| Day | Approx. Daily Mileage | Approx. Total Mileage | Camp Site | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | Yosemite Valley | Car camping. Tons of people. Lots of steaks. |
| 1 | 7 | 7 | Somewhere between the cutoff to Half Dome and Sunrise High Sierra Camp | Our first thoughts were that M had been hustling us all summer, and that in fact it was he who was going to end up ditching us. So we made him pump 4 liters of water, which took him an hour. Something may be wrong with our pump. We feasted, had a fire, and spent quite a while trying to hang the few items that didn't fit in our bear cans. In the process, M pulled down a completely dead tree, cut his hand, and nearly fell in the creek. |
| 2 | 17 | 25.something | Tuolumne Meadows Campground | Today ML marched us so far that E's feet may never recover. Also, we may have wandered around Tuolumne Meadows for a few extra miles trying to find the backpackers' campground amid the gaggle of RVs. Bought beer, corn on the cob, and a $79 dual-action pump at the store. It sure pumps faster. |
| 3 | 10 | 35ish | Lakelet below Lyell Peak | E limped along Lyell Canyon, one of the most beautiful stretches of the trip. We met 4 rangers, all of whom warned us of "marauding bears." We discovered that one can make quesadillas on a whisperlite, and had the first of our many alpine baths. |
| 4 | 11.5 | 46ish | Garnet Lake | Climbed our first pass, Donohue (11,000 ft?), today, then sent text messages from the S. end of Thousand Island Lake and crept around Garnet Lake on a use trail to the best campsite ever. We had a private beach, a fire pit, and ran into only one other group, some climbers (guided by S.P.) who had just been up Banner Peak. We swam, made pad thai, drank scotch, and felt a few pitter pats of rain, which sent M scurrying into the tent for the rest of the trip. Incidentally, this was the only rain we experienced in 20 days on the trail. |
| 5 | 13 | 58 | Red's Meadows RV campsite ($18) | Again, we almost certainly wandered for a few extra miles through the Reds Meadow campground, though we did end up seeing the Devil's Postpile during our search for the three tiny sites so generously set aside for backpackers. Instead of piling in, we spent $18 on an RV site (the same price as the tiny backpackers site…not including a free Israeli hiker with seemingly no experience in the outdoors), used the hot spring showers, bought beer and hotdogs, and contemplated the monstrous blister on E's right heel. |
| 6 | 5 | 63 | Somewhere between Reds Meadow and Duck Pass | Today we visited civilization, bought E some trail runners, ate salad, sent emails. The "thin man" crept up behind us both at Mammoth Mountaineering & on the return bus, and we were sketched out. We also managed to hike 5 miles, mostly through an area that burned in 1993. Found M reading Moby Dick by a stream, set up camp in the woods, and were relieved to be beyond the crowds at Reds Meadow. |
| 7 | 12 | 77 | Tully Hole | E is blissfully happy in her new shoes. The weather turned ominous near Purple Lake, but no rain materialized. We met a ranger near Duck Pass (also known as "Lame Duck Pass") who said this summer has been so dry that no fires are allowed in Inyo National Forest at all. Instead of building his usual masterly fire, M made a deck of cards out of the pages of Moby Dick, and we learned that ML "just wants to see the cards" when playing Texas Hold 'Em. |
| 8 | 12 or so | 88.2 | Vermillion Valley Resort (a TERRIBLE PLACE) | Up over Silver Pass (10,9000) (past the Russian dude running to break N->S JMT record) and down to Lake Edison, which is a barren cracked mud wasteland at 30% capacity, filled with tree stumps and trash. The Vermillion ferry, a decrepit party barge, could only pick us up a mile into this wasteland, and then drop us off a mile from its destination. The rest of the group piled into an equally decrepit child molester van for the final leg - we walked. VERMILLION IS A TERRIBLE PLACE for a number of reasons besides the fact that LA is drinking most of its lake water: the ferry cost us $18 round trip (per person - $54 total), even though that included 4 miles of walking and for the few minutes we were actually aboard we got soaked; the first beer is free, but the rest are certainly not, and there is no mechanism to tip your waiter; the showers are dirty, but they still cost $5; the internet was $10 for 30 minutes and the computer has trouble turning on in the morning (it took the boy working the morning shift over an hour of punching the on/off button); the internet phone costs an incredible $2 a minute; they resell the packaged items hikers generously leave in the hikers' bin (ie our extra cliff bars). E left her boots in the hopes they might bring down their curses on the place. All in all we spent 220$ "resuppyling" at vermillion, were there for approximately 15 hours, and were quite frugal. so if you're long on time and short on $, DEFINITELY skip this shithole. we think it would be more aptly named "Vermillion Valley Campground and Trailer Park". |
