Another early morning for us. Don't know whether it is by design, or just group dynamics. It seems to work well for us, though. Up early, on the trail early, into camp at a decent time and to bed early (some times by 8PM!). Today I was up about 5:40. Everything (fly, tent, sleeping bag) was wet or damp with no hope of drying before we hit the trail. Not to worry, though. A few minutes of sunshine either at lunch or once we get to camp and everything dries out really quickly. I was up once during the night and it was a beautiful starry night. By the time the sun came up, though, some low clouds had moved in. I would have preferred clear skies, but there was a certain mysterious beauty to the cloud-shrouded peaks.
Since we had a resupply last evening, we ate really well for breakfast this morning - English muffins, back bacon, tomatoes, eggs & cheese. Despite our best efforts we had lots of leftovers, so Katie took them in a sack and played trail angel. She gave the bacon to the first person we came across. Soon after that we came across a mom & 17-year-old. Seems mom underestimated how much a teenager would eat on the trail and this kid had been starving for many days. It wasn't a hard sell to leave all of our remaining leftovers with them. He reluctantly let me take his picture but I can tell you he was one happy camper.
Down, down, down we continued - knowing we would have to gain it all (and more) back before the day was done. We passed by Grouse Meadows on our way to the junction of the Middle Fork Kings River (Le Conte Canyon) and Palisade Creek.
This junction would be our lowest point (8113') until the other side of Mount Whitney. Once across, we started going up - gently for the first while. We stopped for a break at a campsite, soaked our heads in a creek and pumped some water. Hard work, this going uphill............. When we resumed, the uphill got a little steeper. Some great views, though, up the valley, toward some waterfalls and back down the valley from whence we had come. Here's a sampling.....
We stopped for lunch on a big bare rock just below the Golden Staircase. The Golden Staircase was completed in 1938 and was the last section of the JMT to be completed. We'll do Mather Pass in our customary two-day approach. Up the Golden Staircase today, camp at Palisade Lakes and then complete the ascent of Mather Pass tomorrow morning. The Golden Staircase is a tight series of switchbacks up one gully, then traverses to another gully to complete the climb. What you see below is the first section of the Golden Staircase. If you're able to zoom-in, you'll see three hikers about halfway up. It really is an engineering marvel. Hopefully this gives you some sense of the scale of the scenery we walked through everyday!
Here's another shot with those same hikers just a few steps further along.
Next, it was our turn to get on the staircase. The next few pics are of the switchbacks and the view out from the climb.
We encountered a quite a few trail workers slaving away on improving the trail. What a tough job! They were doing some blasting as well. We heard the blast during our lunch break - what a noise & echo that made!
Once we got up the worst part of it, the grade leveled out a bit and the views were wonderful.
Eventually we came to Palisade Lakes - our home for the night. Katie, who was in the lead today, was waiting for us by the lake when I got there and was kind enough to point out that our campsite was just up the hill - ugh! Totally worth it, though.
Stats for the day: about 10 miles, 3240 feet up, 1540 feet down. Elevation at camp - about 10,700'.
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