Muir Trail Ranch to Marie Lake via Selden Pass
| Friday, August 27th 2021 Days on the trail: 16 | Total miles: 171.2 Miles: 9 | Time: 6.25 hours | Ascent: 3,116 ft | Descent: 501 ft |
We were able to sleep without our jackets and beanies on last night which made a nice change. It was also very pleasant to have breakfast without being cold but we knew we’d pay the price later today as it got warmer, which it did.
People often ask me if spending such long periods of time alone together we ever run out of things to talk about. Never. We can always find something mindless and ridiculous to talk about. For example, for some reason at breakfast this morning I declared that I think I will live to be ninety nine and a half and Mike asked why I didn’t want to live to be 100 so that I’d receive a telegram from the Queen. Then followed a long discussion about there being a king by that time but would it be William or George? Or perhaps George would “do a Harry” and Charlotte would reign supreme. See, there’s no end of pointless things to talk about.
We had a 3,000ft ascent up Selden Pass straight out the gate this morning. I thought we’d done the toughest part of the JMT but apparently not.
Sallie Keyes Lakes on the hike up Selden Pass
The trail has been much quieter over the last two days, we’ve gone long stretches without seeing any other hikers and then there will be a gaggle of them all at once. We then wondered what you call a gaggle of hikers which led to another long conversation. We settled on a herd of hikers since it had a nice ring to it.
A solo hiker we met later today mentioned there has been chatter on social media about the smoke being bad out here so we are guessing a lot of people are staying away. Ironically the skies are clearer here than in most other areas of California. We hope we continue to be lucky on that front for the remainder of our hike.
It took 5 grueling hours to get to the top of Selden Pass. Fortunately Marie Lake was only another hour further on so we were swimming and relaxing by mid afternoon.
Marie Lake from Selden Pass
Marie Lake was stunning. A big lake with lots of rocky islands and dramatic peaks all around. We’d heard that it gets very busy here but we were one of only two groups camped for the night and it’s such a big area we felt like we had it all to ourselves.
Evening reflection on Marie Lake
Marie Lake to Silver Pass Creek
| Saturday, August 28th 2021 Days on the trail: 17 | Total miles: 187.1 Miles: 15.9 | Time: 9.2 hours | Ascent: 1,984 ft | Descent: 3,713 ft |
Today was my least favorite day so far. Long miles on a hot and dusty trail. Steep switchbacks up and steep switchbacks down, dry creeks, dry rivers and dry lakes and very few far reaching views to incentivize me to keep going. But keep going I did, there is no other choice.
Early morning light and tranquility at Marie Lake
When it was time to stop for the day there were slim pickings for campsites and water. We located one which was OK but decided to push on a bit further after being told there was a great spot about a mile ahead alongside a creek with nice water access. Well, that “about a mile” turned out to be nearly 3 miles and 1,000 ft up. This was the first time that intel from a fellow hiker had been misleading and it was unfortunate that it came at a time when we were at our lowest.
When we did eventually find the site we downed packs and started to set up the tent only to find the whole area infested with yellow jackets. We had no choice, we just had to deal with them and hope I didn’t get stung. Mike stayed in the trees where we needed to pitch our tent and where the yellow jackets were at their worst while I went out onto some exposed rocks to filter water and prepare dinner, hoping they wouldn’t follow. But of course they did, as soon as they got a whiff of the pork noodles I was prepping for dinner. Then the tears came for the first time on the trail. I was hot, dirty and tired, I dropped a 3 liter bladder of water just after I’d finished filtering it, I couldn’t get the stove to light and I had yellow jackets swarming around me. Mike came to the rescue with a hug and a lighter.
We ate dinner with my Epipen at the ready just incase I got stung and thankfully the relentless stripy insects abated as the sun went down so at least we could have a hot chocolate in peace before we too clambered into bed completely exhausted.
Silver Pass Creek to Lake Virginia via Silver Pass
| Sunday, August 29th 2021 Days on the trail: 18 | Total miles: 199.1 Miles: 12 | Time: 7.75 hours | Ascent: 3,297 ft | Descent: 2,070 ft |
Another hard day today but so much more rewarding than yesterday, it’s amazing what a difference the views make.
