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September 25, 2003

Trans-Sierra: Physical Summary, Part II

I spent 3 days and 4 nights at Evolution Lake. The first day I ended up just taking a walk around the W side of the lake where I met two gentlemen lounging at the side of the lake, in heated discussion. I immediately joined them and had a very enjoyable conversation. We jumped rapidly from idea to idea over topics like, society, money, backpacking, happiness, religion, history, etc... We talked for a good many hours after which I explored some of the knolls around the lake before dark. The next day I planned on climbing 'The Hermit'. I didn't feel hungry in the morning, so I forwent breakfast, a bad idea in hindsight. I set out with a little water and 2 cliff bars. It ended up being a lot more difficult, both physically and technically than I'd hoped. I found myself in exposed situations climbing lose technical terrain, when what I'd hoped for was a difficult hike. At the top, I was rewarded by amazing views all around, but I also ran out of water. The hike back was brutal. I tried taking a different, safer route, but it ended up being just as difficult and technical as the climb up. Once off the Hermit I still had to climb another ridge before getting back to Evolution. By the time I got back, I was completely wasted. I quickly drank as much water as I could, but only ate rice for dinner as my appetite just wasn't there.

The next day I decided to do nothing but read, write, and relax. It was another good day.
The next day I moved on, hiking down to Evolution canyon, past McClure Meadow, where I had a nice chat with a ranger, and down towards the Muir Trail Ranch. I camped a couple miles from the intersection of the Piute Pass Trail and the JMT.

Finally, I made it to the hot springs, but not before having to ford a good river. The hot springs were not as hot as I'd hoped, but I met two really nice guys who I ended up camping with that night. We stayed up late and talked about things like astronomy, divorce, work, wandering, and more.
Monday and Tuesday I made my way from the Muir Trail Ranch, over Seldon Pass, and camped just before the last 1000' climb. On my way I ran into a young Canadian PCTer. He'd been on the trail for 3.5 months and had another 1-2 months to go before he reached Mexico. He'd grown up just a couple blocks from the PCT trailhead in Canada and vowed to do it someday. Just after graduating from HS he started out. He seemed very normal for a solo PCTer. Later that day, I ran into two dads and their two kids. One of the dads was a Philosophy Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. We all talked for a long time about Tom Wolfe, Jack Kereuac, the Merry Pranksters, my book idea, wandering, etc... At this point, I was only one day's hike from Lake Thomas Edison, my final destination. The PCTer and the group I met later told me what they said was an easier way there. After the 1000' climb they said I should take the Bear Ridge trail and hiking directly to VVR (Vermillion Valley Resort) on the other side of Lake Edison, instead of hiking down 2500' of switch-backs and taking the ferry across. Wednesday morning I started out on what I thought would be a short last day of hiking. The ridge trail ended up being WAY longer than the traditional way. Anyway, I covered over 10 miles and stumbled into VVR at noon. VVR is much less a resort and more like a glorified shack. One small building housed a tiny store and a tiny cafe. There were 'tent cabins' where the hikers slept. These were large military tents just big enough to hold the 4 bunk beds in each (8 beds total). They did have a shower that I took advantage of, and a washer and dryer which sat outside.

Anyway, I stumble into the one main building where a nice lady gives me my free beer (through hikers get a free beer and a free night). She asks where I'm headed and I tell her this is my final destination. She asks if someone is picking me up and I tell her that I needed to get to Fresno (3 hours away) somehow, where my sister-in-law would pick me up. She immediately offered to drive me there on Friday morning when she needed to go there anyway. This would definitely be a portent of the hospitality of all the people at VVR.

I was famished for real food, so I went to the small cafe where the chef was sitting alone watching a movie. Stan, the chef, is an amazing man whose done so much in his life. He was a professor of philosophy at Berkley in the 70s (I believe). He has a PHD in psychology. He's been a horse trainer and a personal chef for rich families in Beverly Hills. Anyway, he offered to make me his special burger. It was amazing! It was at that point that I realized the food would all be amazing, but very expensive. Sometime that day, one of the employees hinted that some hikers offered to work off some of their food. That night after eating steak for dinner I found that I was the only hiker there, so I had a 'tent cabin' to myself. The next day I offered to work. First they had me sort recycling with another one of the employees. Then I split wood for hours. I ate lots of good food throughout the day. While I was working, they said I could just take drinks and snacks from the shop. I grabbed a couple, but didn't take advantage of the privilege. All day I talked to the various employees who were all very interesting. Each had an interesting story and philosophies on life. That night, I found I had a tent mate named cliff. He ended up being a pretty religious Catholic, but he wasn't judgmental or overbearing at all. We talked for hours and hours about religion especially, but also life and work. Friday morning, I went to settle up and they generously gave me all my meals and stay for free, even though I ate quite a bit of food. In the afternoon, they generously drove me to Fresno. There, Rachel met us and we drove through Yosemite home.

While it was a fun trip and I had an excellent time, it was great to be home!

Posted by wonko at September 25, 2003 11:43 PM

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