PCT Day 33 – Glen Aulin

All the things I feared last night did not happen (of course). My tired mind is susceptible to all kinds of stupidness. Is yours?

It is cold in the morning. I don’t know how cold, but I put on my pants and gloves for the first time. Then I think I’m a real baby and take off my pants and put on the wet hiking shorts that did not dry overnight. I am fully awake now! I put on so many clothes combinations I’m like a Ken doll on Christmas Day. Bob and I roll out of camp at about 7am. It could be worse, I guess.

The plan

Matterhorn Canyon did its job shielding us from the smoke. But now we need to go up the western ridge to Miller Lake and then down a long descent to our destination tonight, the Glen Aulin Sierra Camp.

Up and out

The hiking is fun even though the climb is 1200 feet over 2 miles at a 12% grade. I feel like I might finally be getting stronger. This prospect makes me happy. Wait, is that the top already? I can see sunlight streaming through!

Nope. Bob warned me about these “false summits”. It is just a saddle. I need to go higher. Here we go. This is the real summit. The granite is glowing in the morning light.

Wait, this isn’t just any old rock. It’s “tiger stripe” granite, like the rocks I saw yesterday at Benson Pass.

Miller Lake

Miller Lake is just as beautiful as I hoped it would be. The surface is like glass. As we near the lake edge, I hear people talking in the rocks above me. It’s about four people up there. They appear to be breaking camp. Then right behind me someone says “Oh, hi there.” I jump, startled. It’s a lady sitting on a log by the lake. “Sorry,” she says. She turns back toward the lake. My eye remains on her. She is doing some kind of yoga thing. It looks like a picture from a brochure for a wilderness experience resort. “Realign the natural energies within you in this pristine alpine environment…”

I am running low on water so we head down to Spiller Creek for water and some rest. I’ve seen some pretty weird rocks so far, but this one by the trail that really surprises me. There’s nothing quite like it anywhere nearby. If Willie Wonka were to design a stone it might look like this.

As Bob and I get water at Spiller the group we met by the lake walks by. They are on a nine day hike that will end tomorrow. They will camp at Glen Aulin tonight as we will. I offer to give the lady by the lake her glamour shot. I take their group photo and they take a picture of Bob and me.

Down to Glen Aulin

After lunch, the trail descends 1400 feet over seven miles. Down I go with Bob close behind. There is no water until we reach Glen Aulin, so except for a snack break, there is no reason to stop.

The trail goes through arid open pastures and rocky broken granite. I like the open sections. You can walk without thinking too much about each foot placement. Much daydreaming ensues. The granite sections are not as pleasant. They require vigilance. Tiny stones on top of the granite make a slippery surface. Even when you try to keep your center of gravity over your feet, mistakes may happen, then you fall or twist your leg.

The trail can change with use. In this section of soft sandy soil, the trail becomes a kind of ditch below the grassy ground level. It’s worn hard to walk through because the ditch narrows and collects big stones. So people and horses simply walk next to the ditch creating a new trail until that one becomes a ditch, too, and so on. Here are four versions of the same route. The one on the left is the newest and easiest to walk on. The other three are ditches.

The flowers are shy today. I don’t believe I have shown this tiny one yet. I take about six shots before I get one right. Tiny flowers are the hardest to shoot, but they are worth the effort.

You don’t deserve this but here goes anyway.

A string walks into a bar and says “Give me a pint of beer.” The bartender says, “We don’t serve pints to strings.” A second string walks in and says “Give me a pint of beer.” The bartender says, “We don’t serve pints to strings.” A third string walks in. He is ragged and worn. He says, “Give me a pint of beer.” The bartender says, “We don’t serve pints to strings.” The string just stares at him. The bartender says, “You’re a string aren’t you?” The string says, “I’m a frayed knot.”

It was bound to happen eventually

The official entrance to Glen Aulin campsite is a nifty foot bridge from the PCT I cross the bridge and wait for Bob. When Bob appears he doesn’t look too good. “I fell,” he says. “I hurt myself, but I think I am gonna be OK.” He slipped on those little stones on granite that I described earlier. He has some scrapes and a contusion on his thigh. It’s going to be bruised tomorrow. Hopefully it won’t be too uncomfortable to walk.

We make camp. I look around a bit. This place is huge. In a normal year this place is populated with “glampers” (glamour campers) who stay in these enormous furnished tent and have their meals cooked for them. That part of the campground is closed this year. But you can see why people come here. There is a spectacular waterfall.

And the canyon downstream from the waterfall is iconic.

This is the Yosemite I saw in a book of etchings at my grandparents house as a kid. This is the Yosemite of legend. Tomorrow Bob and I will walk the five miles to Tuolomne Meadows where each of us has a food box waiting. Labor Day weekend is coming in four days. We have a decision to make tomorrow about when we go into Mammoth Lake and for how long.

Glen Aulin marks the point where the PCT merges with the John Muir Trail. It is one of the most spectacular sections of trail in the world and the main reason many people hike the PCT in the first place. I want to do this right. And planning supply stops and rest days is critical to success. That is what we must do tomorrow.

• August 29
• Starting marker: 962.1
• Ending marker: 948.3
• Miles hiked today: 14
• Total PCT miles: 402
• When does a trail become a ditch? When you would rather walk somewhere else.