The John Muir Trail
July 1990
Woods Creek to San Francisco
Day 14 Friday - Woods Creek - 12 miles, 167 total.
Well, I wanted company, and it looks like I got it, in spades. This creek crossing at Woods
Creek is a regular public campground. At 2:00 there were already 10 tents. I only see four from where
I am sitting, but it's early yet. We crossed the creek via an incredibly mobile suspension bridge.
It's brand new, and not necessary really since the creek is not that big, certainly no worse than many
others we've boulder hopped. Where are all these people going? Where are they from? Is the bear box
(a metal storage locker) big enough to hold all our food? Anyway, I chanced on a nice pool where I could
sit and soak and be completely covered. The water is fairly warm too. Nice! Two baths in a row!
Sponge baths just aren't the same. It feels good to sit in the sunshine, fairly clean, surrounded by
pine and aspen and white cliffs, with people nearby for interest.
I talked with a man who has been out here for quite a while. He had never backpacked before,
but decided to spend the entire summer in the Sierra. He only wants to do short days, since he has no
real schedule. We talked about a lot of things: love, life, religion etc. He's a nice man, feeling a
bit lonely too. When I arrived, he jumped up and told me the best place to set up my tent, then let me
try out his little chair, and talked during and after dinner for a long while.
Pinchot was not, physically, a particularly bad pass. Easier than Mather certainly, and
more consistent in its climb. The descent was, again, into a beautiful basin with gorgeous mountains
and lakes. The trail went up and down and round about, then came to the creek in a place where the canyon
walls narrowed. The sides were talus slopes. Landslides and avalanches had knocked down most of the
trees. It was very ugly, especially after the beauty of the upper basin. It was also hot and exposed
and rocky underfoot. So I had a decent morning climb past several lakes, then the rocky pass itself,
then a lovely descent to lunch by a lake, then an open ugly cliffside rock walk, and finally a lovely
creekside campsite with lots of people but pretty mountains around. There is one tree I can see that
stands out from the others, twice as tall, silhouetted against the ridge behind. Tomorrow I plan a
half-day again, up to Rae Lakes, another popular (populous) area. It should be easy, though uphill
all the way. Knowing that I don't have to go over the pass tomorrow will make it even better.
I debated vigorously about taking the extra day. I've been making good miles, but I have time enough
and food enough to be able to slow down a bit so that I'm set up a little easier for the next two passes.
I can do 16 mile days, but why, when I don't have to? My already weary body will thank me for taking
more time. Now that the rains have stopped, the long afternoons are more enjoyable. A side effect
of so much sunshine is I got sunburned yesterday for the first time. I don't see how, as brown as
I am, but I suppose it is from being above treeline so much.
Day 15 Saturday - Above Rae Lakes - 6 miles, 173 total.
I'm still not quite sure whether or not to go on. I had planned to camp by the lakes, but
went too far and missed the camping area. They really are beautiful lakes: blue and clear and large
with a few sandy beach areas and interesting mountains above (the Fin and the Dragon). I really should
have stayed. I was looking forward to a relaxing day by the lake. Instead I went on above the lakes
to a little campsite off the trail. The spot is nice, but it is neither high enough to make a real
difference in going over the pass, nor low enough to be near the pretty water. I'm probably still
within reach of the bears too. So what to do? It is very hot, so climbing this killer pass doesn't
appeal. It's only 2 miles, but all uphill, and people talk about how hard Glen Pass is. There's not
much point in going on anyway since I'm only going 10 miles tomorrow. Short today or short tomorrow -
nusuth.
The most interesting part of today was running into an old quadmate from college, Betsy
Reifsnider. We spoke briefly in passing, then on a whim she asked, "Did you go to Occidental?" I
looked closer and realized who she was right away. We talked for a while there by the lake, and a
while up here at my campsite. She and a friend are doing a four day trip, with six more miles to
do today. Too far for me. It was fun seeing her and getting caught up. She lives in LA, works
for the Mono Lake Committee, and is married to a comedy writer. She hasn't changed much in the
last 12 years, still cheery.
It's clouding up, so I'm not sure whether going on above timberline is a smart idea after
all. I have a little circle of trees to act as windbreak, though it is cold now. The only reason
to move on is just to get the climb over with. I always like to just get bad things over with sooner
rather than later. It's not a good reason. This is a good site, though the view is mostly of rocks.
I can see the Dragon clearly. The lakes had steep rock walls above them, so there really weren't a
lot of legal campsites. Part had been closed off due to overuse, as was pretty Dollar Lake farther
down the trail. I understand the need, but it is difficult if you are looking for a place to camp in
an area you don't know to have the best places outlawed. I do hope it doesn't rain again! Do I move
or stay put in the sure thing?
Day 16 Sunday - near Forester Pass - 10 miles, 184 total.
