Today I entered the Mokelumne Wilderness. What is the Mukelumne Wilderness? I’ve no idea. Just another word I can’t pronounce. I define the Mukelumne Wilderness as the place where I don’t have to walk on lava rocks.

The big bonus today was crossing Carson pass early in the morning. There is a trail head parking lot with a staffed information station and, oh yes, pit toilets. My morning constitution did not have to involve digging a cat hole. After I got out of the toilet, a couple of forest people showed up to open the information station. They gave me some snacks and asked about the hike. Love a little trail magic in the morning.

Then it was a walk down the highway and back on the trail.

This was some pretty landscape. Lots of lakes and easy walking. In the afternoon I had a special treat. I ran into Trash Panda! Hadn’t seen her since Mojave. She had skipped the high country as well and was Southing it now to finish up. She said Joe Dirt and some of the others had also skipped bits but were going to finish this year. Good for them. She let me get a picture.

I made it to Highway 50 and a place called Echo Chalet (mile 1092). Soho was there handing out trail magic beers. I hung out with him for a bit. Before I left I grabbed a couple breakfast beers and I noticed he had a big bag of Chili Cheese flavored Fritos. Nabbed that too. Then headed out. The sky was darkening and it looked like a storm might be coming.

Boy did it.

I walked the dam at Echo lake, the the trail follows a rough granite perimeter around the lake. Further I walked, the darker the clouds got. Then the rain hit. I met a couple southies that would later hook up with Soho for a ride into a warm stay at South Tahoe. Meanwhile, I walked through a torrent of rain and thunder.

It was getting late (7:00) and I was not going to make any of the campsites that were on the map. Was having a hard time even using my phone app because the moisture screws up the touch screen. It was time to improvise. I saw that on the North shore of the lake there is a public phone, apparently for the folks who live on the lake use this to call for water taxis during the summer. I figured/hoped there would be some kind of shelter there since I was running out of options so I headed down the side trail.

There is a little wooden shack with a phone in it. I jumped inside, warmed up, made some dinner. I was thinking about sleeping there, but the rain finally stopped for a bit. I setup just outside the door. I left all my wet stuff in the phone shack to dry. Managed to get some to sleep and stay reasonably dry that night. Got lucky on this one.  

Here is a pic of my storm shelter the next morning

I didn’t take many notes on this day.    The goal was to crank out some miles and the scenery was a little dull after I left the volcanic section.  

Did 24 today and I could have pumped a few more miles.   The weather was good and I didn’t get the usual Sierra Monsoon in the afternoon.   Maybe my luck will hold for a few more days.

Cows. Cows running around everywhere. Each with a bell on their neck, clanging away.

Most of the time I could not see them.   But they are out there. On the one occasion I caught some in the meadow

I ran into a few cowboys with their dogs. They were heading out to round up some of their herds and get them closer to the loading chutes. I was asking about the dogs. They said they use the horses to set the general direction for the herd and the dogs work the perimeter to keep them all bunched up. I wonder how they train them to do this.

I got through the last fence and entered an area of old lava flows. Made for some interesting change of scenery. This stuff is pretty old so the trail was not bad to walk on. Most of the loose stuff had been weathered down.

There were a bunch of mixed lava / rock balls that had rolled down the hills over time. They make interesting set pieces.

Somewhere along the trail I ran into some old friends. A Swiss couple that I first met South of Big Bear. They had earned the trail names of Gilligan and Mongoose. I recalled that they had done some mountaineering in the Swiss Alps and were carrying some pretty sophisticated looking equipment for snow and ice climbing. Well, it turns out that they did a bit of the Sierras in early June and determined that it was too sketchy. They bounced up to Washington and southbounded from there. It was good to see they didn’t mindlessly push through.

I found a nice spot near a stream and solo camped for the night. I decided to take it easy for a while, going to try to keep to 20 mile days.

A couple of hikers turned up last night to join us in the bunk room. One guy is a young math teacher from NYC named Taco Cat. I asked him about his name, he said I should think about it first then ask him. I filed that one away and thought about it taking a shower the night before. It spells the same name in reverse. Typical math geek stuff. He is hiking southbound.

The other character is a Hispanic kid named Kickback from San Bernardino. Oh boy, this kid is a riot. He decided to northbound somewhat on a whim in June. He didn’t bother researching much or agonizing over his gear choices. He just got a big pack and stuffed crap in it. The funniest thing he is carrying is one of those 7 pound mesh chairs you might take to a cookout or a parade. He said REI wanted $10 for a lightweight camp chair, so he just went to Walmart and bought this thing for 15 bucks. He has been humping the monster since Campo.

Kickback is meandering up the trail taking his time. When he was near Mojave, he called his buddies and went to Six Flags to ride roller coasters. Later he came out of the Sierras for a resupply and spent 5 or 6 days at a hostel doing odd jobs and smoking an ounce of pot some guy gave him. He is starting to get semi-serious about mileage and is planning to reduce weight soon. No way he is going to get out of California this year, imo, but I think he will eventually turn into a hardcore hiker some day. He just has a great attitude.

We all had breakfast together. Afterward I organized my food, bought some extra, and setup for the last segment. It will be a 140 mile carry to finish. Most folks resupply in South Tahoe, but I’m going all the way to through. I need all 7 hiking days to finish this by September 15. Fortunately I can dump this bear canister / boat anchor. I’m going a bit light on food, I figure hunger will be a good motivator.

