Today was a classic Sierra hiking day. The trail followed a creek (Evolution Creek) upstream for many miles (16) passing alpine lakes on a series of benches. Then finally topping out on a high mountain pass… Muir Pass in this case.
Evolution Creek cascading down the mountain.
Look who I crossed paths with this morning…
Just Bob! We met back in Tehachapi. Bob is 66 and crushes miles..i hope I’m in that kind of shape in 20+ years!
Just Bob! We met back in Tehachapi. Bob is 66 and crushes miles..i hope I’m in that kind of shape in 20+ years!
The sun began to warm me up as I entered Evolution Meadow.
I took a relaxing break on the shores of Evolution Lake.
This trail must have passed half a dozen or more major alpine lakes today.
This trail must have passed half a dozen or more major alpine lakes today.
Looking back on the final approach to Muir Pass (~12,000′).
The Muir Pass hut.
It was fairly windy at the top so the shelter made a nice wind break.
It was fairly windy at the top so the shelter made a nice wind break.
The whole area is kind of a moonscape.
There was still some small snowfields to cross.
There was still some small snowfields to cross.
After a couple thousand feet of descending it was great to see something green again.
The famous Monster Rock of the JMT. I was glad I could point out the landmark to this 10 year old Australian boy and his family who are hiking the whole JMT.
The famous Monster Rock of the JMT. I was glad I could point out the landmark to this 10 year old Australian boy and his family who are hiking the whole JMT.
The heart of Kings Canyon N.P.
I was in the shadows earlier than normal today because the canyon walls are so steep.
I was glad to find an unoccupied campsite around 6:45 because there are quite a few JMT hikers out here. It’s getting fairly dark by 7:15 now.
I was glad to find an unoccupied campsite around 6:45 because there are quite a few JMT hikers out here. It’s getting fairly dark by 7:15 now.
So, tomorrow will be my last night on trail. Kind of hard to believe! The trail won’t be taking it easy on me just because I’m almost done. I have four more major passes (all ~12,000′ high) to go over in these last two days with 11,000′ of climbing.
GoBugJuice.com 
Apparently, a bunch of the photos didn’t load originally…I just reposted them 🙂
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