Goal for the day: Deer Creek
Although my sample itinerary had me getting to Reds Meadow on day 6, I had planned that I’d get there on day 7. So even though I planned on arriving on day 7 and did arrive that day and that was the day I had my Hiker’s Cabin reservation, the later arrival in the day made me consider myself a half day behind. It was nitpicky and didn’t really mean anything, but it left a little bit of a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. In reality, the reservation at Reds Meadow was the only ‘hard date’ on this trek and I made it on time for it. All other dates were flexible and I could take as many or as few days to finish the JMT as I wanted or needed to.
So despite thinking I was a half day behind, I didn’t rush to get back on the trail that day. Partly because I wanted to take it easy that day after an harder than expected descent and partly because the Reds Meadow restaurant opened at 7am. I did actually sleep a little longer as well. A real mattress after 6 days using an air mattress will do that. 🙂
So after waking up, I started by finishing organizing my pack and packing my bear canister with all my additional food. Since the next leg was planned for 5-6 days, it wasn’t that hard to make everything fit in the canister. Everything else squeezed into place in my backpack without issues. With all my batteries full, I didn’t even need to put my solar charger on the outside of my pack that day.
One repair I did at Reds Meadow was to sew up the back mesh pocket on my Osprey Exos 58. It had seen a lot of action over the past 6 years, so the mesh back pocket was getting pretty frayed by this point and developed a petty big hole over the past 7 days. And since I kept my Camelbak in the back pocket (I hate using the internal hydration sleeve since it takes me too much time to access it on the trail when filling up on water), I wanted to make sure everything stayed inside.
I also made the decision to ditch my rain pants to save weight. They were old, the weather had been great, and the weather report was not indicating any problems during the next few days. I don’t remember making any other major changes to my gear at that point.
Then I enjoyed some French Toast and eggs for breakfast before coming to a decision about my last resupply. I was probably going to have Berners pack my resupply package out to the Charlotte Lake junction or the lake itself. While I was only a ‘half day’ behind, I started to believe my original August 18th resupply date at the Kearsarge Pass area was too unrealistic. Since they had a resupply for another group at that location already scheduled for August 20th, I could get my small resupply package out there for about what I’d probably pay for a shuttle ride, hotel, and food if I hiked out to Onion Valley and went into Independence or Lone Pine for a night out of the wilderness.
And I’d avoid the extra mileage and elevation loss/gain that I’d have to do to hike out to Onion Valley and back.
And why make the decision now? Reds Meadow was the only guaranteed area when I had cell phone reception to make final arrangements. Some other areas may have scattered coverage, but no other areas were guaranteed (except the top of Mt Whitney, which would be WAY too late to worry about resupplying 5 days earlier at Kearsarge Pass). So I called them and confirmed that plan. I had my Inreach and could still make adjustments to my last resupply plan if needed and also let hem know if I was on time or not.
I’m happy to say that I never once considered aborting while at Reds Meadow. The closer civilization is, the easier it usually is to give into temptation and give up. Now, I did have some on and off thoughts if I could continue or not ever since my near abort in Tuoumne Meadows. But never felt there was any reason to give up while at Reds Meadow. A good sign.
I made a point to use the flush toilet (maybe the last one until Lone Pine) one last time before doing my final pack. With a last check of the news (the World was still here), the weather, and any problems back home I had a Diet Coke (for the caffeine kick… really). I hefted my backpack onto my back and headed back to the JMT. The pack was heavier, of course, but didn’t feel that bad.
With a mid-morning departure I might have been worried about how long and far I could hike that day, but this day had been planned as a light day of hiking so there was no reason to worry or hurry. My rough target was getting to Deer Creek and doing 6-7 miles.
The first part was sparsely forested, but mostly since it seemed to have suffered a major fire in the past. Judging by the sizes of the new trees, it must have been a decade or more ago.
As it gave way to a more forested area, some of the view disappeared and most of the rest of the day was spent on the trail as it ran along the side of this ridge of mountains. No switchbacks (hallelujah!), but a gentle climb along a mostly straight trail. After the rough descent the day earlier, this was a welcome change. Passed a couple of hills called Red Cones that seemed to be made up of red pumice stones.
When I got to Deer Creek and refilled my water I had to decide if I was going to stop for the day or continue. The next stretch of trail had a water warnings on my JMT map. It indicated to fill up on water since there was no reliable water source in the next 5 miles. That would mean either going 5.5 miles to Duck Pass, camping at Deer Creek, or carrying enough water to camp along the way to Duck Pass.
The bugs kind of made the decision for me. They were really bad around Deer Creek and it was all forest in that area without views.
I didn’t think 5.5 more miles was something I wanted to do that day, so I choose the option to fill up on a lot of water (despite the weight) and find a place to camp along the way. My trail info didn’t list any campsites along that stretch, but during past treks I’d managed to find legal and nice sites elsewhere so wasn’t so concerned.
After a mile I started to worry and wonder if I should dump some water and stretch out my hike to Duck Pass. Why worry? The trail mostly ran along the side of the mountain ridge, so there weren’t a lot of flat areas and the few possible flat spots I saw here covered with vegetation (can’t setup a tent on top of vegetation).
But I decided to keep looking. When I got to about the halfway point, I was starting to feel the need to stop. When I got to an area with a wide view of the valley and mountains to the west, I saw what looked like some flat areas down the slope a bit from the trail. It would be a little tricky to navigate the way down with a full pack, but I did end up finding a small flat area made up of gravel resting up against a fallen tree (making a small, but flat area).
I enjoyed the last can of Diet Coke I brought with me from Reds (the empty can wouldn’t weight much). I was a little amazed to see that I had gone over 9 miles that day despite my plan for a low mileage day. Since the trail wasn’t that steep, I guess my body was helped by the rest the previous night. Then I set up my tent, had dinner, and enjoyed some color at sunset before turning in for the night.
9.2 miles hiked, 6:30 hours, 2,400 feet climbed
70 total miles hiked on the JMT
Highlights:
• French Toast Breakfast
• Lovely hike along side of mountain
• Nice view for sunset
• Daily Goal Surpassed!
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