wasatch and beyond: JMT Day 8

July 31, 2010

JMT Day 8

The view from the top of Mather Pass (North side to the left, South side to the right)

Date: Wednesday, July 21
Miles: ~22
Cumulative Miles: 166
Camp: BUG CITY

After the first day on the trail, we were pretty much committed to completing the trail in 11 days. However, this meant that at some point during the second half of the hike, we'd have to climb over two of the major mountain passes in the same day. This was that day.

We got started early (6:15am) and after a mile we hit the endless switchbacks up the Golden Staircase. From there we moved past Palisades Lakes and up Mather Pass. The pass had some patches of icy snow that required caution (but once again, no microspikes). There were lots of people around on the climb up to and hanging out on top of Mather Pass. The views from the top of the pass provided a stark contrast: snowy, spring conditions on the north side, and dry, summer conditions on the south side. This disparity would present itself on all of the major passes as we moved further south. It was pretty cool to move through different "seasons" throughout the day.

After dropping off Mather Pass, we walked for miles along the Kings River, feeling great and looking forward to the climb up Pinchot Pass. The hike up the second pass of the day felt almost too easy, and we had perfect weather all day. The only downside to the entire day was where we chose to stop and setup camp. A full day without mosquitoes was made up for by a SWARM of the little desperate baby mosquitoes. They were the worst mosquitoes of the trip by far! But it was a small price to pay after such a fantastic day. Getting over both passes meant that unless another major weather even presented itself, we'd finish the JMT in 2.5 more days!