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We were now in familiar territory. We had done the North Lake to
South Lake "loop" hike two years ago, so we had done the entire stretch
of the JMT from Piute Creek to the Le Conte ranger station. While
it was familiar, that wouldn't necessarily make it any easier, though.
It was much warmer today as we left camp at 8:55am. The trail climbs
gradually next to the San Joaquin River South Fork. At 10:20am, we
took a break in the shade of the forest. After half an hour
we resumed and almost immediately crossed the river over a large
footbridge. We could see good campsites nearby. After
the bridge, we crossed a cattle gate and continued to climb.
South Fork San Joaquin River
Hiking next to the South Fork San Joaquin River
The trail crosses back over the river on another, smaller bridge,
then passes some last campsites before starting the steep
climb up to Evolution Meadow. We had climbed about 375 feet in 4 miles.
Now we started climbing about 850 feet in 2 miles. The trail switchbacks
at the start, then continues to climb with good views of the creek. The
creek descends in a series of falls and cascades.
Looking down from the climb to Evolution Meadow
Looking south from the climb
Evolution Creek cascade
Evolution Creek
Wildflowers and Evolution Creek
We reached the top at 12:30pm. The trail levels off before reaching the
Evolution Creek crossing. We stopped here to filter water,
play in the water, and eat. It had already been a hot day and
we had to carry nearly our full packs, so it was nice to have
a cool break. But we still had a long way to go to reach
Evolution Lake, our ambitious goal for the day, so we pulled
ourselves away.
Playing at the Evolution Creek crossing
After putting on our water shoes and crossing (it was less than a
foot deep), we finally resumed our hike at 1:50pm. The two
young men and their dad were still on the other side of the creek,
but this wasn't the last we'd see of them. We next passed Evolution Meadow,
then continued on.
Evolution Meadow
From here, the trail is gradually uphill through the forest. We made
slow but steady progress. The afternoon heat and our nearly full
packs were taking their toll. I took solace in the fact that our
packs would never be this full on the trip after today, but by
the time we reached McClure Meadow at 3:20pm, I wasn't sure if we
could make it all the way to Evolution Lake today. There was
still about 1300 feet of climbing between us and that lake.
Approaching McClure Meadow
Mountain view at McClure Meadow
We enjoyed the views from McClure Meadow, resting in the same
spot we had rested at two years ago. Interestingly, I remember
this same stretch of trail being draining then, as well.
We had already passed a few people setting up camp. We
also knew that it would be hard to find good campsites at
Evolution Lake this late in the day, since it was probably
already swarmed with campers. We
discussed it a bit and decided (though not convincingly) that we would at least try to make it
to Evolution Lake. I figured we could still make it there by
around 7pm.
We got as far as Colby Meadow before doubt started creeping in again.
We got a little further before I spied a vacant campsite in the forest
to the right. Although the kids wanted to keep going, my wife
and I had had enough for the day. After exploring the area we
found that it was a great campsite and called it a day, even though
it was only 4:45pm.
Colby Meadow
The site we found is next to Evolution Creek near the base of McGee Canyon.
There were numerous small sites
in the granite
above the creek, in addition to several larger sites in the
forest below (which is where we put our tent). We put our cooking
area up on the granite where we had great views. Afterwards we
made the short walk down to the creek, where in one spot we could see
cascades coming from one direction, falls coming from another, and
the creek flowing away in the other direction. And from just
about anywhere in the area, The Hermit (elevation 12,328) mountain
is clearly visible dominating the view to the south. It's a great spot
and quite possibly my favorite campsite on the entire JMT.
Though we knew the consequences - a long day ahead of us tomorrow -
we were quite happy with our decision to stay here. At least our
packs would be lighter tomorrow.
The Hermit
View near our campsite
Evolution Creek near our campsite
Evolution Creek cascades
Evolution Creek
Water slide
Evolution Creek
Moon above The Hermit
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