| 9 | 7 | 95 | Somewhere after Bear Ridge | Our packs were at full capacity, which included two bottles of homebrew mead ML wanted to bury in the evolution area and 3 liters of wine. Bear Ridge would have been an endless series of switchbacks anyway, but the weight of our food and drink didn't help matters. Not our best day. Decided to take care of the wine after dinner. |
| 10 | 16 | 110.9 | Piute Creek Crossing | ML marched us nearly to death today, making fuzzy math claims the whole time, but it turned out to be the key to the JMT. Get 5 miles or so ahead of the rest of the JMTers you're leapfrogging, and you never have to see them again. Of course, you do run the risk of having words with M, but he quickly subsided into mere whining. And everyone's feet survived to hike another day. M lost his toothbrush. Up over Selden Pass (10,900). |
| 11 | 11-12 | 122 | Evolution Lake | ML's favorite place lived up to its reputation. We camped in the sandy pine barrens above the lake. Was a bit windy in the afternoon, talked to a dude that M DID NOT LIKE, but had Interesting Insights Into Everything (regarding ML's job negotiations at least). Met a very chatty beer brewer from North Carolina crossing Evolution Creek . Also met our first blister casualty, a guy who passed us on day one and was now retreating to Muir Ranch to rest his feet |
| 12 | 11 | 132ish | Near Lower Pete Meadow | Muir Pass (11195ft). On top we finished the last of the Least Sweaty Cheese in the Universe: Mimolette. |
| 13 | 12 | 145ish | Above Upper Palisade Lake | Between Muir and Mather Passes it's quite a tough climb to reach the lakes. We took an hour long break to use our satellite phone and sit in the sun, while a slow dude never managed to catch up to us…we think he may not have made it. ML thinks we may starve before our resupply day. |
| 14 | 10ish | 155ish | Lake Marjorie | Up over Mather Pass (12,100 ft); we've started doing one pass a day. ML had a near trip-ending ankle turn (but didn't tell anyone until later in the night). |
| 15 | 10 | ~166 | Between Wood's Creek crossing and Glenn Pass | Woke up at Marjorie covered in frost with two soaking sleeping bags and a troupe of 27 boy scouts approaching our campsite. E had her first day without tape on her ankles. Up Pinchot Pass (12,300 ft) then down 3,500 ft and back up to a nice little campsite near a stream. |
| 16 | 12ish | 176.8 | Charlotte Lake | Resupply! We couldn't believe how much up there is to Glenn Pass, but we raced downhill to Charlotte Lake and checked every campsite. No one there. We ate our last few scraps of food and sat down to wait. At 5PM or so D and JK walked up carrying a cube of wine, three beers, and three fresh peaches. We were delighted. then came the other 2 awesome resuppliers helping to carry the rest of our food. Many, many thanks. We feasted on burritos with MEAT and CHEESE and had a great evening. |
| 17 | 8 | 184 | Unnamed Lake Below Forrester Pass | DF has joined our group, we have tons of food and trail mix, and only 35 miles to go in 5 days. At about treeline on the way up Forester Pass we met a man who SERIOUSLY believed he had just seen two Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) on the next ridge. |
| 18 | 7 | ~195 | Tyndall Frog Ponds | Up over Forester Pass, including a quick scramble up the hump of an unnamed peak in the hopes of catching a glimpse of (or potentially bagging) Caltech Peak. Woke up (EH, AM) at 3AM to see the meteor shower, but quickly fell back asleep. |
| 19 | 9.5 | 205 | Guitar Lake | Picked up our "wag bags" at the Cottonwood Lakes ranger station and kept catching different views of Mt Whitney for the rest of the day. Our plan was to camp on top of Whitney and hike out in two days, but our ride situation changed and we decided it was time to exit the wilderness. We immediately got really excited about BURGERS & BEER. |
| 20 | 18 | 211 to summit, 223 OUT | Civilization! | Woke up at 5AM and reached Trailcrest (13,600 ft) before the sun did. Left our bags, raced up to the summit of Whitney amongst the day hikers, signed the book, and ate lunch under the beady eyes of a marmot. ML and D searched long and hard for the six bottles of mead they had buried up here in 2005. ML finally found them, and we drank one. D scrambled up Muir Peak on our way down, down down, all the way to Whitney Portal. Exited the wilderness at 3:30PM and made our way as fast as possible to the town of Lone Pine where we got burgers and beers at the Mt Whitney Restaurant - highly recommended. Quick drive back to LA. |
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