Mammoth Lakes to Kennedy Meadows North

I’ve finally started to hit my stride as I make my way through the Northern Sierra Nevada. As someone who has typically relied heavily on planes, trains, and automobiles to get around on vacations, I’m finally learning what it feels like to travel at the speed of a human being. I’m gaining confidence and starting to hit my stride. Here’s how it went.

June 17th – Day 66

After taking a few zeros to recover from my covid vaccine reactions in Mammoth Lakes I headed back on trail. It was an easy day winding through Red’s Meadow to Devil’s Postpile National Monument. It was a hot day, but due to a recent reopening of the road to the monument the trails were packed with dayhikers. The views were nice, but familiar as I’d done a backpacking trip in this section the previous July. I made camp with Pez and Baby Bigfoot a mile or so above the Agnew Meadows trailhead.

I hoped that being on a ridgeline might reduce the number of mosquitoes at camp, but I was wrong. The bugs quickly became too overwhelming to be outside of my tent, so I retreated inside for the evening. Still, it was fun talking to Pez and Baby Bigfoot through our tents as the sun set. The next few days would be lower mileage, meaning we’d have more time to dawdle in the mornings and enjoy evenings at camp, something I was definitely looking forward to.

June 18th – Day 67

I knew that the view along this section of the trail would be spectacular from my previous trip to this section. I took a very late morning, eating a fancy breakfast and reading my paper map until after 8 am. When I finally got going, it was a pleasant day along the ridge. I ran into Caboose and we decided to hike together.

We took a long break enjoying Thousand Island Lake, where the mosquitoes were surprisingly less numerous than other sections of the trail that day. I invited Caboose to camp where Pez and Baby Bigfoot had told me they would be camping, and we set off over Donahue Pass together. I was looking forward to the climb over the pass; the mosquitoes ascending were hellish and passes usually offer drier, windier conditions that keep the mosquitoes down.

As I got to the top of the pass, which is the southern boundary of Yosemite National Park, my hopes of a mosquito free lunch break were dashed. There was no wind and small ponds at the pass that provided breeding grounds, so they were still swarming hikers. I ate a snack, sneaking the food under my bug head netting into my mouth before heading down the pass.

This side of the pass had more snow than I’d thought, and the lake outlets were some of the most difficult crossings I’d had to date. I fell in twice. The first time my back foot slipped into knee high water. Great. Now I had to hike in wet shoes and socks. At the second crossing I’d lost the trail and was downstream of the intended crossing. I thought I could make my own way, but quickly realized that was a mistake as a rock moved and I fell in up to my mid thigh. At least I was at the edge of the river, so I could quickly get back to the bank. I’d scraped up my shin on my fall and now both feet were soaked. I cut my losses and headed back upstream to find the intended crossing.

As I neared the planned campsite I passed Caboose and some other hikers and told them where Pez, Baby Bigfoot, and I planned on camping and invited them to join us. When I got to the right mile marker I looked around for sites. I didn’t see either of their tents, so I walked around for a bit. First I checked the stock camp, then back a few tenths of a mile, then forward a few tenths of a mile, but I still didn’t see them. I assumed they’d gone ahead, so I kept hiking, feeling a little guilty that I’d told so many hikers to camp where I was ultimately not camping. Finally I found a single site in the woods and jumped in. I usually have no problem camping alone, but I was expecting a party at camp all day so I felt a little lonely that evening. I went to bed wondering where Pez and Baby Bigfoot could have gone.

June 19th – Day 68

As I was packing up camp Caboose passed my site and came over. He didn’t see Pez or Baby Bigfoot either and ended up camping at the stock camp. Just as we began wondering where they could be, they both hiked up the trail. They were shocked to see us ahead of them. Apparently they’d camped before the intended campsite. They assumed their tents were visible from the trail and that we’d stop when we saw them. When we didn’t show, they assumed that I’d camped farther back and not that I’d hiked by them. We laughed about the missed connection and I packed up as they hiked on.

It was a flat, easy 9 miles or so to Toulumne Meadows, where Baby Bigfoot’s friends would meet us. I had never been to this side of the park before, so I admired the higher elevation meadows and new scenery. Less and a mile from Tuolumne Meadows a ranger approached me on trail. I assumed he’d come to ask for my permit, but instead he warned me that there was a bear and a cub ahead, and urged me to take a road to give them space.

Sure enough, I saw them both ahead. The cub frolicked through the meadow as the mom plodded along behind. It was great to observe them from a distance. I’d finally had my first bear sighting of the trip! As we were watching the bears, a group of oblivious hikers walked from the other direction towards them. “Hey! Get back! There’s a bear!” The ranger yelled at them. They stopped and looked at him, confused. They clearly didn’t see the bear. One of them turned back to the trail to see the mama bear maybe only 30 feet in front of him. Two members of the group backed away slowly, but the other two took off running. Fortunately, the bear wasn’t in a chasing mood and looked at them with vague disinterest.

