Sage seemed to think the water was warm as toast. Even so, I instructed the girls to not submerge their heads, since I wanted to prevent colds.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading toward Garnet Lake, <br />
which is far more beautiful than my one photo of it suggests.</td></tr>
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While the girls were splashing, I saw the Japanese couple we had seen at the train station in Merced, and then again at Lower Cathedral Lake. We smiled and waved at each other. While the girls were drying off, we saw Connie approaching with a fellow we hadn't met. We had gotten ahead of Connie without seeing her -- she must have gone off trail for a few minutes at some point, and we'd walked right by her. She introduced the fellow -- his name was Joe, I think, then she continued on her way, determined to reach Reds in time for dinner. The girls and I shared some snacks with Joe, then he continued on his way while we lounged in the sun.<br />
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As we were lounging, we heard....<i>lap-lap-lap-lap</i>. I jumped up and looked toward the water. There -- there was the cause of the worrisome sound -- it was a mama duck with three ducklings. Her webbed feet made a soft, gentle, rhythmic splashing sound as she slowly paddled through the water. The ducklings made no sounds at all.<br />
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The girls and I laughed at ourselves and happily watched the ducks for a few minutes before shouldering our packs and moving onward.<br />
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We crossed the bridge at the northern section of Garnet Lake and immediately went the wrong way. The more obvious path is to the left after you cross, but it didn't take long for us to realize we'd made a mistake. That obvious path quickly becomes narrow and looks poorly maintained. We backtracked, only to run into a group of three men and one woman who had followed us into the wrong area. They didn't seem to have a map or compass with them, so they watched as I took out the map and showed them that the correct path goes around the other side of the lake for a while before turning southeast. We were moving faster than they were, so they let us go ahead. The climb up and away from Garnet Lake has a few strange wrong-turn options, but our map and compass set us straight whenever doubts arose.<br />
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All was fine and well with our world until we ascended the switchbacks between Shadow Lake and Rosalie Lake. Halfway up, Sage started coughing. Within five minutes, she went from coughing every 30 seconds to coughing every ten seconds. Ten minutes after that, she could no longer talk. Her pace slowed to a crawl and she wheezed with every breath. The onset of all of this was incredibly rapid. She was fine and cheery one minute, then ten minutes later she was in extremely poor condition. It was scary as hell.<br />
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I weighed our options. Gladys Lake was our highest point of the day at 9575 feet, and it was two to three miles away. After that, it was a straight descent into the Devil's Postpile/Reds Meadow Resort area, where we could get medical help if needed and enjoy breathing more oxygen at 7700 feet. Backtracking would mean having to ascend many miles up and over 10,000 feet before getting back to a low-altitude area. Continuing onward made the most sense.<br />
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We stopped and drank water at every switchback, and Sage's coughing and wheezing lessened somewhat with the decreased pace. We eventually made it up to Gladys Lake, where she begged me to set up camp. I told her no, we couldn't, that we had to get her down to lower altitude. I took Alex aside as Sage rested and told her all I could remember about <a href="http://www.basecampmd.com/expguide/hape.shtml"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">High Altitude Pulmonary Edema</span></b></a>, and that I was worried Sage might have it, and that it was absolutely crucial we get her down to lower altitude immediately. If this was indeed HAPE, then spending another night above 9000 feet could kill her.<br />
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Alex said she could take Sage's backpack if needed, then she went over to her sister. She took Sage's hand and started telling her jokes, and even now, weeks later, as I sit here and write this, I am SO PROUD of Alex for taking care of her sister like that. Alex encouraged Sage to get up and start moving. She told Sage that it was all downhill from here to Reds, and that she'd feel a lot better once we got a little lower. Sage wasn't happy about having to continue, but she did so, and on her own two feet. With every hundred feet of descent, her breathing improved and the frequency of her coughing decreased. By the time we got to 8500 feet, her breathing was normal and her coughing occurred every few minutes instead of every few seconds.<br />
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Though it was a straight descent, it was still a 7-mile walk. I offered to carry Sage, but she refused and, once we were below 8500 feet, walked at breakneck speed. She was grumpy and irritable, and she couldn't talk above a whisper. I allowed her to walk on her own since her breathing had returned to normal...and I certainly didn't mind getting to lower altitude sooner rather than later, for her sake. I was prepared to swoop her up if I felt it necessary, but Sage carried on, stronger with every step into more oxygen-rich territory.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving down into Devil's Postpile</td></tr>
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We reached the sign shown below and Sage, in a whisper, insisted we take a normal "smiley-photo." I gave her a hug, then we took the picture. Sage was mad at herself for not being 100% (in spite of my assurances that this wasn't her fault and that Alex and I cared far more for her well-being than we did about the trail). Posing for this photo cheered her up a bit, since, to her, it was proof that everything would turn out just fine. Everything did indeed turn out just fine eventually, but of course, at the time, I didn't know how anything would turn out. Right after I took the photo, Alex took one of Sage's hands and I took the other. We then made our way to the Visitors' Center at Devil's Postpile, caught the shuttle bus to Reds Meadow Campground, and found a site for the evening. <br />
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Sage rested on a picnic bench and ate the only thing she wanted to consume -- chocolate-covered caramels. Alex pushed fluids on her while I quickly readied everything for the night. Since Sage was now breathing without a wheeze and coughing much less frequently, I felt it safe to wait until morning before perhaps visiting a hospital. I knew the best remedy for HAPE, if this was indeed HAPE, was immediate descent and rest. We'd already descended to lower altitude, now Sage could rest. <br />
