Gary-Summer: August 10, 2016 - Tuolumne Meadows

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

August 10, 2016 - Tuolumne Meadows

Title:August 10, 2016 - Tuolumne Meadows
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Upper Sunrise Creek

Hike Info:

Type: Backpacking

Trail:John Muir Trail

Destination: Tuolumne Meadows
Actual Destination: Cathedral Lakes Trail Head

Distance: 10.71 miles ¹

Start Time: 8:00

End Time: 7:14

Travel Time: 11:13 (0.95 mph)

Moving Time: 7:38 (1.40 mph)

Elevation Rise: 2,828'

Maximum Elevation: 9,932'

¹Usually I figure anything less than a half a mile an hour is GPS error. But because we were going uphill, I lowered that threshold down to two tenths of a mile per hour

Description:

Gary Resting

I have some dread of today. First, there is a natural dread of the next climb. We did not do so well with the first part from Little Yosemite Valley to here. What will today bring? Rose's feet are starting to show some wear and tear; Sherri does not climb steep well; and I am still getting used a heavy pack. But on the later, I do take Rose's tent to lighten a little of the load off of her feet. But the second dread is the distance we must travel today. I suppose we could stay an extra night out-we do have enough food. But it would wreak havoc with rides, lodging and the rest of the JMT trip. But that is a discussion for the end of the day. This is the effect of our little cross-country short cut Monday.

Smog Level

Rose gets off to a comparatively early start with Sherri and I following about 15 minutes later. While we are climbing pretty well, it is a slow slog. Occasionally we will see something scenic, but most of the time our concentration is putting the next step up the slope with frequent rests to catch our breath. Having been up this slope three times before gives me a combination of thoughts. First, there is the memories of people whom I met-an engineering professor from the Air Force Academy, a man coming down who felt he needed to be guided, my daughter who encouraged me up this hill the first time, my wife who I got to return my daughter's favor. Having been up this before, I know what lies before me and understand the effort it will take.

Mt Starr King

When we move away from Sunrise Creek, or it disappears-I am never sure which, I know we have gone up a ways and that this section of the hike will end. As the trail becomes less vertical-I really hesitate to say it flattens, our spirits rise and we start looking for Rose. When we reach the top of what I call Sunrise Ridge-I do not think this is a real name, Sherri and I stop for a break. It is 9:45, taking us a little less than two hours to climb up the final 1,000' of this ridge. Also this is a good place to enjoy some eye candy.

But we have many more miles to go so it is off. While these miles are easier than what we have done, they are higher with less air. Sherri and I continue on the trail thinking we might catch Rose now that we are no longer gasping for air from climbing.

Matthes Crest

But like a lot of things on the trail, it is easy to get distracted. How did I? Well a husband and wife was going down to the Valley and I stopped to say hi-Sherri sort of went on. Well this hi, gets into a good conversation. They are doing a yo-yo hike, starting at Horseshoe Meadows below Whitney, going to Happy Isles and then back down. They figure it will take around 40-45 days. But he has type 2 diabetes and is doing the hike to take off 30 pounds and bring down his blood sugars. We compare numbers and he is way higher than me. We both are taking care of elderly parents which leads to how to take care of them and ourselves. This is a tight-rope to walk between sacrificing yourself and being self-absorbed. I do not think there is a formula for this, but maybe a place where we need to create boundaries and balance. Something to ponder for awhile.

Rose in Sunset Meadow

But now I need to play catch-up. I am able to stretch my legs and move pretty quickly down the trail. After about 10 minutes I catch up with Sherri-she has been waiting for me. Then in about 15 more minutes we are at Sunrise Meadow. We still have not seen Rose, but we ask a few people if they have seen her-no. But then above the meadow Rose calls to us and has us come up to the High Sierra Camp. So we have a great lunch spot, overlooking the meadow-a good place to relax. Rose tells us that she was feeling well enough that she did not stop at the top of the ridge and just came on down for lunch.

After a relaxing hour, we are off again. For a ways, it is level or small climbs. We meet a trail crew who are "relaxing" by going to climb Half Dome. Those folks-and do not think of males only-are really in good shape. Compared to them. we have a long way to go before being in shape.