Soho ankle is bothering him again. He says he’ll get his resupply in the afternoon and, if he feels up to it, will leave later and catch up. I know his heart is not in it. He is done. I will finish this hike as I started it.  Alone.  It feels somehow appropriate.

I packed up and headed out to the highway. It took 30 minutes to get a hitch. Nice guy heading up for some day hiking. When I got dropped off, a couple of older guys who are doing a few days hiking came over to ask for help finding the trail. I recognized their car, it passed me earlier when I needed a hitch. Thought about rubbing that one in their face. I got them on the trail, then accelerated away. It was about 11 in the morning.

The trail is mellowing out as I head into the Tahoe area. The amount of vertical is the same, 3 to 5k feet over ~20 miles, but the grade is generally easier. Good place to make miles.

The weather continues its usual rhythm. Blue skies in the morning, clouds roll in early afternoon. Then some thunder and a shower or two. The worrying thing is that the cycle seems to be starting earlier each day. I’m hearing from other southbounders stories of being caught in nasty weather. It all depends on which pass or valley they are in. Some get pummeled others get a few drops. I hope I get lucky.

Ran into the Czech Bam Bam who I last saw in Beldon 45 days ago. He made it up to Washington, then flipped back to do the Sierras. Got a picture this time. Gave him Soho’s number since I’m pretty sure Soho will be hanging around Mammoth over the next week.

There is a stretch of cow pasture I need to travel through starting at mile 1033. I stopped a couple miles before that to camp.

Oddly, a couple of southies showed up about the same time and we camped together. Leafy and Bull frog. We were swapping stories well into the night. These guys had a good one about 4 days ago when they first met.

They ran into each other on an exposed ridge in a thunderstorm. Lighting was hitting all around them so they jumped off the trail and scampered down a ridge line. They spent the next couple hours huddled under a tarp next to a tree until the storm passed. Guess they did some bonding.

Bull frog has been hiking with his buddy Old Bum who is somewhere behind them tonight. He figures I’ll run into him tomorrow.

Did about 13 miles today. It is a solid start.

Got a picture of our campsite. Notice the no camping sign. Heh.

Today it is 18 miles to Sonora Pass and dinner at Kennedy Meadows North. There was a short descent then the first bridge crossing I’ve seen in a few days. I think this may mark the end of creek fording for the rest of the hike, thankfully.

Sonora Pass is a high point for the highway 108, but conversely a low point on this section of the trail. After crossing the bridge, there is a huge climb past the Emigrant pass trail junction and the boundary of the Emigrant Wilderness. I believe this intersects one of the routes folks took in 1840s/1850s with their wagon trains to California. Talk about brutal travel. I can’t imagine what it was like hauling wagons through here.

The climb up follows some seasonal streams that run off a huge bowl of high mountains. It is steep, but not a shear climb. There is an enormous amount of water that flows through here during the snow melt. Took a picture on one of the many creeks containing the tree wreckage from this years avalanches and snow melt. Most of these uprooted trees still had green pine leaves on them. It must have been something to see.

At 9500, the trail left the last of the trees and continued up over a barren landscape. The climb was mellow, but the winds are fierce up here. Here are a series of pics showing the switchbacks. It is a little hard to identify, but a couple of the switchbacks follows a 5 foot wide road. It doesn’t look like a forest service road…..I think this might be some of the original wagon trail they cut 150 years ago.

Over the first crest, the trail continues ascending along a ridge the borders yet another huge bowl to the next valley below. It slowly ascends and curves about 180 degrees, starting due North, curving South, East for a while, then back to due North. The freaky thing about it is the wind. It enters the valley below, then spills over the crest so for hours I’m blown by 20-30 mph wind that is ALWAYS perpendicular to my course of travel. It is freaky.

In the valley below, you can see the whole Sierra cycle of life in a single glance. It starts with a high barren rocky bowl. Water flows down to high barren lakes, which then flow into alpine wet lands and meadows. That drains off to more meadows and lakes where the trees start to grow. Finally it lands in an even bigger lake or reservoir (not sure which) and then a bigger creek/river which will end up in toilets of all the peoples along the coast. Neat….well except for the toilet part.

Finally over the ridge at close to 11k, there were a few snow fields to cross on the descent. I started running into hikers going the opposite direction. A few PCTers, but mostly weekend backpackers and day hikers. They are sparkling clean.

I made the 108 junction at 4. Soho had passed me somehow during the trip and was waiting there with a dude who offered to take us into Kennedy Meadows. Apparently Soho thought I was ahead of him and hiked faster to catch me. He finished about 1.5 hours ahead.  I wish he would stop doing this.  It is not good on the body to hike this kind of distance outside your ideal pace. There is a reason experienced thru-hikers preach “Hike your own hike….” Well, it worked out good for me at least. My ride was waiting.

We got into Kennedy Meadows North and were put up in their bunk rooms for $35 a night. Nice digs. This place has a huge pack station. Soho figures there are a 100 head of mules and horse in the stock camps. The place has primitive cabins, huge areas for RV’s/horse trailers, and plenty of tent camping. Seems to be a popular spot for folks to bring their horses.

The cafe served up great ranch-style chow and their store is well stocked. I picked up my resupply box and started sorting things out. Soho’s box is not there (of course). He is trying to figure out what happened (again). I might be hiking solo tomorrow, but for now all is good. I’m back in my groove again.