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A German father-son duo camped in the site next to ours. The father asked about Sage, and I told him our story. The girls played cards as I spoke with the duo for a few minutes, then I got the girls into the tent. Alex slept well, but Sage woke every couple of hours to cough for a few seconds. I stayed up late searching the internet for all I could find on HAPE, then I finally went to sleep knowing that, given Sage's immediate improvement upon descent, I had done the right thing. If she had still been wheezing and coughing hard at 7700 feet, then I would have flagged down a ranger and taken her to the hospital. As things now stood, I felt she would be fine for the night and would likely be greatly improved in the morning.<br />
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I was right -- she was better the next morning, but we'd eventually visit Mammoth Lakes Hospital anyway. I'll write more about that this Friday evening.<br />
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Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-12341689601911961042014-09-21T09:31:00.001-07:002014-09-21T09:32:31.052-07:00JMT Hiking Day #4: Lyell Canyon to Thousand Island Lake. August 8, 2014*About twelve miles with roughly 2560 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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The day did not start well.<br />
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I awoke to the feel of cold water dripping on my face. Confused, I opened my eyes and -- condensation. Massive amounts of condensation covered the inside of our tent's roof and walls. I carefully sat up and looked at the girls. Their sleeping bags appeared to be soaked. Not good.<br />
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Moving slowly, I put all our things outside the tent to prevent them from becoming "rained on," then I woke the girls. I told them to move carefully and to avoid the walls and ceiling if they could.<br />
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It wasn't just our tent --- Melissa and Bobby's were wet too. I felt better about this, in the sense that I now knew it wasn't our specific tent that was the problem...it was simply the atmospheric conditions within the canyon. We'd have other wet mornings in our immediate future, but each and every time, everyone else around us, regardless of their tent's brand, would have the same issues.<br />
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We spent some time drying the tent with hiking towels before packing up. Thankfully, the sleeping bags, in spite of having been repeatedly splashed, were dry on the inside. Later, I'd find that the outside of the bags dry on their own after a few hours inside their stuff sacks (I doubt they'd do that after having been dropped in a river...we're talking condensation here). The self-drying aspect was a huge plus. (I'll add a sleeping bag review to our gear page after I finish writing this post).<br />
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Melissa and Bobby were purposefully slow to pack up; they weren't in a rush. On the contrary, they didn't want to do a lot of miles that day; their intent was to take it slowly and enjoy the scenery and, of course, each other's company. We bid them a fond farewell and began our hike toward Donohue Pass.<br />
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A mile and a half later, Sage realized she was missing the wool hat she's had since she was four years old. That hat has been with us on so many hikes -- it held a lot of sentimental value. She refused to emotionally let it go, so I backtracked with her a while but -- no hat. Several people had passed us, heading toward Tuolumne Meadows, and I had a feeling one of them had picked it up. Sage became upset -- and (this is the really bad part) -- I lost my patience. I loudly fussed at her for losing the hat in the first place. It was not a good scene. Somewhere in there, we ran into Connie again, who must have thought Joan Crawford had risen from the dead.<br />
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I eventually chilled out and apologized to Sage for losing my temper. Sage apologized for losing her hat. Then we all realized we hadn't eaten much for breakfast. We hadn't eaten much for dinner the night before, either. Come to think of it, we were all rather thirsty as well.<br />
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It's amazing how quickly and thoroughly you lose your appetite on a multi-day hike. You simply become uninterested in whatever food you have in your canister. The hunger returns, with a vengeance, after a week or so of being out there, but the first few days are different -- you often don't feel hungry or thirsty, even after hiking ten+ miles. The resulting lack of food can therefore wreak havoc on your body...and emotions. <br />
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The girls and I had a quick second breakfast before continuing onward.<br />
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The climb to Donohue Pass consists of a steep section, followed by a flat-ish section, followed by another steep section. The first steep section takes you out of the canyon and into a lovely wooded area (with a couple of lakes and plenty of high-altitude camping options).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back at Lyell Canyon</td></tr>
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We caught up with Connie again during the second, flat-ish part of our ascent. She commented that she was moving more slowly than she had planned, since she wanted to photograph almost everything she saw. I understood her dilemma -- my photos below don't do the scenery justice. Connie graciously took our photo by a particularly picturesque lake before we parted ways yet again, the girls and I hiking onward while she lingered to snap some more photos.<br />
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Onward...<br />
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The third part of the climb is above treeline. The girls hiked quickly and strongly, not realizing they were now above 10,000 feet. I purposefully did not tell them how high we were, since I didn't want psychological altitude issues creeping into their psyches. Sage led the way, walking at her usual pace. Neither girl seemed affected by the altitude. We therefore carried on as usual, moving speedily and taking very few breaks.<br />
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In retrospect, I should have slowed our pace on this ascent, even though both girls acted as though they were at sea level. There were no headaches, there were no problems breathing, there were no negative signs whatsoever -- BUT -- hiking that quickly and that hard on our second day at high altitude was a huge and potentially deadly mistake. I'm getting ahead of myself, though...I'll discuss this issue thoroughly in the next installment of this journal.<br />
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Up we went...<br />
