Beagle & crew return from the JMT

To all of our readers & followers- This is an incredible story from Paul about his journey. The triumphs & tribulations of the trail, and of a commitment with friends to stay together as a team. We’re sure you will enjoy this incredible account from Paul, in his own words;

The trail is never easy. Exciting? Yes. Gorgeous? Absolutely. Challenging, fulfilling, and many other adjectives I can list. But easy is not one of them. If you ever watch videos of backpackers and their hikes you typically see smiling faces, scenic vistas they walk past the camera to uplifting music.  And that is fine, I do enjoy them at times too. But the real experiences on trail such as hours of steep climbs, sucking wind at altitude, the lack of sleep from a failed air pad, or contemplating your life choices during a sudden hailstorm on a peak, happen between those perfect scene takes; rarely do creators show their low points. I admire those that do since not all hikes are successful. But all are educational; you come away with something every time.  My journey to Mount Whitney, with 4 good friends on the John Muir Trail was definitely the longest, hardest trip I have done. It was definitely worth it. But I’ll reveal a spoiler: we didn’t make it to Whitney.  And I’m one of those creators that shares what I experience, with no sugar coating or fancy music. This is my story.

Our prep began in Mammoth Lakes where we stayed for 4 nights to help counter any altitude effects having come from near sea level. I did this last attempt and it definitely helped avoid issues. We spent the days doing long day hikes in the area. The sights we encountered were landmarks like Mammoth Pass, the Red Cones volcanic peaks, Rainbow Falls, Minaret Vista and lots of walking around town which itself lies above 8000 feet.  Our hotel, the Mammoth Mountain Inn, was above 9000 which was even better. As a result there were no symptoms for the entire trip.
Being in town gave me an opportunity to pass out a little “Trail Magic” in the form of Challenge Coins from The Rugged Outdoorsmen. The coins were to be gifted as a thank you, as motivation, or congratulation to other hikers that had an impact on me. In our pre-hike stay I gave out two coins. The first went to a PCT hiker dubbed “Commissioner” who had just completed mile 900 of her journey from Mexico to Canada. She was very forthcoming with some stories from the PCT while we waited for a bus together. The one story that impacted me the most was that of the excessive heat they experienced a few weeks prior in the southern desert.. one hiker had lost their life to the heat and another was critical in the hospital. The will and determination to continue even after a tragedy and still with the ongoing heat was moving. Commissioner’s face lit up when I presented her coin. I really hope she makes it to Canada.  
My second coin went to “Steph”, a biologist from Hawaii who I had met on our bus ride from Reno. Our schedules were similar for the acclimation in town and she joined our group for a few dinners while we got to know her. Steph was hiking northbound (NOBO) and also hiking solo. Our paths would most likely cross again since our 2nd half would be SOBO. I gave her a coin for motivation and asked if she would take a photo on Mt. Whitney when she reached the summit.   Unfortunately she forgot to take the photo but Steph did complete the entire trail, and we are still in touch to this day!
The plan for our hike was to start at Devils Postpile National Monument and hike north to Happy Isles trailhead in Yosemite, the northern terminus of the JMT. We would then take the bus back to Mammoth Lakes and start south for the rest of the trip from Duck Pass, and finish the trip by climbing Mt. Whitney and then out Whitney Portal. A different method of doing the trail, yes. But it gave us good resupply options and a day off between segments.
Day 1:
Devil’s Postpile to Tent Site
Leaving Devils Postpile the terrain was challenging, but the weather was perfect. All of us felt strong and healthy but our mileage suffered from the beginning since we had to wait for the YARTS shuttle down to the trailhead. Once we got to the JMT the trail was mostly in forested areas with periodic views over a valley and some water sources. It was also mostly uphill for the day. Johnston Meadows was a mosquito breeding ground so we kept moving. There were only a handful of other hikers that crossed paths with us the entire day. We stopped a few miles short of our intended goal of 14 miles but had a campsite with a view- complete with some alpen-glow at sunset.

