Skip to main content

Day 165 - JMT Kings Canyon Evolution Valley

As we walked along the San Joaquin River towards Kings Canyon, after waking at 5:30am in order to get in miles before the smoke set in, we turned a corner and saw the sky alive. It was as if we were walking through a movie set, as if a pterodactyl could emerge from the haunted sky at any moment.  The shadows radiating off the mountains forecasted both beauty and danger. 

We crossed a bridge into Kings Canyon and were greeted at the border by a border guard, a deer. We stared at each other for a while and then he bounced away.  We continued.

We climbed slowly up, following the river, and enjoyed countless cascading falls with misty mountains in background.  Every step brought a new beautiful scene.  We made slow progress due to my constant photo-taking.

Turning left up a steep hill, we climbed towards Evolution Valley.  We saw a series of waterfalls in the distance, dropped our packs, and climbed down to the falls.  This fall was one of a half-dozen cascading down a thousand feet to the valley below.

After passing more serene waterfalls and skipping over rocks to cross a creek, we entered Evolution Valley.  We took a self portrait in the first meadow to mark our entrance to this colorful, delightful, supreme valley.

Not far down trail, we ran into Anton the Russian, a trail runner completing the 200+ mile hike in eight days, and Daybreak, a 75-year old seriously-fit hiker completing the last 300 mile leg of his 2650 miles Pacific Crest Journey.  Anton and Daybreak began discussing Putin and Russian politics, like the Ukraine invasion, and other topics, while Bob and I listened in and inserted our opinions.  It was a funny exchange deep in the woods.

Later we ran into Matt and Anna, who had hiked four miles backwards to pickup lost toiletries.  We hiked forwards with them and struck up a conversation about life in vans.  Matt and Anna lived in a van in Southern California, because the rent was so high.  We discussed our setups and strategies (cooking, bathrooms, et) and I quickly determined that van-in-the-city life is not worth the mobility or frugality:)  Bob and I continued up hill towards Evolution Lake, and discovered a tranquil, multi-falls along the way.  Water flowed down over 200 feet of sheer rock face-- a true paradise feel.

After a grueling climb, we made it up to Evolution Lake, and took another celebratory jump shot!  The wonder of this place was indescribable: just do yourself a favor and hike to Evolution Lake one day.

No words:

Two lady hikers, Sam and Sarah, hiked in late in the evening.  They were fitness-buffs and were attempting the JMT in eight days -- 25 miles a day.  They graciously gave us salami with pepper jack cheese and red wine, and we shared our pasta mix.  Then we marked the divine sunset with a series of funny photos.  Here was our "flying" photo.



Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet!  I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception.  I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton.  The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district.  Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 106 - Seattle

My July 4th started with a drive from Vancover to Seattle, arriving at the Museum of Flight by 11. The museum tour began with a display of the 27 U.S. Flags, made interesting by announcing the history of the states entry into the union.  This B-17 is similar to the bomber my grandfather flew in WW2. A former Air Force One plane that Kennedy road on was another highlight.  I stayed all day at the museum enjoying the history of aviation exhibits and finally space! I drove into downtown Seattle to checkout the city parks reserved for fireworks watching. These neighborhoods were crawling with people and would make horrible stealth street camping sites. I called several hostels and all were full... but then I found one with one bed left. I reserved the spot and drove to the hostel to find it in walking distance to the fireworks. I joined a group waking down to see the fireworks. We were joined by a few others.  Two skydivers with fire flaming behind their path were followed by...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 93 - Calgary to Banff

After a very pleasant morning at Dave's house spent photocopying trail and scramble guide routes, enjoying a great breakfast and coffee, meeting some of Dave's extremely kind family members and chatting more about adventures, I set out for downtown Calgary.  I thought a walk around a museum would be a nice change of pace, so I toured the Glenbow Museum. Two highlights were a Blackfoot Indian describing the meaning of their Tipi decorations and the Gun Scupture. The history of Alberta section was also quite interesting: fur trappers then cowboys then railroad builders then oil drillers.  I then walked down to a nearby waterfront park, along a pedestrian only shopping street where a Christian pride rally was taking place, and then down quiet side streets to the park. Seeing people out jogging and playing on this Sunday afternoon reminded me of the real life I must one day return to. But not yet! Hungry and ready for mountains, I walked back to my van and left Calgary heading wes...
Post a Comment
Read more