John Muir Trail Journal: Part 1
Days 1-8: Happy Isles to Red’s Meadow
Northern Terminus! Whitney, here we come!
JMT Day 1 - 8.9.20
Happy Isles to Cloud’s Rest Junction (mi 6.5) // 6.5 miles +3,400 -300 ft
Our first day on the John Muir Trail! It has simultaneously felt like a long time coming and also a whirlwind. Unfortunately, both mom and I slept terribly last night in the backpacker’s campground. I definitely had a bout of nerves, but also people were so loud! And then a group came next to us at 2:00 shining their headlamps right at our tent. And I had to go to the bathroom a ton. I probably got 2-4 hours of broken up sleep throughout the night. Not the best way to start a trip, but oh well. At least I was hydrated!
We left the backpackers campground - which was relocated to Upper Pines because of the COVID-related campground closures - at 6:00 am and were on the JMT shortly after!
The paved trail to the footbridge over the river is always harder and steeper than I think it should be, so we were off to a slower start getting our legs moving with pack weight again. We decided to go the real JMT instead of the Mist Trail since we have been up the Mist Trail many times, and haven’t actually hiked UP the JMT. I really enjoyed the trail. It was nicely graded and had no huge steps unlike the Mist Trail.
The views were also really nice once above the trees looking at Nevada Fall, Liberty Cap, Mt. Broderick, and of course, Half Dome. It was already really hot though, even in the morning, and we were sweating a ton even though the trail was nice.
From left to right: Half Dome, Mt. Broderick, Liberty Cap
We took our time, not rushing at all since we knew we were only going 6.5 miles today. We took a lengthy snack break at the top of Nevada Fall, watching day hikers, runners, and backpackers all converge. After that, we walked to Little Yosemite Valley, and had lunch on a sandy shore of the Merced River. We soaked our feet and clothes and filtered water for the next chunk of the hike. Water is generally everywhere in the Sierra, but the JMT in this area can be a little dry. While soaking in the river, I saw a water snake! I’d never seen one before and it was super cool.
We took a final potty break at the Little Yosemite Valley composting toilets and took off up the trail towards the Half Dome Junction. This is probably the ugliest part of the whole JMT. Lots of dead & down trees, and super hot and dusty. The trail gains about 1,000 ft in 2 miles here, and we were tired after lunch, walking and then taking breaks in the shade at every opportunity we had. It was so, so hot. There were lots of Half Dome hikers coming down the trail. They always look at backpackers funny and I don’t think half of them knew what the JMT was when they asked where we were going. I was so happy neither of us care to do Half Dome again. And at the same time, every sight I got of Half Dome, I couldn’t believe we had gone all that way! Man, we were fit back then. But it was a hard day.
The trail flattened out after the Half Dome junction and we hiked towards Cloud’s Rest. There were some cool campsites with great views of Half Dome, but all were very exposed and it was so sunny and hot. So we kept going to the junction, where we were promised water from Sunrise Creek.
Once we arrived, I scoped the area out and found a tent site with trees and shade and with close access to water. We were sold. We set up camp, got water, and laid down in the tent to relax a bit. Storm clouds gathered in the distance and thunder rumbled, and we were content to stay in the tent in case some rain came down. The threatening clouds ended up breaking up with no rain. We had a bit of service and called dad really quick.
After our siesta, it was already 6 pm and time to make dinner. I was pretty hungry but we both had a hard time getting dinner down the gullet. Probably because we didn’t follow the directions so our dinner was a little off. After eating, we cleaned up and got ready for bed, which we were both excited for, given how tiring the day was.
JMT DAY 2 - 8.10.20
Clouds Rest Junction to Sunrise High Sierra Camp (mi 13.2) // 6.7 miles +2,600 -450 ft
We woke up early again this morning to get hiking by 6 am. We really enjoy hiking in the morning hours, so even though we had another shorter day, we’d rather get to camp too early than sleep in and deal with the heat. We paralleled Sunrise Creek the whole morning. We wove our way up through a burn area, with a few wildflowers and lots of prickly plants lining the trail. It was a gradual climb, but the sharp plants and the fact that I was hungry made it harder.
We ate breakfast near water ~1.5 miles from camp. We’re trying a thing out where we eat half a bar first thing in the morning, hike for an hour-ish and then eat a more substantial breakfast. This worked well for me today, so we’ll see if we keep it up the whole trip. The trail continued to gradually climb up. We broke above the burn area and had nice views of Mount Starr King and Mount Clark. Eventually we reached a great tenting area with access to Sunrise Creek and we filled our water, had some snacks and took a break. We chatted with a few other JMTers (our first ones of the trip) before heading out.