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Donohue Pass. 11,056 feet.<br />
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We dropped our packs and spent some time enjoying the accomplishment of the ascent. We ate, drank, and chatted with the five or six other hikers who lounged in the immediate area. One fellow, whose name I can't remember (sorry!) was particularly nice. We'd see him off and on over the next two days.<br />
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Connie arrived just as we were packing up to leave. We exchanged greetings before beginning our descent.<br />
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Moving on...<br />
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About half a mile down, I realized I didn't have my hiking poles. Arg! I had left them at the top of the pass...and I did not want to hike back up to retrieve them. I acknowledged to the girls that I had done exactly the thing Sage had done that morning. I hadn't been careful and I'd lost a piece of gear. It was a humbling, but healthy, confession. I apologized to Sage once again for having become Monster Mama that morning.<br />
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I let everyone who passed me know that there were now free hiking poles at the top of the pass.<br />
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We had one more pass to conquer before arriving at the evening's destination. Island Pass is tiny, just 500 feet or so. Unfortunately, the sky was dark and the clouds were thick by the time we arrived at the base. After discovering from descending hikers that the trail over the pass was mostly in the trees, the girls and I decided to hike onward. We wouldn't be (all that) exposed if a storm began.<br />
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Luckily, the storm held off until later in the evening, and we were able to get over the pass without atmospheric troubles. The view from the top of the pass was, of course, stunning.<br />
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The descent to Thousand Island Lake was lovely -- our first glimpse of the lake and all its little islands was breathtaking.<br />
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Thousand Island Lake is a popular camping spot, for obvious reasons. There are therefore strict regulations on where you may and may not camp. Unfortunately, the sign at the foot of the lake, by the intersection with the PCT and other trails, isn't clear. You're supposed to camp beyond the first island...but it isn't obvious exactly where that first island is located. Some of those little land masses run together, and the girls and I couldn't tell if we were definitely past the no-camping zone or not. After careful inspection, we pitched our tent in a spot that had obviously been recently used. It was close to the water -- but not too close -- and nestled in some short trees.<br />
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No sooner had we set up camp when, once again, the thunder and rain arrived. Once again, we were thankful for our timing and, once again, we dove into our tent to wait out the storm. The thunder was loud and there were a few flashes of lightning, but, once again, the storm only lasted a half hour or so. After the storm moved on, the girls and I came out, ate dinner, and enjoyed an amazing sunset before retiring for the evening.<br />
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Just before falling asleep, I head a <i>lap-lap-lap</i> sound. I sat halfway up and listened. <i>Lap-lap-lap-lap. </i>"What is that?" Alex asked. She and Sage were both awake. I told them I had no idea. Marmots playing in the water? Probably not. People? No, there were no voices or human sounds. Alex said the noise sounded like our cats drinking water. <i>Lap-lap-lap. </i>She was right. The girls and I looked at one another with realization dawning. Cats. Lapping water. We're in the Sierras. Mountain lion territory. Alex wanted to go out, walk down to the water, and see what this was...if this was a mountain lion, then she wanted to see it. I told her NO...she is just the right size for a yummy snack, so she wasn't going anywhere. We lay there and listened to the sound for long minutes. It went on and on and on, without a break. Our curiosity grew and grew...if it was a mountain lion, then it sure was thirsty! Neither the girls nor I were frightened; there isn't one documented case of a mountain lion attacking anyone in a tent, and there are no verified reports of a mountain lion attacking anyone on the John Muir Trail. I figured as long as we stayed in our tent, we'd be fine. Eventually, we each drifted off to sleep. The next day, we'd discover what had made the noise...<br />
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The next installation of this journal, "JMT Hiking Day #5: Thousand Island Lake to Reds Meadow Resort. August 9, 2014," will be posted by late Monday evening.<br />
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I'll post my sleeping bag review late tonight, Sept. 21.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-23530646915267098372014-09-15T04:34:00.000-07:002014-09-15T04:34:20.229-07:00JMT Hiking Day #3: Lower Cathedral Lake to Lyell Canyon. Aug. 7, 2014**11 or 12 miles with minimal elevation gain.<br />
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In spite of our best efforts to hasten our routine, it took us two hours and fifteen minutes to break camp. As I previously wrote, we'd eventually get this time down to an hour and forty-five minutes. <br />
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Many of the tents were gone when we made our way past the lake, though we did see the Japanese couple from the train station and two other backpackers. We waved at the Japanese couple, who recognized us and waved back. One of the other backpackers asked if we'd like our photo taken. I thanked him and replied in the affirmative.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Lower Cathedral Lake</td></tr>
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The walk into Tuolumne Meadows wasn't as straightforward as one might hope. From Lower Cathedral Lake, one hikes about 5.5 miles into the area. If you follow the JMT proper, as we did, then you won't walk by the post office or the grill (both of which we needed to visit). If you walk toward Tuolumne and, instead of taking a right and following the trail which roughly parallels the road, you continue straight and take a right ON the road, you will more easily find the post office and the grill. We followed the trail proper, which had a few intersections, and found ourselves about to walk out of Tuolumne before we realized we had to veer off the path and walk the road a bit in order to pick up our resupply and order some cheeseburgers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Cathedral Lake, heading toward Tuolumne Meadows</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering Tuolumne Meadows</td></tr>
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Walking along the trail, as opposed to the road, brings you close to a natural soda springs. Alex wanted to take the 0.1 mile detour to check it out.<br />
