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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.



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