Date: Sun, 14 Sep 1997 11:14:46 -0700 From: lacavacl@ccmail.orst.edu (Clem LaCava) Subject: John Muir Trail Report #5 Hello Friends! DAY FOUR (August 5th): On the trail at 610AM! The morning runs were always the most enjoyable. Like Day Three, most of the morning, we remained in the 9-10,500 range. Selden Pass was not a hard climb and the trail by Heart Lake and Sallie Keyes Lakes included some pretty good running. I wish we could have stopped and relaxed at Sallie Keyes lakes, but we wanted to get these miles in fast while our packs were light. Later, at Muir Ranch, 108 miles, we would resupply. I wasn't as excited as my friends were about reaching Muir Ranch. They mailed some food to excite the taste buds. I made the mistake of mailing along the same menu, that I had been eating for four days; oatmeal, powdered milk, raisins, Metabolol, Cytomax, Pemmican bars, peanut butter, power bars, cliff bars, GU, Corn Pasta and a freeze-dried meal. Sun Chips, Coke, Dried Fruit, M&M's, Cookies, etc. should have been mailed. John Liebeskind and friends mailed 100 power bars on their trip. John has a slide of himself, laying on the ground with 100 power bars dumped all over him. We pushed hard down to Muir Ranch (7-8,000) elevation, arriving about 1PM. At this time of the day and at this elevation it can be pretty hot in the Sierras, compared to the Cascades. Our energy level was fading in the early afternoon and we were facing a tough climb. This would be the first of three consecutive days , that we would start a 3-4,000 ft. climb in the early afternoon. In addition, today, our packs would be the heaviest of the fastpack. At Muir Ranch, we gave away extra food to a few backpackers. I bandaged the back of my feet at Muir Ranch. The heels and Achilles were cut, raw and in pain. We met two hikers, who weren't fastpacking, but were traveling very light. They had read Ray Jardine's book and were traveling very light. They were really enjoying their John Muir trip. About 2PM, we left and started the hot, climb towards Evolution Valley. Similar to Day Two heading towards Red's Meadows, I was out of energy. I hadn't eaten much at Muir Ranch or throughout the morning. I just didn't have a great appetite. The combination of lack of sleep, 85-90 degrees and heavy packs, made for a tough afternoon. Max was feeling OK, but, he didn't want to push the climb out of Muir Ranch. Larry and Curt were moving slower than usual, but Larry always seemed to have enough energy to lead the way. While leaving Muir Ranch, I thought to myself, should I exit over Piute Pass. This was the first of an occasional thought of exiting early from the trip. There were some waterfalls on Evolution Creek and we climbed to the Meadows. We had to make a crossing of approx. 75-100 feet across the creek at the entrance to Evolution Valley. Curt, Max and I just walked across the knee high creek, Larry took off his shoes. I wish I had. It was already early evening and my socks and shoes would still be wet the next morning. We all decided after reaching Evolution Meadow, to hike a few more miles, camp early, cleanup and get some needed rest. We camped near Colby Meadows (118.4). The mosquitoes were terrible. I remember holding the rope for the bear hanging, while Larry was tying on one of the stuff sacks of food, and the mosquitoes were all over his hand. He dropped the bag and we had to start over. The only relief from the mosquitoes was inside the bivy's. Repellent was useless. Inside the bivy, I tried to work on my feet again, now, rather than at 430AM the next morning. I didn't have any muleskin, so I bandaged both Achilles and three toes on the right foot. We only hiked/ran 27 miles this day, but camped early enough for more sleep and an opportunity to clean up a little. DAY FIVE (August 6th): On the trail at 6AM and rested. Within a few miles we came to Evolution Lake (122 Miles). This would have been a great place to camp. The scenery was spectacular! We filtered and started for Muir Pass. On the way down from Muir Pass before Helen Lake, four backpackers called out to us from their camp spot. They were friends of Jan Gnass, who were on a backpack trip from North Lake to South Lake. It was great to see friendly faces. They offered to fill our water bottles, we chatted for awhile, and they wished us good luck. The descent from Muir Pass was very slow and hard to run for the first few miles until we entered the Le Conte Canyon. A mile or so before Big Pete and Little Pete Meadow and all the way to the Bishop Pass Junction, we were cruising (maybe 3 miles an hour!). During this stretch I completed my first face plant on the trail, but, my two hand held bottles survived. At the Bishop Pass Jct., we filtered more water in the Dusy Branch stream. The next 3.3 mile section of the Canyon to the Palisade Creek/Mather Pass Jct., was real fast. We ran this section in less than an hour. Once again, we were down at 8,000 feet, in the early afternoon, with a 4,000 foot, 10 mile climb to Mather Pass ahead. It was hot! All running for the day was