TR – JMT Tuolumne to Mt Whitney 8/12-8/20
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 10:10 pm
I fulfilled a 50th birthday present to myself by hiking the JMT from Tuolumne to Mt Whitney. I’d planned about 13 days but felt really good and finished in 9. Here are the particulars:
Day 1 – Tuolumne to Ruby Lake. It was beautiful weather when I started up Lyell Canyon, but then clouds rolled in and eventually thunder claps. Started raining about 1330. I got a break in the weather and crossed Donahue Pass. I eventually found a campsite in a small area below the trail south of Ruby Lake. The sun came out just long enough to give me a double rainbow, then it rained off and on all night.
Day 2 – Ruby Lake to Deer Creek Crossing. The sun was out and it was beautiful (thank God!) I hiked through the blowdown area near Devil’s Postpile. The trail was 100% clear (thank you forest service, volunteers, et al). Picked up some supplies at Reds Meadow Store before moving along. Deer Creek crossing was a very nice campsite.
Day 3 – Deer Creek Crossing to Quail Meadow. This was a nice day hiking the long traverse past Purple Lake and Lake Virginia and then down into Tully Hole. Then about 1330 I was just starting the climb towards Silver Pass and I heard a clap of thunder and the clouds opened up. I stepped under a tree and saw a few other people in the vicinity head for cover. It thundered and rained in sheets for about an hour then stopped long enough for several of us (including a man with a Mandolin and another with a Martin Backpacker guitar!) to race over Silver Pass. I’d planned to stop at Pocket Meadow (which looked to have a few nice campsites) but decided to hike on to Quail Meadow. It rained there off and on during the night.
Day 4 – Quail Meadow to Muir Trail Ranch (MTR). This was a beautiful day. I wasn’t prepared for the 2000’ climb out of Quail Meadow (VVR) but it was early in the morning so once that was behind me the day was a breeze. Rosemarie meadow was a beautiful stop to water up (although the water was sort of odd – it actually left me with a weird dry feeling in my mouth). Crossing Seldon Pass was sort of a non-event: I got to the top and thought “That’s it?” I scrambled down to MTR just before closing and resupplied then headed down the trail to a campsite perched above the San Joaquin river.
Day 5 – MTR to Starrs Camp south of Muir Pass. The hike from MTR up through Evolution Valley was beautiful. I’d never seen it but heard about it since I was a kid. Spectacular is the best word. I was so in awe I completely missed the Ranger station in McClure meadow. I headed up Muir Pass and set up camp on a knoll above a tarn a couple miles south of the pass (“Starrs Camp”). It was an awesome spot that I found based on directions in Elizabeth Wenk’s “John Muir Trail” book (I cut out the North to South section and brought it along). At the end of the day I was totally exhausted – the extra food I’d picked up at MTR really made a difference in my load.
Day 6 – Starrs Camp to Bench Lake junction. This was another completely beautiful day. I hiked down through Le Conte Canyon and then up over Mather Pass and eventually camped at a tarn near the Bench Lake Junction. There was bear scat on the trail in Le Conte Canyon and I’m sure I heard and smelled one in the bushes next to the trail (I didn’t wait around to see it though). This was my closest and only encounter with a bear this trip. My campsite that night was awesome: it had a clear view all the way back up to Mather Pass. Another good call from Ms. Wenk.
Day 7 – Bench Lake junction to Charlotte Lake. I got an early start and was at the summit of Pinchot Pass by 0800.The weather was beautiful. I dropped down to Woods Creek junction and then up to Rae Lakes (which I find some of the most beautiful in the Sierras). This is my normal stomping grounds, so I felt comfortable here. I was hoping to make it over Glen Pass on this day and I did. Unfortunately I decided to camp at Charlotte Lake which might as well be a KOA campground – everyone was nice but after a week of campsites > ½ mile apart, 50 ft seemed real close. I should have gone on to Vidette meadows but I was really tired.
Day 8 – Charlotte Lake to Guitar Lake. Another beautiful day. I was dreading Forester Pass. I’d never been over it and all I knew was the summit altitude 13,180 ft! It turned out to be a piece of cake. From the north the trail is really well engineered. Minimal of the dreaded “steps”, more a consistent grade that allows you to get a rhythm going. I did meet up with a pack train on the way down, but that was actually interesting to watch as they climbed up. From Forester summit south is just a different kind of environment: much drier and more barren. It’s such a contrast from the north side of the pass. I ended up dragging myself to Guitar lake for the night so I’d save myself 700 ft of climbing in the morning.
Day 9 – Guitar Lake to Mt Whitney summit (and exit to Whitney Portals). I couldn’t sleep at all so I got up at 0130, ate breakfast (Turkey Tetrazzini – I was running low on choices and also getting really hungry by this point), and broke camp. I made the summit by 0500 and found the hut in the clouds. There was a teacher from the UK in the hut waiting for sunrise and we chatted until it started getting light. The clouds came and went and the sun came up and we got a really beautiful show. It was a great way to finish the official trail. I hiked out by noon and ate a burger and drank sodas with several other JMT finishers I’d met over the past couple days.
All in all I was very fortunate:
My body held up.
There were nearly zero bugs the entire trip.