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Onward, toward the post office -- and cheeseburgers!<br />
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The post office, convenience store, and grill are all in the same building. <br />
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The post office fellow -- who was incredibly kind and cheerful, in spite of probably having to say the exact same thing to about a billion thru-hikers every single day -- explained that he distributed the hiker resupply buckets/packages every hour, and that we should relax and hang out until he heard us call our name. This was fine with us -- the grill beckoned, and the line wasn't long. We took our place behind a few day hikers and waited to place our orders.<br />
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Cheeseburgers and Sierra Mist (a Sprite-like drink) and french fries -- oh my! It all tasted WONDERFUL. We'd been living off almonds and trail mix for three days, so this food was ambrosia.<br />
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We took a seat on an outside picnic table and fielded questions from tourists/dayhikers. It was obvious, from our body odor and filthy appearance, that we'd been away from civilization for a few days. Folks were supportive and impressed with our thru-hiking plans. We had some nice conversations with various people. We also recharged our cameras and phones (there's a power strip inside the convenience store).<br />
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When our name was called, I approached the post office and listened to the spiel -- recycling goes here, empty buckets go there, and please go through your resupply by the specific tables across the parking lot from the post office. I took the bucket and the cardboard tube I'd mailed to myself, walked across the parking lot, and joined a few other thru-hikers in the designated area.<br />
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My pocketknife and hiking poles were in the cardboard tube. I'd mailed them so as not to deal with TSA agents confiscating them at the airport. The resupply bucket was filled with far too much food. We still had 1/3 of our original food left...there was no way we'd need all the calories I'd sent to myself. Alex and Sage picked out the things they wanted most (sesame-bran sticks, dried fruit, specific types of flavored almonds, various kinds of M&Ms, electrolyte mixes, granola, Snickers bars, pistachios, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and power bars). I then gave our leftovers (summer sausage and extra granola) to a fellow who was hovering nearby and hoping for hand-outs. This young man was "backpacking around the Sierras all summer" and could use any extra food we hikers wished to give him. That was fine with us -- it was a win-win situation. He got free food and I got to lighten my pack weight by three pounds.<br />
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The girls and I had originally planned to stay in the backpackers' camp, but, once again, it was early in the day (around 2pm) and we didn't feel like stopping. We therefore agreed to hike another 4-6 miles and camp in the canyon.<br />
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Before we took off, I used the restroom and, at the sinks, met a woman named Connie. Connie introduced herself and asked if we were hiking onward. When I said yes, she asked if she could camp near us that evening, if we happened to end up in the same vacinity. I told her of course, and she left the restroom and hiked onward. We'd catch up with her later. <br />
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The girls and I gathered our things, walked out of Tuolumne Meadows, and headed toward Lyell Canyon.<br />
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It was a flat trek, so the miles went quickly.<br />
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We couldn't search for a place to camp until we were past an avalanche slide, roughly four miles from Tuolumne Meadows. In the photos below, the girls point at what we think is that slide.<br />
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A mile or so later, roughly five miles from Tuolumne Meadows, we decided we'd look for our evening spot. We were now in the trees, and the sky was looking ominous. We wanted to get the tent set up before the boomers arrived. <br />
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We consulted the guidebook and looked for a certain camping spot. As we were looking, we caught up with Connie, who was also searching for a place to pitch a tent. We joined forces and, unfortunately, discovered the guidebook is wrong about a supposed camping spot by the Ireland Creek junction...that camping site doesn't exist (or it's incredibly well hidden). We therefore continued up the trail a bit, mindful of the overhead rumbles and increasing cloud cover.<br />
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I eventually saw a faint herd path leading off the trail toward the Lyell River. The girls and I followed it and found a few camping spots within the trees. We decided to make this our home for the evening. Connie, however, wanted to see if there was another site farther up the trail. We said our temporary goodbyes -- the girls and I would see her again the next day.<br />
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As the girls and I pondered exactly where to pitch our tent, a couple slowly walked by on the John Muir Trail (we could see the trail from our camping spot). They looked like they were searching for a place to stay, so I hollered to them. They came over to check out the area, then asked if it would be okay to camp nearby. Their names were Melissa and Bobby.<br />
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Melissa and Bobby were newlyweds, and their faces glowed with happiness and serenity. It was truly a pleasure to meet them. The John Muir Trail was their honeymoon. They carried a ton of photography equipment; Bobby explained he wanted to document their adventures so they could experience the trail all over again when they were older. They also had fishing gear and a ton of other miscellaneous items. They stated they had to move more slowly than they would otherwise because of the weight they were carrying -- each of their packs weighed over 40 pounds.<br />
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The thunder was getting louder, so the girls and I got the tent up and safely stored all our belongings. Then the rain and the hail came, just as it had done the previous evening. The girls enjoyed watching the small bits of ice bounce off the ground as the storm briefly raged. The tempest lasted about half an hour, then the clouds moved on and the sky cleared.<br />
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Deer came along and wandered around our site just before we turned in for the evening. I could see Melissa and Bobby sitting together on a log by their tent, watching the wildlife.<br />