The next climb was very steep, gaining about 1,000 feet in just over a mile. We were doing ok, until a woman coming down the trail gave us the urgent information: Sunrise backpackers camp was completely dry, and there was no water until Cathedral Lake. The spigot was off and the creek that runs through camp was dry, and there was no water in the meadow. Luckily, we still had access to Sunrise Creek, so we hiked until the very top/ beginning of the creek according to the maps and gathered enough water to dry camp for the night and make it to cathedral the next morning. We now had the steepest part of the climb with our packs weighed down with lots of water. It wasn’t very enjoyable, but we eventually made it.
Once at the top of the climb we had even better views of Mount Clark, with big poofy clouds gathering above. We walked a little further to have our lunch, and by the time we sat down, those clouds had turned very dark and were gathering even more. Thunder rumbled soon after, so we finished eating and re-packed our things. This time it actually looked like it could rain, unlike yesterday. The thunder kept rumbling as we descended to Sunrise camp. The skies were so weird though. Tons of clouds, some were big, puffy, and white and this one was just a huge black swath over the sky. We never got any rain though. And there were amazing views of the mountains all around, particularly of Matthes Crest, Cathedral Peak and Unicorn Peak. They looked especially foreboding with the stormy clouds in the sky.
We made it to Sunrise shortly after and found a camp site to make home. I felt a drizzle, so we threw the tent up and got inside, but no rain after that. In fact, the sun came out and warmed us up. But then very quickly, the weather changed again, with the wind picking up and clouds rolling in. It drizzled a little again, and stopped again. The thunder in the distance never really let up and the clouds changed by the minute. Of course, when I left the tent to go pee, it started drizzling again.
With a break in the weather, we ate dinner, filtered water, and got ready for bed. We were back in our tent at 7:30, ready to go to sleep. It was really nice being back at Sunrise. My mom and I have been here before, 3 years ago in 2017 when we did our High Sierra Camp loop - our first multi-day backpacking trip together. Unfortunately a fire broke out that year and lots of the high country was covered in smoke in the afternoons. Sunrise included! So now, seeing all of the mountains that were hidden back then, it felt like a treat to be back and be somewhere familiar, but with brand new sights.
JMT DAY 3 - 8.11.20
Sunrise HSC to Cathedral Lake (mi 16.8) // 3.6 miles +650 -350 ft
We slept in this morning, not setting an alarm because we knew that we had a very short day ahead of us. My bowels woke me up earlier, but after taking care of business I was able to sleep for another hour. Mom felt nauseous overnight and still in the morning. We will keep an eye on it. Good thing it’s a short day.
We ate breakfast in camp after packing up, and then started walking. It was a very chill morning. Walking through Long Meadow, which is right next to Sunrise, and then starting the climb to Cathedral “Pass” - which is technically a pass on the map but I wouldn’t really count it as a pass. We took our time, enjoying the views of the mountains opening up again. The views around the top of the climb were really gorgeous. Cathedral Peak and the Matthes Crest and the Clark Range were just amazing to see from this perspective. It was a brand new sight for me. We met another SOBO JMTer - Sarah - at the top of the pass, and she was really nice. She might be moving faster than us, but hopefully we’ll see her again!
The descent was a little steep in places but mostly easy-going. The views of Cathedral Peak were really great once we were in Cathedral Meadow, and we had more great views right above the final descent to the lake, where we saw big, dark storm clouds hovering over the mountains in the distance. Just like clockwork, too, as it was a little before noon when we saw them. I like the clouds, but I hope we don’t have to contend with thunderstorms every day on our hike, especially once we move into the bigger mountains.
Rain in Northern Yosemite.
We found a nice spot on the south side of Upper Cathedral Lake and set up camp. The dark clouds were moving closer to us now. Of course, like the past two days, thunder rumbled, but no lightning, and no rain at all. We went down to the lake, sat there and admired it, soaking our feet, and then filtered water and rinsed some clothes. We ate lunch at our campsite - cheesy potatoes and hot Cheetos! What a great combo! And then went to the tent to lay down for a bit once the wind picked up.
Like yesterday, the weather could not make up its mind today. Windy, dark clouds, and cold one minute, sunshine, no breeze, and clearing skies the next. Our tent quickly became a hot box so we decided to go sit by the lake in our rain jackets to help with the wind chill. Eventually, the sun seemed like it would be out for a bit, so we HAD to jump in the lake. It was so cold and we got out basically immediately, but it felt really nice and we dried out on the warm slabs of rock jutting out in the lake.
