Campsite on a Stream to Glen Aulin Backpacker Campground
Today started just like other days on the trail. We all woke, packed our bags, ate breakfast, and were ready to hike just before 7:30 AM.
We have just under 11 miles to hike to get to Tuolumne Meadows and meet up with Tim. We know there is a snack bar there, so we are anxious to get there in time for lunch.
Luck for us, the 11 miles are mostly following this incredible Meadow, so the terrain is pretty easy with no hills to climb or descend.
Luck for us, the 11 miles are mostly following this incredible Meadow, so the terrain is pretty easy with no hills to climb or descend.
Check out this cute ground squirrel. They stand up on their hind legs and then make a whistling noise to warn the others...so cute.
Right at 10:00 AM, 2.5 hours after starting our hike, we are halfway there.
We were doing well. We had about 5.5 miles to go and figured we would make it to Tuolumne Meadows by 12:30 PM. Then, things started going bad for Brad.
He wasn't feeling well, he had very little energy. We stopped and discussed all the options. One, he could continue on with us and ignore the symptoms; two, he can come off the trail, recuperate, and get back on where he gets off and lose us as hiking partners; three, he gets off the trail, recuperate, and get back on the trail where we are and continue hiking with us.
After a discussion he decided on three. He will take the bus back to Mammoth Lakes and stay with Tim and then have 10 days to get better and join us back on the trail in Lake Tahoe. Once the decision was made, things were better and we continued hiking. This meadow is so gorgeous.
He wasn't feeling well, he had very little energy. We stopped and discussed all the options. One, he could continue on with us and ignore the symptoms; two, he can come off the trail, recuperate, and get back on where he gets off and lose us as hiking partners; three, he gets off the trail, recuperate, and get back on the trail where we are and continue hiking with us.
After a discussion he decided on three. He will take the bus back to Mammoth Lakes and stay with Tim and then have 10 days to get better and join us back on the trail in Lake Tahoe. Once the decision was made, things were better and we continued hiking. This meadow is so gorgeous.
We made it to Rafferty Creek bridge, 2.6 miles from Tuolumne Meadows, when we met up with Tim. He shared shares some cherries with us and then we were ready to get going. Because Brad wasn't feeling well, him and Brad traded backpacks.
1.4 miles out from Tuolumne Meadows there was a PCT sign.
There was a fork in the trail that went to the Tuolumne Meadows Campground that Tim said was the faster way to the general store and cafe, but it would cut off 1.6 miles of the PCT. Him and Brad went that way, and Share Bear and I continued on the PCT. With this kind of scenery, we made that right decision.
At 1:30 Share Bear and I made it to the general store. Tim and Brad were already there.
There must have been at least 30 hikers there, both PCT and JMT hikers. One of the hikers here was 007, the British guy who Barbra and I met on the second day on the trail. He got a couple of stress fractures on his foot, so he went home for a few weeks to heal and then returned to the trail. It was amazing seeing him. His visa runs out 17 September, so there is no way he will be able to make it all the way to Canada, but he is going to continue hiking and get as far as he can.
There is a post office here that many hikers use for resupply. We are lucky enough to have Tim, who brought our resupply with him on his motorcycle. We spent the next 3 hours socializing, eating, drinking Gatorade, and repacking our bear canisters with 5 days worth of food.
Just after 4:00 PM, the Mammoth Lakes bus arrived, so we hugged and said goodbye to Brad as he boarded the bus. Then said goodbye to Tim as he hopped on his motorcycle, and Share Bear and I took off back to the trail.
It was 4:30 PM and the next campsite was 5.8 miles away. We had some hiking to still do. At this point, we left the JMT behind and are now hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail as it cuts through Yosemite National Park.
There is a post office here that many hikers use for resupply. We are lucky enough to have Tim, who brought our resupply with him on his motorcycle. We spent the next 3 hours socializing, eating, drinking Gatorade, and repacking our bear canisters with 5 days worth of food.
Just after 4:00 PM, the Mammoth Lakes bus arrived, so we hugged and said goodbye to Brad as he boarded the bus. Then said goodbye to Tim as he hopped on his motorcycle, and Share Bear and I took off back to the trail.
It was 4:30 PM and the next campsite was 5.8 miles away. We had some hiking to still do. At this point, we left the JMT behind and are now hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail as it cuts through Yosemite National Park.
During the hike to the campsite we met Swede and Irish, a couple from...well...you can guess. We also met Pinot and Pirate, a couple from Napa, California. Between the socializing and the scenery, the miles went by pretty fast.
All was good and then there were sections of the trail that looked awesome, but were awful to hike on:
Less than 3 hours from leaving Tuolumne Meadows, we arrived at Glen Aulin backpacker campground. This place was awesome with running water and a really nice solar powered, compost outhouse.
We setup our tents next to a weekend hiker, Kristin's tent. Kristen is a nurse that just out-processed from the Army reserves. As we were eating dinner together, Stork joined us. Stork is a midwife, but has practiced nursing/EMT all over the world. After the hike she is returning to Chad to help startup a medical clinic. She has been to Chad before, and during dinner told us some amazing stories of her time there.
After dinner we brought our bear canisters to the bear locker and used the amazing bathroom before hitting our tents. I convinced Share Bear that we should wake at 6:15 AM tomorrow since I was tired and could use the extra 15 minutes of sleep...so nice.
We setup our tents next to a weekend hiker, Kristin's tent. Kristen is a nurse that just out-processed from the Army reserves. As we were eating dinner together, Stork joined us. Stork is a midwife, but has practiced nursing/EMT all over the world. After the hike she is returning to Chad to help startup a medical clinic. She has been to Chad before, and during dinner told us some amazing stories of her time there.
After dinner we brought our bear canisters to the bear locker and used the amazing bathroom before hitting our tents. I convinced Share Bear that we should wake at 6:15 AM tomorrow since I was tired and could use the extra 15 minutes of sleep...so nice.