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Once again, the girls played cards inside the tent until we ran out of daylight.<br />
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**JMT Hiking Day 4: Lyell Canyon to Thousand Islands Lake, will be posted by late Thursday evening.Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-3777853272856496062014-09-12T17:22:00.000-07:002014-09-18T19:04:37.327-07:00JMT Hiking Day #2: Little Yosemite Valley to Lower Cathedral Lake. Aug. 6, 2014**About 14 miles with roughly 3600 feet of elevation gain.<br />
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We slept well. Before our trip, I worried I would fret over potential nightly bear visits and therefore rarely sleep a wink. I had envisioned difficult hours of auditory paranoia -- every sound would be something large and hairy trying to break into our tent.<br />
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Thankfully, I experienced absolutely no unnecessary mental anguish. The sight of that bear submissively turning and walking away at the sound of my yell had dispelled all my worries. I slept soundly that night, knowing that if a bear did indeed try to come into our tent, a shout and a blow of my air horn would scare it away.<br />
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I woke at dawn (around 6am). I roused the girls, and we proceeded to break camp. This took much longer than expected. We put our hiking clothes back on, loaded our backpacks, took down the tent, brushed our teeth, tied our camping shoes (Crocs) to our packs, and ate breakfast. The entire process took two and a half hours. We'd eventually get this routine down to one hour and forty-five minutes. <br />
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Our hiking clothes were still damp from the washing I'd given them. Ack. Lesson learned -- from this day forward, I never washed our hiking clothes (except our underwear, which almost always completely dried overnight). Wearing dry but stinky clothes is far better than putting on ice-cold, wet clothes first thing in the morning.<br />
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By 8:30, we were ready to roll. We walked out of the campground (leaving the Dartmouth fellows still sleeping in their tents...we wouldn't see them again until Muir Trail Ranch, eleven days later).<br />
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After 1.3 miles, we reached the intersection with the trail that leads to Half Dome. Alex, Sage, and I looked at one another with huge smiles on our faces. From this point on, we'd really be on the JMT. Yes, we'd technically been on the JMT all morning, but now, we'd likely meet only other JMT thru-hikers. At least, that's what we thought at the time. This turned out not to be all that true, since we were heading toward Tuolumne Meadows. Tons of people dayhike and do two or three day backpacks from Tuolumne, and we would end up meeting quite a few such folks. Not that there's anything wrong with dayhikers and three-day backpackers. Usually, those people are us. Meeting fellow thru-hikers, however, is something special. You know you'll likely see them again, and a camaraderie often develops. That's what we were looking forward to..and we'd eventually get it. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading away from Half Dome,<br />
toward Sunrise High Sierra Camp and Cathedral Lakes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We left the Yosemite/Half-Dome crowds behind and continued along the trail.<br />
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The tree in the center of the photo below was stripped of most its bark. The bark was at the base...massive chunks!<br />
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There are plenty of intersections between Half Dome and Sunrise High Sierra Camp, but each intersection is well-marked.<br />
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Onward...<br />
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The open woods were gorgeous. Walking through the tall, stately pines felt liberating.<br />
<br />
The climb to Sunrise High Sierra camp was surprisingly tough for us. The path was rarely steep, but we were hiking at 9500+ feet and we weren't yet acclimated to the altitude. We felt good, but we needed to stop after every few switchbacks to catch our breath and drink water. <br />
<br />
We met a nice father-son team on our way up; they were heading in the opposite direction and they let us know we were close to the top of our climb. Congrats to the son, Thomas, who begins his college career this year at Middlebury College in Vermont.<br />
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We also met a young man named Matt -- Matt did the Camino last year, just a couple months after we did. We enjoyed sharing our memories of Spain.<br />
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We reached the top of the switchbacks and were rewarded with this view --<br />
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From here, Sunrise High Sierra Camp is only a couple tenths of a mile away.<br />
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We reached the Camp, filled our water bottles, and took a food break. The girls and I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, so we broke out our large bag of peanut M&Ms and snacked away. The bag was demolished in less than five minutes.<br />
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We had originally planned on sleeping at Sunrise High Sierra -- it looks like a nice place and the manager, who I ran into while walking to the compost toilet, is charming and nice. However, it was early in the day and the girls felt strong. We decided, therefore, to head over Cathedral Pass and sleep next to Upper or Lower Cathedral Lake. <br />
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On our way up the pass, we met a friendly, energetic family hiking in the other direction (coming into Sunrise High Sierra). The man called out, "This must be Trish, Alex, and Sage!" Then he said his family had read my book. The encounter was flattering -- it really lifted our spirits. The man and his wife have three kids, Zack, PJ, and Mia, and each looked like they were hiking strong. It was truly a pleasure to meet them. We spoke for a while and the family was so kind! Our conversation seemed to give us an energy boost; after we said our goodbyes, the girls and I hiked onward with renewed vigor.<br />
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Cathedral Pass is minor as far as passes go. It's isn't all that exposed...still, when the clouds gathered and the thunder began, I became uncomfortable.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Cathedral Pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We hurried over the pass and into the trees. The thunder came closer and boomed with greater frequency, but, thankfully, we remained on the outskirts of the fury. The next day, I heard from other hikers that the storm had unleashed most of its drama over Tuolumne Meadows.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoCgUIVHMTEQnmOp5vW_IDkVOOjtBRr77hY1UVaRMmb7ozpDp7xg_-NGGWFywy_mnLsP_LW7cJF2hzuEk0xqGNBoUksHo53ZD1dlEmnMqoV804za6L2dFNRV6G0n1Gl74v0Jt6k4jwrQu/s1600/IMG_2109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoCgUIVHMTEQnmOp5vW_IDkVOOjtBRr77hY1UVaRMmb7ozpDp7xg_-NGGWFywy_mnLsP_LW7cJF2hzuEk0xqGNBoUksHo53ZD1dlEmnMqoV804za6L2dFNRV6G0n1Gl74v0Jt6k4jwrQu/s1600/IMG_2109.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper Cathedral Lake from the JMT</td></tr>
