John Muir Trail - Day Five

By day 5 we were getting on the trail quite a bit earlier than when we started, getting our routine in place and waking up earlier. We even passed some campers who were still getting ready which is a big deal for our group!

We hiked around Garnet Lake and up some switchbacks for our first climb of the day. We descended into a forest and passed the Lake Ediza Junction to meet the group for a snack near the inlet of Shadow Lake [49.0 mi, 8780’]. The last ½ mile or so near the lake was alongside a river with incredible looking swimming holes. Shadow Lake looked inviting as well and I took a mental note to return to that spot for a more relaxed trip!

We agreed to meet at the top of the next climb (another steep set of switchbacks) for lunch. We got to the top and passed Rosalie Lake [50.7 mi, 9350’] and Gladys Lakes where we only saw 2 of the 4 in our group that we were expecting! There was a brief moment where they stepped off the trail to get a look at Mammoth Mountain and, long story short, the other 2 guys blew right past and down the hill to the next junction some 3 miles later! We worriedly rushed down the hill to find them at the Minaret Junction [55.4 mi, 8120’] where we all relaxed a little and ate a late lunch near Johnston Lake.

We finished the last couple miles together to get to Devil’s Postpile [57.5 mi, 7710’]. The trail meets up with the PCT and there are a few quick junctions that will take you to a small loop around the monument. Despite growing up in California this was my first time ever seeing this alien looking place. The trail drops you off for a nice front view of the postpile and we used what little energy we had left to hike to the top and walk on the strange hexagon posts.

Finally, we continued on a short trail to Red’s Meadow camp where we chose a site and left our gear. There is a free backpacker’s campground and plenty of bear boxes to protect your stuff. The resort is a quick walk away and we took 3 minute hot showers in quick succession and also did laundry. I felt amazing after that! To top it off we ate at the restaurant for dinner – burgers (veggie for me!), chips, beer, and pie. It was heaven. We completed the night with a campfire.

One of the hikers in our group had previous commitments and had to exit at this point unfortunately, so we continued on as a group of 5.