JMT Day 16: Middle Fork Junction to Upper Palisades Lake

July 19, 2008

We were up at 7 and on the trail by 8:45...not to shabby! The first couple of miles sucked when I had to hurdle downed trees. Not an easy task when you have a 40lb pack and short legs. It took some creative maneuvering. I also managed to get lost during this time. Well not really, just off the trail. I was just happy that I have a good since of direction and can remember odd things. I knew that as long as I stayed to the east of the river I would be ok. After about 15-20 minutes of trying to find the trail rather then blazing my own (I'm all about leaving the wilderness as is and not disrupting it too much) I thought it might be a wise idea to actually find the trail. So I climbed up on a rock to get a better view and found what looked like the trail about 50 yards to the east. Once again I had to climb over more downed trees and headed towards the trail. My sense of direction was right and I was once again on the right path. Not a detour I would advise or would ever want to do again. It was my most adventurous morning by far (other then looking for the lost bear keg.)

This afternoon we hiked up the Golden Staircase, which as the last section of the JMT to be built. Not a bad hike if you consider it was 1500 ft of elevation over 1.5 miles of switchbacks. Little did I know this part of the trail was full of trickery. There is nothing like hiking up the side of a mountain and think you are getting close to the top because the sky getting closer and you are running out of rock, only to get to the top and realize that what you thought was the top wasn't the top at all and now you are hiking up switchbacks again but now you are heading west instead of east. At this point all I could do was utter a few bad words, curse the trail builders and continue upwards. I tried my very best to stay pleasant, but you can only sing "just keep swimming" so many times before the bad words begin to fill your brain again. This positive side of the Golden Staircase is that I enjoy hiking uphill rather then down hill...and the views are breath-taking.

Mugs and I decided to camp at Upper Palisades lake rather then try to summit Mather Pass tonight. We could have summitted, but we weren't sure how far we would have to hike past Mather to get to set up camp and more then likely we would have been doing this in the dark.

We found a nice little area that was sheltered by trees and a stream not to far. Almost like it was calling our names from the tail to stop for the night. I just wanted to get out of my boots and eat. My feet really don't hurt to bad tonight. Two more toe nails fell off and I noticed that I have two red and tender areas below my great toes on the side of my feet. I think they are the cause of yesterdays 11 mile down hill hike. More mole skin and tape for me!

Mugs just pointed out to me that we are on our last week out here. Only five more days to go! This past week had just flown by. It seemed like it took forever to hit the 100 mile mark and today we are close to completing 150. Still seems unreal to me that I have come this far and the trip is almost done. By the end of the week I'll be sleeping in a bed. That's what I'm looking forward to the most...well actually what I'm looking forward to the most is indoor plumbing.

Pictures:

1. Where I'm headed...Deer meadow

2. Trees left after the Palisades fire...this is the part of the trail where I got lost and had to climb over a number of trees

3. Hiking the Golden Staircase looking back at where I just was

4. At the top of the Golden Staircase looking east. Palisades Mts in the background. First peaks over 14,000 ft

5. Bruce striking a pose

6. about one mile to go to Upper palisades lake. Lower palisades lake in forground

7. Mugs at camp

Mileage: 8.4/ 150.9

elevation: 8070 ft to over 10,000. I lost the page with the rest of my elevations for the trip. However for the rest of the trip we don't drop much below 10,000 ft

JMT Day 15: Sapphire Lake to Middle Fork Junction

July 18, 2008

My feet hurt! We hiked about 14 miles today. Granted most of it was down hill. It seemed like it took us forever to to walk from Big Pete Meadow to the Bishop Pass junction. 2 miles down hill took us almost 3 hours to hike, then we turn around and hike 3 miles in an hour and a half. Somewhere the mileage had to be off. It just doesn't make sense. It almost reminded me of when we went over Donohue Pass to Garnet Lake. That was a long down hill also.


Muir pass was cool. It's weird to see pictures in books of the Muir hut that's on the pass and then I am really there. Same with when I was checking out the JMT website and saw the hut. I guess I never really thought I would have a picture of me in front of the hut also. It just make me more excited to summit Whitney. I am so looking forward to that. Only one more week left. Hard to believe that it's a week away.


Time to read the trashy novel and hit the sack. I made an awesome supper tonight; beef strogenoff with real beef (thanks to the hiker bins at muir ranch) and fresh wild onions. Good stuff!!