Day 2:
Tent Site to Rush Creek Camp
We started from our tent site and worked our way towards Shadow Lake.  On the steep switchbacks I turned my ankle and Scott stepped on a loose rock, falling off the side of the trail and sending some talus tumbling down the incline.. Thankfully he didn’t roll and that there was no one on the trail below us. Scott did jam a finger and his knee in the fall. Eventually we arrived at the highlights of the day – Garnet Lake and Thousand Island Lake. Both provide spectacular views of Mt. Banner and Mt. Ritter peaks, an iconic landmark captured by Ansel Adams in several famous photographs.  After climbing over Island Pass we made our way down into a campsite on the Rush Creek drainage and set up for tackling Donahue Pass in the morning.

Day 3:  
Rush Creek to Tuolumne Meadows
We woke at 4 am again, to be on trail by 6. This was now becoming our routine to be hiking as soon as there was enough light to see. The alpenglow on the peaks above Rush Creek didn’t disappoint, and once we were up on the approach to Donahue Pass the sun’s brightness had exploded.  Went through several rounds of sunblock on the 3.5 mile climb to Donahue.
We stopped briefly at the pass for photos then began our descent down into Lyell Canyon.. an 8-mile long gouge in the earth that must be the Grand Canyon of California. We were officially in Yosemite National Park at this point.
We started with temps in the 50/60s but once down the canyon we were hitting upper 80’s.. definitely warm. We stopped for lunch on a rocky bank and soaked our feet in Lyell Fork creek while we ate.. but this was fresh glacial melt from further up by the pass so there had not been any warming to the water at this point.. and I could only keep my feet in for about 30 seconds before having to pull them out. Our goal was Tuolumne Meadows backpackers camp.  After a long, 16+ mile day we hit the Grill and partook of much low-guilt, high-calorie burgers and such. With our stomachs full we set up our tents at camp but I returned a couple times to the general store and grabbed some more sugary snack goodness! Interestingly, there was a pay phone here, something that has all but disappeared from my end of the country.

Day 4:
Tuolumne Meadows to Sunrise Creek area
We left the Tuolumne backpacker camp right after first light and got back to the JMT via Cathedral Pass trailhead. On the way up I found a natural white blaze in a rock, bringing tidings from the AT on the opposite coast. The climb to Cathedral Lakes and Pass was a steady grade up but nothing too steep. Scott had been feeling a little ill and would later end up sick to stomach.. unsure if it was food, heat or altitude but it would plaque him for the rest of the trip.  
We stopped at the turnoff for Lower Cathedral Lake and were talking with a couple other hikers. I looked over my left shoulder and observed a large coyote standing on the trail looking back at us. After a moment he moved across the trail, paying us no mind, and disappeared into the woods.  The wildlife is amazing out here,  no immediate fear for humans unless you get close to them. This applied to marmots, deer, coyote and bears. (bears come in at a later date so stay tuned). A little while later, on a ridge, I was bathed in the shadow of a Golden Eagle flying above.
Strangely we only saw a handful of hikers all day, and none coming up from Yosemite. It was strange because we expected a bunch of the lottery permit holders to be coming up from the backpackers camp. There had been a fire near half-dome the day before so maybe that had something to do with it? A few did pass us later in the day.  This stretch also was scarce on water, we had to scoop from a stagnant small puddle near High Sierra Camp. We chose a tent site in dense forest, 50 feet or so off trail and close to a creek.  
After dark we had some excitement.. something loud hit a bear can, drawing Paul K out of his tent to bang on trees to scare away whatever was messing with the can. Turned out to be acorns falling from the pines.  In the wee hours of the morning we had a very large tree fall in the forest, and yes, it definitely makes a noise. It was close enough to feel the ground shake beneath me.