Only 1 wet crossing in Evolution Valley.
Relatively cool cloudy afternoons with only a couple days of real rain.
Now the question is what to do for my 51st birthday…
Day 1 – Tuolumne to Ruby Lake. It was beautiful weather when I started up Lyell Canyon, but then clouds rolled in and eventually thunder claps. Started raining about 1330. I got a break in the weather and crossed Donahue Pass. I eventually found a campsite in a small area below the trail south of Ruby Lake. The sun came out just long enough to give me a double rainbow, then it rained off and on all night.
Day 2 – Ruby Lake to Deer Creek Crossing. The sun was out and it was beautiful (thank God!) I hiked through the blowdown area near Devil’s Postpile. The trail was 100% clear (thank you forest service, volunteers, et al). Picked up some supplies at Reds Meadow Store before moving along. Deer Creek crossing was a very nice campsite.
Day 3 – Deer Creek Crossing to Quail Meadow. This was a nice day hiking the long traverse past Purple Lake and Lake Virginia and then down into Tully Hole. Then about 1330 I was just starting the climb towards Silver Pass and I heard a clap of thunder and the clouds opened up. I stepped under a tree and saw a few other people in the vicinity head for cover. It thundered and rained in sheets for about an hour then stopped long enough for several of us (including a man with a Mandolin and another with a Martin Backpacker guitar!) to race over Silver Pass. I’d planned to stop at Pocket Meadow (which looked to have a few nice campsites) but decided to hike on to Quail Meadow. It rained there off and on during the night.
Day 4 – Quail Meadow to Muir Trail Ranch (MTR). This was a beautiful day. I wasn’t prepared for the 2000’ climb out of Quail Meadow (VVR) but it was early in the morning so once that was behind me the day was a breeze. Rosemarie meadow was a beautiful stop to water up (although the water was sort of odd – it actually left me with a weird dry feeling in my mouth). Crossing Seldon Pass was sort of a non-event: I got to the top and thought “That’s it?” I scrambled down to MTR just before closing and resupplied then headed down the trail to a campsite perched above the San Joaquin river.
Day 5 – MTR to Starrs Camp south of Muir Pass. The hike from MTR up through Evolution Valley was beautiful. I’d never seen it but heard about it since I was a kid. Spectacular is the best word. I was so in awe I completely missed the Ranger station in McClure meadow. I headed up Muir Pass and set up camp on a knoll above a tarn a couple miles south of the pass (“Starrs Camp”). It was an awesome spot that I found based on directions in Elizabeth Wenk’s “John Muir Trail” book (I cut out the North to South section and brought it along). At the end of the day I was totally exhausted – the extra food I’d picked up at MTR really made a difference in my load.
Day 6 – Starrs Camp to Bench Lake junction. This was another completely beautiful day. I hiked down through Le Conte Canyon and then up over Mather Pass and eventually camped at a tarn near the Bench Lake Junction. There was bear scat on the trail in Le Conte Canyon and I’m sure I heard and smelled one in the bushes next to the trail (I didn’t wait around to see it though). This was my closest and only encounter with a bear this trip. My campsite that night was awesome: it had a clear view all the way back up to Mather Pass. Another good call from Ms. Wenk.
Day 7 – Bench Lake junction to Charlotte Lake. I got an early start and was at the summit of Pinchot Pass by 0800.The weather was beautiful. I dropped down to Woods Creek junction and then up to Rae Lakes (which I find some of the most beautiful in the Sierras). This is my normal stomping grounds, so I felt comfortable here. I was hoping to make it over Glen Pass on this day and I did. Unfortunately I decided to camp at Charlotte Lake which might as well be a KOA campground – everyone was nice but after a week of campsites > ½ mile apart, 50 ft seemed real close. I should have gone on to Vidette meadows but I was really tired.
Day 8 – Charlotte Lake to Guitar Lake. Another beautiful day. I was dreading Forester Pass. I’d never been over it and all I knew was the summit altitude 13,180 ft! It turned out to be a piece of cake. From the north the trail is really well engineered. Minimal of the dreaded “steps”, more a consistent grade that allows you to get a rhythm going. I did meet up with a pack train on the way down, but that was actually interesting to watch as they climbed up. From Forester summit south is just a different kind of environment: much drier and more barren. It’s such a contrast from the north side of the pass. I ended up dragging myself to Guitar lake for the night so I’d save myself 700 ft of climbing in the morning.
Day 9 – Guitar Lake to Mt Whitney summit (and exit to Whitney Portals). I couldn’t sleep at all so I got up at 0130, ate breakfast (Turkey Tetrazzini – I was running low on choices and also getting really hungry by this point), and broke camp. I made the summit by 0500 and found the hut in the clouds. There was a teacher from the UK in the hut waiting for sunrise and we chatted until it started getting light. The clouds came and went and the sun came up and we got a really beautiful show. It was a great way to finish the official trail. I hiked out by noon and ate a burger and drank sodas with several other JMT finishers I’d met over the past couple days.
All in all I was very fortunate:
My body held up.
There were nearly zero bugs the entire trip.
Only 1 wet crossing in Evolution Valley.
Relatively cool cloudy afternoons with only a couple days of real rain.
Now the question is what to do for my 51st birthday…