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We reached Upper Cathedral Lake and saw "Restoration Site -- No Camping" signs posted everywhere. We therefore hiked another mile or so down to the intersection for Lower Cathedral Lake. There's a half mile trail leading off the JMT toward the lake -- we followed it. The thunder was now LOUD and I thought the lightning was going to fly in our direction. There were a few, tiny, sad looking sites where we could technically pitch our tent, but our guidebook said there were tons of great sites close to the lake. We had reached the end of the trail, but we couldn't see those fabulous sites. Befuddled, we turned right and walked to the small ledges by Lower Cathedral Lake.<br />
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From there, we still couldn't see anything obvious. The thunder was constant and we were standing on rock, so I hurried the girls around the right side of the lake and into the trees. There -- a few tenths of a mile from the end of the path, in the trees -- were the campsites. At least fifteen tents were already set up. There really are a zillion beautiful sites around that lake -- you just have to walk down the path, take a right to the lake, walk over the ledges, and go into the trees to get there. <br />
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We found a flat spot and set up camp just in time. One minute after we safely stowed our gear, rain and hail came pouring down.<br />
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The storm only lasted twenty minutes (by Cathedral Lakes...apparently, the storm lasted for hours over Tuolumne Meadows). The sun then came out, melted the hailstones, and dried the ground.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsd7icwr3hMKFOyL4INDYJ7X_dCoFmdsSciSkaYbsuvT7J8KFwndDetrxgyqC0sNFpuLl-0t46zwcWhwRYsSnFu14c4KVypK-0JStmU_TzFpnntflqWnf3q7HfpgC-J6G8SHYr4GDtWzr/s1600/IMG_2120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsd7icwr3hMKFOyL4INDYJ7X_dCoFmdsSciSkaYbsuvT7J8KFwndDetrxgyqC0sNFpuLl-0t46zwcWhwRYsSnFu14c4KVypK-0JStmU_TzFpnntflqWnf3q7HfpgC-J6G8SHYr4GDtWzr/s1600/IMG_2120.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camping by Lower Cathedral Lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I didn't bother washing our hiking clothes this time. Instead, I hung them up outside to air out overnight. This strategy worked well for the rest of our thru-hike. The night air never eliminated the stink from our clothes, but it did lessen the smell substantially.<br />
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The girls played cards until it was too dark to see, then we began our snoozing.<br />
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*The next post, Hiking Day #3 - from Lower Cathedral Lake to Lyell Canyon, will be posted by late Sunday evening.<br />
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**Gear Review -- Backpacks! <a href="http://girlsonthewayjmt.blogspot.com/p/jmt-gear.html"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">See the Gear page</span></b></a> for my reviews on the Gossamer Gear Gorilla and the Gossamer Gear Quicksak. I used the Gorilla and the girls each used a Quicksak. In sum -- we LOVED them! A+Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397816517767755015.post-83072556334071389772014-09-07T21:00:00.000-07:002014-09-10T04:54:39.313-07:00JMT Hiking Day #1: Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley. Aug. 5, 2014<i>6.6 miles. Minimal overall elevation gain -- but -- you begin by hiking down about a thousand feet, then you hike up several hundred feet, then down again, then up again, etc. This is not a flat trek.</i><br />
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We were up at sunrise; the first shuttle bus from Curry Village to Yosemite Lodge would leave just after 7am, and we wanted to be on it. We packed our things as quietly we could, since sound travels easily throughout the tent camp and we didn't want to be the cause of another person's interrupted sleep.<br />
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This was the moment to shed every ounce we didn't need to carry. The girls opted to leave some drawing material; they left these items on the bear box opposite ours. A family with small children was staying in that particular tent cabin, and the girls figured the kids wouldn't mind some extra crayons and pens. I left all the miscellaneous papers I was carrying (airplane boarding passes, receipts, etc.) in the recycling bin. Thus relatively unburdened, we walked through Curry Village to the shuttle stop.<br />
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This large fellow bade us good morning as we passed.<br />
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A coffee shop was open, so we quickly ducked in to buy bagels, cream cheese, and orange juice. We ate our breakfast on the bus stop's bench.<br />
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The shuttle arrived, and the outgoing female bus driver asked what our plans were. We told her we needed to be dropped off at Yosemite Lodge so we could take the bus to Glacier Point. She asked if we were doing a day hike; I told her no, we were going to walk all the way to Whitney Portal. She was impressed by the girls taking on such a feat, and she and the other early bird passengers asked us a lot of questions about the trail and our plans. They were all very supportive and positive. It was a nice way to begin the day!<br />
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A kind fellow at Yosemite Lodge took our picture as we waited for the bus to Glacier Point. This bus is a tour bus, meaning most people take it to hear the driver talk about Yosemite Valley as they ride to a beautiful viewpoint. I looked for other JMT hikers, since a certain number of permits are given to would-be thru-hikers for each day of the summer. I knew we couldn't be the only ones who had permission to begin the thru-hike from Glacier Point that day. We were the only thru-hikers at the bus stop, however.<br />
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The bus arrived, and everyone piled in. The driver made me put my backpack in the luggage compartment in the underneath of the bus. I didn't like that, even though it made sense considering the bus was completely full. I'd much rather have placed the pack on my lap, even though I would have been a bit smushed. I worried about my pack -- the only pack in the huge space down there -- rolling around, falling over, sliding from side to side, and getting generally trashed. That's what I do, you see -- before every long hike, before each one of our adventures, I worry and fret over something for at least an hour before chilling out and focusing on the task at hand. There's always something, some detail, I obsess over. I think that's my way of mentally preparing. I worry and fret beforehand, then, while we're actually hiking/camping/whatever, I'm as cool as a cucumber when anything happens that needs a clear head and fast action.<br />
