Palisade Lake to Mather Pass.

It's hard to capture the colours in these alpine lakes and meadows but together they form a very inspiring artists palette.

Evolution Lake to Muir Pass

The sun continues to shine!

I had a beautiful hike from Evolution Lake to Muir Pass. The elevation of the pass is over 11,000 feet but the climb was gradual and seemed pretty easy.

Views from the top were spectacular, and the little beehive hut was a nice place to stop for lunch and meet some other hikers.

MTR to Evolution Lake

I have been enjoying waking up early and hiking about 5-10 miles before it gets too hot. I can walk much faster and don't need to drink as much water. Then, I usually relax for a couple hours in the middle of the day, eat a big lunch and carrying on once it has cooled off.

Here are some shots of a private little swimming hole I found along Evolution Creek.

Wood Fired Shower and a Beer?

After spending almost the entire day with Richard at the potholes I decided I could probably only make it about 5 miles down the trail before it got dark.

As I was about to say goodbye and pack up, he invited me to meet his family and have dinner and a beer...I couldn't refuse!

When I got to his ranch I met his sister Penny, her husband Lloyd, and his niece Cheryl. They greeted me and immediately asked if I'd like beer or wine. Then they pointed to their wood fired shower outside overlooking the river and asked if I wanted to wash up or do any laundry. I was already feeling so fresh from swimming and had spent the morning doing laundry in the river, but couldn't pass up the opportunity for what seemed like the coolest spa session ever. I took my beer into the shower and took it all in.

We had fresh fish that someone had caught earlier that day, shrimp, and steak for dinner!

Cheryl kept asking me if I thought I was dreaming and I kept hoping I hadn't passed out from heat exhaustion before the Muir Trail junction the day before only to wake up sunburned and thirsty.

But the next morning, I woke up after sleeping under the stars feeling full, rested, and a little slower after drinking two glasses of wine with dinner.

Evolution Creek Potholes

I was planning on having a lazy morning and leaving MTR later in the day once it cooled off a bit.

As I was getting ready to pack up, a man and his dog walked by my site. We chatted and he asked me if I had made it across the river to the potholes.

He tried to explain how to get there, but I wasn't really following his directions. After a while, he said he'd just walk with me and show me.

His name was Richard and after talking with him, I learned he was a retired teacher, and had been a ranger in the Bear Creek area for a number of years. He was extremely knowledgeable about plants and the geology of the area. He answered a lot my questions about tree species and other fauna I had seen along the trail so far.

The pools were absolutely spectacular. He told me it was one of his very favourite spots.
Apparently the water level had dropped quite a bit, but we were still able to jump off a rock into the pools. I was amazed at his agility climbing up and around the rocks and pools.

The water was just cold enough to take your breath away and then let you swim a while longer to really cool off. I dried off by lying on a warm rock that had been perfectly polished by glaciers over centuries.

I was so thankful I didn't rush out of camp that morning and miss out on the opportunity of swimming in the pools.

After living his life in the area, Richard had no interest or respect for those trying to walk the trail as quickly as possible. When I told him about the weary PCT hikers I had seen in Oregon, I told him I thought that walking the entire length of the PCT would be an accomplishment, but I was glad I was taking more time to enjoy myself along the way. He replied, "Ya, walking the entire PCT is an accomplishment, but so is winding the worlds largest ball of string." He got the quote of the day with that one and I soon started to realize that there was a lifetime of things to see in every day hike I had done so far.

Despite walking 100 miles, me and my fellow hikers had hardly even begun to scratched the surface of the Sierras.

Muir Trail Ranch

After crossing Selden pass, and seeing that I had escaped the ominous rain cloud, I decided to see if I could push to Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) which would make for a twenty mile day.

I had met a guy after Silver Pass who was thinking about returning home early. He offered me his "ticket" to pick up a resupply package at MTR. I wasn't running too low on food, but I definitely underestimated the amount of snacks I'd want to eat throughout the day. I was excited to see what he had packed!

I didn't send a resupply package to Muir Trail Ranch because you had to send it three weeks in advance, and it's cost an additional $70 to ship and send. Due to the remote location, all packages had to be placed in 5 gallon buckets with very specific packing instructions because they had to be brought in using pack animals.

After popping 2 Ibuprofens and using up the last of my muscle rub on the switchbacks down to the ranch, I collapsed about 100 feet from the trail junction without knowing how close I was- totally unable to take another step. As I rested and drank the last of my water, a family of deer appeared and seemed indifferent to grazing so close to me. I sat still and quiet and watched them.

After rehydrating and a little rest I got up and walked for about one minute before seeing the sign for the ranch.

Unfortunately, I missed getting to pick up the bucket by a half hour; it was 5:30 and they closed at 5:00. Knowing I couldn't have possible walked any faster I went and set up my tent at the backpackers campsite.

I had met a guy at Reds Meadows travelling north and he gave me the beta about some secret hot springs in a field nearby. There were public hot springs that everyone knew about, but apparently there were some private pools about 100 meters from the busy, often muddy ones most people sat around in.

It was getting late by the time I got organized and motivated enough to cross the river and find the springs. Unable to convince any other hikers to come with me, I set out thinking it might be an anti climatic mission.

To my surprise, most people in the muddy pool knew about the other pools and pointed me in the general direction. I found one easily and got to rest every aching muscle and joint in my body while watching the sun set and the stars come out in my own private pool. It was spectacular. I couldn't help but hum the a Tragically Hip's "Bobcageon" and send some love to Gord Downie as I watched the stars "reveal themselves one star at a time."

I woke up he next morning feeling 100 percent rested, and ravenously hungry. I couldn't wait until 8:30 to pick up my bucket and see what was inside!!!!

Selden Pass