Taylor, John (from the UK) and I are joined on the first day of our JMT hike by some from the Nor Cal Hiking group. We hiked from Tuolumne Meadows to Kuna Creek, 9 miles. Mosquitos and views galore.
Day 2, Lyell Canyon to Base of Island Pass, 9 miles. Up and over our first pass, Donohue. John feels the altitude, drags a bit and doesn't feel like eating. Taylor also feels it and crashes on top of the pass, a bit of food and water get her going again.
Day 3, Island Pass to Rosalie Lake, 10 miles. Gorgeous Ritter Range, Banner Peak, Thousand Island lake.
Day 4, Rosalie Lake to Reds Meadow (AKA Food!) 10 miles. Reds Meadow has hot showers, a cafe and a store. We stayed at thier backpackers campground and were joined by several other backpackers hiking the JMT. It was nice to hear their stories. My trekking poles malfunctioned the 3rd day out, Owen from the Bay Area had the same pair and showed me how to fix them, thanks Owen! Taylor was happy to talk to her Dad on the payphone although it made her homesick. Today she wrote "My Mom told me to take it a day at a time and that's what I will do!" John was unable to call England and wished he had bought a phone card.
Day 5, Reds Meadow to Duck Creek, 12 miles. We encounter hordes of Deer Fly at Deer(fly) Creek and have to erect the tent to enjoy lunch. Today is the day my knee starts to pain me, the downhill is especially excruciating. I hobble into camp defeated. Hoping for a brighter day tomorrow. We have started drinking the water straight out of the streams. Taylor doesn't like the taste of the tablets so I take a chance in the "safe" looking streams, we drank like this for the rest of the trip with no ill affects.
Day 6, Duck Creek to Squaw Lake, 10 miles. Swimming in Lake Virginia then down, down, down to Tully Hole then up, up, up to Squaw Lake, above tree line we are rewarded with a beautiful sunset. Met 3 nice men from Marin County, troop leaders on a trip of their own, two hiking the JMT, one joining for part. They give Taylor inspiration and kudos for the next few days. This evening, Taylor has a hard time, the bugs and exposure are getting to her as is the freeze dried food, she craves Top Ramon and Cheez-It's for the rest of the trip.
Day 7, Squaw Lake to Vermillion Valley Resort (AKA More Food!) 10 miles to the boat shuttle, 20 more minutes and we are at a nice restaurant with excellent food, loads of people too. Our hike consisted of another pass (Silver) This is the first pass we have to scramble a bit to avoid the ice and snow, not too bad but a bit out of breath when we get to the top. It rained today, significantly for the first time. Taylor writes "I'm a little frightened by the thunder" Rebecca told us about the troop leader and a scout who had been killed by lightning the day we left, Taylor was worried whenever there was lightening since.
We were able to take showers, wash our clothes and eat and eat and eat. :)
Taylor also wrote "We met a nice couple from England today, turns out they only live 20 minutes from John, it truly is a small world."
Indeed.
Day 8 and 9, We take a layover day at Vermillion Valley Resort, hoping to heal the knee a bit and tank up on some more food. V V R has a great restaurant although if you go, plan on spending a good amount of money, it's not cheap!
We spend day 9 hiking from V V R to a spot along Bear Creek. The famous switchbacks up Bear Ridge live up to their name, taking their toll on us all. We hike around 8 miles today. We arrive in camp just in time to pitch our tent before three hours of rain, thunder and lightening strike. Tay and I rest, read and play cards while waiting it out. It breaks just in time for our evening tea and dinner. Gotta love those afternoon thunder showers, everything smells soooo good.
Day 10, We hike from Bear Creek to Marie lakes, 5 miles. These lakes are so beautiful we can't pass them up, not to mention we are rather tired today so 5 miles will have to suffice. The group from the Bay area is camped here also, nice people. We are rewarded for our labor with one of the best sunsets of the trip, gotta love that alpine glow.
Look for albums 11-20, click on Nature above then on other albums!
Day 2, Lyell Canyon to Base of Island Pass, 9 miles. Up and over our first pass, Donohue. John feels the altitude, drags a bit and doesn't feel like eating. Taylor also feels it and crashes on top of the pass, a bit of food and water get her going again.
Day 3, Island Pass to Rosalie Lake, 10 miles. Gorgeous Ritter Range, Banner Peak, Thousand Island lake.
Day 4, Rosalie Lake to Reds Meadow (AKA Food!) 10 miles. Reds Meadow has hot showers, a cafe and a store. We stayed at thier backpackers campground and were joined by several other backpackers hiking the JMT. It was nice to hear their stories. My trekking poles malfunctioned the 3rd day out, Owen from the Bay Area had the same pair and showed me how to fix them, thanks Owen! Taylor was happy to talk to her Dad on the payphone although it made her homesick. Today she wrote "My Mom told me to take it a day at a time and that's what I will do!" John was unable to call England and wished he had bought a phone card.
Day 5, Reds Meadow to Duck Creek, 12 miles. We encounter hordes of Deer Fly at Deer(fly) Creek and have to erect the tent to enjoy lunch. Today is the day my knee starts to pain me, the downhill is especially excruciating. I hobble into camp defeated. Hoping for a brighter day tomorrow. We have started drinking the water straight out of the streams. Taylor doesn't like the taste of the tablets so I take a chance in the "safe" looking streams, we drank like this for the rest of the trip with no ill affects.
Day 6, Duck Creek to Squaw Lake, 10 miles. Swimming in Lake Virginia then down, down, down to Tully Hole then up, up, up to Squaw Lake, above tree line we are rewarded with a beautiful sunset. Met 3 nice men from Marin County, troop leaders on a trip of their own, two hiking the JMT, one joining for part. They give Taylor inspiration and kudos for the next few days. This evening, Taylor has a hard time, the bugs and exposure are getting to her as is the freeze dried food, she craves Top Ramon and Cheez-It's for the rest of the trip.
Day 7, Squaw Lake to Vermillion Valley Resort (AKA More Food!) 10 miles to the boat shuttle, 20 more minutes and we are at a nice restaurant with excellent food, loads of people too. Our hike consisted of another pass (Silver) This is the first pass we have to scramble a bit to avoid the ice and snow, not too bad but a bit out of breath when we get to the top. It rained today, significantly for the first time. Taylor writes "I'm a little frightened by the thunder" Rebecca told us about the troop leader and a scout who had been killed by lightning the day we left, Taylor was worried whenever there was lightening since.
We were able to take showers, wash our clothes and eat and eat and eat. :)
Taylor also wrote "We met a nice couple from England today, turns out they only live 20 minutes from John, it truly is a small world."
Indeed.
Day 8 and 9, We take a layover day at Vermillion Valley Resort, hoping to heal the knee a bit and tank up on some more food. V V R has a great restaurant although if you go, plan on spending a good amount of money, it's not cheap!
We spend day 9 hiking from V V R to a spot along Bear Creek. The famous switchbacks up Bear Ridge live up to their name, taking their toll on us all. We hike around 8 miles today. We arrive in camp just in time to pitch our tent before three hours of rain, thunder and lightening strike. Tay and I rest, read and play cards while waiting it out. It breaks just in time for our evening tea and dinner. Gotta love those afternoon thunder showers, everything smells soooo good.
Day 10, We hike from Bear Creek to Marie lakes, 5 miles. These lakes are so beautiful we can't pass them up, not to mention we are rather tired today so 5 miles will have to suffice. The group from the Bay area is camped here also, nice people. We are rewarded for our labor with one of the best sunsets of the trip, gotta love that alpine glow.
Look for albums 11-20, click on Nature above then on other albums!
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