Day 77: Goodale Pass trail - 888

After a relaxing night drinking beer and eating real food at VVR, it was time to get back on the trail to hopefully reach Mammoth in a couple days time. We ate a fat breakfast at the diner, closed out my tab, and I rearranged my bear can to fit 10 days of food from my resupply box. Even though I'll be in Mammoth in a few nights, shipping my food out of VVR ahead on trail was going to cost me an arm and a leg. I opted to just carry it.

Righteous and Big Daddy packed up their gear and the three of us headed out. Because of VVR's odd location from the trail, we had a couple options for jumping back on the JMT. We could take a boat ride for $15 across Edison Lake, nope too much money. We could road walk for several miles back tot the trail, nope road walking makes you want to poke your eyes out. We could get a $10 shuttle from a VVR staffer, nope need that money for beer in town. We could take another alternate trail up a completely separate Goodale Pass and rejoin the PCT at mile 886, yes let's do that. We were told it was a "beautiful" hike. Well it was...for about a mile. It turned into a painful climb through dense forest up and out of the valley that VVR rests in. It was hot, like the desert. It was much lower elevation hiking than we have grown accustomed to. Mosquitoes were on a rampage. We whipped out bug nets out and press for higher elevation. As soon as we hit the snow line, everything went to shit. No trail at all. Mostly because this isn't the well traveled PCT. The snow from the long winter obliterated the forest and the result was a trail covered in dead and rotting trees laying across, swamping marshes that eat your shoes, and more snow. A quick and easy day turned into another 8 hour bushwhacking session. We're getting good at this.

It came time to cross a creek on the ascent and two other dudes from VVR were loosely hiking with us. One of them, Opie, crossed the river and was immediately swept away on his feet, spinning around out of control, with his 40lb pack bucked around him tight. We all immediately dropped our packs and ran down the shore of the river praying he wouldn't be swept away. My heart stopped for a minute as I processed what was happening. Luckily, Opie saved himself and was able to pull to the side for us to grab him out of the torrent. You cannot mess around and rush into a river crossing. This can happen to any of us. He got away soaking wet but the river took his trekking poles.

We kept going up the mountain trying to locate the actual Pass.

After several hours of frustrating hiking, slipping, siding, and post-holing, we reached the summit. Man was it a beautiful treat. Another big reveal of the next section of Sierra that we will soon travel through. It was 5pm - late for us to be summitting a Pass, we decided to boogie down the other side to hopefully catch some sun to warm and find a place to camp below tree line. We hauled ass down snowy fields and into the woods, where more snow blanked the parts that hardly get good sunlight. We raced towards the sun and got to the bottom of the next valley. When we reached a good camp I found ViPR, Fun Dip, and Harley. They already had a fire going along another raging river. We pulled over and stayed with them. A bad day turned good.

Day 76: 856-Florence lake alternate

Last night was the best camp site I've had. The raging river rocked me to sleep and I slept good. I did have a weird moment in the middle of then night where I woke up and saw my tent was about to collapse on me from the wind. I quickly got out of my bag and went outside to re-pitch, only to find that my tent wasn't falling over at all. I must have hallucinated or something. It was weird. I peed and went back to sleep. Righteous woke me up the next morning and told me to get going.

Big Daddy (heroin eyes), Righteous and I hiked an easy 6 miles off the PCT and took the alternate to Florence lake: a SoCal Edison owned lake with a little tiny resort on the north end. On the way down we ran into a couple who were JMT hikers that decided to bail because of the snow. They offered to give us a hitch to VVR when we got to the parking lot on the north end of the lake. We hiked a lot faster than they did. The trail took us to the south end near a boat dock. We were hoping to catch a ferry across the lake to shave miles but it looked abandoned, like no one had been there since last season. Big Daddy and I dropped our packs to hike down to the shore and investigate. We couldn't find a soul. Just a boarded up shack and some old trucks. At the dock there was a boat parked. Big Daddy found a phone attached to the dock. He picked it up and another person picked up the other end. It was the John Muir Ranch staff. They said they would send a boat to come get us. What luck we have sometimes. We ran back up the hill to the trailhead to grab our packs and notify Righteous of our plans.

