“Mountains seem to answer an increasing imaginative need in the West. More and more people are discovering a desire for them, and a powerful solace …
Read moreJohn Muir Trail Day 10: Kearsarge Pass to Guitar Lake
What is adventure? If a lone wolf lifts his plaintive call into the moonlight near your campsite, you might call that adventure. While you’re sweating …
Read moreJohn Muir Trail Day 9: Marjorie Lake to Kearsarge Pass
“Camp out among the grass and gentians of glacier meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of Nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good …
Read moreJohn Muir Trail Day 8: Grouse Meadows to Marjorie Lake
“Bears are made of the same dust as we, and they breathe the same winds and drink of the same waters. A bear’s days are …
Read moreJohn Muir Trail Day 7: Colby Meadow to Grouse Meadows
“Somebody ought to tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit every …
“When we get out of the glass bottle of our ego and when we escape like the squirrels in the cage of our personality and …
Read moreJohn Muir Trail Day 5: Silver Pass Lake to Marie Lake
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own …
Read moreJohn Muir Trail Day 2: Tuolumne Meadows to Thousand Island Lake
On the first day of my John Muir Trail experience, I hiked from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows. There was a thunderstorm that brought quite a bit of rain, but the day was still a glorious one.
Julia and I arrived in Lone Pine at 1:30 AM on July 8. We had originally planned to arrive much earlier, but had our work schedules change at the last minute. This didn’t allow us to leave Southern California until 10:30 PM. The marquee for the Dow Villa Motel drew us in from the long drive on highway 395, and we quickly checked in and proceeded to our room. Before attempting to go to sleep, we went through our packs one last time to ensure we had all of our gear ready for the 225 mile trek that stood before us.
I just returned from an incredible two weeks on the John Muir Trail. Julia and I hiked 222 miles from Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal, climbing 47,000 ft of elevation, and got to enjoy Yosemite National Park, Ansel Adams Wilderness, John Muir Wilderness, Kings Canyon National Park, and Sequoia National Park. Here are my 11 favorite photos!