Day 76-80: Yosemite

June 19-23; Mile 920-1006

Day 76

I awoke to frost on my pack, tent, and bear can. It was hard to leave the warm embrace of my sleeping bag, and so I took my time getting ready, enjoying the view across the valley where the mountains were bathed in morning light. The trail descended for a while before reaching Thousand Island Lake. I found a nice spot on the hillside to eat my breakfast with the mirror-like water far below. Countless little islands poked above the water, speckling its surface and giving the lake its name.

The trail climbed up to a “pass” which was really more like a hill, before descending to the start of the climb up Donahue Pass. I had to step over large blocks of granite, but thankfully the grade wasn’t too bad. I reached the pass – a wind-scrubbed saddle full of rocks and not much else – and then descended into Yosemite.

I hiked down the granite staircase, passing a turquoise pond fed by snowmelt from the white north-facing slopes above. Thankfully the trail was relatively free of snow, and soon I was back among meadows. A stream meandered through the middle of the flat expanse of grass, and my feet enjoyed the break from walking on granite. I got to camp before 5:30 and actually had time to relax and stretch – though I had to wear my rain gear to avoid getting eaten alive. I was inside my tent by 7, but it stayed light out for another hour and a half. The summer solstice was nigh.

Day 77

I woke up to another freezing morning, though only my pack was rimmed with frost this time. The trail was flat on its way to Tuolumne Meadows, and I kept a solid pace. As I was eating breakfast beside a boulder, two rangers stopped to check my permit. We chatted about my oatmeal and gear choices before they hiked on. As I repacked my bag I noticed that one of my camp sandals was missing. I had covered almost 3 miles already – I couldn’t go back. It was frustrating, but at least the fords of the High Sierra were behind me. My sandal was on an adventure of its own now.

I hiked through the Tuolumne Meadows toward the campground (under construction) and store with Spicy Batman. It was a treat to have normal food after only 2 days on trail, and several hikers lounged in the parking area drying out their gear after the cold night. I ate lunch with Petra, and the two of us hiked out together at 11. I enjoyed the company as we sailed past day hikers and tourists.

The two of us marveled at the waterfalls and magnificent views. Towering peaks with sheer granite faces stood out above the horizon. The trail passed over sloped, flat expanses of granite, where people had formed lines of stacked rocks to guide hikers across.

Next we hiked through forests and grassy meadows teeming with mosquitos. I hiked fast but couldn’t escape the swarm. I took off my hat and whacked myself repeatedly as I walked – careening all over the trail – to evade the onslaught. Thankfully the campsite had fewer bugs. I caught up to Petra and she showed me the two spots she’d found. I set up my tent and then we ate dinner together while talking about mountaineering and snow. We had an excellent view due west toward the ridge where we’d head tomorrow morning past Miller Lake.

Day 78

The Milky Way kept me company that night as I tossed and turned. It was a restless night, and so I took my time in the morning and left camp around 8. I descended to a creek crossing and finally found a route across the rocks on my third attempt. Once on the other side I found the trail and started hiking uphill.

There was another creek crossing coming up, and after a while I stopped for a break. I should have reached the crossing by now, and when I checked my map my heart sank. When I’d crossed the creek upstream, I’d accidentally followed a different trail. I was now 1.5 miles up the wrong trail.

There was nothing to do but go back the way I’d come. The creek where I’d missed the junction was called Return Creek, and the irony was not lost on me as I grumbled past a second time. The next creek crossing had an easy log crossing, and after a steep climb I took a break at the sandy shores of Miller Lake.

I descended to a nice meadow where other hikers were eating their lunch before the long climb up to Benson Pass. When I reached the top of the climb I yanked on all my rain gear since the mosquitos were horrific. I lay in the shade for half an hour trying not to overheat before descending. The trail was steep and rocky on its way to Smedberg Lake. I paused for a moment to drink some water and eat a snack but was immediately swarmed and had to keep moving.

After one final climb up and down I reached my camp spot for the evening. My knees ached from the steep, rocky descent, and I felt frustrated about the detour. I’d planned today to be shorter and easier because of the terrain, and yet I’d ended up doing almost 19 miles. I took refuge inside my loaner tent and was glad to be free from the swarming bugs. After a quick dinner I lay in my sleeping bag and willed sleep to come early despite the long daylight hours. It was officially summer.

