- Today’s miles: 12.8
- Ascent: 3,212 ft
- Descent: 470 ft
- Total Miles on Trip: 128.8
When I put my pack on this morning, it doesn’t feel horrendously heavy. But ask me how I’m feeling at 2 o’clock this afternoon and I’m sure I’ll be singing a different tune.
I do my normal cold soak of oats and coffee as we leave camp in the morning. My stomach feels strange and it seems to be protesting my change in diet these past two weeks. I’ve made an effort to eat healthyish food out here, but one is limited in what one can do. It’s not exactly candy bars I’m eating but all the processed food seems to be adding up.
5 and a half miles after leaving camp it’s 10:00 A.M. and we are facing a river crossing at Evolution Creek. This is suppose to be one of the toughest stream crossing of the JMT and Guthook even has an alternative route to avoid the crossing. Kevin and I take the traditional route though and it’s no sweat as the water only comes up to our shins. I call it child’s play to Kevin as a tribute to our crossing yesterday. I guess that’s fair though- the crossing yesterday had hot springs waiting for us. This crossing has dirt, rocks, and trail waiting for us.
The next few miles are sunshine, trees, and flowing water. At one point, Kevin bends down to tie his shoes muttering that it’s like tying his shoes with the weight of the world on his back. As I laugh at Kevin’s comment, I get my headphones hopelessly tangled with my trekking poles. And so hiking goes.
As lunch roles around, I take an honest inventory of the amount food I’m carrying. My suspicions are confirmed- I’ve overpacked for this last section. I have a pretty good idea now of how much I eat in a given day on trail and I figure I’m currently carrying an extra day and a half worth of food. That’s around 4 pounds of extra weight and the horror of that realization sends me to something close to panic. What to do, what to do? I formulate a plan to immediately implement what Kevin and I have coined “double breakfast” and “double lunch”. It’s pretty much exactly as it sounds and it’s when you combine two entrees into one. Also, aggressive snacking is a term that comes to mind. Double meals and aggressive snacking should help, no? The thing is my stomach is already a little thrown off from the amount of trail food I’ve consumed out here. We’ll see how it goes.
After lunch, we walk by McClure Meadow which seems to stretch on endlessly. It’s lusciously green and a perfect river cuts right through the middle of it. We even see a deer munching down on grass not a few hundred yards away from us.
As all good things eventually come to an end, so does McClure Meadow, and this end means the beginning of Muir Pass. We’re going to start the climb today and plan to camp at Evolution Lake. So far, I’ve handled the climbs pretty well and have felt strong. I wonder if this one is going to be different. Before we start the climb, I put in my headphones and shuffle a playlist on Spotify. Three Little Birds comes on and I tell Kevin I feel like Will Smith in I Am Legend. Kevin responds by telling me if he blows the whistle on his pack three times, it means he’s a goner and go on without him.
Three minutes into hiking and I’m already breathing hard. I can tell right away Muir Pass is going to be a different experience than the other passes we have climbed. I adopt a loose strategy of hiking for five minutes and then sitting on a rock for a 1 minute breather. And then repeat to infinity. It’s a good strategy though as it allows me to slow down, catch my breath, and check out some of the spectacular views the higher we climb. Soon enough, all doubt sheds from my mind and I’m not only 100% sure we’ll finish the pass but hell, I might even enjoy it too.
We eventually reach Evolution Lake which is simply stunning. It truly feels as if we have entered another realm of Earth. I look around to dramatic and impossibly high peaks that surround the deep blue body of water that is Evolution Lake. There’s granite rock that runs out over the lake and I wonder if camping out on top of the lake is possibility.
It turns out yes, it is. I run off trail and scout us a spot on one of the island-esque spots that runs over Evolution Lake. It’s a beautiful area and gives us 360 degree views of the lake peaks. I spend the afternoon relaxing down on a little beach on our island, rotating through napping, reading, and writing. As evening rolls in, the wind picks-up and the sun soon disappears over the tall mountains. I put on most of the layers of my clothes and hope that we’re not in for too cold of a night.
