A Walk in the Park – Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite National Park

Day 67 – 8(+3) miles/911

I always have bold ambitions to get out of town early and get a full day of hiking in. Alas, it was slow morning, thanks to our old friend José Cuervo. Maggie and I unpacked and repacked all of our food and gear, getting out of the room just before 10.

We walked back to the deli for breakfast sandwiches, picked up Pita Pit to go, and hopped on the free trolley ride back up to Horseshoe lake. Our packs were stupid heavy. We had actually packed seven days of food, which has increased in volume quite a bit since we started. We felt decent, but we just didn’t feel like hiking. Three miles back to the PCT, where we took a quick lunch break, lightening our load by 1 stuffed pita each. The trail continued downhill to Devil’s Postpile.

The main entrance was closed, so we were alone, no rangers to tell us to keep off the rocks. There may be more grand formations, but Devil’s Postpile was definitely a fine example of columnar basalt. We hiked on, stopping by a nice waterfall.

Not much further, we finished hiking at 6pm, stopping at a closed campground. A handful of hikers had the same idea. We ate dinner with a hiker, Zach, who was on day 1, picking up the PCT where he left off last year. We made small talk around a small fire, which made enough smoke to keep the mosquitoes at bay. We returned to our tent, surprisingly beat from an 11 mile day.

Day 68 – 16 miles/927

Maggie and I opted for an easy start at campground. Donohue Pass was 18 miles ahead, so we didn’t bother trying to get over the pass with soft, afternoon snow. On trail at 8am, our packs weighing us down with way too much food. The trail followed along middle fork of the San Joaquin river, then climbed up on the ridge to the east. The trees opened up, giving us fantastic views of Volcanic Ridge and Mt. Ritter across the valley.

We took frequent breaks to get relief from the heavy burden on our backs. We ate lunch by an alpine pond to lighten the load. On trail again, we wandered north, walking by Thousand Island lake at the base of Banner Peak. It was gorgeous, such a large alpine lake eccecenuated by a fearsome looking mountain.

The trail turned away from this stunning view, and the snow fields started appearing underfoot. We took an afternoon snack break, and a friendly gray poodle greeted us. The dog was followed closely by an old man. At first glance, I was a little concerned about this guy. He only had a small day pack, he was very far from any trailhead, and it was quite late in the day to be out on a little nature hike with the dog. We got to talking and turns out he was an experienced mountaineer, with a camp set up by the lake. He said he had climbed the imposing Banner Peak some decades ago, and I realized we weren’t talking to your stereotypical day hiker. After a few more poodle pets, we parted ways with the mountaineer. We hiked a little further through some snow and we found a small, dry camp site near Rush Creek.

Day 69 – 16 miles/943

We were up early to get over Donohue Pass, awake at 4:30, on trail at 6:30. Moody clouds and a light steady wind were blowing in from the west, a warning that there was an incoming storm. It was a fairly easy 2.5 mile climb up to the top of the pass. We put spikes on for the solid snow over the last mile to the top.

Here we entered Yosemite National Park. There are no rangers or fee stations in the back country, so it feels rather unceremonious, although the views between the clouds were pretty cool. With the wind unobstructed, we layered up and began the descent into Tuolumne Valley. Very light was snow falling near the top of the pass. We covered a decent bit of snow on the way down the north side, but didn’t posthole too much. We somehow managed to keep our feet mostly dry amidst the river crossings and snowmelt flowing down the trail.

We de-layered once the snow cleared up, just 2 miles from the top and continued down Tuolumne valley. It was a pretty, meandering river with some marshes, but there was not much scenery change over 10 miles. There were lots of little, muddy water crossings, but we still kept our feet dry. We cruised down the flat, easy terrain to Tuolumne meadows post office, arriving just before 3pm. Maggie’s mom had mailed us a box of goodies from Trader Joe’s, our wish list from the first week in the Sierras when we went a little hungry. We saw one hiker, No Breaks (from Muir Pass), waiting out front, and he was not a happy camper. He had been waiting nearly an hour already, and had heard that the postal worker had left to run errands and might return at some undetermined time later. So we waited.

