John Muir Trail, September 2009 - Trip Report, part 3 of 4

For a little history, read part 1 and part 2 of the Trip Report first.

Another early morning, as we roll out of camp a little after 6:15. Thankfully the hiking starts pretty gently this morning, as our packs are now the heaviest they have been, after resupplying at the Muir Trail Ranch. For the first couple hours each morning, we tended to more or less hike our own speed, stopping when necessary to shed layers or grab more food.
After several hours and just under 7 miles, we crossed the bridge over the South Fork of the San Joaquin River. We called this the halfway point for the trip and gave ourselves some much needed pats on the back. This is where I started to realize that if we kept going at the same pace, I would likely make it to the top of Mt. Whitney.

After the brief break provided by refilling our water at this stop, we began the ascent to the beautiful Evolution Valley, and soon came to the only water crossing where we had to get wet. Fortunately being September, the water was very low. I had not brought a separate pair of shoes to wade across in, so instead chose to wear my second pair of socks, which worked very well. Much like the felt bottoms on fly fishing boots, only without the support.
Earlier we had began taking turns passing and being passed by a gentleman named Steve, and eventually spent the next 3 hours hiking together. This, combined with the incredible scenery, provided a wonderful diversion. After 4 days on the trail with good friends, a fresh voice in the mix was an unexpected blessing, and fortunately Steve was funny and easily matched our pace.
We stopped for our typical lunch and midday swim at Evolution Lake. The clouds and weather from 2 days prior were thankfully absent. We still had Muir Pass to go over this afternoon, and I have a strong aversion to high places in heavy weather. Steve said goodbye to us as we packed up and continued on. Perhaps he was going to take a little more time to absorb the beauty all around, or maybe simply it was time for a well earned nap.
At the summit of Muir Pass, we took another longer break to enjoy the surroundings and the Muir Hut, before starting the somewhat steep descent to Big Pete Meadow. This was our goal for the evening, and as would become our routine over the next 4 nights, we were finishing about an hour after dark each night. While unfortunately passing some beautiful scenery in the dark, we were seeing a side of the Sierras that I came to really enjoy. As other hikers were setting up camp and bedding down, animals were starting to come out, and it was a whole new enjoyable world.
Day 6 started with a gentle downhill along the Middle Fork of the Kings River, and some absolutely stunning scenery in the early morning. One of my favorite pictures is from this stretch of trail. After crossing over Palisade Creek we began the first of two big climbs for the day, Mather Pass. At this point, we were falling into a comfortable rhythm for these big passes.
On the descent from Mather Pass we met a Backcountry Ranger from Kings Canyon National Park. He was a wealth of information and seemed to know the area like the back of his hand. He also didn’t bat an eye at our ridiculous pace, as he reviewed our permit.
Many friends have asked what shoes we were wearing. Two of us were in trail running shoes, one was in a lightweight Gortex hiker, and one in standard running shoes. We all suffered varying levels of blisters, but no sprained ankles or other injuries. It seems everyone has a different approach to blisters, and I believe you just have to find out what works for your feet. My remedy for the blisters was to simply lance them with a sterilized needle and drain them. Sometimes I would do this several times with a blister before it would heal up. I never used tape, blister covers or other protection. I am still amazed at how something so small on your feet or toes can produce so much discomfort.

Click here to read the 4th and final installment, Twin Lakes to Mt. Whitney.