Day 54 – A visit to the zoo
Originally published on Mason Hikes the PCT 2017.
Mileage: 30. My first (and hopefully only) 30-mile day in the Sierras.
I started today the way any 30-mile day should start: sleeping in and getting a late start at 9AM. Once I had fully woken up, I started following the trail down out of the snow. There were a few splits, but I stuck with the glissade path that seemed like it would get me down the fastest. I chose correctly, because the glissade path I followed led directly to a 100ft cliff, which would definitely get you down pretty quick.
I checked my options, which were: cliff, cliff, backtrack, and waterfall. I didn’t bring my hang glider so the cliffs were out, but the waterfall seemed like a reasonable and relatively safe choice. I quickly scrambled down from rock to rock, found a sock someone had lost, and got to the bottom in record time. It turns out that my waterfall descent had actually allowed me to skip a river ford, so I was a pretty happy camper.
I continued hiking down and I saw a record number of JMT hikers. They were everywhere! As I continued to get lower, they went from JMT hikers to day hikers! So many people! I must have seen 30-40 people on my hike down to Tuolomne Meadows, including 4 rangers, one of which checked my bear can and permit (yes, I have both!). Yosemite is apparently the place to be in July.
The ranger that had checked my permit told me that the store/post office was closed for another few days, which directly contradicted what a few JMT hikers at VVR had told me. Always trust but verify your sources. I had to see for myself, and yes, the store was super closed. Oh well, I’ve got tons of food. I was just really surprised to see the hundreds and hundreds of people, but no open and functioning store.
I made a little side trip to Soda Springs, which, believe it or not, is a natural spring that squirts out carbonated water. Apparently, someone decided that putting a house on top of the gassy water hole was a good idea, but it doesn’t seem to have lasted long.
I walked through the less mainstream portions of Yosemite, with beautiful waterfalls and giant granite “domes” surrounding you at every turn.
I headed up to the high camp Glen Aulin, which is “inaccessible” because the bridge was destroyed by the water and washed away earlier this year. Oops. I went over anyway (thanks, logs!) just to see what it was like, but it doesn’t look like much since no one has been there.
I kept walking and had my eye on the prize: a lake that was 30 miles from where I started. Once I get an idea like that in my head, it’s not coming out, so I just had to push on through any struggles. The trail decided to make the last 5 miles as difficult as possible, with countless blowdowns (fallen trees on trail), 1500 feet of elevation gain, patches of snow covering large portions of the trail, and three major river crossings with no simple way over. I was going to have to work for it.
The trees, the snow, and the climb are usually fine, but rivers are variable and could be potentially dangerous. The first, McCabe Creek, was simple: walk upstream and jump across a relatively narrow portion. Easy peasy, if you like to jump. The second, Return Creek, was more difficult, requiring strength and concentration to cross the fast moving water at the trail crossing. Not too bad. The third, and “sketchiest” of the three, Spiller Creek, was not too bad either and I crossed the rapids at the trail with no problems besides wet feet and ‘skeeters biting my hands off. Success!
A bit more steep climbing finally brought me up to a lake, where some other hikers were having a fire. I said hello, but I couldn’t stop and camp with 30 miles so close at hand.
Another half of a mile brought me to my final resting place, so I set up camp, ate, and passed out after 30 tough miles. 😵