From JMT mile 95.8 to 109.1 Total: 13.8 miles hiked 8/10
On the twelfth day of my John Muir Trail trek I hiked from Bear Creek to Piute Creek, passing Marie Lake, Selden Pass, Heart Lake, Sallie Keyes Lakes, Muir Trail Ranch, and camped near Piute Creek in Kings Canyon National Park. At almost fourteen miles, this was one of my longest days on the JMT, but not the hardest.
Keith and I woke up early, at 4am, under a big moon. We each stayed in our tents and began getting dressed and packed. Then it was breakfast time. Our bear canisters were almost empty now, except for some trash and a couple of yet-uneaten bits of snack. At least this meant that our backpacks were as light as possible, but it also meant that we’d better make it to our resupply at MTR today. Or else.
So we started hiking at first light, about 6am, and rock-hopped across Bear Creek. In the Spring, this crossing was notoriously dangerous due to raging meltwater, but today, in mid-August, it was a nothingburger.
We hiked along the West Fork Bear Creek, where there was much less water, and a number of lovely meadows. When I was here back in 2022 with Vicki, I remember that there were plenty of mosquitos. This time, maybe it was still too cold for them. But we didn’t care. Keith spied some tiny trout in the clear water, and simply had to stop to catch them. Which he did, and then released them afterward. I spent the time taking photos, as the morning light and reflections made everything look wonderful.
The trail left the meadows and began to climb. Not far, but it certainly gained elevation rapidly. Just up ahead was Marie Lake, a very large glacial lake, just north of Selden Pass. Vicki and I camped up there last time.
It was a calm day when we got there that morning, which I was thankful for. Last time, the wind was so strong that I didn’t catch a single trout, or even get a hit. It’s hard to cast a tiny fly in wind. According to my JMT Trout Fishing Guide, Marie Lake supposedly contained both Golden Trout and Brook Trout. That remained to be seen. But I had no doubt that Keith would discover the truth of it. Since we already hiked three miles, this was a perfect time for a snack break. We put down our backpacks and Keith started fishing. It didn’t take long before he caught both a Golden and a Brookie! He was so good that I didn’t even bother fishing. I was trying to learn the secret. Part of it was sneaking up on the fish, to avoid spooking them, and part of it was when to strike, to set the hook, and it required skill to learn the timing of it. As a former fishing guide, Keith had that experience.
After that success, it was time to head south along the lakeshore toward Selden Pass. We only had to climb a few hundred feet. This pass was a piece of cake. The views north from it, of Marie Lake and the Bear Creek Valley, were spectacular, whereas the view south was constrained by rocky walls which limited our vision.
We took a short break at the summit. We were almost 11,000 feet high, which was similar to Donohue Pass, yet this one felt so much lower. Maybe we were finally getting acclimated. We took some photos and continued onward, down into the narrow canyon to the south.
We arrived at Heart Lake. I knew that there were Goldens in this lake, because I caught (and Vicki ate) a couple of them. We hiked down to the outlet creek and put down our backpacks. This time, Keith gave me one of his dry flies, and I tied it onto my tippet (tippet is the tiny monofilament leader at the end of the heavier fly line) and cast it out there. It floated on the calm surface, and then I saw a trout come up and grab it. I counted like Keith taught me, by saying “I love fly fishing” and then, bam! I set the hook and it was mine. Then I let it go again. Keith, sadly, had no luck at Heart Lake. Oh well. These things happen.
I told him not to worry as the next lakes, Sallie Keyes Lakes, had tons of Goldens. Last year, on my way north, I caught one in the inlet stream, the creek that flowed down from Heart Lake. I told Keith that I would filter some water while he took a turn fishing. Then we followed the trail across the interconnecting creek and around the lower lake. It was getting hot and sunny by then, and the trout were hiding down in the shadows.
We spent the next hour hiking along, mostly downhill, through a mellow forest interspersed with pretty, grassy meadows. Then it was back into the woods until we came upon Senger Creek. Vicki and I camped there once, but today we stopped for a lunch break. There were a few other hikers doing the same thing. When Keith and I saw the Bowlegged Backpacker approaching, we both looked at each other. Uh oh! He tried to force his company on us during dinner at VVR, right when Bob was leaving, and even though he was a nice enough guy, his timing was terrible, and we decided to ditch him. Bob was our partner, and we didn’t want another one. We were still in mourning. Luckily for us, he didn’t stop for long, and we watched him waddle away, his legs bowed out, as usual. And we never saw him again, so maybe he left the trail early, at a different exit trailhead. We’ll never know.
