Gary-Summer: August 14, 2024

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

August 14, 2024 - Lyell Canyon

Title: August 14, 2024 - Lyell Canyon

Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Background : Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Lyell Canyon, Junction with Vogelsang Trail

Trail: John Muir Trail

Destination: As far as we want to walk

Actual Destination: About 2 1/2 miles up the canyon

Distance: 4.95 miles

Start Time: 11:02

End Time: 3:42

Travel Time: 4:39 (1.06 mph)

Moving Time: 3:07 (1.59 mph)

Elevation Rise: 816 '

Descent: 590‘

Maximum Elevation: 9,025'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Close to John's camp

I got up about 7:20 and went for a short walk, maybe about a quarter mile or so.Just far enough to see the sun starting to peak over the Kuna Crest. There were two things about this walk. One did not happen, the other did. First, when I got home, I saw that if I had walked maybe another five minutes, I would have come across where my friend John was camped. He has an InReach and I have been one of the text recipients of his locations. I guess this was not part of the plan for us to connect. Still, it would have been nice.

Sun over Kuna Crest

The second thing was that I read a segment out of Marilyn Robinson’s book, Reading Genesis. She notes that Abram went out to ponder the stars. But she also says that God sees, through Abrams’s eyes, beauty that might seem an arbitrary display of divine power if it were only a throng of stars. This got me to thinking about God seeing his creation through Abram’s eyes. I wondered if that is why we are on this earth, because God wants to experience His Creation through us. God calls his creation good. But is this something which he yearns to see it, through how we see it? Beauty like what I am seeing calls for a response to its Maker. This should be my nature’s response: to praise God in all things. Let the blessing flow. Not only in places like Lyell Canyon, but also in places like Fresno.

Sherri crossing Ireland Creek

When I got back, Sherri had gotten up. We had our breakfast. But neither of us must have been too ambitious. This confirms the decision not to go up the Vogelsang Trail. We finally moseyed out of camp about ten after eleven. We cross Ireland Creek, getting the bottom of our boots wet. Then started our stroll up Lyell.

Most of the flowers are either yarrow or alpine aster. Still pretty, even though the meadow grasses are starting to turn brown. But there are a lot of fritillaries flying around. I am not sure what variety of fritillary they are. One even lands on my leg. I try to get a picture of that, but Sherri wants to see what I am stopping for and the butterfly goes away.

The trail, the JMT, continues on its rolling way with very little altitude gain. This is a good walk for us. By 12:30 we are ready for lunch and start looking for a good place to eat. Eventually, I see a path heading off to the river and we take it. It leads to a vacant horse camp. We go a little ways further, next to the river and find a place to recline against rocks.

Lunch Time Rest

By this time, and it is 12: 45, we are ready for our lunch. Sherri finishes off last night’s peanut butter and nutella sandwich, while I have Ritz crackers with PB&Nutella spread. A satisfying meal. Evidently, too satisfying as I am content with staying here for a while and enjoying the river. Sherri does not seem too much more motivated. So we stay here until 2:00.

As we are about to head out, the pack train comes in. Rather than spook the horses-turns out that they are mules, what do I know?-we take a wide berth around them. We then head back to camp. We make about as good of time going back as we do coming up. We did talk with one guy who is on the lookout for a Northbound Dutch couple who needs fuel. The Tuolumne Meadows store has just opened and he wants to communicate that to this couple-we did not see them at all in our travels.

Tuolumne River in the Evening

At camp, I rest for a few minutes and get approached by a wilderness ranger-a different one than yesterday. I am confident and showed her the permit on the phone. She examines it and says that it is not correct. What is not correct? We told her we came in yesterday, but the permit is good for the 14^th through the 16^th. That can’t be! But it is. She leaves us with a warning. Sherri digs out a copy of the reservation and notes the reservation also has those dates. I guess I must have clicked wrong when I made the reservation.

After this encounter, I went down to the river to get some water. I come across Peter, a backpacker who is northbound on the JMT. We talk for a little while and then are joined by a couple from Big Sur. They look as tired as Sherri and I were yesterday. They have not slept much in the last 36 hours and are trying to decide if they go back home. I invite them to camp just below us. They go off for about 20 minutes and then take me up on my offer.

We have a freeze dried version of mac and cheese. It is about the right amount for us. Also there are a couple Girl Scout cookies thrown in-not in the dinner, but afterwards. Sherri sees some deer, but they run off before I have a good picture of them. So I walk down the path to see if I can find them. Instead, I met Peter again. We talk about various routes and what he is trying to do. This includes the old JMT route as well as where there is camping close to Sunrise High Sierra Camp.

Both times in talking with Peter, I take much longer to get back to the campsite. This time, Sherri is about ready for bed. We both end up crawling into our bags around 8:15.

Trail Lesson:

Two lessons today:

Don’t be so self-assured that what I do is always going to be right.
As I age, make allowances for mistakes. Double check my work.

Background

The John Muir Trail has changed over the years. In Tuolumne Meadows at one point it went from the Cathedral Lakes Trailhead north to Parson’s Lodge, past Soda Springs, towards the campgrounds and then past the Wilderness Office. Now it cuts south of Highway 120 over behind the campground and meets up with the PCT just south of the Tuolume River crossing. This is what Peter and I were discussing about the route change. There are other places where the route has changed as well.

Not sure what being a purist on the JMT means these days. I like to consider the trail as being more of a suggested route to enjoy the backcountry of the Sierra, a gateway to rejuvenate one’s being.

For more background on the John Muir Trail, you can see the following sites:

Wikipedia for a good basic background on the Trail
JMT Wilderness Conservancy
NPS’s Story Maps on ArcGIS
Starr’s Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region, the Eleventh Revised Edition, by Walter Starr

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola. Tang.	Ritz Crackers, Peanut Butter, Nutella	Freeze Dried Mac&Cheese with jerky	Clif Bar, GORP, Scratch, Jelly Belly