From JMT mile 109.1 to 121.2 Total: 12.4 miles hiked 8/11
On the thirteenth day of my John Muir Trail trek I hiked south from Piute Creek, fished for trout in the South Fork San Joaquin River, climbed the switchbacks to Evolution Valley and its beautiful meadows, and continued onward up the headwall to camp at Evolution Lake in the Evolution Basin.
Keith and I woke up at 4am, as usual, and quietly cooked our breakfast. We didn’t want to wake our nice neighbors, who graciously allowed us to camp within their large campsite. We packed our gear quietly, as well, and kept our headlamps aimed downward and on low power. It was barely first light, at 5:30am, when we slung our packs on and headed out. If our neighbors heard us, they went back to sleep soon enough, I’m sure.
It was comfortably cool that morning, and it felt good to hike briskly. The JMT paralleled the river for the next three miles, and we climbed easily but steadily. Keith was looking for likely “holes” where trout might be lurking. He still wanted to catch a Brown Trout in this river. Meanwhile, I was keeping my eye out for the John Muir Rock, a big boulder down in the streambed that was engraved with “1917 Muir Trail” in big, deep lettering, much like a petroglyph. And I found it. It was a shady morning, or I might have gotten better lighting on the lettering.
It’s pretty cool to think that “outdoorsy” people were hiking (more likely horse riding) along here over one hundred years ago! Of course, sheepherders were here in the 1800’s, and natives were undoubtedly here long before that. Only in the Summer, just like us, although they didn’t have dedicated Trail Crews making it easy. They had to bushwhack their way through, which must’ve been brutal, and slow. To be honest, there isn’t much food in these high mountains, and surviving here would be difficult, unless you liked eating marmots. The trout were planted in most of the high lakes during the last hundred years or so.
I found what I was looking for, and then Keith found the trout he was seeking. Not Browns, sadly, but he caught a nice looking Rainbow in a deep pool below the trail. There were plenty of pools, when it wasn’t a Freestone river, but a lot of them were inaccessible due to the terrain. We left camp early today, and only had about twelve miles to hike, so I was perfectly happy to hang out and watch Keith fish. He was a true master. Using his knowledge of their behavior, and anticipation of their hiding places, he snuck up on the hapless fish and struck at the perfect moment. I felt like a total noob compared to him. The trout weren’t huge, as they grow to match the water they live in, but they act the same way that the big ones do. If you aren’t eating them, it’s all about the skill of the fisherman, and the beauty of the trout as they flashed in the water, heaving against the line. Just ask Hemingway.
We hiked on. We made good time when it wasn’t a good fishing spot, like when it was in a freestone flow, or when we were in the forest, or when the trail was too high above the river. That’s how we got the mileage done.
But there were still some fine pools along the way, with big cascades churning the deep water from above. As long as it was still shady here in the valley, I didn’t care if we stopped, and Keith seemed to be having the time of his life. Down low near our campsite, he caught some obvious Rainbows, but as we got higher upstream, they looked more like Goldens, or Golden/Rainbow Hybrids. We wondered where the dividing line was, but we’d have to go back and forth in order to find it. A worthy research expedition for a dedicated fishing-biologist.
Soon, we arrived at the brand new bridge across the river. This was installed in late-Summer 2024. I came through here in mid-July 2024 and had to wade across a dangerously strong flow. PCT hikers were being advised not to hike here at all, to head up the Bishop Pass Trail and back down the Piute Pass Trail, thus missing out on two of the gems of the High Sierra: Evolution Valley and Muir Pass. I refused to do that, because I had also been there back in 2021, and I knew better than to miss out on it. I preferred to take my chances fording the river in 2024, instead, and I’m glad I did.
We crossed the bridge, and stopped for a short fishing break. I told Keith that this might be his last chance to fish this river, and he opted to take that chance. And he caught a few lovely Goldens for his trouble.
After that, it was a short hike to the smaller wooden footbridge at the trail junction to Goddard Canyon. Our goal was to get across that bridge and head to Evolution Valley. Keith had to try fishing one last time, and of course he caught another Golden even though it was a freestone stream in that region. It’s almost as if the trout genuinely like him, or something.
Good-bye South Fork San Joaquin! We would be following Evolution Creek for the next ten miles or so. And it was packed with Golden Trout the entire way. Unfortunately, in order to catch them we would first have to get out of this deep valley. We had to ascend 700 feet of switchbacks in a bit over a mile, so it was relatively steep. Luckily for us, it was still in the shade. And it took us about an hour to climb.
What I was looking forward to was at the top: Waterfalls! Lots of waterfalls. Evolution Creek went tearing over a cliff, plunging down into the valley far below. On the way to the final drop-off were a number of excellent cascades, and places where the water flow had worn away the underlying granite, leaving swirls and grooves and pools behind. I really wished that Vicki was there, as she is as much a Waterfall Addict as I am. Keith and I took videos and photos like crazy. I’m showing very few here, and this is already too many. Skip forward if waterfalls bore you. (Is that even possible?)
We put our packs back on and hiked a bit further. There were granite waterslides along here, the kind that would damage you if you dared to ride them. And, of course, there was always another waterfall.