After our dip, it was just time for more relaxing. I read a bit of a book on my Kindle app and just stared at the tent ceiling (lol). My phone has been draining battery faster than I remember it doing in the past, so I’m trying to conserve power. Then it was time for dinner and to watch the sunset. Of course, there were a zillion clouds in the sky all day, but when sunset rolls around they were GONE. Not a cloud in the sky. I was hoping for some firey clouds above Cathedral Peak for photos. Oh well.
Short days like these can be really hard for me because I just want to get moving. But I am trying to appreciate this time here because it is so beautiful. But it is hard waiting around just to make dinner, watch the sun set, and go to sleep. It always amazes me how days seem to fly by in the “real world” - 2 hours of watching tv or browsing the internet seems like 2 minutes. But out here, with no distractions, it can feel like DAYS. Even though it can be rough waiting, we have good reasons. 1. For Mom to acclimate better to the altitude and hiking, and 2. Our “real” JMT permits don’t actually start until the 13th from Lyell Canyon! We were able to win a permit via the new 2-week COVID lottery for happy isles - tuolumne, so we had to stretch out the days to keep our permits legal and legit. That means we’ll have another short day tomorrow into the Tuolumne Meadows backpacker’s campground for the night before our second permit starts.
JMT DAY 4 - 8.12.20
Cathedral Lake to Tuolumne Meadows Backpacker’s Campground (mi 23) // 6.2 miles +400 -1400 ft
As per usual when backpacking, my bowels woke me up first thing! We took our time getting ready this morning, as we had another short day that was mainly downhill/ flat ahead of us. Cathedral Lake was so beautiful in the morning. We savored our last looks at the lake and rejoined the JMT. I was on this trail back in September and it was exactly as I remembered it to be. It was a much more pleasant hike down to the road versus going up to the lake, as the trail is very steep in parts.
We had some enjoyable conversations on the trail, and today, overall. First on the trail, we met a very kind man - whose name we did not get, but he’s from Cincinnati - who was on a very special and emotional backpacking trip. We had some small talk and then he told us his plans to spread some of his young son’s ashes in the backcountry, to a place they had been together, years before. My mom and I got teary eyed with him as he was telling us. He was just so nice and I wanted to just give him a big hug! I can’t even imagine the hurt he is feeling, but I hope this trip can be a little cathartic for him. He told us his other son and a friend are hiking from kearsarge - Whitney to spread ashes on the summit as well. He was so encouraging and full of life talking about his love of backpacking and the mountains and telling my mom she’ll be great on the trail. We wished each other well, and headed back down the trail, still a little teary eyed. I know this trip with Mom is special. And I have a feeling this man was wishing it was him & his son hiking the JMT instead of the trip he was on. I’ll be thinking about him every day on this trip.
Soon enough we were at Tioga Road! We walked the highway to the visitor center, where I hoped there would be charging outlets, but my hopes were dashed by the ranger who said she watched countless other backpackers circle the building looking for outlets. We still took advantage of the flush toilets and the ranger also informed us that the forecast would be clear for the next few days in terms of thunderstorms.
We kept walking until we got to the campground. The actual car camping area is closed for the summer due to COVID, but the park kept the backpacker’s area open, thank goodness! Since our JMT permit begins tomorrow, 8/13, we were able to spend the night in the backpacker’s campground tonight, the day before. This campground is so nice, especially compared to the normal Valley backpackers campground! This one seems so much bigger and each site has a picnic table and fire pit and food locker! And we had access to flush toilets and trash cans. Everything we could hope for! No outlets though.
After setting up our campsite and completely emptying our backpacks, we ate lunch and chatted with a NOBO JMTer - letting her know about the lack of water between Cathedral and Sunrise Creek - and then walked to the wilderness center, where we left our resupply box on Friday. Thankfully, everything was there and no critters got into the box. We also found outlets in the bathroom at the wilderness center! Score! We set up all of our things to charge on the sink counter in true hiker trash fashion.
After some time relaxing, a JMT NOBO couple came up, wanting to use the bathroom. We ended up chatting with them for so long! Their names were Pollyanna and Eric and they were such a joy. They were headed for Cathedral Lakes tonight and finishing tomorrow! We congratulated them, absorbed their stories from the trail, and I waxed poetic about the PCT in 2018 - as they had it on their radar to do in the next few years! It was so fun talking with them. We really met some great people today.
