JMT 2018 – My 10ish Days on the John Muir Trail

I just got home from this year’s attempt at solo thru-hiking the JMT Southbound. I struggled at first, but shortly fell into the groove of trail life. It is a truly a beautiful trail, but it is definitely frickin hard! My body ended up breaking down too much for me to complete the trail again this year.

While I was not able to finish, I did have a wonderful experience; seeing beautiful landscapes, catching a ton of fish and meeting some wonderful people!

Please enjoy some of my pictures and stories from my journey shared below!

 

I arrive in Tuolumne on a Monday evening in late August. I decided to hit up the ranger station before it closed at 5pm to check in for the off chance that they had a Donohue Pass exit permit for the next day. Just my luck that they did! It saved me from having to get up at 5am the next morning and wait in line in the dark and cold to get a walk up permit. Instead I was able to relax with permit in hand, grill up some hotdogs for dinner and attend the wonderful ranger campfire presentation that night on glaciers, which included a dope rap about glacier science based on the Ice Ice Baby beats. A great first night of my adventure and a perfect send off before I hit the trail the next morning.

Day 1 – Tuolumne Meadows to Lyell Fork Headwaters

Since I was a day ahead of schedule and had a relatively easy first day of hiking from Tuolumne Meadows to the base of Donohue Pass where you wade across the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne river, I slept in a bit, cooked up more wieners over a breakfast fire and hit the trail for a relaxed 10am start.

Walking up Lyell Canyon is a pretty chill first day. It’s a good trail with beautiful landscapes, along the gorgeous river. Those mountains in the distance are where Donohue Pass sits. My first night’s camp was right at the tree line, about halfway up the pass from the valley floor.

I got to camp around 4pm. I immediately took a quick dip in the river to rinse off and relax. It was not so relaxing as the water was freezing and was probably the coldest swim I took on my whole trip! I set up camp and cooked a packet of ramen as I was not too hungry after a late lunch and my first night day at elevation (camped at about 10,200 feet) and then caught a few 4-7 inch brook trout from the river before hitting the sack.

It was a solid first day on the trail. I had hiked a total of 11.6 miles that day and had climbed almost 1,500 feet of elevation.

Day 2 – Over Donohue Pass to Thousand Island Lake

I woke up real early the next morning (5:30 am) so I could pack up camp and get to the top of Donohue pass before 8am to call my mom and girlfriend before they started work.

View from part way up to Donohue Pass, looking at the Meadow where I stayed my first night.

My first morning packing up took a bit longer than expected and I barely made it to the pass before 8, but was able to quickly check in with my peeps to let them know I had started my hike a day ahead of schedule and was chugging along.

The view from the top was crazy cool. Last year this was all snowy, this year it looked like I was on the moon or some far flung planetoid.

As you hike down through the valley towards island pass you have amazing views of Banner Peak in the distance. The trail is a steady downhill with lots of little streams crossing the path.

Quick lunch break next to a beautiful river crossing. Pepperoni, sharp cheddar and spicy mustard is a perfect afternoon pick me up!

Lunch spot view.

After you tackle Island Pass, you have a nice down hill stretch to Thousand Island Lake with fantastic views around each turn.

I made it to the lake around 2pm, took a swim then a nice afternoon nap. It was a 10 mile day with another 1,400 feet of climbing.

There are Great camp spots on the north side of the lake, where the use path rises up a little hill, up on the granite slabs to the right are a dozen or so sandy camp spots with nice views.

I spent the evening fishing the North Shore of Thousand Island Lake, about 1/4-1/2 mile down the use path. I was using a gold and red super-duper lure and was killing it. I caught 3 brook trout 12-16 inches and a rainbow trout near 20 inches. These were some big fish compared to everything I had been catching in Tuolumne and the Lyell fork.

Thousand Island Lake was one of my favorite spots last year on my hike, as it was again this year. It is a place I want to come back to for a long weekend backpacking trip some time soon.

Day 3 – Fishing (not catching) from Thousand Island Lake to Rosalie Lake

Day 3 was my shortest day, only 7 planned miles with only about 500 of elevation gain. I planned to fish a bit at Thousand Island Lake in the morning before beginning my day fishing at the various lakes between there and Rosalie Lake: Ruby, Garnet and Shadow. Sadly I did not catch a single fish all day at any of the 5 lakes, but I did see many fish swimming around and surfacing at each.

Beautiful Garnet Lake

I was trying all my lures and the fish did not seem at all interested. I should I have tied up some flies and given them a chance but knowing Rosalie Lake gets shaded in early evening I didn’t mess with setting up that rig instead stuck to lures and tried to get to Rosalie before 4pm so I could swim in the sunshine. Next time I will fish this stretch with flies to see how it goes.

