J & T's Epic John Muir Trail Hike: Sunday, September 8th, 2013. Silver Lake to Hilgard Fork Trail Junction/Lake Italy

“Climb the mountain and get their good tidings.” -- John Muir

When we look back at today...it was our Worst Day on the trail

We woke to a beautiful sunrise over Silver Lake. We were doing our re-supply on Tuesday so we had to camp close to Muir Trail Ranch tomorrow night which meant only 27 miles over the next two days. We got on the trail around 9:15am. It was going to be the second Packer Game we would be missing on the trail and also my brother & nephews birthday. We did do a video clip wishing them a Happy Birthday!

The day started out hiking down towards Mott Lake & Mono Creek Junction.

At Quail Meadows and the Lake Edison trail which leads to ferry to VVR.

VVR had another sign up that the ferry wasn't running anymore this year.

A very nice steel footbridge crossing Mono Creek.

The book warns that we have a 2000 foot climb up Bear Ridge and there might not be any water for 5 miles. We decided it was the perfect spot to take a break, fill up on water and soak our feet.

We tried everyday at break to get our feet at least out of our socks & shoes. A soak in the cold water was a bonus--we never had any issues with blisters or hot spots the whole trip and I think this was part of the reason why.

I had been trying to find a Pacific Crest Trail marker.

They are old and most aren't in good shape.

I was never so happy to see a sign! After the Mono Creek Crossing, the book prepared us for the 2000 foot climb-a 'well-graded trail, mostly under forest cover making the interminable switchbacks more tolerable'. This section of the trail was about 4.5 miles so I figured that would take us 1 1/2 - 2 hours. It started at 7870 feet. The switchbacks were in the first half of the trail so after 45 minutes, I figured we were close to the top of the ridge. I could not have been more wrong. We were only at like 8500 feet, we still had close to 1500 feet to go. It definitely was a downer moment and affected my attitude. But 2 1/2 hours later we saw this sign and did a little happy dance. I also realized that the switchback section was a lot more that the first half of the trail. Thankfully it was morning and not hot. It was still the worst section of the trail for us.

Before long we were passing the Bear Creek Trailhead trail. I had written on the map that there were a lot of swim holes along here too. We decided to pass to get into camp earlier and enjoy the water there.