- Today’s Miles: 3.1
- Ascent: 1,316 ft
- Descent: 176.5 ft
- Total Miles on Trip: 3.1
I arrive in Modesto at 9:45 A.M. In an incredible act of generosity, Gary had offered to drive us from Modesto to our starting point for the JMT at Tenaya Lake. Not only that, but he has offered for me to leave my car at his house for the next month. Gary is awesome.
When we arrive at the trailhead at Tenaya Lake, Kevin and I took a few departing photos. Before I know it, Gary is saying good-bye and we are officially beginning our JMT hike. Whoo-oo! As we walk, Kevin and I talk about our very different backpacking experience. Kevin has already thru-hiked the JMT once with his dad back in high school, 12 years ago. However, he tells me, he has not backpacked since high school, giving him a hiatus of about a decade. I, on the other hand, had never gone on a backpacking trip until about a year ago. Since then, I’ve done a fair amount of backpacking in my home area of Bear Valley. My longest trip up until this point has been a 5 nighter, 75 miles. If all things go as planned, the JMT should take us 19 days and end up being 220 miles.
Our day includes a fair climb that is steady but not long. We only have 3.5 miles planned for today as we are staying at Sunrise Lakes. We arrive at Sunrise Lakes early in the afternoon, around 3:00 P.M., making better time than planned. Kevin and I celebrate our first day by taking a swim in the lake which is cold but refreshing. After swimming and setting up camp, we explore the surrounding area and find two other lakes within a half-mile of our campsite. “Thin air, thick mosquitos,” is what my hiking partner Kevin says as we explore the surroundings of our campsite. “And beautiful lakes. Definitely beautiful lakes,” Kevin adds. I agree with him as we look down at the water running down smooth granite into a lake below us. I think of how right John Muir was to dedicate and spend the majority of his life in the Sierra and writing about its beauty.
By 8:30, after dinner has been cooked and eaten, I’m brushing my teeth and calling it quits for the day. Tomorrow we plan on “slackpacking”, hiking without our packs, Cloud’s Rest. Oh, also as it’s the title of the blog post, it’s worth mentioning the mosquitos have been hellacious out here so far. Gary gifted me a permethrin treated scarf for a belated birthday present earlier this morning. I’ve used it all day and find it much more comfortable and preferable to a mosquito head net. Also, I plan on using it as a sort of pillow tonight. Thanks Gary.