I got to the Tuolumne Meadows general store and got a burger and some ice cream from the grill. The rest of the group was waiting there as well as many other hikers we knew, including Caboose, Top Rock, and Moon Man. Baby Bigfoot’s friends picked us up and drove us to Lee Vining, where we’d be spending the night. Lee Vining was a cute town, and we had a great time at a cute coffee shop attached to a bed and breakfast where Baby Bigfoot and her friends were staying. In the evening we played a board game called “Wingspan”, which is one of the more complicated games I have ever played, but the evening was beautiful and I’d had a great day.

June 20th – Day 69

Baby Bigfoot would be spending the day with her friends, so Pez and I decided to try to get back into Yosemite to hike Cloud’s Rest. We weren’t sure how easy a hitch would be due to the permitted entry system, but we headed to Highway 120 to try our luck anyway. Fortunately, a couple from San Francisco in a camper van stopped maybe 60 seconds into our hitch attempt and offered us a ride. Definitely one of my easier hitches.

It was a hot, buggy day, but Clouds Rest was surprisingly not very crowded. The 15 mile hike was more of a half day adventure in my current hiking shape, but the views were incredible and I was glad that we did it. Back at the trailhead Pez and I had a dilemma: we had nowhere to stay that evening. Typically, PCT hikers stay at the backpacker’s campground at Tuolumne Meadows as dispersed camping is banned within about 7 miles of Highway 120 in either direction, but that campground was closed. A ranger had said they expected hikers to hike on, but we hadn’t resupplied yet so we couldn’t really do that. All accommodations in the park were booked as well. Finally we decided to try to hitch a ride into the valley and see if the rumored backpacker’s campground there was open. We weren’t sure if it would fill up or of PCT permit holders were even allowed there, but figured it was worth a shot.

Getting a ride to the valley also only took about 30 seconds, as a park employee stopped right away. He offered to drive us to El Portal to get a hotel when he learned we didn’t have reservations in the valley, but we gave him vague assurances that we’d be fine, even if we weren’t so sure. He let us off near the Yosemite Grill, but it was closed. It looked like the only restaurant still open was a pizza place over a mile away. Pez, Smiles, Keebler, and Gazelle all got bikes from a bike share to head over, but I couldn’t get any to unlock, so I just walked. It was a pleasant evening though, so I didn’t mind.

We spent too long enjoying pizza and beer. By the time we walked towards the rumored backpacker campground over a mile away the sun was setting and we were losing light fast. There was a large group of us who had nowhere to go if the backpacker’s camp fell through, so we hoped for the best in the fading light. When we got there it was clear that the backpacker’s campground was just the park’s way of segregating chaos. Officially, there was space for 16 tents. In actuality there were maybe 50 tents crammed on every available flat surface. We found whatever spot we could by the light of our headlamps and made camp. I set up my tent in a cloud of marijuana smoke from nearby campers. I didn’t see a ranger there at all all evening, except for late at night when a truck pulled up to drop off more hikers. I thought they’d check permits, but they didn’t. The camp appears to be the closest thing to a homeless encampment in the park. It’s a place to keep people who have no other options out of sight from the rest of the park. PCT hikers discovered illegally “stealth camping” in other parts of the park were dumped here as well. Overall, it was an experience I’m glad I had. And hey, camping in Yosemite Valley for $6 is a steal.

June 21st – Day 70

Smiles, Moon Man, Keebler, and many other hikers from the camp had Half Dome permits and were planning on heading up that morning. Pez and I had already done Half Dome, so we decided to spend a relaxed day exploring the valley. Baby Bigfoot and her parents invited us to breakfast as the Ahwahnee Hotel, so we headed over. We got there long before they did and put in a request for a table for 5. The hotel is the nicest in Yosemite, and I was very aware of how dirty and out of place I was. I almost worried that I might get asked to leave, but the hostess was so kind to Pez and I. She offered to let us store our packs in the coatroom and even snuck us the wifi password despite the fact that we weren’t staying there.

She sat us before Baby Bigfoot or her parents got there and Pez and I patiently waited for them in the stunning dinning room. It was a buffet, and I couldn’t wait to eat my weight of tiny portions of fancy breakfast food. Finally, Baby Bigfoot and her family arrived and we dug in. The food was delicious, and I was definitely able to eat my money’s worth.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the valley before resupplying and heading back to the trail. We hiked the remaining 6 miles or so to Glen Aulin camp, where we were stopping for the night. The mosquitos were hellish, both on the hike in and at the camp itself. I’d walked by a buff on the ground on the hike in and thought it looked familiar. I picked it up and when I got to camp it turned out to be Pez’s. He mentioned that he thought he’d been missing something.

