July 12, 2013 - Woods Creek Crossing

Title: July 12, 2013 - Woods Creek Crossing

Hike Info:

Trail: John Muir Trail

Starting location:   Bench Lake Ranger Station 

Destination:   Wood's Creek Bridge

Distance:     10.3 miles^{*  1}

Start Time:  8:10

End Time:   5:30

Travel Time:  9:20 (1.10 mph)

Moving Time: 5.31 (1.87 mph)*

Elevation Rise:    1,350' ^{*  1}

Maximum Elevation:  12,130'

^*GPS was off for about 40 minutes while coming down Pinchot Pass, about .9 miles

Description:

It is cold, wet and glorious. This is what greeted us this morning. Cold-so cold my fingers were turning numb-but the water did not freeze. Wet-from the dew. The tent is wet, both inside and outside of the rain fly. My sleeping bag has gotten damp. And glorious, blue sky, rose colored mountains, turning to the color of light, meeting on the peaks over our heads. It seems appropriate that my hymn of the day is Be Thou My Vision.² Sherri slept uncomfortably. There was a bit too much slope to the site, causing her to roll off her bag. The sleeping bag and pad would roll with her.

Looking back towards the South Fork of the Kings

Left camp around 8:10. We made good time to Marjorie Lake. At Marjorie, Ray and Rachel left a"Hi Gary" on the trail. Makes me so happy. Then it is the start of our real climb up Pinchot Pass. We stop at 11,500' for  a break and a Clif bar. Again at 11,900' we stop and break-we have gotten awfully good with practicing these breaks. Saw Larry and Paul at one of the breaks on this climb.

Marjorie Lake

Marmot keeping watch

This is what I love about the High Sierras. The blue and green lakes and tarns, surrounded by mountains rising out of the earth to the sky. The far away peaks are a vision. As Sherri says, we have to work for this. Would I want it any other way? Would I love it if we whizzed by it in a car?

Made it to the top of Pinchot Pass a little before noon. This pass turned into a real party! Paul and Larry came up shortly after we arrive. Then three PCTers came up. Finally a lone JMTer arrived. After we all talked for awhile, found out the lone hiker was John B, from our meetup group in Fresno. Talked some on the way down. He is a professor at Fresno State and should be meeting Lori's group tomorrow at East Lake.

John B, Sherri and Gary on top of Pinchot Pass

Went down part way with John B. Then needed to stop. John went off on his way. But Larry and Paul catch up with us and we hop scotch with them down the trail, the rest of the way to Woods Creek. Earlier, my GPS ran out of batteries, so I lost about a mile of data. Also found out my iPad is not charging. Not sure why.

The way down after steep part of Pinchot is plain old long and hot-there is no cloud cover today to keep the sun from our skin. We actually pass Larry and Paul today-Sherri is listening to Fleetwood Mac. This certainly speeds things up our pace!

We stop at Sawmill Pass trail junction. Larry and Paul join us. Larry is having an issue with his iPad mini and it wanting him to backup to the iCloud-fat chance of this out here, or for the next week or so. We figure out how to do a reset by holding down the Sleep and Home keys for about ten seconds. Success.

Woods Creek

On our way down the last 3.9 miles, it seems like it goes on forever. In reality, it just drops 2000' in those miles. It is rocky and uncomfortable and just OK as far as beauty, at least compared to the rest of the Trail. Finally the Golden Gate of the Sierras brings us joy. In case you do not know what it it is, this bridge is a single person at a time, swaying suspension bridge across Woods Creek. A fun amusement park ride for those who like such things. A quarter of a mile later, we cross it, bringing us into one of those large congregation of JMT camps (36.87289, -118.43515)

Many others are camped here. Larry and Paul come in a little while later, at a camp a bit lower than ours. Both of us are tired and do not move very fast. But the tent gets put up after being aired out. Water is drawn and dinner is cooked. About the same time as we finish, Larry and Paul join us with their food. We talk and eat the rest of the evening. Larry loans me his battery pack and I get a charge on my iPad. By the time we get to bed, it is 9:20-no McGyver tonight.

Towards Rae Lakes and Glen Pass

 

Today's JMT Lesson:  You need to work to get to see beauty.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola. Tang.	Peanut Butter and Nutella on crackers	Beef and Cabbage Wrap	Clif Bar, Jelly Bellies, CytoMax, Propel, GORP, Bank Balls

 ¹The supplied figures above come from either the book John Muir Trail: The essential guide to hiking America's most famous trail by Elizabeth Wenk or from topo maps. There was only partial tracks for today in my GPS. Below is the readings from today's status on the GPS. I view it as only somewhat accurate.

Distance:  9.6 miles

Elevation Rise:  1,926'

Maximum Elevation: 12,130'

Marjorie Lake from Pinchot Pass

²Be Though My Vision
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Heading towards Woods Creek

Heading towards Pinchot

South from Pinchot Pass

Falls on Woods Creek