We scrambled down the hill with our heavy packs. I could see a lonesome boat coming across the lake to get us. I was worried they would show up at the dock and not see us so I started yelling "wait!". We got the dock and a woman was the boat angel. She gave us a free ride across the lake.

Big Daddy picked up an old phone at the lake. Someone answered on the other end. 

We waited on that couple to show up at their car but after a couple hours I spoke with some older dudes who were camping in the area and were down to give us a 14 mile hitch to VVR. The main dude was named Bruce. He's a college professor of political science at UCSB. His two buddies were in their 70's and they all seemed super cool. They piled the 3 of us in their truck and off we went up a shitty and beat up single lane road to VVR. They gave us shots of tequila and beer.

free boat hitch across Florence Lake  

At VVR we found a couple dozen other hikers hanging out readying for the next stretch. Most are going to Yosemite. I immediately bought beer and cigarettes and had a delicious steak dinner. I was able to get a $4 2 minute phone call to Jessica to let her know my ETA in Mammoth. I also picked up my package of food far better than the crap I've been surviving on. The best part of the day was a hot shower which I needed badly. I spent the rest of the evening drinking beers at the campfire and shooting the shit. Chill day for sure.

our trail magic: some old professors gave us shots of tequila and a ride to VVR

Day 75: 838-856

Everyone abruptly woke up at 5 this morning and started quickly packing our gear to head down the north side of Muir Pass. It was a cold and iced over morning. For 6 miles I hiked down through the north valley passing the frozen and interconnected Wanda Lakes. I rarely have listened to music while hiking during these stretches because I have limited battery recharging supply, but this morning's hike down snowfields in crampons warranted some Childish Gambino. I vibed out until our first river crossing at the Wanda Lake outlet. I was suprised to discover that I hiked the whole 6 miles in 2 hours. That's pretty good time for snow travel.

Early morning walk down the north slope of Muir Pass

From there I hit the dry trail and a whole new set of canyons and valleys below Muir Pass. So damn gorgeous. 6 more miles got us to the trail's number two fear monger: Evolution Creek crossing. For weeks we heard stories about how gnarley it was and this and that. That we would have to ford chest high water with our packs above our heads. It just wasn't so. In fact, it was only balls deep and pretty easy to cross. My pack stayed dry. The water was colder than hell but it wasn't the end of the world. After crossing we laid out in the sun and dried off, snacked some nasty lunch and enjoyed the meadows. I traded some candy for tobacco from Earwig. We always wind up running out of it and someone always holds a monopoly on the tobacco stash the last few days before a stretch is over. Food is more valuable than cigarettes and I always seem to carry too much food. A lot of bartering happens.

At this point we knew we could do more miles with more dry trail ahead of us. Part of the group is going to attempt Bear Creek (the other fear mongerer) and get to VVR (our next resupply) in two days. Heroin Eyes and I decided we will break off from the team and take the alternate to get there a day early. It shaves off some PCT miles and we skip both Bear Creek and Seldon Pass. Some of the team aren't willing to skip miles because of personal goals. I'm not down to deal with a raging river, even if there is a way across it. I'm not a PCT continuous miles purist.

We headed out from evolution to try and get to the alternate junction 8 miles away.

Hiking this next stretch was so wonderful. Basically the whole day was downhill or flat, and dry, with the exception of the first 6 miles off the pass. The valleys and canyons are steep and drop out of nowhere. The JMT is so beautifully designed to deal with this. Dynamited sections of the trail take you down granite staircase into the valley floor. Evolution creek dumps right into the South Fork Joaquin River - a beast that has been carving this canyon for eons. The views are large, and the mist from the rapids keeps you cool. I kept thinking about my family and friends and how much I miss them. I miss them so bad that several times throughout the day I entertain the possibility of quitting and going home just to be connected to them again. I wish my brother was here hiking with me. I wish my mom and dad could see what we have climbed. I wish ELACCers could bring members here. I wish Jessica could experience this too.

Righteous (top left), Big Daddy (top right), me, Earwig (right), Shakedown (lower right

Just before hitting the junction we found what I think is my favorite campsite of the whole trip so far. It just gets better and better. We're right along the raging river with fire rings and and lots of cool hidden spots to tent. We all scatter and claim our tent spots (this happens every night). We bullshit for a while over dinner and return to our corners. I will sleep to these noisy rapids forever.