Well, I did stay put and it did rain and hail, lightly, for three hours. There really were
no good stopping places until Lake Charlotte, which really is pretty but would have forced me to go over
Forester Pass today after all. So, I was right to stay, in keeping with my goal of taking it easy these
last few days. A part of me is in a hurry to finish, the other part says, "Enjoy it while you can.
You won't be back for a while." As I was climbing today, I figured that I could reach the Pass by 3:00,
then on to the campsites four more miles, and Eureka, I cut out a day. But I don't really want to, it's
just habit. On a thruhike you always push a few more miles. This trail could easily be done in 15 days
with only a little pushing. It seems lazy to stop at 1:00, but since I have the extra week of vacation,
I'd be a fool to leave early or push myself harder than I need to. Efficiency is not everything.
My short day yesterday meant that Glen Pass was done quite easily: 15 minutes to the wall,
then half an hour switchbacking steeply up. It was one of the ugly passes, just rock and talus, though
there were several tiny lakes on the north side in all shades of blue and green. The rest was just grey
and white rock. We actually walked along the ridgeline, a razors edge kind, for a few minutes. Then
I descended very steeply past several small lakes and Lake Charlotte to a green meadow in the woods, then
headed back up along a creek toward the next pass. The idea was to go halfway, hoping that there will be
decent camping along the way. As it turns out there is a great little set of campsites in a small grove
of trees just where I hoped to find one. Others are camped nearby. I've been leapfrogging two groups
for the last few days. We all passed the regular site down below with its bearbox. Everyone likes the
idea of climbing as high as possible since Forester Pass is so big: 13000, with a 3500' climb in
7-8 miles. The climb is not bad yet, that is still to come. Along with the rain it seems. That's
what I get for washing my clothes. Murphy's law.
Day 17 Monday - Wallace Creek - 14 miles - 198 total.
I ended up sharing my site last night after all. A man from Bakersfield hiking with two sons
and a friend ended up, unwillingly, as my guests. The father was very sick and thus very very slow.
I met them first at 10:30 on a break, then had the boys come past at 4:00, only 3 miles up the trail.
Papa rolled in, packless and pale, at 5:30. His naval son was determined to go 2 more miles to a lake
near the pass, but I convinced them that hot tea and a rest would help more than a 1000' climb to a rocky
lake with only a slight chance of decent camping. They were very nice people. The boys waited out the
storm in a tarp they set up next to mine, so we had a long chat as we waited for the others to show up.
I also walked with a couple of nice young music teachers from Lodi for a while. They are
extremely bear-phobic. It's a good thing this place has a bearbox. It took a while to get the bags
hung up last night. This area has a bad bear problem, so we did it right, counter-balancing the bags.
After all the stories, I was more than a little paranoid. The teachers said that a ranger made them
move on from their planned campsite because they were in a very high bear area with no boxes.
This campsite is not all crowded together like Woods Creek was, though it is also listed as
a "very popular camp area". There is a shallow stream with a small meadow and a couple of sites, then
several more scattered up on the hillside among the rocks and trees. I'd rather be down on the meadow,
but at least on the hill I have privacy. I had a good cool bath first thing, and am just enjoying the
rest and the sunshine. No storms today!
The climb over Forester was not that bad. It was cold as the sun was slow to reach that
ridge, so I was fairly fast. That's another reason to set up the passes so the worst of the climb
is done in the morning: It is much easier when it is cool. There was even ice in some of the ruts
on the trail. The climb was steady, but not too steep. It only took about two hours including breaks
and a long stop at the top. There were clusters of a pretty blue flower, Sky Pilot I think, that
I've seen only above 12,000'. The view from the top was fantastic: razor's edge ridges behind us,
a big open basin below, and far off the Kings/Kern Divide and the Western Divide and all the way to
Mt. Whitney if I'd been able to tell which peak was which. There was just ridge after ridge in various
shades of blue and purple. Lovely. Then we switchbacked back down the wall to the big empty basin
and a gentle descent past a very sparkling lake (diamond waters) to a creek, then we climbed up again
to a barren plateau with lovely views of the Divides, then on to Wallace Creek where I'm camped.
It was very hot and dry with so much walking in the open. Only along the creeks are there many trees.
I found a lovely little meadow by a tiny streamlet for a lunch spot. It smelled of horses,
but was otherwise a great spot to relax for a while in the shade. All this high country is exposed to
very intense sunlight (when it isn't raining). That's one reason I start so early. Only two more days,
one very easy, one very tough. I'm glad I stayed on the trail, despite rain and loneliness. I love
the beauty and the quiet and the simplicity of life out here. I dislike the heavy pack and the pains
and the way I push myself too hard during the day. It's a carryover from the early days on the A.T.
where I had to rush to get a space in the shelters. Starting so early, I do 12 miles by 2:00, at
which time I'm ready to stop. The later I go, the less energy I have. It's almost the opposite of
my city ways, where mornings I drag along, and afternoons I want to move. Still, I do push too hard.