Day 79

I woke to the watery light of an overcast day, and my spirits were instantly lifted. I had a day full of climbing ahead of me: the cloud cover was a cool, welcome relief. With a bounce in my step I passed a hiker on the shore of Benson Lake, and we chatted on the climb up. As we crested the ridge he caught up to his friend, and with a jolt I recognized her: it was Marvel! We hadn’t seen each other in 700 miles! We both hugged and caught each other up on the folks we’d been hiking with. And the timing was perfect: she’d just gotten a job she really wanted and was getting off trail at Sonora Pass.

I hiked with her and her friend Stripes for the rest of the day. The tough terrain, the constant bugs, losing my sandal and then going the wrong way… I’d been having a rough stretch and my enjoyment had plummeted. But while hiking with Marvel she pointed out the smallest things: lichen clinging to the branches above, tiny flowers beginning to bloom, a field of leafy ferns. It was rejuvenating and uplifting to hike with someone so positive. We were leaving behind the towering peaks of the Sierras; it was time to learn to marvel at the simple beauty of the trail once more.

The day was filled with steep ups and downs and approximately zero stretches of flat trail. The the path was at times like walking on a cobblestone road at a 20 percent grade. But there were also granite peaks across the valley and flowers beginning to bloom: balsamroot, columbine, larkspur, phlox.

We camped just past Falls Creek, which required a knee-deep ford. The water was cool and languid, and I stopped on its shore to soak my weary feet and wash up. Stripes built a fire – my first of the trail – and as we ate dinner more hikers showed up and sat around its warm glow. Sailor, Snowshoe, Spicy Batman, Grandpa, Peanut, Sunfish, and a few other I didn’t know all joined. The mosquitos were still horrible, but that’s what rain gear is for.

Day 80

In the dark inside my tent I awoke to a slow pattering above my head. Fat drops plopped onto my rain fly, and I zipped up the doors before falling back asleep. In the morning I took my time packing up since it was still gray and blustery.

I spent the morning hiking through flat meadows waterlogged by snowmelt. Falls Creek sliced through the middle of the meadow, its steely surface reflecting the clouds above.

I caught up to Pika and paused to eat a snack. She mentioned that another hiker had gotten a weather report warning of thunderstorms from 2-5pm. One by one other hikers caught up to us and paused to discuss the afternoon storm. When we finally started moving again, there was a conga line of about ten people speed-hiking toward the final pass of the Sierras and the edge of Yosemite. We need to get up and over before the storm rolled in.

We passed the tranquil waters of Dorothy Lake, and I stopped in awe at the snowy peaks towering above its far shore. We all reached the pass by noon and stopped to eat lunch and dry out our tents. The other side of the pass looked like fall had arrived since a lot of the trees were dead.

I started down and was passed by most of the people as I filtered water, but I flew past them again as they were stopping to change into sandals in order to ford a stream. With only one sandal, I no longer had that luxury, and so I hopped across the submerged rocks and avoided completely soaking my feet.

I checked my GPS repeatedly over the next mile, and then I saw the rock sign in the dirt. I sped up, my face splitting into a huge smile as I reached mile 1000! The rest of the group caught up, and we all took photos of each other in triumphant glee. As I posed for mine, thunder rumbled in the distance. It was time to go.

We reached an exposed part of trail as the sky continued to darken, and so we spread out to minimize risk. Thankfully the section was short before we were back into tree cover. There was a steep descent ahead, but the trail continued stubbornly to ascend first. I raced ahead, the hikers ahead of me now out of sight, and the group behind me having fallen back.

I stood in a stand of trees as the rain began to fall and dithered over what to do. There was one more stretch of up before the descent, but it looked like it didn’t have good tree cover. Alone, I set up my tent and hid inside as thunder rumbled directly overhead. I wasn’t leaving until the storm had passed.

Half an hour later I heard hikers walking past and checked outside: the sky was clearing. I packed up and descended, and as I walked through the sparse trees on the way downhill I was glad I’d stopped when I did. I ate dinner with the other hikers before continuing on another few miles so that I’d be well-situated for the morning hike to Sonora Pass. I said goodbye to Marvel as I passed her, and wished her luck at her new job.

There was cell service further up the ridge, but it was too late due to the thunderstorm delay, so I set up my tent at the edge of the tree line and sent a message to Dov from my Garmin. Then I watched the final alpenglow of the Sierras before drifting off to sleep.