Almost at Long Meadow

After climbing up to the next level, we reach Long Meadow. This is the start of our last climb of the day. This climb is not bad, except for the legs and lungs are not completely functional from our previous efforts. But we persevere.

Cathedral Pass

Do you remember Susan and Sarah from yesterday? They pass us up this afternoon again, up towards the top of Cathedral Pass. They both are nursing tender feet. Maybe before I go on I should say that Cathedral Pass is really a non-pass in my mind. On the trail we are actually heading down into the pass and I have never been able to figure out exactly where the pass is. It is not where it looks like a pass should be-it is someplace along the side of a slope.

Anyway, back to Susan and Sarah. They stop at a scenic rock outcropping to rest. So do we because from here, it is downhill. We find out several things. First, they met Kate and Sonya and told us they are doing good. Next Sarah's Achilles Heel is starting to swell up. This can be serious. We are concerned and I give them our card and ask that they let us know how things are doing. And then we move on as we have our own concerns as well. Rose's toes are getting blisters and she is starting to hobble. The trail is taking its toll on all of us.

Cathedral Meadow

We stop at the Upper Cathedral Lake for a few minutes-those packs are heavy and we wanted to feel better. But on they come again. If things had gone great, we would have meet our meetup group at Lower Cathedral Lake. But it is getting pretty late and they should be all gone. We need to get down while it is still light. We stop at my favorite spring along the trail and I take a sip and cool myself off.

Sarah and Susan catch up to us again at the spring. This time Sarah is really hurting and they are moving slow. Sherri and Rose go on. Susan has taken Sarah's pack and tries to walk with it in front of her. Because she is now blind, I help guide her. But after a mile, this is not going to be workable. So I lash her pack onto the top of my pack. These Kelty's are made strong. I think they will now carry more than I can. But with both packs I think I am someplace in the 70-80 pound range. Fortunately, it is downhill.

Susan and I take off. Not sure what we will be doing, but at least we will have the packs down at the trail head. We talk about things on the way down. Even though Susan is not religious, we say a short walking prayer. Surprisingly, I feel pretty good carrying this weight, so we make it down to the trail head where Sherri is waiting for us. She stays with Susan and I find the bear lockers and stash Sarah's pack. Interestingly, a ranger is there to bring down another person with a banged up knee. I explain the situation to him, but as a third party, I really cannot do much. But he agrees to talk with Sarah on the way to his other rescue. It turns out that Sherri and I had met Ranger Cliff A three years ago when we did the JMT. Susan is going back up the trail to be at least with Sarah-we also stash her pack as well.

It is after 7 and Rose has found Jeff, her husband and our ride down to Lee Vining. So you would think that is the end of the drama for the evening, wouldn't you? After going to our hotel-Murphy's Inn-and getting showered-that feels so good, Sherri and I met Jeff and Rose for dinner. We hobbled down to Bodie Mike's to satisfy our inner cravings. First Rose told us that Sonya will be coming off the trail because of a family emergency. Then as we were eating you could see that Rose was contemplating the status of her feet. By the end of the meal, she was convinced that it was time for her to come off the trail as well.Kate and Kim will be going on.

This leaves the question of, "What will Sherri and Gary do?" Somehow when Rose said that her feet was in too poor of shape to continue, it was seemed like it was the thing for us to also leave the Trail. Why? I am still not sure.

The next day, we had breakfast at the Latte Da Coffe Cafe. Enjoyable and relaxing. Last night's decision seemed like the right choice. So when Jeff, Rose, and Sonya loaded up, so did we. Kim and Kate hit the trail around 11 that day and we headed off our separate ways.

From Sunrise Ridge

Trail Lesson: Why do you hike? Figure that out and your will be happier.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola. Tang.	Ritz Crackers, Tortillas, Peanut Butter, Nutella	Hamburgers at Bodie Mike's.	Clif Bar, GORP, Propel, CytoMax, Scrytch, Coffee Candy, Jelly Belly