THANX, Moose
Please donate to WALK 4 SOCK HERE AT THIS LINK.
Options include pledges for LoanMeADime, a dime per mile, or $21.10. Donate more, or donate whatever you can. Click the link and give a great kid a great experience !!!
Hope you enjoy the trip… And THANKS FOR YOUR DONATION !!!
Starting August 7th, follow the Psycho Hikers along the trail with our SPOT tracker at this link: FindMeSpot Link…Or this address
If your email splits this line, be certain that EVERY letter, number, and symbol is typed in correctly.
HERE IS THE HIKE, Beginning August 7th.
Approach hike – This part of the trip will consist of 2 days, hiking from Horseshoe Meadow to the base of Mt. Whitney on the west side at Guitar Lake.
The first day goes from Horseshoe Meadow (10,000 ft.) up and over Cottonwood Pass (11,140 ft) and then back down to Rock Creek at 10,000 ft again. This part of the trail is HEAVILY traveled by horse/mule/donkey teams. Because of this stock use, the trail is very sandy and dusty. The only consistent water along the route is off-trail at Chicken Spring Lake (4 miles) or at our destination for the night at Rock Creek, 14 miles. This will be a good acclimatization day.
The second approach day takes us up and over Guyot Pass (not on map, 11,000 ft.) and across some more sandy trail to Lower Crabtree Meadow, and then a short leg to Upper Crabtree. Here, we join the John Muir Trail (JMT) and hike toward Mt Whitney, enjoying some great views on the approach of the awe-inspiring granite cathedrals surrounding the highest peak in the lower 48 states. We will camp at Guitar Lake on the night of August 8.
August 9, the GO day… this is the day we start our 30-mile-per-day push. We will start early in the morning, hike to the summit of Mt. Whitney, and then… off we go!!! We will officially call this “DAY 1”.
Day 1 – We hike down hill from Mt. Whitney, grab some water passing Guitar Lake, and then traverse the JMT toward Tyndall Creek Ranger Station (little cabin symbol on map). From Tyndall Creek, it is up and over Forester Pass, the highest pass along the JMT at 13,480. From there, it is all downhill to our destination for the night, Bubbs Creek. A 36-mile day, IF we make it all the way.
Day 2 – Up and over Glen Pass, down to Woods Creek, up and over Pinchot Pass, down to Kings River, then up and over Mather Pass to Palisade Lake.
Day 2 will most likely be our toughest day if we can pull it off. 3 passes – whew. We’ll see…
Day 3 – Down the “Golden Staircase” and its 100+ switchbacks from Palisade Lake to Deer Creek; this was the last section of the JMT to be constructed in 1938. We drop into Le Conte Canyon for the L-O-N-G approach up to Muir Pass. From the pass, it is all downhill to Evolution Lake, a long day, but doable.
Day 4 – From Evolution Lake, we go into Evolution Valley, past McClure Meadow Ranger Station, and then downhill to the San Joaquin River. We depart Kings Canyon National Park at Piute Creek and then traverse up to Seldon Pass. A descent to Bear Creek follows, and the another traverse to Bear Ridge. 26 switchbacks up and 63 switchbacks down… I counted them all in 2006. No view, just back and forth among the pine and aspen forest groves. We will try to stop at Mono Creek. Many JMT hikers head across Edison Lake at this point to the Vermillion Valley Resort at the west end of the lake, accessible via a twice-daily ferry. WE WILL try to resist this temptation… we will, we will, we will.
Day 5 is up and over Silver Pass and then along the upper bench of the Cascade Canyon, up-and-down, and finally to Reds Meadow. This is our resupply. We hope to give the Mulehouse Café a little business. There are hot geothermal showers here, too. Ahhhhh!
Day 6, up into the Ansel Adams Wilderness for some picturesque views of Mount Ritter and Banner Peak in the backdrop of Garnet and Thousand Island Lakes. I failed to get my pictures to transfer over so I can show you these views, but I’ll get them on the BLOG after our trip. Ultimately on this day, we will cross over Donahue Pass and drop into Yosemite National Park via Lyell Canyon.
Day 7 – THE LAST DAY (we hope). From Lyell Canyon, we will pass through Tuolumne Meadow and then up to Cathedral Pass. One last uphill remains as we get up and over the hump into the Merced River drainage. Smooth sailing from here, it is all downhill to Nevada and Vernal Falls, followed by a short jaunt to Happy Isles, where I predict we will have HAPPY FEET because the trek is now OVER.
No comments:
Post a Comment