Pictures:
1. Wanda Lake, north of Muir Pass
2. Me taking a break on the steps of the Muir Hut (11,980 ft)
3. Mugs looking for the trail in the snow. Helen Lake in the background
4. Helen Lake
5. Looking back (north) to Muir Pass

mileage: 14.9/142.5
elevation: 11,000 to 8070 +980/ - 3910

JMT Day 14: Goddard Creek to Sapphire Lake

July 17, 2008

3:30p: We made it to Evolution Lake. I've been hearing a lot about it and how pretty it is up here. Everyone is right. Again it's something you just have to see. A camera can capture it, but it doesn't do it justice. We have hiked about 9 miles already today but we are going to keep going. Too early to stop. I like to hike until at least 6p. We are going to try to make it to Sapphire Lake, about 2 more miles. The original plan was to get over Muir Pass, but that would be 6 more miles up hill and I would be hiking in the dark. Yeah, if you know me that not a good combo. I would rather do the Pass in the morning when I've had a good nights rest. We have five more passes left to go over before the summit of Whitney. Now I've gotten into the count down of the passes rather then the mileage. Ok I just like to count things down; days, mileage, hours, rice packets left to eat...

7p: According to the book, there is suppose to be campsite around sapphire lake. We saw them but there was no way I was walking down the side of a mountain without a trail. Mugs and I took off our packs and tried to find the safest way down and we decided that even if we could make it down, there was no way we would make it back up with packs on. We decided on a ledge just off the trail to spend the night. Just big enough for the tent. We had to use rocks to stake the tent down because of the lack of space and the sand isn't very deep. We are praying that there is no lightening tonight since we are the highest point.

Oh I also heard my first rock slide tonight. Mugs saw it.

Pictures:

1. Me crossing evolution Creek (I didn't fall in this one!)

2. McClure Meadow looking at were we are going...south

4. McClure Meadow again looking south

5. Looking north down at McClure Meadow

6. Shadow of the mountains on the westside on the mountians to the east

7. Evolution lake

8. Sapphire Lake

9. Evolution lake with mts in background

10. Our campsite. It looks flatter then it really is, but where i was standing it slopped down to the tent.

mileage: 10.1/127.6

elevation: 8480ft to 11,000 ft +2500ft/-0

JMT Day 13: Piute Creek to Goddard Creek

July 16, 2008

Wow, nine more days and we still have 100 miles to go. We took it easy today--hiking only 5 miles. Mugs has a friend who is a cook for the CCC (California Conservation Corps) crew stationed at Goddard Creek. We stopped to visit with her for a bit and she invited us to stay for supper. It's taco night, I'm not going to pass up tacos and it beats having rice and tuna. Mugs and I have been slacking a bit with hiking these past couple of day so we are in for some long and bigger mileage days ahead of us. Staying tonight at Goddard Creek a good idea since it will put us at the passes in the mornings or evening. You don't want to go over the passes during the afternoon because there is a greater chance of storms at that time.



I also had some time to soak my feet in the river. It felt so good! The cold water rushing over them. All I can say is it felt wonderful to get all the tape and mole skin off and to let them air out. I have noticed that my feet are getting better. I'm still going to lose two more toe nails, but my heels are not blistered anymore. They are still are tender but new skin is growing and getting tougher. They haven't bleed yet. I don't want that to happen. I can deal with the blisters and nails falling off, but that's it. I'm determined to finish this trip. Too many people have told me I won't make and I've doubted myself at times, but I'm going to summit on the 25th.



Being that we ended early today (2pm) I got a chance to finish the book I brought along. I have been looking for the book "Prayers for Bobby" for a couple of years and could never find it. I was told by a friend of mine that I should read it. Well I found the book at Barnes and Nobles in San Fran so I bought it. The time must have been right for me to buy it, because there was only one copy. Anyway I finished the last two chapters tonight. I just couldn't put it down. The book brought tears to my eyes and at one point I thought I woke Mugs up with my sniffling but she never heard me. I mean it's not even woman's week and I got emotional over a book. Weird things happen out here on the trail.



Time for bed. We need to get camp packed up by 6 and bkft at the CCC camp with Kim at 6:30 then back to the trail.