The rain started with some consistency, though it was something between a heavy mist and a light drizzle. We drank our leftover tequila, mixed with lemon lime electrolyte mix. A park employee graciously filled our water bottles. Hours went by. For entertainment, we waved at all the tourists driving by, seeing if they would wave back, but half the time we just got confused looks. Two hikers got dropped off, Uncle Bob and Jackrabbit. They didn’t need a package, they were going into Yosemite valley the next day, but they sat and talked with us for a while. A park ranger SUV pulled up around 5pm, two law enforcement rangers got out to talk to us. They asked where we were camping, since camping is not allowed within a 4 mile radius of Tuolumne meadows. This would actually be 6 miles north on the PCT, but he said if need be, just camp on a durable surface. As the time passed, we debated about what to do, hike on, perhaps kill some time in Yosemite Valley, or camp and try to get the package on Sunday morning. Six pm was fast approaching. Two more hikers got dropped off, and they were also disappointed to hear packages weren’t available.

We packed up and, after a bit of searching, Maggie and I decided to camp about half a mile down the PCT. We found a decent spot tucked behind some trees, “stealth camping” as they say. We felt a little anxious about breaking the rules, but everything turned out ok. We slept through the drizzle, hoping to get our box of goodies in the morning.

Day 70 – 15 miles/958

There was a little bit of rain in the night, but not bad. We woke up at 6am, eager to get our package and stay out of trouble with the rangers. We got packed up at 7:30. On our way back to the post office, a park employee drove by in a silver jeep. He rolled down his window and asked, “Are you looking to get a package? The guy is here, but I’m not sure when he’ll be available.” This was encouraging news, although we still didn’t even know if our package had even made it to Tuolumne Meadows. We wandered back to our old hangout. There wasn’t much activity at 8am on a Sunday. We waited out front at a picnic table, the mist wavering between unnoticeable to a light drizzle. We heard some voices from within the building and decided to check at 9am if anyone could help. I knocked. No response. I knock again. Nothing. I could see through a foggy window a pair of people chatting inside… I knock a third time and finally got their attention. When I inquired about the mail, the guy responded, “I can’t help you, but the guy is here. It’s his day off, sooo, I’m not good wake him. But he will get your package for you, I’m sure.” Again, this gave us some optimism, especially for getting mail on a Sunday, but it was so frustrating that the one guy who could help us was very close by, just probably enjoying a hot cup of coffee 100 yards away. So we waited. Another hour passed. We heard music playing inside, “New Slang” by The Shins. This must be a good sign. A new face appeared from the side of the building, a young fella wearing a thick hoodie, a small black mustache and soul patch adorning his gentle face. “Are you two picking up a package?”, the guy asked. We confirmed and gave him the name. “Alright, yeah I think I saw that one. One minute.” He appeared behind the window and handed over our box! We chatted briefly, and honestly he was super nice. He didn’t make a big stink about working on his day off, just genuinely happy to help us out. We quickly opened up the box and divided up the goodies Maggie’s mom had sent from Trader Joe’s.

We got moving on trail at 11, a very late start for us, but we were stoked to have a fresh load of snacks. The trail continued down Tuolumne River. There were lots of day hikers/weekenders, looking fresh and clean. The river had some awesome waterfalls to admire. We had lunch at Glen Aulin camp with a view of Tuolumne Falls.

Onward, it was generally misty and drizzly all day, dampening our clothes but not our spirits. We hiked up through forest and meadows. We passed through some lovely old hemlock groves near the top of our climb.

We dropped down to McCabe and Return creeks. Being late in the day, we took our shoes off to cross McCabe Creek. It was a short walk to the next crossing, so we walked barefoot for a few hundred feet. Return Creek looked deceptively easy, but it had one semi-scary section with a stiff current flowing above the knee. We made it across, thankfully staying on our feet.

We climbed up to Spiller Creek, which was also stronger than it looked, but we got across ok. We cruised up a short, steep climb to camp, the clouds clearing now. We didn’t see anyone after lunch, a small bonus of the Yosemite backcountry. We camped alone, the sky opening up for us just before bedtime.

Day 71 – 20 miles/978

We woke up at 4:30am for crossing Benson Pass. With the clear skies overnight, it was unbelievably cold for June 6th. Our tent was encrusted with frost, inside and out. When packing up the tent, we shook out a large pile of ice, a sight I did not expect to see this close to the summer solstice.

We were on trail at 6:45, moving at a brisk pace to warm up. We walked through frosty meadows by Miller lake. The trail descended down to Matterhorn Creek, which was an easy crossing. We again took our shoes off to save them from freezing, although the sun was shining bright and quickly warming the landscape. We climbed up a steep valley towards Benson Pass. We finally decided to get our feet wet in a stream that was too wide to jump but too small to take the time to take our shoes off. Onwards and upward, we ascended Benson. It was a fairly easy pass, not too much snow on the way up. We finished the climb at 11am.