Day 5:
Sunrise Creek to Yosemite Valley and Mammoth
This was by far our longest day of the hike.  About 6 more miles than we had planned.. we had extra miles in the valley since the shuttles were not running and we had to get from the trailhead to the Yarts bus.. as well as find lunch.  
Before leaving our camp I tried to find the tree that fell overnight but it must have been farther from camp and there were already many fallen trees around- no way to tell how close it really was.  We followed the trail and creek down towards Yosemite.  The first significant landmark was the old burn scar.. the forest was recovering with small trees , grass and brush but the broken, burnt ‘matchsticks’ of the dead trees still dominated the landscape.  
It was not an easy downhill; once past Nevada Falls the trail became very rocky and steep, and we had to traverse or go around a couple rockslides that had been roped off.  It also became hotter, and somewhat humid, the farther down we went. The heat was taking a toll on the masses of day visitors we passed coming up the trail and many were not ready for the climb.. one visitor had collapsed and was being tended to by rangers and medics, and we passed the waiting ambulance at the roadway a quarter mile below.   Temps reached 97 this day and we felt every degree.. there was no relief except for the shade during our lunch at the Pizza Deck in Curry Village.. but only what relief the shade would provide. The heat was still there.  Once we walked to The Village to catch the YARTS bus, there was an air-conditioned cafe that we sat in until it was time to get in line for the bus.
The bus ride back on Tioga Road to Mammoth was pretty scenic as well.  I think we missed some of it as we all pretty much passed out for a while after getting on the bus.  Yosemite Falls was almost dry and El Capitan was majestic but closed to climbers due to the heat.  The tunnel was pretty neat. We passed Tuolumne Meadows again and I was tempted to hop out and grab a burger. They were unfortunately closed 🙁  It was a long day but we were glad to be back in Mammoth for a day off before heading on our southbound section

Day 6:
Zero in Mammoth Lakes
We slept in a bit, which meant like 6am instead of the normal 4am. Even though there was no trail today we had a big to-do list to prep for our re-entry to the trail. We went to the mountaineering/camping store to grab fuel and some miscellaneous items, ate lunch downtown at The Warming Hut (which was pretty damn good food). And DOGS. Man, there were tons of dogs around today and I took a few pics where I could. It is at this point of my trip, and managing my video footage, that I messed up.  I was dumping all video from the GoPro to the Amazon cloud so i could start with all blank SD cards. It had run overnight so in the morning I deleted all files from the card. It was not until after the trip that I realized 3 of the days’ footage did not make it to the cloud storage.  Eventually I would spend several hundred dollars in recovery companies to get some of the footage back. It was enough to create my videos but I lost the end of multiple dialogue videos. Lesson learned.
A quick trip to the Vons grocery store where we picked up sandwiches for dinner before hopping on the Lakes Basin trolley to take us to Coldwater Campground.  I had reserved the closest tenting site to the trailhead in order to shave time getting back on trail the next morning. Turned out to be a good choice, lots of room and only a couple hundred feet from the trail.  We set up camp, enjoyed our sandwiches, and hit the sack early.  Overnight we found out that the water pressure in the latrines and water spiggets was on generator power, and that had been turned off at 9pm.  Made for an interesting night.. and my eyes were a little yellow in the morning.  We were feeling good and rested though and we were ready for the next stage of our trip.

John Muir Trail Day 7:
Coldwater Campground to Cascade Valley Trail
We started Duck Pass Trailhead early with overcast skies foreshadowing rain later in the day. This was my 2nd time going in through this pass and it was just as beautiful as the first.  We took the pass pretty easily, I guess we had our trail legs by now. Surprisingly the early morning sun made for more dramatic photos over Duck lake and down into the valley we would be following.  Soon the clouds were building and rumbles of thunder could be heard in the high peaks. Eventually lightning was popping in the peaks around us and we donned our rain gear.  
The rain hit us before we made it to Purple Lake. I spotted a small group of hikers hunkering down in a copse of trees and we joined them to escape the brunt of the rain. Storms in the Sierra Nevada are COLD!  The air temp drops quickly, and the rain and hail that falls will chill your body even through your rain gear. We had our lunch while waiting out the storm.  
Once the clouds cleared and we felt safe to come out of the trees, we climbed past Purple Lake and up to beautiful Lake Virginia.. and in the time it took to filter water and wait for Paul K to catch up to us.. the storms had built once again and were threatening to open up with another torrent.  We high-tailed it another mile to just short of Tulley Hole where there were some tenting spots. We did not want to continue and get caught exposed on the switchbacks down into the basin.  We set up the tents and all took a rest while the storm rolled over us.  Lucky we did, this 2nd storm lasted over 2 1/2 hours and delayed us even more for the day.  We decided to pack up the tents wet and continue on a few more miles since we still had some daylight left. On the way down the long switchbacks we spotted what may have been smoke rising from the ridge above Fish Creek.  Very likely may have been a lighting strike but once we were in the drainage we could no longer see it to confirm.
We opted to stop at the Cascade Valley trail junction and camp where Brian and I did on our previous trip.  It was a great site with room for all 5 of us.  The rushing water of Fish Creek nearby was the perfect white noise we needed to get a good night’s sleep.