After they left, we washed our socks in the sink, like true hiker trash, and waited a little longer for the charging to be done. When it finished, we packed everything up and walked back to camp, where we spread all of our food out and contemplated our appetites. We think we have too much food. Mom has a hard time eating a lot on trail, and I have too many favorite snacks. We are going to try splitting all breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for this next stretch to Red’s and probably to VVR too, to see how our bodies do with that amount of food. We’ll probably be carrying extra, but I don’t want to ditch too much yet just in case we take longer than planned, as Mom is nervous about being able to make miles. Good thing everything still fits in the bear canisters, since that is the limiting factor for food.
After organizing, we ate dinner & pampered ourselves with the lotion we packed in our resupply, and got ready for bed. Of course, there is a super loud group at the campground. I’ve gathered from their loud talking that they just finished their trip and it’s someone’s birthday. I wish they drove down to the Mobil Mart to celebrate instead. I also heard another hiker tell them they are starting their trip “really early” tomorrow. But I guess these people are very dense. Hopefully they shut up soon, as we too will be starting early tomorrow.
JMT DAY 5 - 8.13.20
Tuolumne Meadows to Lyell Fork (mi 34.4) // 11.3 miles +1,900 -300 ft
Today started out a little rough but ended great. I was so annoyed in the morning because I’ve been diligent about taking my nightly Benadryl and morning Claritin to avoid allergies and post nasal drip, but I threw up phlegm this morning and just felt slightly nauseous for a few hours into the day. It must be a genetic thing because my mom is also having post nasal drip and allergy issues. I feel like I have not ran into anyone else with these kinds of allergy issues. It’s not fun to wake up to and deal with. Also, it was so cold overnight and in the morning, and I continued to be cold for most of the morning, until the sun really came out.
Luckily, the beginning of the day was very easy. We were hiking up Lyell Canyon, which is essentially flat/ slightly uphill for many miles, following the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River up to its headwaters. I was taking it very slow, even hiking with my puffy and wind pants on. Eventually, I started feeling better, and it started to warm up. Lyell Canyon is gorgeous, but also very monotonous. So not much to talk about the hike for that part, but we did see a herd of 7 male deer which was cool! And we crossed paths with many NOBOs and other section hikers. Did not see a lot of SOBOs though! But we did meet a really nice PCT section hiker named “Beat’s Working” (haha). He’s doing Truckee - Kennedy Meadows South! The weather was also super weird today. Very clear and sunny in the morning, then the clouds picked up, but not storm clouds, just darker clouds that blanketed the sky. When the wind picked up we were sure it would rain, but it never did.
Of course, with all of the flat trail, the uphill comes at the very end of the canyon, as you start climbing Donohue Pass. We were aiming for a supposedly very pretty campsite at the upper Lyell Fork, which we made it to! The uphill was slow going for both of us though. I had to put on a podcast to help me through (thanks Backpacker Radio!). Of course as I was ascending, nothing looked familiar from the PCT. I think this is going to be a theme for the trip, so I should just give up on trying to remember things.
Looking down on Lyell Canyon. The river is so windy.
At the top of the climb, I was waiting for Mom to catch up and a couple walked down the trail. We chatted for a bit and introduced ourselves and it was Joe “Stringbean” and his wife Katie “Squeaks”. Like the Stringbean!! AT FKT holder! They were so nice and mom said I was embarrassing when I found out it was him. But hey, he’s famous! At least in the thru-hiking, ultra-running communities. They were aiming for the same campsite as we were, so we said “see ya later” and kept walking.
When we got to camp it was so gorgeous. We poked around looking for a spot, not wanting to set up right next to people, but we ended up doing so anyways since it was the best spot. After doing some chores and eating dinner, we talked with Stringbean and Squeaks and our other neighbor, Jackie. We are all doing the full JMT, though I’m sure Stringbean and Squeaks will speed ahead of us after today. We might see Jackie a lot more though since it seems like we’re hiking the same pace! It was a really fun group and we talked about all sorts of things. Like Jackie played beach volleyball against Misty May! And has a tiny home in Baja and surfs all the time! She is so cool haha. It felt nice to socialize with other hikers amidst this odd summer. We talked until after sunset and then all went to bed. It was a great ending to the day!
