Editor's Note: The following is pulled from the journal that I kept while hiking the John Muir Trail this past month. I'll post each entry, each day, for the next few weeks. If you are just tuning in, you can go to the first day of the journal here.
Saturday the 31st, our 13th day. We did see Babu for the last time today...his knees were getting to him, and he was generally tired. Decided he didn't like the idea of hiking out of Muir Ranch with 9 days of food on his back (and I don't blame him; I don't like the idea either), so he's hoping off the trail and hiking the four miles from Muir Ranch back to civilisation. Was sad to see him go, and I think he was sad too; he said, "Goodbye, children," as we finally parted, which is true, he's old enough to be our grandfather, but he was a good, fast friend out here and we're going to miss him.
Backing up, we hit the trail about 6:30am and did roughly 5 miles into Muir Ranch by 8:30. Strange place, ideal spot for a resupply, which they make good money off, considering each 25 gallon bucket of food is $50 for them to recieve and hold it, and they had 130 come in just the previous week, on top of the hundreds they had in their storage shed. Very remote though, so they have to recoup the cost of bringing in all the buckets via pack mule. We got our bucket and began divulging its contents as well as rummaging through the 8 or so 'hiker box' buckets, free reign for all to pick from, and constantly shifting in content as hikers take what they haven't got and deposit what they don't want anymore. We salvaged some good booty: I had a Mountain House lasagna for lunch, Bri had a dehydrated cantalli, spinach and carrot stew that someone had created and sealed at home, but also a whole jar of nutella (the Russians found and gave to us!), Italian tomato paste in a tube, Clif bars, etc. Left behind falafel and hummus mix (normally a standard camping dinner for us, but somehow a disaster meal days before - I blame altitude), some Sunbelt bars (NOT the fudge-dipped ones, kept THOSE), extra powdered milk, rice dinners, some bullion cubes. The Russians had no resupply sent there, but were easily able to restock from the buckets. Cookie of course had shipped himself six Guinness to finish off the hike with. I love that guy.
After lunch and packing 9 days of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks into and overflowing from our bear canisters, we grudgingly walked up a tic to a shady spot and shot the shit with Babu one last time. Sat there for a looooooong time TALKING about starting hiking and never quite moving far enough to put on the pack. Finally, in the heat of the day, we hugged Babu one last time and set off through some amazing, if steep, canyonland. Maybe it was because my shadow had a cowboy hat, but I was really feeling the Wild West scenery: hot traverses between patches of shade underneath Jeffery Pines; dry, sandy trail littered with baseball-sized chunks of rock, steep granite domes on all sides, but all far away. Beautiful, but the three miles to camp took a while, as we are headed up a long ascent to Muir Pass, almost a three day climb. Camped on Piute Creek after a steel bridge, early, no bugs, gorgeous. Dipped in the fast-moving water in a small hole off the larger rapids, sunned on a rock. Lounged by tent watching two chipmunks really try to get to our food (which they successfully did, right next to us, as we swam).
Darkness is falling now, made a nice fire to write by. May try a night lapse in a bit, try to get the stars behind this big tree above us in the firelight [see the top picture]. Too pretty today to put into words, something out of another time, something so far removed in spirit from our lives back home, yet so home-like in its comfort and sense of peace and belonging...
;)
-llg