August 7, 2016 - Illilouette Creek

Title: August 7, 2016 - Illilouette Creek

Hike Info : Description :  Menu : Extra Pictures 

Trail head: Glacier Point

Hike Info:

Type:  Backpacking

Trail:Illilouete Creek

Destination: Illilouete Creek

Distance:  3.34 miles¹

Start Time: 4:26

End Time:   6:42 

Travel Time:  2.15 (1.49 mph)

Moving Time:  1:48 (1.86 mph)

Elevation Rise:  286'

Maximum Elevation:7,165'
 ¹I thought I had lost the tracks for my Garmin Foretex 401-I had not. But in digging around to see if I could find replacement information, I found a very promising web site called Sierra Mapper. With Sierra Mapper you can put in two points along a trail and voila! lots of trail information appears, including distances, maps and elevation profile. With Sierra Mapper, the distance it calculates is  3.23 miles and an elevation rise of 125'.

Description:
As Dylan once sang, it's been a long time a-coming. From when Rose and Shawn proposed going on the Trail right after Sherri and I got off of it to us inching towards saying yes. Then Shawn needed to drop out of this journey but Sonya, Kate and Kim got added on. During the last 7 months. its been one of the top things on Sherri and mine mind, and today it comes to life!

Yesterday Rose, Sonya and I went to Wawona to see if we could rearrange our permits, but so far it is the best we can do. But Rose, Kim, Sherri and I will probably come into the trail at Silver lake instead of Parker Pass. The pass after Parker looks scary-that would be Koip Peak Pass.

Am I all packed? I think so. My pack certainly feels like it is. Including food and water, my starting weight is 47 lbs; Sherri's is 26. But it will get heavier when we pick up our restock in Tuolumne.http://gary-summer.blogspot.com/1970/01/place-ca-tuolumne-meadows.html I expect it to be around 55 lbs and Sherri's to 32. Then even heavier at Edison. By the way, my starting weight is 267. I hope to lose 15 lbs before we end this trip.

Sherri and Rose in the Glacier PT parking lot

We are slowly in leaving Fresno. I need to take care of a stack of stuff-mine, my parents and Sherri's cousin Vera. So we get to Rose's house a little after 1:20 o'clock. And take off around 1:30. Jeff, Rose's husband, takes us up to Oakhurst where we get our dinner:  that would be a turkey sandwich.  Rose procures a sandwich from Deli Delicious. Then it is off to Glacier Point, with a brief bathroom stop at Chinquapin.

By this time it is the bit after 4 o'clock and 4:30 by the time we say our farewells to Jeff and get our pictures taken for the trail. The first mile is just an assortment of wonders. We looking over Half Dome,  Nevada and Vernal Falls. Much of the country we will be passing through for the next couple of days is before our eyes. 

Half Dome from Glacier Pt

Rose and Sherri and Liberty Cap

Rose and Sherri and Half Dome

As we go down the trail, the path goes through buck brush, chinquapin, manzanita, and a bush with a heavy soda smell-at one time I knew what the plant was, but I cannot think of it now. This is the same plant we saw last May coming back from Deer Camp-I did not know it then and I still do not.

But I am also living in the memory of the last time I went down this trail-a year ago July. Keirnan had forgotten her id at the start of the JMT hike. I chased after her for a mile-I timed it this time and it really was a mile. Then I got to go up this trail the same mile. But today, it is down the slope.

The trail is all downhill-well, almost all 99 percent of it is down. So we make pretty decent time are packs field a bit heavy because we are not quite used to them yet.  When we hit Illilouette Creak, we feel like it is time to to make camp. But we still travel about a half mile to find a suitable, unused campsite. A couple of other places already have people. We see a camp across the way across the creek and with an easy creek crossing. Illilouette is not high so we an easier crossing than what I have feared.

Crossing the Illilouette

The campsite site looks nice from across the creek and its  even somewhat flat. When we examine it, there is some picking and choosing of spots as there is a bit of a slope. Sherri and I decide to sleep under the stars since it seems a bit warm, while Rose puts up her tent.

We have our dinner-on our part a turkey sandwich-and then make ready for bed as it is starting to get dark. We are moving a bit slow,  but there's no need to rush. By the time which we get to bed it's around 9 o'clock and the stars are coming out. Mars is hanging there just really wonderful looking, along with the Milky Way being just amazing.

Illilouette Creek

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Granola at home	Peanut Butter Sandwich at home	Turkey Sandwich from Pete's Place in Oakhurst, ate at Illilouette Creek	Jelly Belly, GORP

Extra Pictures

Illilouette Creek Drainage

Backcountry from Glacier Point

 

July 4, 2013 - Edison Lake

Title: July 4, 2013 - Edison Lake

Hike Info:

Trail:

Starting location: .75 miles below Pocket  Meadow

Destination:  Edison Lake, Vermillion Valley Resort  

Distance:    3.71 miles

Start Time:  7:12

End Time:    9:04

Travel Time: 1:52 (1.99 mph)

Moving Time: 1:49(2.04 mph)

Elevation Rise:    121'

Maximum Elevation:  8,683'

Description:

First thing this morning after getting out of bed, and on my way to do my business, met a guy trail named Trail90. He was saying he was walking this segment of the PCT because he had taken a class in stone cutting which helped build the trail which we came down. Not sure I would advertize that fact, but he seemed pretty proud of that accomplishment. Amazing what you run into.

Sherri on the rocks

From our camp last night, it should be a short walk, maybe 3-4 miles down to the dock to pick up the ferry to VVR. So we eat a few bites, but not our oatmeal breakfast. Then we take off. The trail leads us in a descent through a couple of shelves. At the junction to go up Mono Creek, we meet Ivan, who takes a picture with us. Then, it is down the trail some more. Around Quail Meadow, we come across a fellow JMTer, a person who completed the PCT a couple do years ago. Her trail name is Free Range. We see her off and on again at VVR.

Edison Lake, down a lot

With the drought, the ferry pick up place is 3/4 of a mile down the lake bed. It reminds me of walking in one of those desert scenes, with the sun beating on your back and the hero dying. But we make it down in time to catch the 9:00 ferry.  Noble and Hannah ask us to see if Mike and Gene are at VVR. We will see more of them along the way.

Bill comes with the boat-they are running smaller boats because of the lack of water depth. Relaxing mode of transportation across the lake. Our other companion on this trip across the lake is Federico, from Mexico City. After checking in and establishing a tab, we all sit down for breakfast. Sherri and I divide a large, a very large, breakfast burrito.  A good way to break us in.

Nicole finds us and has us go room three, where Fritz and Ethel are lodging. Nicole will be leaving at 4 to go across the lake and restart her trip.  We lounge around most of the day. We do take showers and Sherri gets our clothes washed. The main thing we do is open our restock canister and get them into the bear canisters. We see Nicole off, then have dinner with Fritz and Ethel.

Most of the talk is about the trail. But it is interesting to hear Ethel's background, coming over to the Episcopalian Church after being raised a Mennonite. After dinner, we talk with the ladies next door, who are impressed we are doing the JMT. One of them is Judy T from Fresno. Turns out we have hiked with her before in our meetup group. She has done hikes with John and Cathey. We are inside by 9:30. I have gotten my iPad charged using Fritz' MacBook ports. Then it is off to sleep.

Today's JMT Lesson: The heavier the pack, the less enjoyment there is.