Picture:
1. View of the trail. I was waiting for the Ewoks and speeder bikes to come out. I can't believe I only took one picture today. I thought I took more. Must have been to busy hiking.

mileage: 5.5/117.5
elevation: 8050 to 8480 +430 ft/ -0

JMT Day 12: Marie Lake to Piute Creek

July 15, 2008

HALF WAY TO WHITNEY!

It was raining this morning so we slept in until 7a. We still made it over Seldon Pass, but we're an hour and a half behind schedule. We did have a nice surprise this morning, we got passed by Bob and Andy. We hiked with them most of the day since they are also going to the Muir ranch to resupply. It also rained on us again this afternoon. Only an hour this time and we were dry by the time we got to Muir ranch.

Our packs are heavy again. They don't seem as heavy as day 1, so I must have gotten a little stronger. I'm just happy we have a full food supply and more calories. My energy level should go up now because I'll be consuming more calories and I get to eat good snacks! You don't know how much I've been craving fruit! Even though its dried, it's still good. It's weird because I'm craving steak, sushi and lettuce. I can understand the sushi and lettuce, I crave those things when I'm in civilization. The steak worries me because I don't really care for steak and maybe eat it twice a year. But like I said before this trip has changed me and maybe this is just another way that it has. I'm becoming a red meat eater!

Tonight we camped along side of the river, about a mile from Piute Creek. We are camping with Bob and Andy. We've been hiking with them all day and decided why not. They found a really nice place to camp off the trail. Mugs and I usually camp not too far from the trail. It has always been within sight. We made a camp fire and played spades until 10:30p. Another late night, but we are in good company so it's worth it.

Pictures:

1. Marie Lake from our campsite

2. Mugs on the trail in front of me as we left camp that morning

3. Sunset over the Mts at our campsite with Bob and Andy (camara couldn't capture how beautiful it really was)

4. Amber glow on Mts

mileage: 7.5/112

elevation: 10,540 to 8050 +350 ft/ -3000 ft

JMT Day 11: VVR junction to Marie Lake

July 14, 2008

A long day of uphill and when we finally get to the downhill it starts to rain. So for three hours we got to wear the rain gear. First time I've worn it in the rain (the very first time I wore it was at VVR when we were doing laundry, that way we could wash all of our clothes and still have something on. PE majors are smart sometimes!) The rain was nice, but it brought the mosquitoes. I think I swallowed about 100 of them. Can you get west nile from swallowing them or do they have to bite you? Something I may have to look up when I get back to civilization. Another fun part of the day, other then the fun with mosquitoes, was that as the rain was starting to lighten up, we got to wade across a creek. I enjoy wading across the creeks since it gives me a chance to get out of my boots and the water feels good on my feet. However today as I was just about across the creek, only a couple of feet from shore, I tripped over a rock and fell in. Now I got to enjoy the rest of the hike cold and in wet clothing. The best part of my fall was not only did I manage to soak myself, my boots that were around my neck also filled up with water. I had to dump the water out of them when I made it to shore before I put them back on. I did make it to the campsite at 6:30p and the rain had quit by that time. Overall still a pretty good day. Got in 3 extra miles.

Pictures:

1. a deer that followed me hiking up bear ridge. He was about 6 feet in front of me at one point.

2. Flowers on the trail

3. More flowers

4. View of the mountains form our campsite at Marie lake

5. A little lizard on the rock

Mileage: 12.9/104.5

elevation: 7,900 to 10,504 +2990/-0, but we did drop 1000ft after bear ridge only to hike 1000ft back up towards Marie Lake

JMT Day 10: Vermilion Valley Resort

July 13, 2008

Yesterday was wonderful!!! It was fun to hang out with the guys we've been leap frogging with along the trail. Ok, really they pass me every day. I have even met some more people from Minnesota. I'm beginning to think that this is the year for Minnesotans on the trail. Oddly I haven't met anyone from California yet.

Last night, Mugs and shared a combo platter of protein. BBQ chicken, ribs, tri-tip, and a hot link. Not to mention the macaroni salad, baked beans and a slice of homemade peach pie. It tasted so good. I am so glad we split a plate because I would have never been able to eat that much.

We got to VVR around 2 yesterday and mostly just sat at the restaurant/bar until 10:30 last night. The resort is not what you would think a resort is. The "cabin" we are staying in has 4 sets of bunk beds and it's just a big tent with a wood floor. Reminds me a lot of girl scout camp. We shared a cabin with Alex and Justin and then two other girls, Jess and Kaylyn who we met yesterday. It was nice not having to pitch the tent and sleeping on a mattress, a very old mattress.