over. The hike up the Golden Staircase would be long and slow. Max told us to go ahead and not to worry about him, he would meet us up at the Palisade Lakes. The 3 1/2 mile hike/run to Deer Meadows was hot. The steep climb up the Golden Staircase to the Palisade Lakes was a tough climb and we hadn't seen Max in quite awhile. We finally stopped on the rocks, high up above and between the two Palisades Lakes. It was about 630PM. We decided to start cooking dinner and hope Max would arrive soon. Curt, Larry and I decided, that for the rest of the fastpack, we would not continue to fastpack, unless we had the other members of the group in sight. Two backpackers came by in the opposite direction. I asked them if they had any information about Taboose Pass. I was considering hiking out over Taboose Pass the next day, and trying to hitch a ride. But, they informed me that it was pretty remote, and that I may have a tough time hitching out. We starting cooking dinner, when Max arrived. We were glad to see him. He was only about thirty minutes behind us, but we hadn't seen him in at least four hours. After dinner, we hiked farther up towards Mather Pass and camped at about 11,000 feet. This was approx. mile 147 of the JMT. We just piled the food bags. It was very beautiful up here, our highest campsite. While relaxing, looking over the maps and discussing strategy for the next day, we realized that Charlotte Lake Jct. near Kearsarge Pass was Mile 178 and not Mile 172. For most of the hike up the Golden Staircase, Larry, Curt and I were thinking, that we may be able to meet up with Jan Gnass and the last food drop, the next day in the late afternoon or early evening. But, now that we realized Charlotte Lake was 178 miles, 31 miles away, we knew we would be lucky to make it by dark. We had hoped to meet up with Jan. DAY SIX (August 7th): On the trail at 545AM, our earliest start of the trip. We would need to hike over three passes today to reach Charlotte Lake before dark. The view from Mather Pass was great, especially the trail ahead. After a short rocky section of a 1/2 mile or so, we were able to run. I just downed the advil to help kill the pain in my feet and off we went. It was about a three mile run downhill before, we would hit the tree line again. Between Mather Pass and Pinchot Pass, we wouldn't drop below 10,000 feet. Great! We had all adjusted to the high altitude and preferred to stay high. Another great morning of running, but every time we stopped to regroup or filter the water, it was very hard for me to start running again. It would take me about 15 minutes after starting the John Muir Shuffle, before I could relax a little and forget the pain. The King Canyon wilderness was spectacular. After 6.5 miles we reached the Taboose Pass trail intersection. Curt ran right passed it. Curt never missed an intersection. We usually stopped at intersections to check the map. There was no sign at this intersection, I just saw the trail heading east. We noticed that someone had hung a stuff sack of food, for some backpackers up on a tree near the Jct. The next three miles were a 1,500 foot climb to Pinchot Pass. Another great view and we met a 65 year old women on a solo backpack of the JMT. She was hiking from Bishop Pass to Kearsarge Pass and out. We had traveled about 10 1/2 miles in four hours over two passes by 10AM. We started to think, maybe we could reach Charlotte Lake by the evening. We continued on down the trail passed the Sawmill Pass Jct. to the South Fork Trail Jct. and crossed Woods Creek. The single person suspension bridge over Woods Creek is unique. We decided to rest, eat lunch and filter. It was only 1230PM and we had fastpacked about 17 1/2 miles. After lunch, we started the 2,000 foot, 3.7 mile climb to Dollar Lake. At Dollar Lake, the signs warned us about serious bear problems and recommended no camping. We filtered, then it started to rain. We went for some cover, and put on our parkas and windbreakers, and started hiking again. Around Arrowhead Lake, it started to really storm and get colder. Again, we went for cover and put on our polypropylene shirts and Curt, Larry and Max put on some waterproof pants. I didn't have any. We then continued on until the storm turned to hail. Huddled together, sitting under a tree, chilled, we all looked a little frustrated that our push for Charlotte Lake Jct. and possibly meeting Jan Gnass was in jeopardy. Eventually, after a 30-45 minute delay, and the storm subsiding a little, we continued on to generate some heat. At Rae Lakes, it finally stopped, we filtered and continued a very steep climb up Glen's Pass. The descent off Glen's Pass was not runnable. We could see Charlotte Lake off in the distance, but realized it would be dark before we got there. After arriving at the Jct. of Charlotte Lake and the JMT by flashlight, we found a note from Jan Gnass. He had waited all day from noon to 7PM for us to arrive. It was after 830PM. His note directed us to the food hanging. Jan Gnass really made a great effort bringing in our