Day 8:
Cascade Valley to Vermillion Valley Resort
An easy 11 mile day turned into a 14.6 nightmare. We had a couple-mile climb up to Goodale Pass which was a turnoff just before Silver Pass, the route I took in 2018. Goodale was the alternate recommendation from many on the FB groups due to the lake being dry.. but for us, it turned out to be a bad choice.  
While Goodale Pass Trail had beautiful views of deep blue lakes the pass was a very steep climb, both up and down the other side. Lots of down pressure caused the worst blister under my foot I have ever developed while hiking. The trail eventually descended to a forested section where the temps climbed and the bugs were thriving. The last 4 miles was a hellish landscape of burnt trees, ash-covered ground and rain-cut gullies. This was the northern section of the 2020 Creek Fire, one of CA’s largest on record. It was only preventative measures that saved VVR from the fire; backburns and forest cutting saved them. The heavy storms the day before had washed the trail out in so many places that we were constantly finding ourselves off trail and had to pull out the gps to find it.
Eventually we made it into Vermillion Valley Resort. Our crew had reserved one of the tent cabins, an A-frame style tent with 6 beds.  We got showers, a hearty dinner and our resupply repacked into our bear cans.  
This was where our adventure nearly came to an end;  with a couple of the group having trouble keeping up and one with an injured knee, some mention of bailing was discussed. We slept on it, and by the next morning everyone’s morale was raised to the point that we decided to continue on.

Day 9:
Vermillion Valley Resort to Bear Creek
We had aimed at putting in a 12-14 mile day. That didn’t happen. A few things were working against us. First, we needed to eat breakfast (very hearty) at the resort before waiting on the shuttle to take us to the trailhead, 2.5 miles on the other side of the lake dam.  We didn’t get dropped off until 8:30 am which put a dent in mileage right from the get go.  The second obstacle was the Bear Creek trail itself, a 6 mile climb from the lake level up to the JMT.. one that proved to be more challenging than we expected. At least we were headed back into the John Muir Wilderness.  We were all warm and  were lucky to have the creek accessible most of the way- and it was very scenic; however one of the group kept overheating due to the exertion and having over-dressed so I had to insist they take off some of their coverings to allow some heat dissipation.  He had way too much stuff going on.  Furthermore, Scott’s knee was still problematic and was actually getting worse; I could tell because he was not taking photos and doing things a hiker would normally do on breaks – but he insisted on continuing. Once a Marine, always a Marine!
We eventually made it to the John Muir Trail again, having bypassed a dry 6-mile stretch due to the resupply trip to VVR.  Our search for a campsite brought us to a spot a few miles short of Selden Pass, with plenty of room for all of us.  With some feet-soaking in the creek and a hearty trail meal in our bellies, we got some well deserved rest by hitting the tents before dark.  We were set up for Selden Pass early the next morning.