The extra miles we walked last night knocked some of the ascent off of this mornings hike which turned out to be a good thing because we had a long hard ascent at the end of today which would have been all the more brutal if we weren’t already ahead of ourselves.
Silver Pass Lake
We got to the top of Silver Pass by mid morning and as we made our way over and down the north side the dramatic scenery was reminiscent of a Western movie and I kept expecting cowboys and Indians to appear. No wonder the lakes in this area are named the way they are; Squaw, Chief and Warrior Lakes.
Chief Lake from Silver Pass 
Squaw Lake 
The mountains are our happy place
We stopped at noon and had a quick refreshing dip in Squaw Lake which was much needed. Across from us a group of 4 turned up, 2 guys and 2 girls. It was as though they had got lost on their way from Señor Frog’s, whooping it up, screaming as they wrestled in the water – and that was just the girls. The guys entertained themselves with a push up competition and spent a good few minutes flexing their muscles and posturing before howling and beating their chests, it was like watching a mating ritual. We moved on.
Our afternoon ended with a steep climb up from Tully Hole over the saddle to the big and beautiful Lake Virginia.
Hot and endless switchbacks up Tully Hole, just what you don’t want at the end of the day!
We were so happy to quickly find a great camping spot at the lake. Two tough days have taken their toll and we are now very excited for our zero day in Mammoth.
Enjoying a late afternoon coffee 
Sunset at Lake Virginia
Lake Virginia to Deer Creek
| Monday, August 30th 2021 Days on the trail: 19 | Total miles: 209.6 Miles: 10.6 | Time: 6.25 hours | Ascent: 1,200 ft | Descent: 2,365 |
Our neighbor Kathy stopped by to chat on her way out this morning. A fit and energetic 63 year old, she is hiking a section of the JMT on her own and whilst clearly very experienced and independent she told us she slept more soundly knowing we were close by. She then shared her story of being evacuated last year by a military black hawk helicopter during the Creek Fire and it was fascinating to hear first hand of her experience and also explained why she feels safer having other people close by.
Leaving Lake Virginia
We had an easy 10 mile hike today. Funny how 10 miles is now considered an easy day! We had some elevation but no Pass to get over which was a welcome relief.
Again the hike was hot and dusty and void of any significant water source. Peekaboo views of across the vast Cascade Valley to the Silver Divide taunted us on and off all day.
Views over Cascade Valley
We encountered some interesting trees today. The horse and bear were welcome sightings, the alien was just downright creepy!
Horse tree 
Bear tree 
Alien tree
Camp tonight was at dusty dirty Deer Creek. Clearly a heavy stock use area, the ground was beaten to dust and it was hard to find a spot that didn’t have horse poop or campfire ash. On the plus side there was plenty of shade from the blazing sun, but there were also yellow jackets, again! Mike got stung but thankfully he doesn’t have an allergic reaction like I do. Nonetheless this is his 4th yellow jacket sting this season which is not good.
The creek was so low it was a challenge to get enough water to fill our filter and we had to rock hop upstream to where the flow was a little stronger and kneel precariously across the creek to scoop up enough water.
It’s official, we’re now both tired of being hot and dirty. There is dirt ingrained in everything; our clothes, our camping gear and us. I feel like I will never be clean again and can’t wait to get into a warm shower tomorrow and scrub the dirt away. We’re not tired of the trail. Just tired of feeling grungy.
Deer Creek to Red’s Meadow
| Tuesday, August 31st 2021 Days on the trail: 20 | Total miles: 216.1 Miles: 6.5 | Time: 3.5 hours | Ascent: 210 ft | Descent: 1,570 ft |
It seems the spot we picked for our tent last night was a dismantled fire ring so anything we’d put on the ground had a disgusting film of black ash over it, the worst being our backpacks. I set to work with a damp bandana to try and get the worst of it off.
We were up at 6 am eager to get to Mammoth. There was a frost on the ground and the tips of my fingers were so cold they hurt. Our fellow backpackers didn’t stir until we were leaving at 8 am just as the sun was starting to warm the area – I think we need to adjust our start time for section 4 if it’s going to continue to be this cold.