More hikers showed up throughout the day, including Bob and Andy, who we have met many times on the trip and ate lunch with on our way to Duck Pass. Bob and Andy thought we missed the boat since they didn't see us at all on the trail. Little did they know that as they were sitting in the rain waiting for the boat, we were drinking our free beer at the resort nice and dry.

Yesterday (Saturday night) after we were done eating we stayed at the restaurant/bar and talked with all of the hikers. This is just what I needed to recharge my batteries. In all my life I don't think I have ever sat with a group of guys and drank beer and talked. I've done this with women, but then again I know more women than men. Fun new experience for me. I had to step outside my comfort zone and experience something new. That's what this trip is about, doing something new.

Today, Mugs and I decided that we were not going to spend an extra night here. We decided that we will catch the boat around 2p and just hike the 2 miles out to the junction of Bear Ridge. This way we can get an early start and hopefully end closer to Muir Ranch were our resupply is.

My feet are getting better. I think taking the past 24 hours off has helped them. I won't know for sure until I start hiking again later this afternoon. Everyone we met last night took off this morning. Mugs and I are hoping we'll catch up to them eventually. I guess we'll just have to see. We have more uphill days ahead of us, but we can sneak in a few extra miles on the downhill days. But then again, it all depends on how we are feeling.

My attitude is still positive, although I have had my moments where I've wanted it all to be over. That's mostly because of the blisters I've had. The trail it's self isn't all that difficult. I probably won't do this trail again. I would like to come back and do some parts again, but not for 20 days. It gets a little long. I have fallen in love with hiking/backpacking and want to do more. I just don't want to enjoy nature for 20 days in one shot.

Well got to get my feet taped up so we can head out of here. Almost half way done. I'm hoping for less mosquitoes, but tougher elevation lies ahead...

8p: We finally left VVR at 4p. There were thunderstorms and rain so they weren't running any boats. Mugs and I only hiked the 2 miles to the junction. We'll be up early tomorrow and hike up Bear Ridge then hopefully get about half way to Muir Ranch. We are going to try and hike a few extra miles tomorrow since most of our uphill will be in the morning and the rest of the day will be down hill. Possibly an eleven hour hike tomorrow. It make me laugh when I start thinking about counting my days in the hours I hike rather then the mileage. Jess and Kaylyn said they treat every day like a job...thy only walk for 8 hours a day. I guess that wouldn't be too bad, but I don't think I would want to be out here for 30 days. As long as I can average 10 miles a day I doing fine.

As for me I feel refreshed. It was hard leaving VVR, but I'm also glad to be back on the trail. Mugs and I made a campfire tonight and we got a new book...a smut book. Ten chapters, ten days, coincidence? I think not. Ahhh how sisters bond on a 20 day backpacking trip...they read smut books...

Pictures:

1. Me in the "limo" heading back to the trail

2. Our campsite at the junction, our tent is the yellow dome in the back

Mileage: 2 miles/ 91.6 miles

elevation: not much

JMT Day 9: Squaw Lake to Lake Edison, Vermilion Valley Resort

July 12, 2008

On the trail by 7 and made it to the boat by 1p. Pretty good for a 10 mile day! We were actually lucky to get to the boat just as it was about to leave. Mugs an I didn't have to wait. We literally walked from the trail right onto the boat without stopping. We also caught up with Alex and Justin, who we have been leaping frogging with since Reds Meadows. We shared a campsite with them and got to know them a little. We also camped by them at Squaw lake. So it was nice knowing at two other people there. Our boat captain, Phil, told us that tonight is "protein night" and that we have the option of staying in a cabin with a bed for free. That's it for now. Time for a real shower and laundry.

