All photos by Barbara Matthews

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Panoramas from along the trail


Panoramas from along the Duck Pass and John Muir Trails
Click on photo for the best view

Heading up Duck Pass
Looking back a the trail hiked and lakes visited


Duck Lake and Pika Lake
At close to 10,800 ft elevation, this lake will take your breath away


Duck Lake from the outlet
This area is closed to camping, but makes a great rest stop 
before continuing on to the John Muir Trail


Sweeping views from along the John Muir Trail


Hiking through the remnants of the Rainbow Fire 
heading down into Red's Meadow

Sunday, September 21, 2014

2014 John Muir Trail section hike recap

What a beautiful hike and an incredible learning experience.
As a shakedown prep hike for our AT thru-hike next year,
this hike was a success despite having to cut it short. Check out my
journal here

Here are some of my favorite scenes from along the way.


Lake Maime Sunset 
A day to get acclimated


Cole heading up the Duck Pass Trail into the John Muir Wilderness


The journey up the mountain begins


Enchanted- Arrowhead Lake
A beautiful spot to stop for breakfast, just .3 miles down a side trail. 
The scene quickly turned magical as the sun rose higher.


A sandy beach at Skeleton Lake


Further up the trail we got a great view of Skeleton Lake


Lunch break on the rocky shore of Barney Lake.


Resting at Barney Lake


Lunch and rest at Barney Lake before the switchbacks climbing up Duck Pass.


Hot and dry switchbacks provided little shade but stunning views of the 
trail we have already traveled.


Barney Lake from above


Cole taking in the view


Up and over Duck Pass


Duck Lake and its smaller neighbor Pike Lake


Duck Lake Outlet heading toward the junction of Duck Pass Trail and John Muir Trail


A familiar scene as my son Cole takes a break while waiting for me to catch up.


Panorama of Duck Lake from the outlet


Duck Lake and smaller Pika Lake


First full day on the John Muir Trail


Incredible vistas along the JMT heading north towards Red Cones


We met several Southbound JMT thru-hikers during the day. A friendly Brit took a photo for us.



Crater Meadows area along the John Muir Trail


Yet another tortoise and the hare scene. The trail has transformed into crushed pumice, dusty and similar to walking through sand.


An old giant


One of the Red Cones


The next morning, we traversed through devastation on a scale the photos just don't show.
A windstorm with sustained winds of 150 mph tore through this area in November of 2011
snapping off and uprooting thousands of trees. Kudos to the trail crews that tackled the tremendous task of clearing the downed trees from the trail. 


A few miles down the trail, the scene shifts from blow down to fire scars. The area around Red's Meadow was burned by the 1992 Rainbow Fire. There are many birds, hawks, ferns and wildflowers as evidence of the slow recovery.



Cole's home away from home- Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 and his Helinox Chair


My home away from home= Sierra Designs Lightning 2UL


Rainbow Fire Remnants


The final step. This was the end of our journey as my knees refused to ascend those stairs. 
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