Day 164 - JMT Seldon Pass to Muir Trail Ranch

The moon shined bright this morning, adding fantasy to the delightful morning sun's glow.

The reflection of the far sand-like mountains shone wonderfully off Marie Lake's mirror surface. We struck a pose. At the top of Seldon Pass we ran into a group of fifteen Korean hikers, of all ages. As we left the pass and descended down the other side, the Korean group held up their hiking poles to make a wedding tunnel for Bob and I to walk under! How funny?!

This playfulness was cut short at Heart Lake. Bob stepped up on a phonebooth-sized boulder on the side of the trail in order to chat with another hiker below. The boulder gave way under Bob's weight and fell fifty feet to the lake shore. Luckily Bob fell back, weighed by his huge pack, and stuck the landing, landing with both feet and two trekking poles maybe ten feet below. A mild wrist pain was his only injury.

The lake views continued in their excellence as we hiked on. Bob wrapped his wrist with a wet bandanna and continued marching without complaint; and we laughed at our/his luck: that he didn't break his leg was a miracle.

We arrived at midday to Muir Trail Ranch, a resort and resupply station, the last resupply for 120 miles. We organized the contents of our two buckets and counted out one dinner and one breakfast and 2000 calories of snacks per day for eight days. We raided the hiker buckets (unused supplies) for better trail mix, moleskin and tasty protein bars. Friendly hikers like Bellingham Dude, Charleston Couple and Travelin Mike entertained us with stories and surprised us with free food and supplies.

And then we mounted our crazy heavy packs and set off 1.5 miles down trail to a San Joaquin River-side camp. Part Two of our voyage, the famous Kings Canyon-Sequoia section, begins tomorrow!

Comments

Day 41 - Escalante Coyote Gulch

This one or two night Coyote Gulch hike was an easy test of my newly learned navigation skills. Anxious to get started I awoke at 545 just as the sun was rising. I followed an obvious landmark, a tall thin spire called Chimney Rock, northwest to Hurricane Wash (a drainage running into Coyote Gulch). After a couple of hours of walking up over and around slick rock, I entered the famous Coyote Gulch. The walls around me raised up, darkened and th water flow increased--like nature hinting at the scenic beauty ahead. The normally crowded Coyote Gulch was fairly empty on this early Thursday morning, giving the canyon a very peaceful and quiet feeling-- fragile almost. Down steam, I ran into the famous Jacob Hamilton Arch and then thirty minutes further-- the Coyote Natural Birdge. Both were beautiful due to their see through the wall character, but both would be overshadowed in my memory by the Stevens Arch tomorrow. Pics. By 1pm, I had hiked for six hours...

Day 62 - Colorado National Monument

Established as a national monument early in 1911, Colorado NM is known for its high canyon "rim road" and sandstone spires of Monument Canyon. The canyons of west Colorado are pretty--as they have more green trees and shrubs than the more famous Utah canyons. This gives them a more alive feeling, although the sandstone spires were formed many thousands of years ago by erosion. Rim Rock road curves up the the top of the canyon cliff, goes through several round tunnels and is lined with scenic viewpoints. The best views were in he Monument Canyon section, and included in sequence, the Coke Ovens, The Kissing Couple (behind my head), and the most famous of all: Independence Monument, the tall spire in pic 3 and viewed from the side in pic 4. The original promoter and caretaker of the park, John Otto, was the first person to climb Independence Monument and now it's a climbing right of passage. Every July 4 climbers ascend and mount an American flag at the summit. Fun! ...

Day 57 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Ever since I decided to go west for my big trip, I had dreamed of high mountain lakes with snowy peaks arching in every direction, with chilly air making every moment crisp, and with clear skies bringing all into perfect focus-- pure bliss. Today was the first of many great mountain lake days to come. Hiking here was far easier here than in the San Juans because the snow was packed down on the trail, but I brought my mini crampons for the downhill. I made it safely past a narrow ridge with narly black peaks across the gorge (pic 1), then up to Mills Lake (pic 2) then Jewel Lake then the Loch (pic 3) then down before the afternoon rain started falling. I hiked around some lower, more accessible lakes but the sky was now overcast and pictures no good. I drove up the open portion of the Ridge road amid a very light dusting of snow before heading back to camp for dinner and bedtime. I did manage to capture some fine Elk grazing in a meadows on the return trip and a g...

Road Trip Daily

Search This Blog