John Muir Trail - Day Fifteen

I didn’t get a good night of sleep in Dusy Basin because I was coming down with a cold after all. On top of getting acclimated to the elevation I was very congested and my legs were sore and restless. Thankfully I felt pretty decent when I woke up around 6:45AM and I was ready for our normal packing and breakfast routine. We had oatmeal and coffee and set off for the JMT shortly after 8AM.

Luckily for me the entire section before lunch was downhill so it wasn’t terribly difficult. We headed west down from Dusy Basin, switchbacking into Kings Canyon. I was shocked at the epic mountains across the way – we missed them entirely with the smoke last year.

We had a short snack break at the Le Conte Canyon Junction [136.9mi, 8740’] and after that we were back on the official JMT! We headed south towards Middle Fork Junction along the river which was full of cascades and waterfalls. We passed through Grouse Meadows and I made a mental note to come back here some day!

We ate lunch at the Middle Fork Junction [140.3mi, 8030’] and before I arrived the guys saw a bear hanging around. I had a tortilla with ranch flavored tuna. I was very skeptical about it at the grocery store but it was delicious! Next up was the part I was dreading all day – climbing 7 miles and 2600’, including the “Golden Staircase”. It was hot and many sections (even leading up to the staircase) were very exposed. The first 3.4 miles to Deer Creek [143.7mi, 8830’] went by so slow I thought I missed it. There were several spots where streams intersected the trail but there wasn’t much water to cross. Finally, we ran into the guys and then began the steepest part of the day to get to Palisade Lakes.

The trail quickly left what little shade we had remaining in the trees and turned into never-ending switchbacks up the Golden Staircase. We renamed it the “staircase from hell”! There were a few nice spots where we passed waterfalls and streams but for the most part it was dry and steep. The trail leveled out when we approached the lake and I was so happy to see our camp! We chose a spot near the outlet of the Lower Palisade Lake [147.3mi, 10600’] which was wide open and full of campsites. There were a few other groups camped near us. We had some time to wash up and relax before dinner. I tried to stay up again to watch the Perseid meteor shower but I passed out pretty quickly, with the help of a pain killer!