JMT 2016 Journal — Day 11 of 25: A Hard Day at Silver Pass (Plus a Marmot)
Nearly 6,000 feet of elevation gain and loss in one day destroys my feet. Plus, we saw a very handsome marmot.
On July 20, 2016, my friend Ovi and I started our 25 day thru-hike of the world famous John Muir Trail (JMT) in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. What follows is a day-by-day recounting of that epic adventure.
Previously: Day 10 of 25: Fire Fighters, Walnut Farmers, and the Milky Way
Saturday, July 30, 2016
We hit a milestone on this day: over 100 miles traversed since the start of our adventure! Given that I had never done more than a 3 day backpacking trip prior to the JMT, it felt like a very significant accomplishment. However, this entry is going to be somewhat short, as I didn’t spend a lot of time journaling after the exhausting day we had. The first line in my journal pretty much sums it up:
Journal Entry, 7/30/2016
Holy fucking shit, today was a hard, hard day!
After the previous night’s stargazing that had us going to bed around 2 am, we slept in and didn’t get on the trail until around 9 am. It started out well enough, with a 3 mile descent to Tully Hole, and then on to Fish Creek. All in all, we dropped down over 1,000 feet of elevation, only to have to regain it all with the 3 mile climb up toward Silver Pass.
It was yet another gorgeous, sunny day, with the sound of water crashing around boulders a soothing backdrop to our hike.
Somewhere along the way we came across another handwritten note, left by one group of hikers for their friend, trying to communicate plans in an area with no cell service.
This section of the trail was surrounded by a multitude of small turquoise ponds and lakes, whose names were Native American themed (which, while probably well-intentioned, seemed a bit…problematic). Names like Lake of the Lone Indian, Squaw Lake, Papoose Lake, Chief Lake, and Warrior Lake. It was at Squaw Lake, situated on a plateau about a mile before the pass, that we stopped for lunch.
While enjoying our meal, I spotted a curious Marmot darting in and out of the vegetation, its focus clearly on our packs, hoping to steal a meal while we were busy taking in the sights.
Hitting the trail once more, we continued our slow ascent. It wasn’t a difficult climb, with plenty of gentle switchbacks to ease the strain, but it was a long slog.
Cresting Silver Pass, situated at 10,754 feet, put one more mountain pass behind us. We took a little break at the top to hydrate, enjoy some snacks, and take in the view.
I also used the time to attend to an issue brewing with my left boot. I had trimmed the tip of my specialty hiking insole just a tad too much, and inexplicably, after 11 days of hiking without any issues, it had decided to start rubbing and irritating my left toe. Fearful of an eventual blister, I filled the tiny gap with a small piece of cotton from my first aid kit, and covered it with a bit of duct tape, and that seemed to take care of the problem.
The descent on the back side of Silver Pass was initially quite pleasant, as the trail meandered through wind-swept meadows and eventually forested sections. We were soon greeted by the sparkling Silver Pass Lake.
But then a series of very steep switchbacks made the downhill climb much more grueling than the uphill sections. There were massive granite “steps” to negotiate, tough on the knees, each drop sending a shockwave up my spine. The loose sand and gravel covering the rocks made for precarious footing, and by the time we had reached the valley below I was thankful neither one of us had twisted an ankle or taken a fall.
At some point a couple of backpackers from Germany passed us in the opposite direction, climbing northbound toward the pass we had just negotiated. We chatted briefly, and they recommended the hot springs at Muir Trail Ranch, the resupply location we would be arriving at in a couple of days. They also warned us that there was almost no cell service between MTR and the end of the trail atop Mt. Whitney, so it was best to plan accordingly.
After a punishing, knee-shattering, spine-compacting, teeth-rattling, multi-hour descent, we finally reached the valley floor and decided to camp near the junction of Mono Creek Trail. This put us at just under 8,000 feet of elevation. By now it was past 6 pm, and our 9 hour hike for the day had finally come to an end.
Incidentally, we spotted another note tucked into a crevice on a trail sign, something that we’d come across several more times throughout our trek. Seeing these notes brought me a lot of joy, a reminder that in the absence of modern communication technologies, people still managed with tried and true methods. I suppose there was also a bit of a voyeuristic thrill in glancing over messages intended for someone else, despite the utterly mundane nature of them.
Journal Entry, 7/30/2016
Today we hiked a total of 11 or 12 miles, 1,600 feet of vertical ascent and 4,100 feet of descent! My feet ache so bad. My whole body aches. I’m exhausted. One of our hardest and longest days. It gets easier, right? Right? Going to go collapse now.
