July 6, 2013 - San Joaquin River

Title: July 6, 2013 - San Joaquin River

Hike Info:

Trail:  John Muir Trail, Day Twelve

Starting location: Bear Creek Jct with Gables Lakes

Destination: JMT and the San Joaquin  River

Distance:   11.3 miles ¹

Start Time: 7:30

End Time:  6:30

Travel Time:  11:00 (1.03 mph)

Moving Time: 6:05 (1.86 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,120'  ¹

Maximum Elevation:   10,890' ¹

Description:

Gary crossing Bear Creek

Today is the day I complete the John Muir Trail! That is, as segments. I have done every thing from. Happy Isles to Mt Whitney-as segments over the last 45 years. But of course, the real objective of this trip is to do the JMT as a thru hiker. Which today also marks our halfway point, in miles, on the JMT. So this will be a real blue ribbon day, if we can survive it.

We are in between a couple of mountains, so at 5:30, when I got up, it was still grey, with no direct morning light, even on the mountains to the west of us.  Mosquitoes find me pretty quickly. The rest of the camp starts to get up.

The first thing out of the chute today is crossing Bear Creek, as part of the morning walk, I had scouted out the creek and could not find a good place to go across-even got a boot wet.  So we all wade across-came mid-calf on me. By the time we dry off and get Sherri's foot doctored, it is 8, about half an hour after leaving camp.

Now we start our uphill climb of 1,320'. So the climb itself is not bad, but the weight in the packs is the challenge. We do pretty well on the first 500', resting for awhile at the top. Nothing spectacular-just the ordinary, common beauty of pine trees, granite and mountain heather.

Marie Lake

For awhile, the trail levels off, into a gentle incline, until we start climbing up to Marie Lake. That is another 400' climb. But once we pop out onto the lake, it is well worth the effort. This is why do walk the Trail, to see the blueness of lakes like this, the image of freshness, starkness. We stop for a rest and lunch, before starting the final assault on Seldon Pass. There were even some ducks, real ducks not cairns, for our enjoyment.

Ducks on Marie

The final 300'+ climb was a slow affair. I stop often to take a picture, or so I say to myself. Marie Lake is the center of attention, but the surrounding mountains would be all-stars in any other setting. After a series of switchbacks, we come out on top, right at noon. The blueness of the sky is dazzling, while the view looking north is great.

On top of Seldon Pass

On of Sally Keyes Lakes

We meet Jim, a programmer at UCSC on top. He did a day hike up the side of the pass we did. He also is the leader of a backpacking meetup group in Santa Cruz. We talk for about 40 minutes, taking pictures. Issac from India, a seventeen year old comes up at the last part of our stay. Pictures are taken.

Then we start down the south side a little before one. It is a bit slow, steep and windy. We pass by Heart Lake, then stop at Sally Keyes Lakes for a rest and water, and some energy. Sherri was even able to take a little snooze, for about ten minutes. 

San Joaquin towards Florence Lake

When we started walking again, there was a feeling of refreshment. We needed that because for the next several hours it was a long, hot downhill, dropping 2,800' down towards the San Joaquin River. Much of it was one foot in front of the other. 

When we got to the junction we tried to find the place where we stayed last year. Had to wander around a bit to find a place close to it. We were very tired, hardly the energy to make dinner. Got every thing set up and put away. Then hit the sack. We are thinking of a scaled back day tomorrow. Yippee! I can load pictures from my camera now to the iPad, so we watch them before closing our eyes.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Huge pancakes at VVR.	Peanut Butter and Nutella on crackers	Szechuan Vegtable Noodle	Clif Bar, Jelly Bellies, CytoMax, Propel, GORP

 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:  12.3 miles

Elevation Rise:  875'

Maximum Elevation: 10,880'

July 5, 2013 - Bear Creek

Title: July 5, 2013 - Bear Creek

Hike Info:

Trail:

Starting location: Vermillion Valley Resort

Destination: Bear Creek

Actual Destination:  Jct with Gables Creek  And JMT, at Bear Creek

Distance:  10.0 miles  ¹

Start Time: 9:15

End Time:  6:20

Travel Time:  9:05( mph)

Moving Time: 5:33 ( mph)

Elevation Rise:  2,580'   ¹

Maximum Elevation:  9,888

Description:

I am looking forward to is day, both with a certain amount of fear of the climb with a heavy pack, but also a sense of testing my boundaries. Knowing what I can do and what I should back away from. What is necessary to tolerate for a great deal of pleasure and where the pleasure ends and wondering why I am doing it. Sherri has offered me an alternative of going up a different trail. While easier, I am not sure I want to do it that way.  These were words written a couple of days ago.

----

As it turned out, we decided yesterday that with walking so far on the other side after the ferry, about 3/4 of a mile in a hot morning sun, we would go up Bear Ridge Trail. It still reaches the top of the ridge at 9,888', but it takes longer to do it, as in miles, so it is a bit more gradual. 