JMT DAY 6 - 8.14.20
Lyell Fork to Thousand Island Lake (mi 43.2) // 8.8 miles +1,500 -2,000 ft
Woke up to a very windy morning at camp. It was also dark and cold and I didn’t really want to get moving until it got lighter out. Eventually, around 5:45 it started getting brighter and we finished packing up and got moving. I started the hike in my rain jacket, wind pants, balaclava, and fleece gloves! It was cold! I removed each piece one at a time as we kept climbing. The climb truly wasn’t so bad. It was super pretty at the beginning, seeing the sun rise and the alpenglow on the mountains. When we reached the highest Lyell Fork crossing, we ran into a hiker we met yesterday: Steve. Steve has tons of camera gear and was therefore the perfect person to take a pic of me and Mom in front of Mt. Lyell. I’ve never had a better picture taken by a stranger. We kept climbing up to the very top of Donohue Pass, and after about 2 hours, we reached the top! It was so gorgeous up there. Even better than I remember from the PCT.
I turned airplane mode off to get some service in hopes of calling Red’s Meadow to get a room. Unfortunately they didn’t have any available for Sunday night. We’ll maybe call tomorrow and check again when we get there for cancellations. We’d really like our own room after all these nights in the tent! Since we had service we called Allison & Dad and caught up with them. After calls, Stringbean and Squeaks caught up with us and we chatted some more, most likely for the last time as they are on a much quicker schedule than us. We love them! They are such nice people. I hope I run into both of them on another trail in the future.
We continued our descent, with tons of NOBO hikers passing by, and took another break to eat our larger breakfast. Jackie caught up to us on this break and we chatted some more. I think we’ll be on a more compatible schedule and might see her more! After our many breaks, we really got going downhill. It wasn’t too exciting, and I didn’t remember any of this trail from the PCT. We took another break at the Rush Creek Trail Junction with a nice, big flat rock and logs over the creek to soak our feet. It was really hot and our feet were feeling the heat. We chatted with Steve as he passed us, and started cold soaking our lunch. We also took advantage of the cold water and dunked our hats, buffs, and hiking tops into the creek to wear for the next climb up to Island Pass. It was a great idea since there was hardly any shade on the trail.
Once we got to the top, the wind picked up. We found a sheltered spot to eat, and then continued towards Thousand Island Lake. We were still deciding where to camp, but after the 2 miles, decided we didn’t want to go to Garnet Lake, which was another 2 miles away. We turned onto the trail towards the camping area and it was just... annoying. It was hot, we were tired, it was so windy, I needed to poop, and the camping options were proving to be difficult to find - lots of off trail exploration was needed. Which is fine, but not when you’re tired haha. We finally found a somewhat wind protected site and proceeded to take forever to set up the tent due to said wind and some boulders in the way. After we finally got everything done, we just sat. We were exhausted, even though we didn’t hike as far as yesterday.
After laying down for a while, we finished doing chores and setting up camp, and eventually made some dinner while the sun set. A super nice ranger paid us a visit and it was fun talking with her. She has been working with Guthook guides specifically in the Ansel Adams Wilderness to add waypoints about camping info - like at Thousand Island, Garnet, Ruby, and Shadow lakes, and taking away illegal campsite info. She seemed really awesome. We wished we could have talked with her more.
After that, it was off to bed! Thankfully the wind died down so our tent isn’t flapping all night. We have to push a bigger day tomorrow to put us right outside of Red’s for Sunday. Hopefully we have it in us!
JMT DAY 7 - 8.15.20
Thousand Island Lake to Minaret Creek (mi 56) // 12.7 miles +2,000 -4,000 ft
Thankfully the wind stayed away overnight and in the morning. It was a little cool in the AM but we packed up quickly and began the walk back to the JMT. The sunrise and alpenglow on Banner Peak was stunning, so I stopped to take many pictures along the way.
The theme of the day was lakes! The PCT & JMT split at Thousand Island Lake, so this was my first time doing this part of the trail. The PCT goes high up on a ridge, while the JMT stays lower. The first climb and descent of the day brought us by Emerald, Ruby, and finally Garnet Lake. Garnet was so pretty. It did look like it was harder to find camping though, so I’m happy with our earlier stopping point. The second climb brought us away from Garnet Lake and down to Shadow Creek and Lake. The climb wasn’t too bad, and we ate a breakfast at the top, but the descent was long. At least it was pretty! We had some views of the Minarets halfway down. We also saw lots of other hikers during this portion: weekenders, day hikers, and some NOBOs. There were so many dogs too!! We pet all of them. We miss our puppy.
Beautiful Garnet Lake.
The Minarets looking stunning. Can’t wait to come back and hike to the lakes near there.