The next part of the hike entailed a long downhill blast, on exposed switchbacks in the noonday heat, all the way to MTR. Last year, in 2024, I had to climb this beast of a hill at this same time of day, and I can tell you that it was absolutely brutal! If it hadn’t been for a couple of puffy clouds, I might have overheated. But today we were blissfully heading downward. Life was good, there was a pleasant breeze, and the hiking was effortless. Truly a joy, with excellent views of the South Fork San Joaquin River Valley spread out below us. Muir Trail Ranch was down in those trees somewhere.
We arrived at the cutoff trail to MTR and headed down the crazy-steep path. Maniacs built this trail. When I had to climb it last year I was cursing them to oblivion. Downhill was completely different. I was merely following the maniacs on their road to Hell, which is always easier. There were even signs indicating the way!
The folks at MTR are very careful to direct hikers to the outlying resupply building, so they don’t bother the higher-paying guests of the ranch. But that was OK. All I wanted was my three-gallon bucket of food, and to buy another small can of butane for my stove. I had a full seven day resupply to carry, and it completely filled my large carbon bear canister. This was enough food to get me to my next resupply in Onion Valley. Keith, however, had a five gallon bucket, and it contained eleven days of food! He was planning to go the rest of the way on it. There was no way that it could possibly fit into a big blue plastic bear can. Impossible. But he did his darndest. I told him to take out the freeze-dried meals in their foil pouches, because they are stable for thirty years and don’t smell at all. He could keep those in his backpack, and hide them inside his tent at night. The stinky stuff should go in the bear can, where it could stay safely outside the tent. I don’t know how he did it, but he was almost able to close his backpack when he was finished. It weighed a ton, of course, and mine weighed half a ton. We’d simply have to deal with it.
All told, it took us from 2pm to 3pm to accomplish our resupply at MTR. We put on our packs and hiked out. I told him that there were supposed to be Brown Trout in the river down here, so we planned to stop when we saw a likely spot. Unfortunately, it was a “Freestone Stream” in the spot where we had access, and there were no proper holes for the trout to hide in. No Browns were caught. At least this side trail leading away from MTR was a lot nicer to hike. The only bad thing was that we skipped almost two miles of actual JMT. I suppose it was worth it to get the food, but the truth is that we cheated on hiking the full JMT. Just because most hikers do this doesn’t make me feel any better about it. Luckily, I once hiked that small section with Vicki in 2022, and I can safely report that it was boring in every way.
We had a total of three and a half miles to hike from MTR to get to camp near Piute Creek. Two miles of it was on the real JMT, not the side trail. It was easy hiking, although it definitely climbed steadily. This was the upstream direction, after all. The main trail also stayed far from the river, so Keith didn’t get any more fishing opportunities. I reminded him that he caught a brown back at Reds Meadow, and that made him feel better. But not until I scrolled through the photos on my phone to find the proof. He seemed to be suffering from Trout Fever, a new Psychological Disorder that I just made up right now.
An hour or so later, we arrived at the metal footbridge over Piute Creek. On the far side, we entered Kings Canyon National Park. Goodbye Sierra National Forest! We crossed the bridge and I told him that the campsites were right nearby. Once again, it was about 5pm when we arrived in camp, and most of the good spots were taken already. We saw a large spot with s single tent. We asked the inhabitants if it was OK for us to camp next to them. We promised to be quiet neighbors. They said sure, and we made a couple of temporary new friends. They were heading northbound, so we would all be ships passing in the night. But that’s how it usually is when you meet people backpacking. And everyone is nice and polite. Backpackers are good people, by and large.
We set up our tents, and then Keith immediately set off for the bridge. There was a deep pool just downstream, and he had every intention of taking a bath in it. Which he did. He said it was icy cold, but he did it anyway. Personally, I think he’s nuts. But I have to admit that his body odor was much less than mine!
While he took a bath, I filtered two gallons of water. Then we went back to camp and cooked up our dinners. Keith really needed to eat one of those packages that wouldn’t fit in the bear can. He figured that in a day or two, all his food would fit. Meanwhile, he would guard his food. What else could he do?
Then it was time to head upstream a bit. I told him that the JMT neared the South Fork up there, and that I caught a small Brown Trout there in 2022. He was all for it. So away we went. He didn’t get a brown, but he certainly caught a good sized Rainbow. Plus a couple smaller ones. But no Browns. Sorry, Keith!
It started getting seriously cool, so we headed back to camp. We yakked with our new neighbors, and eventually went into our tents to get ready for bed. We planned to get up early, as always.
Tomorrow, I told Keith, was going to be the beginning of the best part of the High Sierra: The high passes and high basins along the JMT. We would be climbing all day tomorrow, first along the river, then up along Evolution Creek, through Evolution Meadow, plus a final climb to Evolution Lake in Evolution Basin. That’s a lot of Evolution! And its beauty was truly unrivalled.
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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