Day 1-3 | Day
4 | Day 5 | Day
6 | Day 7 | Day
8 | Day 9 | Day
10 | Day 11 | Day
12 | Day 13 | Day
14 | Day 15 | Day
16 | Day 17| Day
18 | Day 19| Day
20 | Day 21 | Epilogue
JMT Journal-Day 4
August 23, 2002 Lyell Canyon to Twin Lakes near Island
Pass 27º—63º @TUM
Well, I awoke having not been eaten by a bear, or a marmot. After breakfast
I had a bit of a time finding the trail again; had to bushwhack a bit and
find a good fallen tree on which to cross the stream. It was about 8:00
before I finally reached the trail proper. Today would be my first substantial
climb
since day one, as I would be achieving Donahue Pass (11,056'). Since I had
camped at the very end of the meadow, the trail immediately began to climb.
I noticed along the way a few good campsites, and half-wished I had gone
further the previous day. At one spot there was a very nice area by a stream
crossing, and I filtered water and took a break. I was passed by a few people
along the trail, including the young man I had seen camping near me. We chatted
a bit; he said he was only up for the weekend and was hiking through to Red's
Meadow. We both chuckled at the scarcity of the famous Lyell Canyon marauding
bears.
As I drew nearer the pass, I crossed above timberline. Suddenly
I was out of the trees, and was hiking
along
a few unnamed alpine lakes—scenery
of a type I
had
not yet come across. I loved it. This was the terrain I had been expecting.
The trail began to switchback and ascend steeply. I was getting
really, really tired and winded. I began pulling out my gps at every turn
to mark my progress. Finally at a little past noon
I
reached the pass. I was pretty
gassed; I attributed my lack of wind in large part to the altitude, but despite
that, I was for the first time beginning to feel like I was starting to get
into shape. I felt a lot stronger than I had that first day.
As I was resting, munching on lunch and airing my dogs out at the pass Red
(from the break on day 2) came by. We talked awhile, took each other's pictures,
and I envied his printed spreadsheet of mileages and elevations. Red also mentioned
that he had camped the night before in Lyell Canyon near a couple of guys who
had too much food for their bear canisters. So, they had hung the excess food
in the time-honored Yosemite way. And they had also spent the entire night
defending their hung food from a couple of bears, who were intent on stealing
their food in the time-honored Yosemite way.
Also while there, a couple of guys came up. They would turn out to be Fisherdad
and Fisherson—I never could remember their names, and our paths would
cross several times before the end of the trip (including the absolute end
of the trip). Fisherson, in his twenties, wore red and black shorts (which
always made me think Texas Tech) and Fisherdad was at least fifty. They were
through-hiking the JMT with the intent of fishing every lake along the way.
And they nearly did. They packed fly rods, and were always moving quickly,
because they had to hike and leave time for fishing as well.
Anyway, after socializing, we all went on our separate schedules. After descending the other side of Donahue Pass, I passed through a valley and trail junction at Rush Creek, which was a possible campsite. I paused there to get water, and saw Red on the other side of the creek. He was going to stay there that night. I bade him farewell (as it turned out I wouldn't see him again) and continued on. Somewhere around here I refilled my water at a spot where the trail crossed a meandering stream. This low spot was around 9,600'. From there on it was uphill to Island Pass (10,203') and my destination, the pair of lakes just beyond.
I reached the pass, and the lakes beyond. They seemed somewhat hidden; I
wasn't sure I was in the right place. And then when I searched around the right-hand
lake, I was concerned it wasn't the “right place”. I only bring this up to
contrast it with the attitude I'd eventually adopt. Early in the trip, I would
be concerned with finding the exactly right, best possible campsite. Later
in the trip, I would pick one out almost
immediately. It's just the nature of backpacking. One of the skills that is
honed by time in the backcountry is that of picking a campsite.
Anyway, I choose a site among huge granite boulders bordering
the lake. It is so spectacular that I search around, assuming there must
be someone else
at that lake. There is not. I am stunned, because I'm at a beautiful alpine
lake, about 10,200', with absolutely stunning views of Banner Peak and the
Ritter range, and nobody
else is here. (Sunset was
particularly beautiful.) This was the first night that I truly realized this
hike was something else
than
a hike
through
Yosemite
backcountry.
Again, the full moon kept me awake for much of the night. When I woke in
the morning, my bivy sack was completely covered with ice; the coldest night
I
had had so far. As I dried my stuff out in the morning sun, I realized again
how spectacular the
views of Banner and Ritter were. After breakfast, I packed and hit the
trail; on the other side of the lake I snapped a
few pix of the mountains.