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The driver was a witty and informative guy. He told the passengers all about Yosemite's history as we wound our way up the mountain road to Glacier Point. His jokes were actually funny (many tour guides are cheesy...this guy wasn't) and, by the end of our ride, I had forgiven him for separating me from my backpack.<br />
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We arrived at our destination, got out of the bus, retrieved my backpack (which was, of course, perfectly fine), looked up, and saw this --<br />
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Wow. The girls ooh-ed and aah-ed, and we immediately agreed that starting the JMT from Glacier Point was just fine. Who cares about Happy Isles when you can begin your adventure from a place such as this? After staring at Half Dome and the surrounding peaks and valleys for a solid ten minutes, we excitedly found the beginning of Panorama Trail and began what would be a twenty-two day adventure.<br />
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Panorama Trail begins up at Glacier Point and winds its way down the side of the mountain toward Illouette Falls. From Illouette Falls, we'd climb up the other side of the valley and meet the official John Muir Trail near Nevada Falls. That trek is about 5.5 miles long. From there, we'd hike another 1.1 miles to our day's destination -- Little Yosemite Valley (LYV). Our permits mandated we spend our first night at LYV. Our first hiking day, therefore, would be relatively short. We didn't mind -- 6.6 miles was just the right amount of mileage for our first day. We wanted to take it easy and soak in the views. <br />
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LYV is three-ish miles from Half Dome. We could see Half Dome and the surrounding peaks as we walked through the enormous pines toward Ilouette Falls.<br />
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The girls and I stopped often to take photos.</div>
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The sun was bright and I made the girls wear their sunhats and slather on the sunblock. The hats were bought especially for this trip -- when we hike in New Hampshire, we're in the trees so often that we usually don't need hats or sunscreen. Here, however -- sun sun sun, almost constantly. We never felt hot, though. The day was, for Yosemite, cool. I was grateful for that, since I'm not a hot-weather hiker.<br />
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We reached Illouette Falls in time to see a couple of deer enjoying the water.<br />
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The deer were still drinking as we crossed the bridge. Once on the other side, however, we found ourselves between the deer and their escape route. They became nervous and tried to dart into the trees, but we were on the only path they could take (the immediate walls of the valley were too steep for them to climb). I hurried the girls down the path so the deer wouldn't feel trapped or threatened. As soon as we turned a corner and reached a more open area of forest, both deer bounded right by us and disappeared into the forest.<br />
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We began the climb up the other side of the valley. The switchbacks were gentle but, for us, slightly irritating. This was our first day of hiking switchbacks and we had to get used to the idea of hiking more miles for the sake of a gentler climb. In New Hampshire, the trails get right to the point -- our paths go straight up and down the mountains. We're used to extremely steep, rugged, and no-nonsense hikes. The trails on the JMT, as we would find, almost always went back and forth up a gazillion switchbacks which, in our minds, added unnecessary miles to the day. The good thing about switchbacks, though, is that the trail never becomes steep. On the entire JMT, there was one and only one section that felt steep (the short trail up Glen Pass). Heading up to Nevada Falls on our first day, we began our adjustment to Sierra hiking and realized that, even though we could sometimes see exactly where we'd end up, we were not allowed to simply hike in a straight line to that destination.<br />
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The views were continually stellar as we made our way to Nevada Falls. In addition to the views, we also finally began seeing other hikers. There had been a few as we'd left Glacier Point, but they were day hikers taking their time and we'd quickly outpaced them. Now, we ran into what seemed like folks out for more than just one day. We'd later discover that most of them were headed toward LYV, and that most intended to hike up Half Dome the next day before returning to Yosemite Valley.<br />
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We reached the intersection with the official John Muir Trail and became excited all over again. <br />
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Now on the official JMT, we hiked the short distance to Nevada Falls.<br />
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There were dozens and dozens of people hanging out at Nevada Falls. A few were IN the falls which is, to put it bluntly, idiotic. In the photo below, I'm standing on a bridge and looking away from the actually waterfall. See the two candidates for the Darwin Awards? They're in the water, which has strong undercurrents. They're standing on smooth, slippery rocks. The water between where they're standing and where the falls plunge off a cliff is fast-moving. If they were to slip, they'd be carried between those rocks and...<br />
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....fly over the falls. In the photo below, I'm standing in the same spot but looking to my left, where the falls pour over the cliff. The only way to safely view these falls is from the bridge, where smiling Sage stands.<br />
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There are multiple signs (and fences!) to keep people out of the water, but...well...apparently, some folks can't read.<br />
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We took a break here (safely on the rocks, away from the water) and ate. The girls opted for Gatorade gels and some fancy Vitamin-jelly beans (a parting gift from Hugh). The snacks were easy to access since I carried the canister in the top of my pack. Usually, I pack most of the weight at the bottom of my backpack but, for this trip, I wanted easy access during the day. Therefore, for our entire hike, the canister was carried at the top. This unusual weight distribution never bothered me.</div>
