My Trails

7/29/13 60 miles
In the morning we filled our bear-canisters with our supply boxes and packed wet tents from a heavy dew. Heavy tents and heavy food make for heavy packs so we set sight for a shorter day.

The walk was uneventful for most of the day. We climbed 11 miles up a gentle path, through a burned out and wind damaged forest, eventually reaching tall pines on a steep slope above 10,000 feet. The views were mostly obscured by smoke from a recent five that is contained but still smoldering. The smoke was constantly in our nostrils and clouded out everything past a couple hundred feet. We are supposed to be by the worst of it tomorrow.

Tonight we are camped at Duck Creek. It is a nice wooded campsite with a roaring river nearby and plenty of level sites for our four tents. So far we are the only ones here. Everyone is bundling in early – at this altitude it gets cold at night.

I have learned that the fire is not contained but we should be safe where we are going.

7/28/13 – 70 miles
Today we walked 13 miles, the longest day yet. It was tiring but tolerable because most of the afternoon into Reds Meadows was a gentle downhill.

We were afraid that all the good campsites at Reds would be gone so we decided to send our fastest hikers on ahead to secure a site while the rest could take their time. Deadeye and N were chosen to go on ahead of the group and they took off like scalded dogs. On the last five miles into the resort they hit a blistering 4 mph, taking only 1 hour, 15 minutes to cover the distance.

N tells the story of part of their high-speed walk: “I was trying to keep up with Deadeye and starting to get awful thirsty. I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t stop for water. Then I realized he was drinking out of his damn water bladder – he didn’t need to stop. I finaly got close enough to stop him so I could get a drink.”

They secured one of the last remaining sites and we all enjoyed hamburgers and showers before turning in. As usual everything at a backcountry resort is expensive – it cost $9 to take a shower.

7/22/13 – 7 miles
Congratulations to the Troverts for summiting Half Dome. Suuz made it to the base of the cables – quite an accomplishment in itself. Deadeye and I only hiked a couple of miles and staked claim to a campsite at Clouds Rest campsite.

It has been a little cooler as we climb higher each day. Tomorrow we will be above 7000′ and the day after close to 9000′. We have had some sprinkles this afternoon as thunderstorms roll through the area.

My battery is very low. Deadeye’s solar charger has not had enough sun to charge me today. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better or no signal.

7/21/13 – 5 miles.
On day one of our hike we woke early in the backpacker campground, boiled water for a quick cup of coffee, and walked a mile through Yosemite National Park to the official starting point of the John Muir Trail. The temperature was cool and the path shady as we climbed the first two miles up a fairly steep canyon. We definitely struggled with our full packs and new muscle demand, but all of us did well and soon put the valley far below. As the morning wore on the sun broke over the mountains and slowed our pace for the last mile before we reached Nevada Falls.

Deadeye had his new solar panel tied to the top of his pack, so the sunny parts of the trail were good for charging but not pleasant for hiking.
We passed two mule trains coming out of the valley and you can probably guess why hikers call this the John “Manure” Trail. Watch where you step!

We are camped at Little Yosemite Valley tonight. Tomorrow X, N, and Dr. Suuz will attempt Half Dome while Deadeye and I will hike to the next camp and wait for them. Deadeye has a sore toe so we thought it best to rest some tomorrow. We hope tomorrow will take us beyond the crowds and noisy camps and into the back country of the beautiful Sierra. I probably won’t have much signal there.