About a half mile beyond the waterfalls was the infamous Evolution Creek Ford. In the early Spring this ford can be dangerous. It has a sandy bottom, and is very wide. Even when the water is shallow, it can be swift enough to sweep you off your feet. But it wasn’t true today, in mid-August. It simply looked like a good opportunity to finally put on the water sandals I’d been carrying this entire time. My feet got a good cleaning, and it felt just fine. Then we sat down on the far side and put our shoes and socks back on. Last year, there was thunder and lightning and rain when I crossed it. Much nicer now!
Just beyond that was the first of the three main meadows in Evolution Valley. It was called Evolution Meadow, boringly enough. It was already beginning to turn brown as there hadn’t been much rain recently.
The next meadow was called McClure Meadow, and it was very large, the centerpiece of the valley. There was a ranger station there, which we went to see. We even saw the ranger, but he was busy talking to some hikers. There were also some great camping spots near the slow-flowing and meandering Evolution Creek. It was a beautiful spot. But it was too short a hiking day for us to camp there. We needed to get in a few more miles first.
Just above the meadow, the trail began climbing a bit. The creek behaved similarly, in that it formed more waterslides and cascades. There was a deep pool just below one of the cascades, and Keith simply had to stop to take a bath in it! It was a hot day, with plenty of sun, so he simply walked right into the pool wearing all his clothing! I’m not a fan of ice water like he is, so my job was to take photos and videos of the spectacle.
The third and final meadow was called Colby Meadow, and the trail gave us a view or two as it aimed for the headwall at the far end of the valley. The Hermit was the big rounded dome that dominated most of Evolution Valley, and it looked pretty with the increasing cumulus clouds behind it. I was glad to see those clouds return, even though it also meant that the weather was changing, and that soon (in a day or two) we might be in for a spell of Daily Afternoon Thundershower weather. But it wouldn’t happen today, so we just enjoyed it, and hoped that a cloud would give us a bit of shade.
We got our wish as the next part of the trail arrived: Climbing the headwall from Evolution Valley to Evolution Basin. It was about a thousand feet tall, with numerous switchbacks over the next two miles, and the shade made a huge difference. We were getting a bit tired by this time, but we knew we had to do it. Keith was bummed out because his cool soggy clothing had already dried up before he even started climbing. The nice thing about the climb was the view from the top. There were granite slabs that the glaciers made smooth back in the Ice Age, and they were perfect for taking a break on after a long climb. We got fine views down into the valley from there.
As we entered Evolution Basin, the high country above treeline, I thought I would mention that the original explorers named objects around here with Evolution-related names. Two of the most obvious were mountains to the northeast, such as Mount Darwin and Mount Mendel, both famous biologists in this theme. Other nearby mountains were called Huxley, Stephen J Gould, Haeckel, Spencer, Wallace, Fiske, and Warlow. Not all were strictly biologists, but at least they sounded good together. Spencer, for example, coined the term “Survival of the Fittest.”
Keith and I were feeling rather fit ourselves, and were surviving just fine. We walked a bit further and came upon Evolution Lake, the namesake lake of the basin. It was over a mile in length, and our plan was to camp at the farthest end, to make tomorrow’s hike easier. We stopped at the first cove and took a break. Keith did a bit of fishing, of course. And caught some small Goldens, also of course. It was only 3:30pm, so we had plenty of time, now that all of the climbing was done. I hung out in the shade and read my kindle for a while. After taking photos like mad, of course. We each did what we liked, and that was what mattered. What a beautiful spot!
After our little relaxation interval, it was time to hike on. We still needed to snag a campsite, and the good ones would be gone if we didn’t get a move on. Of course, most hikers camped near the outlet end, where we first arrived. There were tons of spots there. I wanted one of the rarer spots. Some were labeled in the Far Out app, but I also remembered where my friend Metal Tim stayed last year. So we hiked up and around the eastern shore of the lake.
We saw a likely spot down along the edge of the lake a bit sooner than I expected. It had a big rock that stuck out into the lake, which might be good for fishing. Keith agreed. So we headed off trail to check it out.
Two other ladies were already camped not far away, but they didn’t mind us setting up camp. They tried to tell us that we were too close to the lake (within 100 feet) and they were probably correct. We were closer to 60 feet away. I mentioned that they were also within 100 feet, which they didn’t really want to hear. Sorry, but what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and we set up our tents right there. This spot had obviously been camped on many times, and was certainly within Leave No Trace criteria. A short time later, while we were hanging out in our tents, blowing up our air mattresses, we heard a male voice. “Oh crap,” I whispered to Keith. “Is that the Ranger?” We hung out and waited for him to come over and declare our Doom. But he only wanted to check our permits. When I asked him about us being a bit too close to the lake, he said that LNT was the overriding rule; making a new spot that was further away would have been worse, as the plants grow slowly up this high and it would take forever to heal the current spot anyway. Hooray! A ranger who used logic and sanity in his decisions. We need more of them. Afterward, I mentioned to Keith that this was the third time we had our permits checked, a new record for me.
After that, the day went smoothly. Keith caught some more Goldens while I read my book and took even more photos. All in all, it had been a pretty good day. We ascended almost 3000 feet but the effort was spread out over several long and short climbs. And here we were at Evolution Lake: One of the loveliest spots in the Sierra.
Tomorrow was going to be similarly fine, or so I predicted. We would climb over Muir Pass and descend into Le Conte Canyon along the Middle Fork Kings River. There would be plenty of high lakes to fish, and waterfalls to watch. We were Happy Campers, indeed.
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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