Pro Tip: when crossing the outlet of Garnet Lake, stay right on the trail. If you veer left you get off the JMT and head down a steep ravine. I made this mistake last year and did not realize for a half mile, then had to hike back up the steep ravine back to the JMT. Stay right after Garnet SOBO.

Half way to Rosalie I reached a small pass, that descends down a rocky and steep set of switchbacks. This is where I tore my LCL last year. I took a little snack break before carefully defending this sketchy stretch. Happy to say I made it down without incident this year!

Even with all the failed fishing stops, I made it to Rosalie Lake before 4 and did get to swim in the sunshine. It was a great spot to stop for the day. So beautiful and clean, with really nice camp sites on both sides of the outlet.

Lots of wildlife, including deer, fish, bats and a family of ducks that swam up to say hello.

My nightly snack. Got to get those calories in as it ended up being another 10 mile day after all the extra fishing walking!

Day 4 – Rosalie Lake to Red’s Meadow / Devils Post Pile

This was a full day of steady downhill about 9 miles through a part of the forest that experienced a huge wind storm a number of years ago. You can see all the blown down trees! It is quite a site to see and walk through. Kinda spooky.

Not a lot of good scenery between Rosalie and Red’s. Just a get through it day. Plus I hobbled through this whole stretch in quite a bit of pain last year, so it did not bring back good memories and I just tried to hike as fast as possible and get to the oasis of Red’s Meadow and my first resupply.

I camped in the group hikers camp after spending some time showering, sorting food and checking in with family and friends on my phone. Met some nice people in the campground and swapped stories and advice. Great to feel some camaraderie with fellow hikers after being relatively alone for the last 4 days.

Day 5 – Red’s Meadow to Purple Lake

Goodbye civilization…

I knew this was going to be a long, tough day hiking through the relatively exposed area to Purple Lake, a stout 14 miles away.

I didn’t make it any easier on myself when I failed to fill up my water bottles at deer creek crossing before hitting the hot, dry, sunny, exposed and uphill 5+ mile stretch until the Duck Lake outlet. My GPS showed creeks along that stretch, but they are all seasonal and dry up in the late spring I found out. I struggled through this section. It was a brutal day so far.

The worse part was that when I finally got to the Duck outlet, I put down my pack and was heading to the stream to fill my bottle when a huge golden retriever ran over barking and jumped on me. I pushed it off and it started to run back to its owner, then it turned to attack me again! I kicked it right in the face as it lunged at me with its teeth bared and growling. This time it ran back to its owner for good.

I was so shocked. I had just struggled through 5 tough miles and was exhausted and thirsty when this typically friendly looking dog attacked me. It really brought me down as I love dogs.

It’s owner did nothing and weakly apologized. A lady at the river saw what happened and commented that she saw the dog do that to another hiker earlier. Crazy that people bring their dogs on these trips, especially when they are unfriendly and poorly trained. It was truly terrible.

Eventually I made it to Purple lake. I hiked around the trail to the inlet where there were a handful of great sites near the water. I did some swimming and fishing and really enjoyed my evening at this lake after such a physically and mentally exhausting day. Caught a few little brook trout on some lures (spinners were better at this lake) but I should have switched to flies as there were many fish rising. I was just too exhausted to deal with switching over though.

Purple Lake is a beautiful lake to stop at and enjoy the alpine glow on the peaks in the twilight.

Day 6 – Purple Lake to Silver Pass Lake

Just a short hike up and over a small pass from Purple Lake is Lake Virginia. This was a huge lake that I expected to have some decent fishing.

I stopped and fished the west shore of the lake for about an hour. I didn’t see a single fish jump and never had a bite… beautiful lake though.

After Virginia Lake I headed down a long and sunny set of switch backs to Tully Hole along Fish Creek. This was a nice shaded spot by the beautiful river where I had some lunch and dried my sweat soaked socks in the sunshine.

Over the river and up towards Silver Pass.

I planned on heading up to that saddle on the left and staying at Squaw Lake just before reaching Silver Pass.

When I arrived at Squaw Lake I was disappointed in how small it was. I was also feeling pretty good so I decided to push on and tackle Silver Pass and stay at Silver Pass Lake just on the other side.

It was a tough extra two miles up and over the pass, but the view was worth it and it made for a bit easier day the next day which ended up being much needed.

The view from Silver Pass, where I had just come from!

My camp at Silver Pass Lake! Cold water and lots of fish, but I guess they weren’t hungry since I couldn’t catch any…

I went to take off my socks to swim and wash my clothes, when I saw my right sock was all bloody. I guess I had broken a toe nail while hiking and it had started bleeding. Luckily it didn’t really hurt too bad so I just added tape to another toe and went for a cold swim.

Such a beautiful spot.

That evening I met a really friendly older man who was out solo hiking the JMT Northbound. His wife had recently passed away and he was out there as a way to cope with his loss.

