From JMT mile 10.3 to 22.5 Total: 12.8 miles hiked 8/01
On the third day of my John Muir Trail trek I hiked uphill along Sunrise Creek to the Sunrise High Sierra Camp, then visited the Cathedral Lakes, and eventually spent the night in the newly-upgraded Tuolumne Meadows Campground.
Since I slacked off yesterday and camped a mile earlier than my original plan, I got up extra early, in the dark. The truth is that I do this every day anyway, but this time I really meant it. After a rousing bowl of hot oatmeal, I finished packing everything and was ready to hike at first light. I did it as quietly as possible, and I think I managed to sneak out of camp before either Keith or Bob woke up. They were seriously whupped yesterday, just like me, but I had more time to rest.
I discovered that I was happy about my decision to stop early, as the next mile of trail was seriously steep. Hiking it during the cool of the morning, when I was fresh, was so much more pleasant. Eventually, as I neared the top of the Sunrise Creek valley, I emerged into the sunshine. It was a beautiful Summer day.
After an 800 foot climb, I arrived at the Sunrise High Sierra Camp. Long ago, in 2003, I camped near there one night, and climbed Cloud’s Rest the next day, which was a ton of fun. The official campground was situated just north of this huge grassy meadow. Glaciated peaks lined the meadow to the north and east. I stopped for a few minutes, just to take a breather, but then I hiked on. I was glad that the camp was closed this year, because it meant that there was minimal horse manure littering the trail. According to the trail sign, I still had ten miles to go today, and I needed to get moving.
The trail continued climbing for another 500 feet, all the way to Cathedral Pass, at JMT mile 16. It was an easy uphill grade this time, some in forest and some in meadows. Lovely Yosemite high country. After that, it would be mostly downhill for the rest of today. The hard part was over.
After the lake, I was mostly hiking within the forest. There were essentially zero views, and therefore few photos. But at least it was downhill, and I flew right along. Now that I was within dayhiking distance of Tioga Road, the trail grew wider. Hikers without backpacks skipped right along. I was in the Tourist Zone.
I arrived at the Budd Creek crossing and the intersection with the Cathedral Lakes Trail. A week ago I looked for a bear box at the trailhead, to stash my resupply, but didn’t find one. I continued onward, sticking to the main JMT. My food was further north.
An easy mile later, I arrived at the Highway 120 trail crossing. This was close by the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center. And also my resupply cache. I looked around, then hid my heavy backpack in the bushes next to the road. Then I walked rapidly over to the Bear Box near the Visitor Center and retrieved my three-day resupply. This would be enough food to make it to Reds Meadow, near Mammoth Lakes, where I had yet another one ready for pickup. I grabbed my backpack and opened it. I got out the bear canister and stuffed the food bag inside. I huffed it into the pack, and away I went. I would worry about organizing it later on, in camp.
I was in Tuolumne Meadows now, one of the prettiest places in the park. The trail crossed the highway and made its way north toward the Tuolumne River. I crossed it on the big footbridge, and hiked onward, toward Soda Springs. I visited that attraction last year, so I hiked on.
The John Muir Trail joined together with the Pacific Crest Trail near the springs. After this, I would be hiking on the PCT as well as the JMT for quite some time. They only diverged a couple of times during the length of the JMT, such as the twenty miles I just climbed from the valley, then another twenty miles north of Mammoth, and the final ten miles to Mount Whitney. The JMT was much older, and they simply welded the PCT onto the existing trail when they created it. So on I hiked, southbound on both trails.
The trail headed back toward Tioga Road, but a mile or so east of the last crossing. This was right next to Lembert Dome. And this was also where I left the JMT behind. For now. The Tuolumne Meadows Campground was just across the river. I headed for the entry road and hiked down toward the toll booth. This was the first day that the campground had opened in about three years! They spent a lot of time and money rebuilding the entire camp.
The newly-built Backpackers Campground was at the far end near the river, rather than where it used to be, plopped in the center of all the noisy RV campers. I walked into the campground and chose a spot near the river. I set up my tent and put my backpack into the brand new bear box. Then I went back and paid for the site. It was only eight bucks, but discounted to four if you had a senior pass like me. I only had a fiver in my wallet so that’s what I paid. Call it a tip for a job well done on the new campground.
Then it was time to head back to Tioga Road and the Tuolumne Meadows Grill. Even though I had a perfectly edible resupply, I had no intention of eating ramen noodles again. No. This was going to be a Burger and Fries night. Civilization is wonderful, in moderation, and this was a particularly good example of civilization.
Dinner done, I headed back to the campground. Along the way I met back up with Chris, as well as Bob and Keith. We all were happy to see each other, and even happier to have eaten at the grill. We said goodnight and headed off to our respective campsites. I looked at my fire ring, and realized that it had never had a fire in it. Ever. A virgin fireplace in a national park! The bear box was the same way. I took photos of them, but I won’t bore you with that here. Instead, I will tell you that I went to bed a happy man. Here at mile 22.5, ten percent of the JMT was in the bag. Only ninety percent left to go!
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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