resupply and hoping to connect up with us. After finding the food, we decided to hike down off the JMT a mile to the lake for water and bear boxes. The first boxes were full and by the time we found room in a box and a campsite, it was after 10PM. I could hardly walk at this time. We decided we were too tired to cook a dinner and filter water and decided to go to sleep. After a 16-17 hour day, three mountain passes over 12,000 feet and 32 miles to the lake, I laid in the bivy and decided, I was done and would hike out over Kearsarge Pass in the morning. DAY SEVEN (August 8th): Up at 630AM, We all were trying to figure out how to stuff all this food into the packs. We gave some away to a few backpackers. On the trail at 8AM. At the Kearsarge Pass/JMT Jct., I volunteered to carry out all of the trash. Larry got out his camera to take one last picture of me. I stood there smiling, waving and said, "Good Luck guys! It's been fun!" They thought I was in good spirits and could have finished, but didn't try to change my mind. It was my decision. The steep, lonely hike up Kearsarge was slow, and the clouds were already forming. I made it over the top and a mile or so down the pass before the storm hit. I ran for cover. The same storm was coming down on my friends as they were heading towards Center Basin along the JMT. It was early in the morning. Later, I heard from Larry, Curt and Max, that for a few minutes, they had wondered, if they had made the right decision. Could this have been the start of a series of day long storms. But, the storm subsided and we all continued on to our destinations. I finally reached the trail head and campground at Onion Valley. I had covered 187 miles. I immediately began hitchhiking down off the mountain to Independence. Upon arriving at Independence, I went into the general store to inquire about a bus or shuttle. No luck! I bought a comb. I hadn't combed my hair in a week. Stopped at the Subway for a sandwich, sat by myself and wondered if anyone would pick me, smelling like I did. I decided to pay a motel owner $10 for a shower. Washed my running shorts and shirt in the shower and put them back on. It was about 100 degrees outside, and I knew my clothes would dry instantly. I very slowly walked to the edge of town and started hitching a ride. After an hour, I was getting anxious for a ride, standing there in the heat, so I got out a $20 bill and held it in my hitching hand hoping someone would get the message, that I was willing to pay for the ride. A stockbroker from Pasadena stopped, he refused the money. He had a cell phone and offered to make a call to my family and drove me all the way to Tom's Place. What a nice guy and he was interested about the JMT trip! I went right to the old Tom's Place Tavern for several Sierra Nevada drafts and started to think about my friends and hoping they were having a good day. Larry, Curt and Max enjoyed the running in the last section of the JMT and covered 25 miles finishing up the seventh day in the dark. The next day they would climb Mt. Whitney and finish up at 4PM, Saturday, August 9th. On top of Whitney, they needed all the warm clothes they had with them. They had completed the 222 mile John Muir Fastpack. This week when Larry and I saw the results of Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance run, which Larry, Curt and I completed last weekend, we noticed Bruce Hoff's incredible, sub-24 hour time, and said no wonder the eight day plan was so hard. This guy is one hell of a runner! WRAP UP! Is the John Muir Trail fastpack worth doing? You better believe it! It's so beautiful! I wish, I could just beam myself down to any number of places, such as Virginia Lake, Pinchot Pass, Evolution Lakes, Garnet Lake, Rae Lakes, the Golden Staircase, Muir Pass and many others and just sit and relax for awhile. If you ever decide to do this fastpack; be sure and train, experiment with your gear, do at least one overnight fastpack, take care of your feet early in the trip, be sure all members of your group have similar running abilities and make a good plan before you start. There are so many variables doing this trip, make room for a little flexibility. Would I suggest that you, make a plan, that may not push your limits, maybe. But, I know your all ultramarathon runners and after meeting many of you on the trail at Wasatch Front this past weekend, I don't think we do these things because their easy. Larry and Curt finished Wasatch in 28:46. I finished in 29:19! The JMT trained us well for the up hills, nothing can get you ready for the downhills at Wasatch (Catherine's Pass, etc.). I never thought during the race, I would quit at Wasatch, my first 100 mile finish, thanks to the JMT experience. I wrote this down, mostly for myself. Thanks for listening! Run long, run hills, and maybe someday the fastpack of the John Muir Trail. Clem LaCava Corvallis, OR lacavacl@ccmail.orst.edu Your welcome to contact my friends for further information: Max Welker 253-572-3415 Curt Ringstad 541-388-4740 Larry Halford 541-752-5891