We shared how it was difficult being out on your own, especially in the evening time. He mentioned he would write a bit to help him in the evenings and I shared an exercise with him that I had heard from a few people to help when faced with difficult times: To write down 5 things your are grateful for from that day and 5 things your are looking forward to. He was excited about this exercise and thanked me for the advice and chat. It was a really nice moment shared between us.

It was another tough 13 mile, 1,450 foot day. But damn was it beautiful!

Day 7 – Silver Pass Lake to Lake Edison / VVR

I started the next day feeling really strong, ready for a long down hill stretch descending almost 3,000 feet through beautiful forests and rivers to Lake Edison about 6 miles away.

It was a gorgeous stretch and I was feeling good and was ahead of schedule. So I decided I was going to push past Lake Edison and go the extra 5 miles up Bear Ridge. Then I’d be another day closer to finishing and I’d be able to stay at a more beautiful lake area.

While I had this sweet plan in my head, my body had a different plan. By the time I had reached the Edison Lake turn off and after going down the rocky switchbacks almost 3,000 feet my left ankle was totally done. I was in some serious pain and I knew I could not safely continue for the day.

I decided to head for the VVR ferry and take a day or two to rest up my hurt ankle at the famous Vermillion Valley Ranch.

While waiting the a couple hours until the twice daily ferry arrived I tried my luck at fishing until it became super stormy. No luck.

All of a sudden it was pouring rain… really hard.

Thankfully it only lasted for about 20 min and shortly after it stopped, the Ferry arrived, captained by the super friendly “Paint” (that’s his trail name)

Days 8-9 – Vermillion Valley Ranch on Lake Edison

VVR was an awesome place to hole up for a few days and try to heal up. They had great food, hot showers, free camping and the nicest staff ever! I met some amazing fellow hikers there.

Many stayed an extra day as we were caught in a 3 hour lightening and hail storm. This allowed us all to hang out a bit more and get to know each other better.

I met a great couple, Scott and Christy, with whom I ate a few meals. They even invited me to join them for a boat ride on the lake. They were super sweet and really made my time at VVR a much better experience.

I ended up spending 3 days there trying to heal up my ankle. It was tough being injured again and not sure if I would have to give up my trip again.

While at VVR, I was able to walk a mile down the road and get some cell service (at&t). I found out my grandfather was really sick and in the hospital.

The next day I was on a bus back to the Bay Area to visit him as it was unknown how bad he was doing and I wasn’t able to get decent updates where I was.

I was really glad I left to see him. It was very important to me to be there and see him. The trail will always be there but you really don’t want to miss out on important family events.

After a few days my grandpa was released from the hospital. My ankle was also feeling better so I decided to head to Tuolumne to pick up my car and drive down to independence to rejoin the JMT at Kearsarge Pass and finish out the final 4 days of the John Muir Trail.

Days 10-11 – The Bay to Yosemite To Kearsarge and Back Home Again

A 16 hour day from the Bay Area to Yosemite via bus, train and bus again got me to Yosemite Valley at about 10pm. I camped in Camp 4 for the night then got up really early to catch the hikers bus to Tuolumne to grab my car. I walked by Yosemite Falls and was surprised to see it totally dry!

I grabbed some essential snacks in Tuolumne before I drove down to Onion Valley.

It was 3pm before I was finally in the trail heading over Kearsarge Pass to Kearsarge Lakes.

I had 4 hours before dark to hike the 8.5 miles and almost 2,000 feet before I would arrive at the lakes and a suitable camp site.

It was quite a battle out of onion valley and over the pass.

It was getting cold and very windy, but I made it to the top with plenty of time to get down to the lakes before dark.

The lakes were gorgeous but as I descended the other side of Kearsage Pass my right hip started really hurting. By the time I got to my camp I was seriously limping. I did some stretching before bed and it was feeling a bit better.

I woke up the next morning to a gorgeous view as the sun started to rise. I stretched out my hip and it was feeling pretty good so I packed up camp and headed toward the JMT and Whitney!

A mile later I could barely walk my hip was in so much pain. I tried everything I could to relieve it, stretching it and massaging it but it was not getting better.

I knew then that I was again thwarted in my attempt to continue on. I knew it was going to be rough to even get back to my car on the other side of Kearsarge Pass, let alone all the way to Whitney and back down again safely.

I popped a handful of ibuprofen and turned around for my final hike up and over Kearsarge again and back down the switchbacks to my car and the end of my journey.

My Facebook post from that afternoon says it all:

It truly was quite the journey and I am glad I gave it a go this year again even though it was hard and painful at times. It was a trip I will never forget and it has again furthered my desires to be in the Great Outdoors and do a great deal more backpacking in the future, hopefully more with friends and family too!!!