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.
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.
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| By Lower Cathedral Lake |
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.
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| From Cathedral Lake, heading toward Tuolumne Meadows |
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| Entering Tuolumne Meadows |
Onward, toward the post office -- and cheeseburgers!
The post office, convenience store, and grill are all in the same building.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
The girls and I gathered our things, walked out of Tuolumne Meadows, and headed toward Lyell Canyon.
It was a flat trek, so the miles went quickly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Once again, the girls played cards inside the tent until we ran out of daylight.
**JMT Hiking Day 4: Lyell Canyon to Thousand Islands Lake, will be posted by late Thursday evening.
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