Pictures:

1. Sam at Silver Pass (10,750 ft)

2. More Mountains from Silver Pass

Mileage: 10/ 89.6

elevation: 10,300 ft to 7,900 ft +450 ft/ - 2850 ft

JMT Day 8: Duck Pass to Squaw Lake

July 11, 2008

Today was another long, uphill day. We also got off to a slow start again. Mugs and I decided that we really need to be on the trail by 7am, otherwise we are sluggish all day. Well at least I am. My feet seem to be getting a little better. I still have blisters, but overall I think they will get better as time goes on. Today was not a good day mentally for me. We have been out here for 8 days and for some reason I just couldn't get into the groove today. I felt like I was walking through wet cement all day. It could be because I'm not eating enough and it's really starting to take a toll on me. Tomorrow we'll be at VVR so I'll have a chance to recharge my batteries and get some rest form hiking. I really do enjoy being out here, today is just a bad day. I also miss my doggie. This is the longest I've been away from her since I got her 7 years ago. It's weird not having her sleep next to me or by my feet. Probably the reason why I still can't sleep through the night. Well I'm going to bed. Mugs and I want an early start so we don't miss the boat to VVR.

Pictures:

1. View of squaw lake from our campsite

2. the mountains around us

3 More of the mountains

- the mountain pictures are hazy due to the forest fires north of us.

mileage: 9.3/ 79.6

elevation: 10,170 ft to 10, 300 ft +168 ft/ - 1,148 ft

JMT Day 7: Reds Meadow to Duck Pass

July 10, 2008

After a slow start (slept til 6:30a on trail at 10a) we made it to Duck Pass. Well almost there anyway. This morning we walked through part of the forest that had wild fires in 90's. I actually think it was the summer of '92 because we were on a family trip to CA and planned on going through Yosemite but couldn't due to fires. Anyway, back to my thoughts, it's hard to describe what it's like walking through the burnt wilderness. For me it was a very quiet walk just thinking how powerful mother nature can be. It was weird because when I was hiking through this area all I could think about was how I felt when I went to Oradour-Sur-Glane in France in 1995. (Quick french history, Oradour-Sur-Glane was a town that Nazi troops invaded in 1944, and killed 642 people. They then set every building on fire.) I know that these two fires are different...one cause by nature the other by humans...but it was still the feeling of being helpless and sad for the destruction that went on. I never knew I could be so touched by nature, maybe I really am changing throughout this trip.

We entered into the John Muir Wilderness today. We were previously in the Ansel Adams Wilderness since Donohue pass. All I can say is less mosquitoes then Ansel Adams, but more flies. I really wasn't feeling the best today either. I think it was because I ate a cheeseburger and chips last night and my body is 1, not used to "real food" and 2 I ate more in one sitting then I do in one day. Not good on the digestive track. I did use the facilities and felt much better by the time Mugs and I hit the Deer Creek. Since it was only 3:30p we decided to add another 5 miles and camp at Duck Pass. Four and a half hours later I made it. Not bad for an uphill journey. We are still a day ahead and Saturday night we'll be at VVR. YAY! I am so looking forward to that.

It's hard to believe that I've hiked 70 miles. My feet have seen better days, but I think they are getting better. My legs, back and shoulders aren't as sore anymore so I must be getting stronger...and my pack is getting lighter every day. I am also hiking at a faster pace. Today I was only about 5 minutes behind mugs. Maybe by the time we hit Mt. Whitney we'll actually be hiking together at the same pace.

Pictures:

1. aftermath of the fire

2. aftermath of the fire

3. one of the red cones. Also a volcanic formation

4. What I saw from the trail

5. More Mountains from the trail

6. The amber glow on the Mountains before bed

mileage: 11.6/ 70.3

elevation: 7715 ft to 10,170 ft +2455 ft/-0 ft

JMT Day 6: Garnet Lake to Reds Meadow

July 9, 2008

WE MADE IT!!! well only to Reds Meadow but we got a shower and went up to the resort and got a cheeseburger for supper and bought some snacks for the next 6 days. The hike was mostly down hill today so not too bad. We made pretty good time. Left at 8am and got to Reds around 4:45p. The last couple of miles we just flew, both of us were craving a cheeseburger and a shower. The water for the showers are pumped in from hot springs...a little too hot for my liking, but using soap and being clean was well worth the scalding.