Looking up Bear Creek

I lay awake for awhile in Fritz and Ethel's cabin, until the power goes on at 6:45. We have breakfast at VVR-Sherri and I sharing a couple monster size pancakes. By the time we leave VVR, it is 9:45.Then Fritz takes us to the trail head and says goodbye. it will be interesting to see how and if this relationship  with Fritz and Ethel develop.  ²

The trail is in pretty good shape, but it still is a pretty good trudge. We do try to see if we can get cell reception, but not successful. Despite the heavy packs and the incessant upward climb, Sherri and I do surprising well. Sherri's pack is weighing in around 35 pounds, while mine is over 60.

My GPS shows varying amounts of elevation, so while I think I know approximately our altitude, it is a it disheartening to be working so hard only to show a drop in elevation. but whatever the altimeter shows, we still need to go up to 9,888'. We cross one pretty good flowing of water. The map shows we cross it again, above, but it is dry there. So we decide to munch on things like Clif Bars for lunch instead of our usual of peanut butter and Nutella.

Around 2, we reach the top of the ridge, and the junction with the JMT. There we meet Mike and Anna. She works for the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control Board in Fresno. We will see them off and on for the next couple of days. It is pleasant to chat with them.

Sherri and an Incense Cedar

The 2,000+' we ascended during the last several hours, we now lose about a thousand of it. There are many places where there are  small swamps. Along this way, we see Mike, Gene, Hannah and Noble from yesterday. We pass them up, but they will pass us in a few minutes. We finally stop around 3 for lunch at a place where there is a good flow of water. Mike and Anna join us in a few minutes. It is good to sit and talk for awhile. They are out for two weeks, enjoying the time. If they make Whitney, so much the better.

Bear Creek

We finally make it down to Bear Creek. It is much larger than I expected, and has a beauty similar to the upper part of Illilouette Creek, but not with the narrowness of gorge. It is enjoyable to follow this picturesque water. We pass by one campsite, even though we are a bit tired.

We get up to the junction of the Lake Italy Trail, then cross its creek. That would be a bit misleading since there are actually four separate crossings. We manage to do it without taking off our shoes. But we do this by meandering up and down these water flows looking for a good spot. Sherri is a bit annoyed by the multiple crossing; I am more annoyed by the mosquitoes and being scraped by the bushes. We decided to go on for twenty more minutes and then find a place to camp for the night.

Now we are looking for a good place to camp, but all we find are mosquitoes. Sherri is starting to lag, and I have found a good pace for me and am looking for a good place to camp. I management to miss a turn in the trail, by stepping over some logs, but quickly refine the trail. About half a mile later, out of most of the mosquitoes, I find a place to lay down the pack.

Gary's Aching Back

At this point,I go back looking for Sherri. I am almost back at the place were I lost the trail when I see a kid in the brush. I asked if he had seen Sherri? Yes! And he leads me to her. Evidently he, his Mom and Sherri had all taken the same missed place as me, but they had kept on going. They found each other while wandering around, trying to find where the trail went. So I lead them out and to the proper trail.

We invite Julie and Hayden to join our campsite close to Gables Creek and the Bear Creek crossing (37.33062N, 118.86656W). They gladly accept. We also look and find a better place to stay, close by. Julie and Hayden are from Chicago. They will be meeting her husband at Whitney in nine days. A daughter dropped out at Red's Meadow. 

Some PCT'rs come by-he is charting their course on an iPad mini. We compare notes about using an iPad on the trail. He uses the PCTA's half mile maps. They are free-I load the app after we get off the trail. Shortly afterwards a father-daughter comes by. They have been with Julie and Hayden before. So we invite them to stay with us as well. It turns out that the daughter is a friend of Andea's from college, Rachel M.  Ray and Rachel will be with us for much of the next week-a relationship we will enjoy.

Today's JMT Lesson:  Lord make me a blessing to those who are on the Trail.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Huge pancakes at VVR.	Peanut Butter and Nutella on crackers	Rainer Spotted Dog	Clif Bar, Jelly Bellies, CytoMax, Propel, GORP

 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 were no 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:  10.5 miles

Elevation Rise:  1,728'

Maximum Elevation:  9,888

 ²As it turns out, Fritz has friended Sherri on Facebook. Not only that, over Labor Day weekend we were up in Grant Grove. Looking through a window, we saw Fritz and Ethel celebrating their 14th anniversary up there. A wonderful world  full of coincidences.

Place: CA-Bear Creek

Bear Creek, Lakes (quad)
(Long, Lat)

Description:

Theodore S. Solomons says that this name was current among sheepmen when he first came there in 1894. From Place Names of the High Sierra (1926) by Francis P. Farquhar

Trips:

• July 5, 2013 - JMT Trip
• July 2007 -Andrea and Sherri's JMT Trip

Pictures:

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References:

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