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There are compost toilets near the falls. As the girls used them, I got my first glance at what would be a common site along more populated areas of the John Muir Trail -- Stellar's Jays. They're like the White Mountains' Canadian Gray Jays. They are cute, bold, and hungry for whatever food you happen to be eating (we didn't feed them).</div>
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From the falls, it was an easy 1.1 miles to Little Yosemite Valley. LVW is a large camping area in the trees, a couple tenths of a mile away from the Merced River. We found a spot, set up the tent, stored our canister in the provided bear box, and played cards.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrtmMYNoVyRXe0hgicJSeuXJMS24n7TEURKhNhrXa6X78g1rNjF5pPojx4sS2ss5j1eBbukKJtNWJvp8x3KZje0-fqiTD92DhyphenhyphenOGRiilNakpbWTs1FZB6mh70tqP_r60EvdbE7IRZsmWp/s1600/IMG_2087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrtmMYNoVyRXe0hgicJSeuXJMS24n7TEURKhNhrXa6X78g1rNjF5pPojx4sS2ss5j1eBbukKJtNWJvp8x3KZje0-fqiTD92DhyphenhyphenOGRiilNakpbWTs1FZB6mh70tqP_r60EvdbE7IRZsmWp/s1600/IMG_2087.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having fun at our campsite in Little Yosemite Valley</td></tr>
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The girls wanted to visit the river before it became too late in the day, so they changed into their swimsuits and grabbed their hiker towels, cameras, and sunglasses. We walked to the river and put our few belongings on a small space right in front of a kind fellow who was filtering his water. The river was crowded with folks getting water, taking a swim, and generally hanging out. It was a perfect swimming hole, so the girls enjoyed wading in their bathing suits while I washed up a few items of clothing. I took our "Kitchen Sink," the clothes, and the girls' cameras a good distance away from the river, per Leave No Trace rules (and my desire not to have the cameras get wet). As I did the wash, I saw a large bear, yellow-brown in color but black in species, plod along the trail. He/she was headed for the water, so I turned my head and shouted, "BEAR!" as loudly as I could. No people heard me -- I was too far away -- but the bear marked my voice. He/she stopped, then turned slightly and ambled through the woods, away from me and away from the splashing and happy shouting down by the river. I hadn't meant to scare or deter the thing, I'd just wanted to give the girls a heads-up. It was good to know, though, that yelling had an effect on bears. From that moment on, I wasn't worried in the slightest about any bear encounters we might have. I hadn't been all that worried to begin with, since we have bears in New Hampshire and I frequently see them around my house. Still, the bear's reaction to my loud voice was comforting. </div>
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I returned to the river and...Alex's sunglasses were gone. The nice fellow was still there, filtering his water, so I asked if he had seen them. He said he hadn't. When it was time for us to go, Alex became upset about not being able to find them. Sage's were right there, but Alex's weren't. Sage's look like kid-sunglasses, but Alex's look like expensive adult shades. They weren't expensive, but they look like they were. Again, we asked the fellow about the glasses, since he had been standing right there. Both Alex and I were sure she had brought them and put them right there. Again, the fellow said he hadn't seen them.</div>
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I was now experiencing that awful feeling of simultaneously suspecting someone of wrongdoing yet not being completely sure and therefore not wanting to hurt that person's feelings. Alex insisted she had brought the sunglasses, and I remembered her walking down the path with them. Yet this guy seemed nice, and hikers, as a general rule, are good people. This guy obviously now knew we were suspicious, and I hated that, because he genuinely seemed like a good man. It was akward all around. He left good-naturedly, insisting he hadn't seen anyone take them, and that of course he hadn't taken them himself. The girls and I walked back to our site, searching the trail in case Alex had dropped the shades (though she insisted she hadn't).</div>
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An hour later, a family walked by our site. We asked if they had seen any sunglasses anywhere...and yes, they had. They had seen some in the middle of the trail, so they had picked them up and put them on a rock beside the path. We walked with the family to the spot in question and -- there were the glasses. </div>
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I felt awful for suspecting the fellow of taking them. We visited his site, I let him know we had found the shades, and I apologized for having interrogated him. He was extremely kind about the whole thing, but I felt bad for making him feel awkward. I also knew that I had created a bad vibe with another hiker, which I regret...but, at the same time, Alex and I both remember her having those sunglasses at the river. Oh well. Unfortunately, I knew that when one creates a bad vibe with someone, that vibe usually comes back to kick you in the behind at some point, in some way. It's karma. Or, as one of the only laws of Wicca goes, it's the Law of Three. The vibes/energy you put out there will return to you with three times the original strength. This was our only bad-vibe moment with anyone else on our entire hike...our twenty-two days were, with the exception of this one instance, filled with happy-hiker-positivity. This one bad vibe did indeed come back to us, though, with three times the strength and then some, a few days later. It took the form of a HAPE scare with Sage...but we'll get to that in a later post.</div>
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The sunglasses had been found and hiker relations had been smoothed over as best I could, so it was time to eat. We feasted on sesame-wheat crunch sticks (lots of protein and fat, with a fair amount of carbs) and almonds. Thus sated, we brushed our teeth, changed into our pjs, and got into the tent.</div>
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A few minutes later, close to sunset, I heard the voices of some guys who were trying to find a tent site. The campground was close to full by now, so they pitched their shelters in a tiny space right next to us. I went out and introduced myself, and I let them know where the bear box was located. Turns out these six fellows were from Dartmouth. We were all happy to see fellow New Hampshire-ites! After exchanging pleasantries, I went back into our tent. We would end up leapfrogging these young men for the first half of our hike. I believe they ended up finishing at Whitney Portal one day before we did -- but more on that later.</div>
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<i>The next installment of this journal, Little Yosemite Valley to Lower Cathedral Lake, will be posted on Friday, September 12, 2014. </i></div>
Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03077445974909636411noreply@blogger.com3