[pct-l] John Muir Wilderness (section H) good bad & ugly

[David Hough on pct-l]

In my ten year divide and conquer section hiking plan,
it was time to do the John Muir Wilderness from Paiute
Creek at the KCNP boundary to Reds Meadow.

I spent the night in Mammoth at the Motel 6 per PCT
Handbook suggestion.    I needed to leave my car at
the end of the Devils Postpile Shuttle, up at the Inn
at
Mammoth, yet I needed to catch the Crest bus to Bishop
at 8am.     I tried calling the Mammoth Taxi and, like
the other time I needed them, finally gave up and
walked.
Downhill without a pack took me about 70 minutes from
the shuttle parking back to the Motel 6.     I then
had
a very good breakfast at the Breakfast Club which is
right next to the McDonalds where you catch the Crest
bus.

The Crest bus was fine, full of hikers with big packs,
and dropped me off across from the Bishop USFS
station where I could try for a Wilderness Permit.
I naively hoped that showing up in person on a weekday
I could get a same-day permit for South Lake, but I
was wrong.     I had to take one for North Lake
instead.     This means that I didn't get a chance
this time to repeat my previous hike from Bishop Pass
trail junction to Paiute Pass trail junction over
Muir Pass.

So then I had to stand in the sun at Bishop City Hall
at the 395/168W junction.     This is a good hitching
spot in that cars are moving slowly and there is
plenty of room to pull over and pick you up.    While
I was standing there with my sign for Lake Sabrina
(close enough to North Lake) a woman came up and told
me that a guy had been standing there for a couple
hours the day before, and finally she'd taken pity
on him and told her husband to drive him up.     But
I was out of luck today because her husband was out
of town.     But fortunately after about 40 minutes
a hiker heading up to North Lake stopped and gave me
a ride and we had a good talk about his dating 
experiences living in Mammoth.

At VVR later I heard a useful tip for hitching - hold
some money in your hand to indicate that you are 
willing to pay.   It shows you are not a vagrant and
I was told it improves your chances of getting picked
up, even though most people wouldn't accept the money.

>From North Lake I managed to get over Paiute Pass 
11400' more or less OK and camped at Hutchinson Mdw.
The next day I got to the PCT at Paiute Creek.
I continued up and over Selden Pass to Rosemarie Mdw
and then the next day to VVR, hiking all the way
because I missed the boat, along with 5 other hikers
who misread a sign... which is now much clearer.

The guidebook shows the outlet of Marie Lake on H14
as perennial, but it was dry all the way to Rosemarie
Mdw.

Many of the southbound JMT hikers were avoiding the
awful switchbacks from Mono Creek to Bear Ridge by
taking the Bear Creek or Bear Ridge trails from VVR.
The VVR guys were giving rides to the trailheads for
hikers wanting to do that.

Going northbound from Mono Creek the next day I was
impressed by how unimpressive the dangerous streams
are in late August.    The Silver Pass Creek crossing
was completely dry, but one can see that it actually
seems to be built through the middle of a waterfall.
One of the advantages of section hiking is avoiding
the high water challenges.

I spent that night about a half mile below Squaw Lake
and had a bad night.   The next day I felt rather
weak and breathless going over the hills to Virginia
and Purple and Duck Lakes.     I camped at Deer Creek
-
and to my surprise it was the busiest camp area I
encountered, with several parties on each side of
the creek.    I discreetly camped a ways back on the
trail.     I staggered into Reds Meadow the next 
morning and drove home.

But I am still sniffly and achy and 
out of breath, even back
at sea level, and I will have to see a doctor next
week I think.    No altitude symptoms except 
breathlessness, no infection symptoms except sniffles.

But it may be that I have to really get serious about
ultralight now.     Having too much pack weight
might have been part of the problem.     That means
that if I am ever to finish the PCT I better get the
missing parts between South Lake and Horseshoe Mdw
done before I get any older or more decrepit.   I am
rather disturbed that I can't finish a five night
trip in perfect weather in good form.   

The good news medically
is that the plantar fasciitis that
finished me off last year was not a problem this time.


Disorganized photos are at 
 http://pcnst.oakapple.net/recent/
and may get organized eventually.

Disorganized plans are at
 http://pcnst.oakapple.net//future/


David Hough