Moments later, Pez realized what he was missing; he’d left his entire cookset at Tuolumne Meadows. We used our satellite messengers to text anyone we knew who was still behind us and hoped for the best. I hoped that he’d get his cookset back like I got mine back hundreds of miles ago. We all ate dinner in our tents to avoid being swarmed by mosquitoes.

June 22nd – Day 71

The next day of hiking was fairly uneventful. Beautiful views but many mosquitoes lasted the full day. My natural bug repellent, while being chemical free, did not stop the mosquitoes from swarming me. It did seem to provide some protection from the bugs, however, as I did manage to escape with fewer bites than one might expect.

I camped with Pez, Baby Bigfoot, and Heart at a lake towards the northern end of Yosemite. Bugs were bad again, so we all immediately retreated to our tents. I kept telling myself that just like windy days make me appreciate the calm ones and cold nights make me appreciate the warm ones, so too would the buggy days make me appreciate the bug free ones, although it would likely be a while before the mosquitoes die off for the season.

June 23rd – Day 72

I had a slow start to the morning and I wasn’t feeling great. Although the highest passes were behind us, the trail still gains and loses a lot of elevation over many, smaller passes in this section. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it to where the group had planned to camp for the night but I decided to try.

This part of the park clearly gets more rain that a lot of the surrounding area, and it shows both in the greenery and the water logged trail. I was frequently trudging through mud that day, but kept a consistent pace. When I finally got to the top of the last climb I practically ran down the mountain towards camp, both from excitement to get to camp and to avoid the mosquitoes.

It’s difficult to overstate how bad the mosquitoes were coming up the long, gradual climb to Dorthea Pass. I was covered head to toe in my rain and wind gear with my bug head net on, covered in bug spray, and they still swarmed me. I panicked as I tried to drive a tent stake into hard ground with mosquitoes buzzing all around and I broke a tent stake. Once I finally got my tent up I dove inside and spent the next few minutes killing the dozen mosquitoes that managed to sneak in with me. Pez, Baby Bigfoot and I discussed how the mosquitoes really were making the whole experience less enjoyable. I can’t even admire the beautiful scenery I am hiking through because the mosquitoes will swarm if I stop. Lunch breaks become uncomfortable and stressful, and I rush through them to keep moving. I could only hope that the worst of the mosquitoes would pass soon.

June 24th – Day 73

I climbed the last few miles to Dorothea Pass, the northern exit of Yosemite, easily in the morning. The scenery was stunning, and I stopped to admire it even though mosquitoes would swarm every time I took a break longer than about 10 seconds. After exiting the park the trail descends through a forested area. I could see dark clouds gathering and worried about thunderstorms. These clouds were more numerous that the ones I’d seen in previous days, and they seemed to be right where I was headed.

Around noon I passed the 1000 mile marker. This was an exciting one for me. I took a long lunch break, took some pictures, and yes, I played the Vanessa Carlton song. I could feel the temperature dropping and the wind starting to pick up, so I moved on knowing a thunderstorm was approaching.

Rain started coming down around 2 and I was still far from where I’d planned to camp with Pez and Baby Bigfoot. However, the dark clouds looming ominously over where I was headed convinced me to stop and set up my tent. The intended campsite was high on a ridge, not somewhere I’d want to be in bad weather (especially now that I was down a tent stake), so I decided to wait it out, eat dinner, and continue on once it cleared up.

The rain intensified and soon it began to hail. I was very worried about the hail ripping holes in my text, but I kept telling myself it would surely stop soon, so I didn’t pack my tent away. I also didn’t feel like getting any wetter than I already was. I willed the rain and the hail to stop, but it only intensified. The campsite I had chosen in haste did not drain well, and soon my tent was in a puddle. I could see that there was an inch of water again the bathtub floor of my tent, but fortunately the waterproof material kept it out. What I didn’t notice was that rain and hail was somehow accumulating on the wall of my tent towards the back. The weight of all the hail on the wall, plus the soft wet ground, caused a tent stake to pull out of the ground. My tent collapsed and water from the puddle outside poured in, soaking a lot of my clothes and the corner of my sleeping bag. I jumped out and fixed it as soon as I could, but the damage was done.

I waited out the rain until it stopped around 7 or 7:30. I considered moving on, but I didn’t want to have to pack away soaking wet stuff, so I decided to stay where I was and hope that things would dry. Between the wet clothes and sleeping bag I felt cold for the first time in a while. I went to bed hoping for better weather the next day.

June 25th – Day 74

It was a new day! The sun was shining and most of my stuff had dried. I was grateful for the sunshine as I packed my stuff away. I even noticed that I was camped next to a waterfall! I hadn’t even noticed it in the storm the day before.

It had been pretty cold, but I was still shocked to see that the hail from the night before had melted so little that it looked like fresh snow on the ground. It was not something that I had seen before. Leave it to the Sierra to give us some crazy weather as a sendoff! I headed off in good weather and good spirits, ready for the day ahead.

To be continued…

Until next time,

Megan “Fire Ant” Spencer