We dropped down the surprisingly snow-free trail to Smedberg Lake for lunch while we dried out gear. We could have stayed all day, but we continued up a steep little climb towards Volunteer Peak, then down down down to Piute Creek. The bare, solid granite made itself quite visible along the way. Massive ridges, largely devoid of trees, rose all around. It’s no Half Dome or El Cap, but this area of Yosemite was absolutely stunning, and I’m glad it’s protected by the National Park.

It was a steep two mile climb up towards Seavy Pass. Well built, but rugged, rocky trail took us up to the top. We went down a short drop to Rancheria Creek. There was reportedly a sketchy 3 mile sidehill snow traverse by the river. We got lured down to it by the bootpack. There was one briefly scary section where a snow bridge went over the water, so we got back on the trail proper.

There was plenty of snow to traverse, but it was soft enough to kick steps into. A couple tired miles got us to camp. We quickly took off our wet shoes, trying to dry them in the last few minutes of sunlight. We camped alone, and I think we only saw 5 other hikers all day.

Day 72 – 19 miles/997

Maggie and I got moving at 7:30. It was an easy 2 miles down to Rancheria Creek crossing. Along the way, we passed another hiker, moving quite slow. His name was Outlaw, and he was in some pain. He said his lower leg was bothering him, and the previous day he only hiked 10 miles after feeling very strong so far in the Sierras. With nearly 40 miles to the next road/resupply, that pace could take some time, so we offered him some extra food we had. We went ahead and he caught up on our morning snack break, and he said by taking out his insoles, his pain was more manageable. We saw him a couple more times before lunch, moving more strongly, and eventually, he got ahead of us. I believe his pain was real, but it felt a bit odd that he miraculously got better after we handed over some food… Anywho, the trail took us over two climbs and descents with river crossings in between. The first river crossing looked swift and scary, so we went up stream to cross on a large log. Getting to the next valley was gorgeous, wide open views of a massive granite ridge. The second river crossing was wide and easy.

We went up and over the next ridge on a somewhat brutal climb, but it didn’t last too long. Coming down the second hill, the mosquitoes started swarming around us. It was really bothering me, disrupting my stride as I tried to shoo the mosquitoes away. When we got to the ponds below, we saw another hiker talking shelter in his tent. “Don’t stop our they’ll attack!”, he said. Yeah, too late for that. We found a nice flat spot in the shade to stop for lunch. Maggie convinced me that we ought to pitch the tent for lunch to escape the mosquitoes. It was totally worth the effort. There were dozens of mosquitoes all over the mesh sides of the tent trying to get our blood. We enjoyed a bug free lunch. The sun came around and turned our tent into a greenhouse. We got moving again, covered up in rain gear, and I even put on my head net for the first time. I felt invincible now with my PPE.

We got water from Falls Creek, then started hiking fast to escape the growing cloud of skeeters. Thankfully, the hoard dissipated, and we were able to shed some layers. We were now on a long easy climb up towards Dorothy lake. We stopped after an hour to take a quick dip in the creek. Mosquitoes found us again… so we didn’t get to enjoy our break for too long. The trail was decidedly wet. Our feet were already wet, but wow, this was rather consistent. It didn’t ruin our day too much, but at one point, I.. fell in. As a human who walks on solid ground, I tend to believe that the ground is, well, solid. While crossing a swampy meadow, I found the one spot on the trail that was something between mud and dirty water, a chunky soil soup. I stepped out and my foot dropped into this concoction, then it kept dropping. My balance was seriously off by now, the pack weight pushing me further into the muck. At last I found the bottom, which thankfully was only mid-thigh on me. “Don’t step here,” I said to Maggie, although I think that was pretty obvious. I crawled out, laughing and happy that “puddle” was only 2.5 feet deep.

I rinsed off shortly after in the creek, for whatever that was worth. The mud only continued from there, I would say 20% of the trail all the way up to Dorothy Lake was wet and muddy. When we arrived at the lake around 5:30pm, where we were greeted by a wonderful view of Forsyth Peak reflecting on the rippling water. We found camp soon after and enjoyed a few hours of evening light. The end of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada lie just over the next ridge. We reflected on the ground we had covered and challenges we had faced throughout the high peaks. It was bittersweet to think we were leaving the Sierras so soon.