We had the chance to hike through Devils Postpile on our way to Reds. Here's a little info that I got on Devils Postpile. "Fewer than 100,000 years ago, basalt lava erupted two miles upstream from today's postpile. The lava flowed into the valley and pooled to a depth of 400 feet. The mass of molten lava then began to cool uniformly from top to bottom.
As it cooled and contracted, stresses built up in the basalt rock causing it to fracture. Each crack branched when it reached a length of about 10 inches, joining other cracks to form a pattern on the surface of the flow. Under ideal conditions, surface cracks deepened to create the vertical, hexagonal columns you see today.
Some 10,000 years ago a glacier flowed down the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River and overrode the Postpile formation. The moving ice quarried away one side of the postpile, exposing a sheer wall of columns 60 feet high. Evidence of the glacier - the polishing and scratches of glacial ice - remains atop the postpile." In my words, it's a awesome rock/lava formation and should be seen by the naked eye. Rainbow falls is also in this area, but Mugs and I decided that cheeseburgers/showers were more important then hiking another 2 miles to the falls. Plus after being on the trail for 6 days, we really don't smell the best.

After looking at our itinerary, the rest of our days will be 10+ miles, but we are a day ahead of schedule. We are still shooting for lake Edison, VVR, for Saturday with a layover day on Sunday, but Mugs and I talked about it and I think we are going to sleep in on sunday and do a short hike Sunday night. This way we will still have some extra time to play with and possibly take it easy or cut down on mileage by hiking an extra day. We have an extra day at the end if we need it (coming off Whitney on the 26th) but I still want to summit on the 25th. Of course I'm also the one who wants to push it and try to get done on the 24th but logically thinking that won;t happen because after 10-12 hours of hiking my feet hurt and I'm also not the fastest hiker.

Pictures:

1: Garnet Lake with Mt. Banner in background

2: Devils Postpile

3: More of Devils Postpile in black and white

4: Bad Mugsy!

mileage: 13.4/58.7

elevation: 9680 ft to 7715 ft +0/ - 1970 ft

Elevation

I didn't explain my elevation very well. So I will be posting our starting elevation and our ending elevation. I will still post the plus (starting pt to highest pt) and minus (highest pt to lowest pt) since every night Mugs and I went through our elevation so we would know what or next day would be like and its in my journal.

JMT Day 5: Donohue Pass to Garnet Lake

July 8th, 2008


7p: It's been a couple of days since I've really taken the time to write. My excuse is that I'm tired. Which I really am and I've really gotten into the book I brought along. Mugs and I have been doing really well with getting up at 6a and on the trail by 7:30. We usually hike until 6p, so about 10 hours of hiking if you figure in the breaks we take during the day. Lately I haven't been sleeping through the night. I'm tired, but I still wake up two to three times. I just lay there and look at the stars. There are so many out here. It's surprising how much more you can see when there is no civilization. The only bad thing was that last night I could here airplanes all night long. We must have been in a flight path and being at an elevation over 10,000 ft probably makes a difference too.





Last night we slept on granite slabs about a mile below donohue pass. A wonderful experience and not many bugs. Always a plus in my book. Tonight is a different story. We are sleeping in a cess pool. The mosquitoes are so thick you can see them. We barely had time to eat and get settled before we were in the tent just to get away from them. Other then the mosquitoes we have some cool views of Banner Peak.





As for me, well I made it through day 5. Still liking the hike. Not what I thought it would be...I guess I really didn't know what to expect. My only complaint are the fact I'm covered in mosquito bites (deet is great but wears off, and the bear stole our other bottle so we are trying to make this one last), the blister on my right heal is getting larger, and I will lose the two toe nails on my right foot and possibly one on my left. But I'm a quarter of the way done! YAY I made it this far.





Tomorrow we are going to try and push for a 13 mile day. It's mostly down hill and if we can make it to Reds Meadow we'll be a day ahead, which means we can spend an extra day at Lake Edison, Vermilion Valley Resort, if we want. A day off is looking really good right now. It will also be nice to get out of my boots for a while and let my feet rest. I'm looking forward to eating real food also. Yes I know rice is real food but it gets old. Mugs and I also figured out that we are only consuming about 1000 calories during the day and spending about 3000. So we really need to get some more food or should I say higher calorie food. We have noticed that we are slowing down a bit and it's probably because we aren't eating enough. Now if I only had this problem when I'm at home I wouldn't have to worry about getting out to exercise.

Pictures:
1. Donohue Pass (11,060 ft) looking towards the northwest
2. Me in the snow on the south side of donohue pass
3. Mugs taking in the views of Banner Peak and Mt. Ritter
4. looking back at Donohue Pass
5. Banner Peak and Thousand Island Lake

mileage: 8.9 miles/ 45.3 miles
elevation: 10205 ft to 9680 ft + 855 ft/ -1420 ft