This is the day I found my trail legs and felt totally acclimated. I woke up feeling strong and rested and after drying out my quilt, bivy and tarp from the condensation and rain I hit the trail. My pack was light (with almost no food) as I walked through the meadows just below Sallie Keys Lakes. I fell into my usual two mile/hour pace and quietly came across two groups of deer in a clearing. The morning fog was just lifting from the meadows and the sky was clear and blue. I made it down the switchbacks to Muir Trail Ranch to collect my resupply and after socializing with some familiar hikers I made my way along the San Joaquin River toward Evolution Valley.
Sunrise on Sallie Keys Lake.
A family of Deer along the trail.
I was starting to see some familiar thru-hikers as we ran into each other at various times along the trail. As I sorted out my resupply more and more people made it to MTR, a popular resupply point at the middle of the JMT. It's been months now since I left the trail and I can't remember all of the names, but we had a good time talking gear and food at the ranch. Talk of food seems to be the main topic of conversation with thru-hikers. One guy joked that his base weight was only eight pounds, but he carried forty pounds of food.
After resupplying my pack weighed 17 pounds with all the food I needed to complete the final 110 miles to Whitney Portal in 7 days.
Entrance to Muir Trail Ranch.
Resupply cabin at Muir Trail Ranch.
Resupply at MTR.
The obligatory ultralight scale photo. 17 pounds for the final 7 days/110 miles.
San Joaquin River.
The trail along the San Joaquin River is beautiful with great views of the river. I passed the Piute Trail Jct. and crossed the bridge into Kings Canyon National Park. Kings Canyon is home to Evolution Valley, Muir Pass, Pinchot Pass, Forester Pass and the other high passes that followed.
Bridge over Piute Creek.
The entry to Kings Canyon.
It was 5:00 pm by the time I reached Franklin Meadow and the switchbacks up to Evolution Valley. I was starting to really hit my stride and in the later afternoons I seemed to have unending energy. I made it up the 700 feet of steep granite steps and switchbacks up to Evolution Valley and in less than an hour I was crossing the creek at Evolution Meadow.
The benefit to traveling in the 'late season' during mid to late September is that there are no crowds and very few mosquitoes. Unfortunately this time of year also means shorter days and by 6:30 pm it was getting dark. It was 7:00 pm before I made it to McClure Meadow and made camp for the night. I slept under the trees with the sound of Evolution Creek quietly passing by.
I got another late start and somehow didn't get on the trail until 9:50 am. I must have needed the recovery time and at least I was leaving an hour earlier than the day before. Camping at Quail Meadows was a perfect place to rest and get ready to hike up Bear Ridge first thing in the morning. I was fresh and ready to head up the 2,000 feet of switchbacks. The trail is well graded along this steep section and it didn't take long to get to the top. I noticed the first tree graffiti carved into the white bark of the trees in this area. At first I thought it was some way of indicating the altitude, but soon I realized people had actually carved their initials into the trees. I wondered who would do that in such a pristine wilderness area?
Bear Ridge switchbacks.
Tree graffiti on the JMT.
I made good time and quickly passed the Italy Lake Trail Jct., Bear Creek Meadow and Rosemarie Meadow. Soon I was chasing the clouds up toward Seldon Pass and passing beautiful Marie Lake. I was still noticing some difficulty getting a full breath of air toward the top of the pass and I felt like I was struggling at the top.
The view of Marie Lake on the way to Seldon Pass.
After Seldon Pass I wandered through an amazing pastoral area filled with flowing creeks and a small lake/tarn surrounded by granite walls. It reminded me of the puffy grass and meandering streams just below Donohue Pass. Total peaceful beauty.
Meandering creek on the way to Heart Lake.
Once past Heart Lake I caught my first glimpse of Sallie Keys Lakes. I had read much about these beautiful remote lakes and I was surprised to come across a lone hiker walking along the shore without a backpack. It turns out he was with a large group that had a base camp set up between the two lakes. There was even a group taking pictures of two girls in row boats on the lake when I passed by. I found a peaceful remote spot in the trees across the lake and set up my tarp and bivy. I did my usual evening routine of stretching and had some dinner by the lake. It was actually calming to fall asleep to the familiar sound of 'Brown Eyed Girl' being played on guitar across the lake that evening. . . I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rain from another passing storm. Another great night on the JMT.