My usual steady pace is not as fun as when I take longer, more erratic, breaks to enjoy the view or
the water. Also, I think this is the last time I will go out for more than a week in the mountains
alone. It can be too quiet.
Day 18 Tuesday - Trail Camp - 17 miles - 213 total.
Today did not exactly go as expected. I caught the "let's get it over with" spirit from
those guys from Bakersfield. They arrived at the campsite last night at 5:00, tired, but determined
to go on another 4 or 5 miles. Their seven day trip will end up a five day trip. I spent the evening
watching a very funny chipmunk play peek-a-boo and wishing I were going up Whitney the next day. I
thought, maybe I can camp at Trail Crest, only two miles from the summit instead of at Guitar Lake,
three miles below. (It turns out there are no flat spots there, just a trail junction, and no water
either.) Anyhow, in my ponderings, I got excited enough that I woke up early. I tried to dawdle, but
still left camp at 7:30, thus arriving, eight miles later, at Guitar Lake at only 10:30 in the morning.
It was a beautiful clear cool day, so of course I went on. I left my pack at the junction at Trail Crest,
and went up to the top of Mt. Whitney and back, then on down the most ridiculous set of switchbacks I've
ever seen: 100 in only two miles! I felt like I was on a spiral staircase! So my "easy eight" turned
into a long but not too difficult 17 miles. I had problems with energy up on the top, feeling a bit
lightheaded and weak, either because of tiredness or altitude, I don't know. It wasn't that bad a climb,
despite the distance and altitude. There were 10 switchbacks up on the north side, reasonable, then as
we turned onto the Mt. Whitney trail and the final 1000 feet climb, there were the views and the
interesting rock structures themselves. There were buttress-like formations that reminded me of a
gothic cathedral or Zion Park. Quite pretty. On the ridge on top there were windows between the
buttresses, with views down to the Owens Valley 13000' below.
At one point I crossed a ten-foot
rock bridge with 3000' drops on either side. This is not a trail to be careless on. The wind blew
strongly all day, fortunately into the mountain, so it helped more than it hurt. Mostly the upper
part of the trail was quite easy, despite the drop-off and the rockiness of the trail. Without a pack,
I was able to dance down the trail much of the time. The summit was a big knob covered with big slabs
of soft white rock. There was a haze, being mid-afternoon, but the view was still stupendous. Miles
of the most beautiful mountains! I didn't stay long because of the wind and the 4 miles remaining, but
the views just on the climb were worth the trip. It would have been interesting to see dawn from up there,
or sunset, but I wouldn't stay in the hut if you paid me, especially not just one week after it was
turned into a deadly fireball by lightning. There was a campsite, but it would be freezing, besides
being dry. It is very cold here at the campsite at 12000, with winds down the mountain and an early
evening shadow since we are on the east side of the mountain. So, I picked up my pack, reluctantly,
and came on down to the campsite. We're above timberline, so it is all rocky. From above I could see
a dozen tents seemingly perched on bare rock next to a couple of lakes. I was not sanguine about my
chances of finding a campsite and imagined having to go on another mile or two to treeline, but
fortunately I was wrong. Generations of campers have made little fortified nooks with stone walls
for protection from the winds. There was one right next to the trail, so I just threw down my pack
and started crying, I was so tired and relieved to find a place to lay my weary head.
Later on I met a man who is out here for 6 months who hiked the A.T. in 1988 as well.
I didn't know him, though I had heard his trail name, Jethro. We had a good long talk. He works
in a ski resort in the winter and hikes all summer. What a life. Pleasant, but purposeless. Not
for me, after all.
Day 19 Wednesday - home - 7 miles.
It was lovely seeing the sunrise light up the peak this morning. We were camped right
below the summit. Lots of switchbacks but a rather pretty trail down Whitney. There were great
quantities of wildflowers down below. Lots of people climb Whitney as a day-hike, 22 miles, which
seems a bit much really, even for a good hiker. I'm glad I climbed it from the other side though.
Then I had a good big breakfast and a hot shower at the tiny cafe in the campground. It is a nice
place with lots of families around. As I headed toward the road to try to get a ride to the highway,
I ran right into my friends from Bakersfield. They offered me a lift to Lone Pine, the nearest town,
and I asked if they could possibly give me a ride to their town, since they were heading there. They
said sure, so after a long pizza break, I jumped into the back of their pickup for the long drive
through the desert to Bakersfield. We arrived there just after the train had left, but just as a bus
was leaving that could connect me with a bus to the city. It all went so fast. I had hoped for a
couple of days to ease out of the mountains and into the city, instead I woke up on Mt. Whitney and
went to bed in San Francisco. Crazy.
