Our 2007 John Muir Trail Attempt (Day 5)
Day 4 covered our trip from Tuolumne Meadows to Upper Lyell Canyon.
Day 5: Upper Lyell Canyon to Garnet Lake [Pictures]
Distance: 11.9 Miles
Elevation Changes: 9,600 - 11,056 - 9,580 - 10,200 - 9,650
We initially planned to hike from Upper Lyell Canyon to 1,000 Island Lake today for a total of 9.3 miles. The impetus for a shorter day today was due to the fact that today's hike would prove to be difficult, as it started with a 2.5 mile, 1,500 foot ascent over Donahue Pass, followed by a rapid descent back down to ~9,600 and then up another pass to 10,200 (Island Pass) before descending gradually to 1,000 Island Lake (at 9,800 ft). However, we needed to get to Reds Meadow by the following day, which is almost 16 miles from 1,000 Island Lake! Seeing as we were becoming exhausted hiking 11 miles, the prospect of hiking 16 miles in one day seemed daunting. Consequently, we decided to try to push on to Garnet Lake today, which is about 2.6 miles past 1,000 Island Lake, thereby cutting the miles tomorrow to about 13.5.
Both 1,000 Island Lake and Garnet Lake are tremendously scenic venues - large lakes enveloped within high mountain peaks, with many small islands dotting the lake surface - but both make less than ideal camping spots for the long distance backpacker. For starters, the Forest Service has prohibited camping in much of the area around the lake. At 1,000 Island Lake you need to hike about a half mile off trail to reach the campspots, and the really scenic ones are even further back and uphill! Moreover, the lake is a popular campsite since it is accessible from Reds Meadow Resort. It's a frequently-used campground, and travelers coming north on the trail warned us that there was a lot of refuse and toilet paper blowing around the campsite. Over at Garnet Lake there is only one legal campsite large enough to hold more than one tent, so if your party reaches Garnet Lake and that site is taken, you're hard pressed to find another (legal) site nearby. We were aware of this because my in-laws had hiked from Reds Meadow to 1,000 Island Lake this summer to help prepare for the JMT trip.
Despite the potential pitfall of the lone camping site at Garnet Lake being taken, we decided in the morning to try our best to push on to Garnet Lake.
The hike from Upper Lyell Canyon starts with a serious climb to Donahue Pass, the first 11,000+ pass on the JMT (when traveling from Yosemite), and the only 11,000+ ft. pass in the first half of the trail. (There are four 11,000+ ft. passes in the southern half of the JMT.) Getting above 10,000 feet is where the Sierra Nevada starts to shine. There are giant slabs of granite, steep mountain sides, streams, and boulders. There are far fewer hikers and much less wildlife. Oftentimes the only sound you hear is the crunching of rocks underneath your feet. And, being above the tree line, there's nothing obstructing your view. Just mountain peaks, rock, and snow all around. The following picture shows us rising above the tree line on our way up to Donahue Pass.
As we progressed higher, we were rewarded with stunning vistas of Lyell Canyon and the surrounding mountains. The small green splotch in the middle of this picture is Lyell Canyon, the stretch we hiked through yesterday; the blue line is Lyell River, winding through the canyon. It's amazing how far and high we had come in such a short time.
We reached the top of Donahue Pass at about 8:45 AM and were greeted with another great mountainous view: a cascade of boulders down the mountain side and an impressive view of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain continuing down the horizon. We stopped for about a half hour here, resting and cooking breakfast.
When resting it's important to do it right, to really rest. That means taking your backpack, boots, and socks off. That means setting your socks out on a sun-drenched rock to dry. That means sitting (or lying) down and resting. Taking my shoes and socks off is something that I sometimes have to force myself to do. If it's early in the day, my feet aren't sore or that sweaty. And taking off the shoes is a time consuming process, and you have to put them back on, and while they're off it's not as convenient to get around, and so on. But despite the excuses, I found it invaluable to always force myself to take off the boots and socks.
Of course, removing your boots and socks leaves you bare footed. To account for this, most backpackers bring some sort of "water shoe," which is used when removing one's boots. Common water shoes are Tevas and Crocs. Taking off your boots is useful when resting, at night after you've setup camp, and when crossing streams that are deeper than the height of your boot. Prior to our seven-day Sierra Nevada hike in 2006 I had purchased a pair of water shoes from REI that were a poor choice. They were tight on my feet and uncomfortable, and I learned this during our seven-day excursion. I should have picked out a new pair before our JMT trip, but I foolishly did not. My water shoes were so uncomfortable that I resigned myself to either going around barefoot or leaving my boots on when resting, when in camp, and so on. Since this year was so dry, there was not a concern regarding water crossings. In fact, when we reached Tuolumne Meadows, I actually disposed of my water shoes. (Fortunately, I did end up procuring a great pair of water shoes later on in the trip, but that story will have to wait until Day 7...)
Long story short, part of the reason I didn't like removing my boots and socks was because then I was barefooted, which greatly limited my motion and maneuverability. Yet I still often forced myself to remove my boots and socks and, in the end, was glad that I did. "Letting the dogs out," as some hikers say, is essential to reducing blisters and prolonging how long you can go before your feet get so sore as to force you to stop.
After dining atop Donahue Pass, we started our descent. We traveled for several more hours and back down to the 9,600 foot range before stopping for lunch at the Rush Creek campsite. We then resumed our uphill march to Island Pass. After Island Pass, there's a 1.5 mile, gradual decline to 1,000 Island Lake. 1,000 Island Lake (and Garnet Lake, to a lesser extent) is probably one of the most scenic spots on the northern half of the JMT. It's a large lake with several small islands. At its south end stands the impressive Mt. Banner.
We reached the shores of 1,000 Island Lake at 4:15 and had a small break. We contemplated stopping at 1,000 Island Lake as we were all very pooped, but decided we needed to push on. From 1,000 Island Lake it is another 2.7 miles to Garnet Lake, which includes a small elevation gain of about 100 feet and then a descent of about 250 feet. We arrived at the shores of Garnet Lake a little after 6:00 and, as luck would have it, another party had already taken the single large campsite area. My father-in-law approached them to see if they would be amenable to sharing the site with us, but they were a little icy and seemed to want the spot to themselves. It was probably for the best as they appeared to be weekenders - they had camp chairs, fresh food, and liquor - and likely wanted to stay up past sundown and not get up until 7:00 or 8:00 AM. We, on the other hand, were beat and were ready for bed now and would likely rise at 4:30 or 5:00 AM.
In any event, we continued on to the other side of the lake and found a spot up on the steep hillside. It wasn't really an ideal spot (and later that night, after having setup camp, we saw a small sign noting that camping was prohibited in this area), but it made due. After pitching our tents, we were so tired that we all skipped dinner and were all asleep by 8:00 PM.
Today's hike was hard and long and at the end we were utterly exhausted. Tomorrow's trek would actually be about two miles longer than today's, but was easier because it was mostly downhill and ended at Reds Meadow Resort, which had amenities including hot showers, flush toilets, a general store with beer and soda and candy, and a restaurant with hot food! I'll cover Day 6 in a future post. Until then!
UPDATE [2007-10-22]: Read about Days 6 and 7.