From JMT mile 22.5 to 33.1 Total: 10.7 miles hiked 8/02
On the fourth day of my John Muir Trail trek I hiked south from the Tuolumne Meadows Backpacker’s Campground through the lovely meadows of Lyell Canyon, and climbed partway up toward Donohue Pass.
As always, Tuolumne Meadows was cold in the morning. The katabatic flow from the high peaks fills the meadow with icy air. But that didn’t stop me from getting up early. I shivered in my tent as I cooked and ate my oatmeal, then I packed up all my gear. I left camp near dawn, at about 6am. On the way out of camp, I met Keith. He had a good thermometer, and it said that it was 31 degrees! Brrr! That said, I didn’t stop for long, and mentioned that maybe we’d see each other later on. Then I hiked back to Highway 120, crossed the bridge over the Tuolumne River, and hiked east to Lembert Dome, where I left the JMT yesterday afternoon.
The trail paralleled Tuolumne Lodge Road, right near the Wilderness Permit Office. There was Verizon cell signal there, which I knew about from last year. I stopped and updated my Far Out app, then called Vicki on the phone. It was great to hear her voice, as solo hiking gets lonely real fast. We yakked for at least a half hour. I felt less alone. Until we hung up, and I was solo once again. I sighed and hiked onward. Only three weeks to go!
Soon, the trail left the road and I entered the Yosemite Wilderness, just across the footbridge over the Dana Fork of the Lyell River. It was still a bit chilly in the shade, and the river was more of a “freestone” stream, so I didn’t bother getting out my fishing rod.
The fishing happened a short while later, when I crossed the double footbridge over the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. There were a couple of deep pools there, and I could see at least one trout down below, holding steady in the slow current. Did I catch anything? No. They saw me right away, and got spooked. I sighed yet again as I put away my Tenkara rod, then shouldered my backpack. There would be more opportunities later today in Lyell Canyon.
Up ahead was the shortcut trail that led back to the campground, at mile 24. I didn’t take it because I wanted to call Vicki, and also because I really wanted to hike all of the JMT. Right when I got there, Bob appeared! We greeted each other like long-lost pals. We hiked along for awhile, and it looked like we had similar itineraries on our goal of climbing Mount Whitney. Bob was a super-friendly guy, and I liked him immediately. When he suggested that we hike together for the time being, I happily said yes. I was a solo hiker no longer! And I felt good about it. If he turned out to be a jerk, well, I could always hike away. But for now, Life Was Good Again.
We hiked onward, looking at the meadows and the river. It was a perfect day in Yosemite.
I asked Bob about Keith, and he said that Keith was probably just ahead of us somewhere, probably fishing. Lo and behold, there he was in the distance, out in the meadow, approaching the river in a crouch, stalking the trout like a true hunter. He was good. The trout practically jumped onto his line! I’m not gonna lie when I admit that I was totally jealous.
Eventually, we had to hike on. There were more fishing spots up ahead. The three of us got to talking, and we decided that our schedules had already been matching, and were going to continue to match, so we might as well form a Tramily, as the PCT hikers call it, where we stick together as a unit. This seemed like a great idea for three older gentlemen who were missing their wives and not looking forward to being all alone for the next three weeks.
A mile or so later on, I looked to the left and saw the river pouring over the lip of a granite slab in a wide fan, which then entered a waist-deep pool. It was creating bubbles in the pool, so I jokingly said to Keith “Looks like a jacuzzi.” It wasn’t a joke to Keith. He straight-up asked us if it was OK to take a break while he soaked in the pool! And then he did it. Bob also seemed interested. Keith stripped down to his skivvies and entered the icy water. He really looked happy, which I thought was nuts. I took some photos and videos. Then Bob entered the action, and he was completely starkers! I was glad that no other hikers were going by. Then I got a photo or two of him. From a decent angle, of course. He said to email it to him, so that he could put it in his family Christmas Letter! Yes, I was hiking with a couple of lunatics. Happy lunatics, but still lunatics.
Luckily, it was a perfectly warm day, and soon we were hiking south again. Lyell Canyon didn’t disappoint. Bob said that he was happy to be having an easy day of hiking. That first day up from the valley, followed by Half Dome the next day, really took their toll on his energy. This was like a Recovery Day, and we all needed it.
It wasn’t all mellow meadows and trout fishing, of course. We were gradually gaining elevation, but it was almost undetectable near the meadows. It was between the meadows when the trail actually did some climbing. We sweated a little, but it was still fun, and it never lasted too long.
Eventually we arrived at the final big meadow. We could see the valley’s headwall in front of us, along with the Lyell Glacier nestled beneath Mounts Lyell and McClure. Technically, the glacier isn’t a glacier any longer; it’s an ice field, because it shrank so much it stopped moving downward. It was one of Yosemite’s pride and joys, and Mount Lyell was another, being the highest point in the park. Donohue Pass was also up there, to the east. Back in 2010, Vicki and I came down from the pass, northbound on the JMT, and we camped right here along this meadow. Those were good memories for me. Last year, in 2024, I also came over the pass heading north on the PCT. Indeed, heading southbound was one of the reasons why I chose this hike. Everything looks different when you face the other way.
Bob and Keith liked it that I had trail experience. I knew what was coming. Also, last year I compiled a list of trout fishing opportunities along both the PCT and JMT, which Keith was very excited about. He used to be a fishing guide. Meanwhile, I was interested in learning how to fish. Sounded like a Win-Win situation to me.
As we neared the end of the flat part of the canyon, we needed to make a decision. Did we want to camp down here, in the early afternoon, or did we want to make a solid run at heading up toward the pass? Bob was less excited about that, after seeing just how high we still had to climb. I told him that we didn’t have to go all the way, but if we had it in us we should do our best to put in another mile or so of solid climbing. There was a nice camping area near a footbridge up there, if we could make it. But there weren’t many spots to stop until we got there. It was climb 650 feet in 1.1 miles, or camp right here. Bob knew what he needed to do, so we stopped for a break, and then started the climb. I warned him that there were lots of stone steps, and I was right. Yes, it was a miserable way to end an otherwise perfect day of hiking, but it had to get done. So we did it.
The trail flattened out as we neared the footbridge. We took the first spot that looked like it would fit three tents, and set up camp. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves. Tomorrow morning’s hike would be much easier, about 1300 feet or so, and it would be cool in the morning if we woke up early. I was trying to get these guys into the ultra-early bird method of backpacking. We’d see if it worked. A Yosemite National Park backcountry ranger walked up and asked to see our permits. Wow! I wasn’t expecting this. She had a backpack on and everything.
Even though we were following proper Leave No Trace principles, by camping on previously camped spots, she told Keith that his tent was too close to the trail, and that it had to move. We were not amused. But he agreed to move it, because arguing with authoritarians doesn’t help and only makes them nastier than ever. We looked around, and he moved in between our two tents. That would have to do.
Once we had our campsite in order, it was time to filter some water, a backpacking ritual. I filtered from just above the footbridge, while Keith and Bob took off their boots and cooled their feet in the water. Below the bridge. That so-called glacier up there was sending it directly to their now-icy toes. They loved it. I almost did it too, but retained my body heat for later on that night.
After that, we went back to camp and cooked our dinners. We hung out for a while and talked about tomorrow’s plan. The main obstacle to success was Donohue Pass, but we’d kick its butt in the morning. I incentivized the climb by mentioning that they could call their wives up on top, because there was cell signal. We all liked this. After that, we’d worry about making it to Garnet Lake, for an eleven mile day. It helped that I told them it was one of the prettiest lakes in the entire Sierra. And then it was time for bed.
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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