This is a continuing series about a mother-and-daughter thru-hike on the John Muir Trail (north to south) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from July 19 to August 13, 2015. Previous installments and additional photos are here.
Day 14: Saturday, August 1
Piute Creek to McClure Meadow
9 miles
The rainstorm from the previous evening had moved on for now. We dried our tent on a sunny boulder while...
This is a continuing series about a mother-and-daughter thru-hike on the John Muir Trail (north to south) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during Summer 2015. Previous installments and additional photos are online here.
Day 13: Friday, July 31
Sallie Keyes Lakes to Piute Creek Crossing
9 miles
Our 4:30 a.m. wake-up didn’t happen as planned because we heard the all-too-familiar sound of...
This is a continuing series about a mother-and-daughter thru-hike on the John Muir Trail (north to south) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from July 19 to August 13, 2015. Previous installments and additional photos are online at www.kaweahcommonwealth.com/john-muir-trail.
Day 12: Thursday, July 30
Bear Creek to Sallie Keyes Lakes
8 miles
We were up and packing at 4:30 a.m. to get an earlier-...
This is a continuing series about a mother-and-daughter thru-hike on the John Muir Trail (north to south) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from July 19 to August 13, 2015. Previous installments and additional photos are online here.
Day 11: Wednesday, July 29
Fords Creek to Bear Creek
11 miles
A milestone was reached at some point on this day. We surpassed 100 miles.
Another achievement on this...
This is a continuing series about a mother-and-daughter thru-hike on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from July 19 to August 13, 2015. Previous installments and additional photos are here.
Day 10: Tuesday, July 28
Purple Lake to Fords Creek - 11 miles
One of the best parts about backpacking is the freedom to choose where to pitch a tent. Jennie and I have always been picky...
This is a continuing series about a mother-and-daughter thru-hike on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from July 19 to August 13, 2015.
Day 7: Saturday, July 25
Rosalie Lake
0 miles
It was headlamps off in the tent at 9 p.m. the previous night, and we didn’t stir again until 9 a.m. Our bodies obviously needed the rest and repair after six consecutive days of hiking an...
Day 6 / 11.5 miles
Rush Creek Trail Junction to Rosalie Lake
No storms today. They had relented... for now.
We were up before daybreak to pack up the campsite. Rush Creek kept us company with its constant, upbeat flow. This waterway is pristine, fed by ice melt and lakes of the remote Ritter Range.
This hiking day would be an incredible journey of views, but such expansive scenery comes with a...
This is a continuing series about a mother-and-daughter thru-hike on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from July 19 to August 13, 2015. Other installments may be read here.
Day 5 / 10 miles
Lyell Canyon (elevation 8,900 feet) to Rush Creek Junction (elevation 9,670) via Donohue Pass (elevation 11,073 feet)
The first item of business everyday upon waking is to get the weather...
Recently, Brian Newton, 67, retired school teacher, and Roy Kendall, 68, real estate broker, decided to increase their education, hike cross country and explore the caves at the south end of the Mineral King valley. Just for fun, Roy named the first cave they explored “Plato’s Cave.”
It was an education to go into this black cave with flashlights and go back in time to 514 AD and remember the...
This is a continuing series about a mother-and-daughter thru-hike on the John Muir Trail from July 19 to August 13, 2015. Previous installments may be found here.
Along the [Tuolumne] river a series of beautiful glacier-meadows extend with but little interruption, from the lower end of the Valley to its head, a distance of about twelve miles, forming charming sauntering-grounds from which the...