Day 10:  
Bear Creek to Muir Trail Ranch
We broke camp early once again climbing up towards Selden Pass.  Only a mile into the hike we were totally swarmed by mosquitos, the first time on the whole trip. We had a few here and there but this was pure hell. We stopped to apply bug repellant which turned out to be futile.. it was like they were eating it for a snack off our skin and clothing! We just kept moving to minimize the damage and eventually got out of the thick of it.
We stopped at Marie Lake to filter and fill up on water, and was very scenic. Especially from up on Selden Pass where I met up with Kelly from Tuolumne Meadows. I gave him a Challenge Coin up on the pass for his kindness back at the grill.  This would be our last time seeing him. We passed through another section of forest before crossing Sally Keys Lakes, a twin body of water that was again candy to the eyes. Past Sally Keys was a very long dry section including several miles of exposed downhill switchbacks.  The sun took its toll on everyone and the downhill finally did my ankle in for the last time.. I rolled it and it immediately swelled up inside my shoes. I had not trouble walking on it but the ligaments were so stretched out that I figured this would be the norm for the rest of the trail.
Finally made it to Muir Trail Ranch after a long day and retrieved our resupply buckets. We repackaged the food into our bear canisters and hiked down towards the hot springs to find a campsite at the rear of the backpackers area. We unknowingly picked a spot next to a family of Mono Native Americans that were doing their annual journey over the Sierra Range, usually from Mono or Paiute pass and took several days to get across and meet up with others at a big native gathering at Mono Hot Springs near VVR. They were a fun and friendly group to socialize with. Little did we know that they would play a big part in the next morning’s events.
After eating dinner, all finally decided that it would be best to leave the trail as a group. Even though I and a couple others may be able to continue, some didn’t feel comfortable navigating to Florence Lake and trying to find transportation out to Fresno. I also did not like the idea of continuing on with hikers (including myself) that would be in a 6-day stretch of no easy exit points when already in a degraded mode. We would hike out to the Florence ferry the next day and get the shuttle that my wife had arranged a pickup with.  
The rest of the evening was spent chatting with another hiker, “Hannah” from Minnestoa, who had wandered into our camp while looking for other hikers from her trail group.  We ended up talking for a couple hours. When I offered up a Challenge Coin to her whe was already familiar with the coin tradition as she was an Army Veteran who used to work on helicopters. The coin made her day!
Thus ended our last day on the JMT, but the excitement was still yet to come.

