MapSource
|
Google Maps Terrain
|
Up at 5:30 am
I made the mistake of thinking it would be warmer here at 7700 ft, so I
didn't use the bag liner nor the insulite pad. It was 32 degrees and I
was colder than comfortable. Not shivering cold, but not comfortable
either. I got up early today so I could break camp and be at the cafe
for breakfast when they opened. I had pancakes (huge!), hash browns,
and eggs. Fantastic breakfast. I met several JMT hikers at breakfast.
Sean, who was hiking 30 miles per day. Al and Sally, who were going at
about my pace. I would meet these hikers later in my hike and spent my
last day at VVR with Al and Sally. Really nice folks! After breakfast I
dropped off my extra supplies at the hiker barrel in the general store
at Reds, and picked up some orange juice and an extra water bottle.
Refueled and refreshed, I hit the trail at 8:30. A later start than
usual but SO worth it!
Reds Meadow Store (left) and cafe (right) |
Sign to JMT after going through Reds stables |
Leaving Reds Meadow stables
|
In
order to get back to the JMT from Reds Meadow Resort, walk directly
through the stable and horse corral area, and keep going. The dirt road
soon leads to a junction with the JMT and is signed so it is hard to
miss. See picture above.
The trail leading out of Reds Meadow goes through a burned area. The
fire came within a few feet of burning some of the corral buildings at
Reds. Some folks don't like this section but I found a unique appeal in
the landscape with the explosion of new growth replacing the wasteland.
The trail today was the least interesting of the trip so far. I did
enjoy the Red Cones area. I was feeling incredibly invigorated and
strong today. It was a a mostly uphill trek today, but an easy hike. I
had planned on stopping at Duck Creek at around mile 12, but I hit the creek
at 2:00pm and still felt great, so I decided to keep going. As I was
refilling my water bottle at Duck Creek, Sean wanders up. I was pretty
amazed that I had stayed ahead of him if he was hiking 30 miles a day!
Then he told me he did a 4 mile detour to see the waterfalls by Reds
Meadow. He had forgotten to pack chapstick and was getting cracked
lips, and I had an extra, unopened chapstick! Nice to be able to help
out. Sean was trying to decide if he was going to stop at VVR or not,
since he had a resupply there but wasn't going to need it.
New growth in the burned area
|
Red Cones
|
I
hiked for another couple of miles, and stopped around 4:00pm at Purple
Lake. I was amazed that I had covered so many miles today. Usually I
hit 10 miles and that is about all I care to do. I was tired at this
point, but not exhausted.
Purple
Lake was nice, but not
one of the highlight lakes of the trip. I wandered all around looking
for a spot to camp. Nothing close to the lake or trail... Finally I
hiked about 1/4 mile along the Ram Lake trail and came to the stream
that feeds INTO Purple Lake (not the outlet), and found some
fantastic large sites along the stream. I made camp, and headed to
Purple
Lake for a cold swim. As I hiked back from the lake to my campsite, I
saw two hikers making camp near Purple Lake. I knew that the ground
there was NOT flat, and was a poor site. I felt bad since I had a
fantastic spot with room for several more tents, but they had already
made camp, so I was too late. It turned out it was Al and Sally, whom I
had met at Reds at breakfast. I had to use a little Luekotape on my
right heel and left toe to stop a hot spot from turning into a blister.
First time I have needed any footcare this trip.
Meadow
|
Talk about the will to survive!
|
Day 8 views
|
Since I had covered so many miles today, I got out my map to see what
my options would be for tomorrow. It looked like another 17 miles to
VVR, so I would have two relatively easy days ahead of me. My original
itinerary had me camping at Squaw Lake tomorrow night. With the extra
miles I hiked today I figure I will push past Silver Pass and camp
somewhere on the other side tomorrow.
After dinner, I climbed on top of a
huge flat rock, and stargazed again. I could hear the gentle sound of
the stream as my background symphony to accompany my theater in the
sky. A special moment.
Almost to Purple Lake
|
Purple Lake
|
Day 8 campsite above Purple Lake
|
|
