J & T's Epic John Muir Trail Hike: Wednesday, September 4th, 2013. Lyell Forks to Garnet Lake

“One day's exposure to mountains is better than a cartload of books.”--John Muir

Take time to smell the roses, nap at a lake and read a book!

Once again, we woke up to deer in our camp. Today it was a Mom with two Fawns...that sight will never get old and it's a great excuse for getting out of camp late! Today we were up earlier than the past fews day around 6:30am. There were very few must do's on my list and today had two lakes that I wanted to spend time at--Thousand Island Lake and Garnet Lake. Thousand Island Lake was about 10 miles away and Garnet Lake was an additional 2.5 miles. We also had Donohue Pass and Island Pass today and would leave Yosemite National Park and cross over int Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Once again, we didn't get out of camp until 9:45am. We didn't end up getting rain yesterday but the sky wasn't too promising today. Right after camp we had to cross a stream and we could see Donohue Pass.

Not sure where the path is, but we are going to be on the other side soon!

It was really nice to have a staircase..had a great view back...and an occasional river over the trail!!

Views climbing up Donohue Pass

Jason did so many sweet things on the trail. This was my trip, my crazy idea, my summer

spent planning...he was just along for the ride. Jason is a faster hiker going uphill...I am a faster

hiker going downhill...so we he always leads on the uphill sections...I lead on the downhill sections.

BUT he would always stop just before the Pass to let me be the first to the top of the pass. It was

always a welcome sight to see him waiting for me..it usually meant we were really, really close.

Views from the other side of Donohue Pass...elevation 11,060 feet.

The highest we have been so far!

Passing from Yosemite National Park into the Ansel Adam Wilderness.

We stopped around 11:30 for a snack and to take in the scenery!

Had to zoom in but could ski the ski resort in Mammoth!

On the trail again...

I have to keep this picture in...we didn't know it at the time but that pack behind the sign is from friends we met on the trail. From this point out there would be about 4 or 5 of us that would leap frog each other everyday. We basically started and ended at the same point each night but since we were the last ones out of camp each day, we would catch up to everyone else at some point during the day. The others usually would break down camp and stop along the way for breakfast...where we had breakfast in camp.

The backpack belongs to one of The Travellingfoxes. Ken and Jules from California and Australia. Jason and I made up our own trailnames for everyone. They were know as the Aussies because of that awesome accent. We talk to them for the first time today at our water break and would spend a lot of time with them in the upcoming days!

The other groups we leapfrogged with were The Siblings--Michael & Laura who decided to do this hike like 2-3 weeks prior to starting. They were fun--they packed a lot of grits in their bearcan so that was joked about a lot during the trail. Then there was The Fasters--Kelsey and Aaron. They got engaged on the trail--their meal plan consisted of a Clif Bar for breakfast, a Clif Bar for Lunch and a Mountain House meal for dinner. Someone had asked us if we met the fasters yet...we hadn't at that point but we knew exactly who they were talking about once we did meet them. Amazingly--they did just fine on that food. I think I would have ran out of gas. There was also Greg and Peter. One was a retired engineer from Boeing and the other was a Physician from Washington.

It's hard to know what the pictures are by looking at a map. Based on the time stamps of the pictures, I think this the trail going up and over Island Pass and two small lakes right after Island pass.

The next stop was Thousand Island Lake. Absolutely Stunning...we will be back here someday.

The Lake is just huge!

Getting closer to the Mouth of the Lake.

This is also the section where the Pacific Crest Trail splits off from the John Muir Trail for a section

The view from our break...

Thought about a swim but the water was so cold I opted for some reading.

I had donated the cover and first few pages to start the fire back at Whitney Portal

Jason opted for a nap.

The packs were really heavy today since we got our re-supply yesterday.

Jason is convinced he saw a submarine shaped cloud...

After an hour break we were on to the goal of Garnet Lake for camping.

We first came Emerald Lake

Then Ruby Lake...

Finally...Garnet Lake. The book said that the sites get better towards the head of the Lake.

So we walked down to the footbridge & saw this sign. There was a similar sign at Thousand Island Lake so we thought it was a good sign that we were on the right path to a campsite.

So we started walking around the south side of the Lake. It soon became VERY apparent that we were on the wrong side of the Lake. Sure enough, I took a few seconds to get the book out and we were suppose to be on the other side of the Lake and look for sites towards the head of the lake.

I had read the Wenk book before leaving and had underlined multiple things that I thought might be helpful while on the trail. Well, one those underlined things happen to be 'one more campsite perched on a small flat to the side of the lake'. We happen to look up and found that one last spot (you can see Jason in the middle of the picture). So...it ended up working out perfectly...but again...why didn't we put the GPS coordinates in for the campsites?

Views of Garnet Lake and views of Mt. Ritter and Banner Peak.

Taking a progress picture--due to me wearing Trail Runners, my feet would be absolutely FILTHY at the end of the day. I actually got my feet clean...soles of the shoes look great...only a little wear on the side.