Day 11:  
Muir Trail Ranch to Fresno
Interview With A Bear…(If you know the reference, put it in the comments!)
The day began, as all other days began.. early. But that is where the similarity to other mornings ends. I need to set this up with some background story so here goes.
Our campsite near Muir Trail Ranch was shared with some very awesome native people, a family of around 10 from a Mono tribe who were on a trip through the mountains to meet up with others at Mono Hot Springs. Usually they bring in gear and food on pack horses but circumstances this year didn’t allow the animals.. so they were short on food. Seeing that we just resupplied with food we were not going to eat it only made sense to offer ours up.  Needless to say, they ate well that night. Even the kids were celebrating with all the candy bars and other goodies we donated to them. This worked in our favor as well since we would not have to carry as much hiking out. Win, win.
Fast-forward to this morning.. I awoke in the pitch black and heard Gary exit his tent before me and head up the ridge for a morning relief. I also heard some shuffling behind my tent from the direction of another hiker who we had not met.  I pulled myself together, got dressed and exited my tent.  Now I typically keep my headlamp on the lowest setting, especially first thing so I don’t blind everyone else, but also since I am not fully awake right away.. but there was enough light to see the reflective tape on all the bear canisters stored a few yards away from my tent site, behind some logs on the ridge slope.  I also then noticed Gary’s lamp glow not far from the cans, but blocked by the large tree trunk he was hiding behind. More shuffling from towards the cans.. I guessed the hiker was retrieving his can for breakfast.  I looked that way and saw some of the reflective dots go behind some small tree trunks toward his tent but then stop.  Weird.  Ok, moving on, I started gathering my items and packing up for the day. Sleeping back, air mattress, camera equipment, dang.. that hiker keeps moving around a lot.  I look back over to the logs and see the reflective dots again moving around but didn’t think much of it.  
A few minutes later I finished getting things packed in my backpack there was a commotion nearby within the Mono tribe tents. I heard the elder (I’ll call her the grandmother) yell out startled then call out to the elder male (grandfather) in their native language and I hear the grandfather start to yell out as well.  Not knowing exactly what was going on I was getting ready to walk over to see if they needed help or if I needed to intervene in some dispute when grandmother yells out “BEAR COMING YOUR WAY!”  
My brain, at the time, didn’t register the word ‘BEAR’ immediately. It took a few seconds before I jumped out and hit the turbo on my headlamp.  Shining it over to their tents I tried to spot the intruder but to no avail.  Turned out he was a stealthy one. I looked around the camp but with the darkness, tree trunks and some low branches he might as well have been wearing camouflage. I figured the bear had probably ran off towards the creek or to the ranch, both away from the ridge and our tents.
It wasn’t but a few more minutes when I spotted movement over by the unknown hiker’s tent. I repositioned towards our bear cans to get a better view around a couple trees and came pretty much face to face with a medium sized black bear not more than 10 yards from me.  He stopped mid-trot, turned to look at me with his silver-green laser-beam eyes shooting back from my headlamp.  I yelled at the animal, he didn’t move. At this point I was not afraid but actually thrilled to be having the encounter.. adrenaline was coursing through my veins full-pump so I took a few quick steps and closed the distance towards Yogi and yelled a little louder. This time he must have sensed my movement and took off at a run uphill. He stopped up high and gave one more zap at me with his laser eyes. He then turned and disappeared for good.
Right now you are probably thinking we got lucky. In reality, this was a classic encounter with a 4-legged furry. The bear did everything a bear does, while I (and the others) did everything that a human should do in a bear encounter: stand your ground, then yell or scare them off, throwing items if necessary. I would not suggest anyone ever move towards the bear but with my light blinding him in the dark he probably didn’t even register that I moved closer to him. I just got more aggressive as I did and he decided to bail out.
One regret is that I didn’t have the quick thinking to grab my go-pro for some footage. The whole encounter only lasted a matter of minutes and it wasn’t a priority at the time. Anyways, I’m thankful for the experience, not many hikers get to meet wildlife up close like that, and this is only my 2nd closeup with a bear… ever.  The 2nd issue, in hindsight, is the fact that we gave all that food to the family. I’m pretty sure they did not have any bear canisters, at least that we saw. If they had them in the tents we didn’t know.  Either way, leftover food was probably being kept by the family and that is what attracted the bear to her tent in the first place. And the shuffling I heard behind my tent? In hindsight I now know, was the bear sniffing around my tent and our bear cans.  The moving reflective dots was actually the bear’s eyes; I was just not awake enough to realize and my light was not enough to resolve the bear moving behind the trees. I know this because the other backpacker was never out of his tent!  And, to make things really hilarious, our bear cans were only about 15 feet from the tree Gary was squatting behind, and he never knew he was being compromised by a bear!
The rest of the morning went quick with no further signs from Yogi once the dawn’s light started to break. We spoke with the tribe elder before heading out and found out they were also headed for the Florence Lake ferry, so we would probably see them later in the day. We would definitely beat them there but we had a lengthy wait for our shuttle to Fresno.
Florence Lake Trail followed the contour of the ridgeline but we made several switches between the trail and the jeep trail that the ranch uses to bring in the off-road vehicles with supplies and hiker buckets.  The whole hike was 5 miles and took about 3 hours. Once we reached the lake we had to pick up a radio-phone and contact the boathouse on the other side of the lake. We did so and sat down to wait for the ferry. It ran on a schedule so we had some time to rest.
I had a lot of mixed feelings at this point of the day; my conscience was second-guessing my decision to leave the trail but at the same time I was relieved to see my hiking partners no longer suffering from the various ailments that we had developed over the last weeks.  Before long the ferry pulled up and took us and some other hikers to the Florence Lake store on the other end where we were to partake of some ice cream, a different 4-legged furry to pet on, and glorious, GLORIOUS cans of soda!   The shuttle eventually arrived and took us out to Fresno via a very winding, bumpy road which went through a large area of the Creek Fire last year. It was sombering seeing the devastation to the forest and human structures. It took us over an hour to get through the burn area itself. Once in Fresno we stayed overnight and caught the YARTS bus back to Mammoth Lakes. This time we snagged an AirBnB condo for a few nights until we got flight plans changed and were able to find a private shuttle company to run us back up to Reno Airport. (The ESTA was completely booked for several days). One chance encounter at the airport was pretty cool, we met and flew with a PCT hiker, “Voyageur”, who is a double-triple crowner, and then some. What that means is, he has completed the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail, all TWICE. And he is still hiking them some more. It was amazing just to be in his presence!
Well, that is my John Muir Trail story in all its detail. Was it hard? Yes. Gorgeous? Yes. All the other adjectives? Yes. But even though I didn’t finish this year I am not calling it a failure. In the words of John Muir himself, “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks”.  And it is so true. I received 15 days and 136 miles of friendship, comradery, problem solving, and sharing of incredible sights with 4 of my good friends. Nothing can trump that.  Besides, the JMT will be there next year and Whitney can wait.
Until next time, keep your boots on the trail and your sights on the summit!
Happy Trails,
-Beagle

Paul Cookson

Thanks Paul, from all of us.

You can follow Paul @beaglesbackcountry