A short 5 miles today on easy trail to Red’s Meadow where we would take the shuttle to Mammoth and enjoy a hotel stay and a zero day tomorrow before continuing on with the final section on Thursday.
Purple Lake
As we got closer to civilization we got cell service for the first time since Independence, 12 days ago. Mike immediately ordered a new pair of hiking boots to be express shipped for delivery tomorrow as his left boot has collapsed and he’s been walking lop sided for the last few days.
Just after placing the order we met a hunter on the trail in full cammo gear carrying a bow and arrows. He was hunting deer and bear, which is totally legal, but I still took an instant dislike to him. I know it’s hypocritical because I wouldn’t turn down a venison steak if it was offered to me, but having got so much joy from seeing the wildlife on the trail over the last few weeks it’s hard for me to imagine someone out here hunting them. Anyway, as I say, I unreasonably took an instant dislike to the guy but then I liked him even less when he gave us the next piece of news…California is closing all of its National Forests as of midnight tonight and everyone has to get off the trail. What? NO!!! We are so close to completing the JMT, I can’t believe we might have to end it abruptly at Red’s Meadow. We hoped he didn’t have all the facts right and promptly sat on a log alongside a creek in the shade on our phones trying to find out more.
From what we could tell there are no fires anywhere near us. The issue is the huge Caldor Fire approaching and threatening South Lake Tahoe which needs all the fire fighting and rescue resources possible, so the logic is to close the National Forests and relocate resources to fight the Caldor Fire which makes perfect sense even if it does mean disappointment for us. The weird thing is that the National Parks are staying open which we don’t quite understand.
Burn area from the 1992 Rainbow Fire 
At Red’s Meadow there were lots of downhearted backpackers figuring out what to do. Most were southbound and were only a few days into their trip. Some decided to push on and risk being met on the trail by rangers who have the authority to issue a $5k fine, some were trying to figure out how to get to a National Park entry point so they could pick up the trail further on, some were just heading to the brewery in Mammoth to enjoy a cold beer and consider their options.
We did laundry at Red’s while we considered what to do and wrestled with a moral dilemma – do we end our hike here or do we skip the 30 miles of National Forest north of Red’s Meadow and pick up the trail at Tuoloumne Meadows in Yosemite? Initially we felt like we should just stay out of the backcountry but after doing more research we found out that the National Parks have separate funding which means that Yosemite has its own Fire and Search and Rescue units, this explains why it can remain open while the National Forests have to close. Armed with this new information we booked a bus ticket to Yosemite for Thursday morning. Glad we moved fast because there were only 6 seats left.
Cold beer? Yes please! 
A mountain of resupply buckets at Red’s Meadow
Having a full set of clean clothes was amazing. Even though we ourselves weren’t yet clean, putting on a clean shirt and socks felt wonderful, life changing.
Feeling positive that we had a plan we got the bus to Mammoth and checked into our hotel. We’d been upgraded to a 1 room suite which was pure luxury. I had a long hot shower and scrubbed away 2 weeks of dirt. Bliss.
Mammoth was pretty quiet with the exception of displaced backpackers trying to figure out where to go and what to do next and evacuees from South Lake Tahoe making the best of a bad situation.
Freshly laundered and scrubbed and somewhat presentable we met Mike’s ex-work colleague Roger and his wife Jean for dinner and enjoyed a feast of pork chops, fresh vegetables and beer before returning to our hotel to enjoy our little slice of luxury.
Zero Day in Mammoth
| Wednesday, September 1st 2021 Miles: 0 | Time: 0 | Ascent: 0 | Descent: 0 | Burgers: 1 | Beers: 2 |
Cheers! 
It has taken me time to sit down and catch up with your journey. This was quite a section with some pretty rough day long hikes. It was nice to see your smiling faces in Mammoth. Thank you for sharing your adventure.
Jack
I love the descriptions of the people you meet on the trail. Good for Kathy hiking alone at age 63 – very inspiring.
Those views and the experience will be with you forever. What fantastic memories you made made.