At the bottom, we sat by Shadow Creek, filtered water, had a snack break, and when it was time to leave, we dunked our tops, hat, sun gloves, and buffs into the creek to get them nice and cold for the steep climb up ahead. The climb was grueling. Constant switchbacks up the side of the mountain overlooking Shadow Lake. We saw two sets of trail runners who were doing 30 mile runs that day (casual). Jackie also caught up to us during the switchbacks and passed us. It was a hard climb, but we did it! Near the top was Rosalie Lake and then Gladys Lake. As we were leaving Gladys and finishing the last 100 feet of the climb, we heard the biggest boom of thunder. Of course. Thankfully, we didn’t see lightning, and it wasn’t raining, so we kept hiking, knowing we were about the descend soon. The top of the climb was anti-climatic with no views, but I didn’t really care about that at the time. The goal was to descend. We caught glimpses of some mountains towards the Eastern crest and could see the storm clouds moving that way, away from us. We were relieved and kept on going down.
We ran into Jackie where she decided to set up camp at a small pond, and kept going down. The descent was not scenic at all, just a lot of downed trees and no views. I guess the trail can’t be beautiful all the time! We did have some service though and again called Red’s to see if they had any rooms available and they didn’t. We kept hiking down, and down. Our feet and ankles and minds were tired, but we had every intention of making it to Minaret Creek for camping. We needed water and wanted to soak our feet. We finally got to camp around 5 pm and had our biggest day yet on trail! All of the descending made one of my toes angry and my ankles a little sore.
Once we got to camp we just sat around for a bit, tired from the day. We had cell service so we used that a bit too. We then did chores and had dinner. Once we were in the tent going to sleep, it actually started raining! We never heard any thunder, so looks like it was just a rainstorm. It didn’t rain too hard, but just enough to cool the air down and make the earth smell fresh.
Red’s Meadow is tomorrow! Our second resupply and first chance to take a shower and do laundry. We’re pretty excited.
JMT DAY 8 - 8.16.20
Minaret Creek to Red’s Meadow (mi 59.3) // 3.3 miles +350 -800 ft
We woke up at our normal hour because we wanted to get to Red’s Meadow early to start on the “town chores”. There is an opportunity for an alternate when you get near Red’s Meadow, and it is to Devil’s Postpile, a really cool rock formation. Since I didn’t do it on the PCT and Mom had never been before, we decided to take the alternate! It was really cool to see and I’m happy we did it. We got to talk to quite a few families who were just out for the day. A surprising amount for 7 am, but apparently this place has been getting super crowded.
After taking pictures, we continued hiking to Red’s Meadow. Soon enough, we could smell breakfast, and we were there! We chatted with Lauren, another SOBO hiker we met yesterday, who was able to get to Red’s last night and was already heading out! Then we wandered over to the main area, and immediately ordered breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon! Mom and I shared and it was so delicious. While we were waiting for the breakfast to cook, Mom went into the store to see if there were any last minute cancellations of a room. And there was!!! What good luck! We couldn’t believe it and were so happy we got to sleep in one of the hiker rooms after 7 nights in our tent. We also got access to outlets for charging and just so much space to lay out our resupply and get re-organized. After scoring a room, we were in great spirits, and had no more time anxiety about getting everything done & having to find the campground and stuff.
Eventually Jackie came in, and another hiker, Nick, and we all shared a table and chatted for hours. I got a milkshake for lunch, which was amazing! Once it was time to check into our room, we all dispersed. Jackie had a friend meeting her for the next section, and she left to continue hiking that evening instead of paying for a campsite. Mom and I got all of our stinky laundry together and washed the clothes, and took showers. It was so satisfying getting all the grime off my body. I used so much soap! While waiting for our laundry to finish, we vegged out in the room, taking advantage of cell service.
After laundry was done, it was time for dinner. I really wanted the pastrami special of the day, but they were out, so a cheeseburger it was! We also ordered a slice of berry pie. Everything tasted great! We ate with Nick, who is such a sweet guy! He’s from Iowa and lives in Denver, which sounds pretty typical for Iowans looking to leave Iowa. After dinner we went back to the room and organized our resupply. Overall, we packed too much food. So typical for the average JMTer. We thought we’d be more hungry, and I was thinking about my PCT levels of food intake, but we’re actually sharing all of the meals right now and are fine. So we had to make some decisions and throw some food in the hiker box. We probably won’t make any more culling decisions until we get to MTR. After all the chores, we FaceTimed Allison & Dad (& Riley) and then did a full body stretch from Peloton (we miss the instructors!) before heading to bed.