Day 9- McClure Meadow to Muir Trail Ranch — What We Saw, What We Read

Distance: 14 mi
Elevation Gain: 481 ft
Starting Elevation: 9,630 ft
Ending Elevation: 7,900 ft

Standing in McClure Meadow. So ready for snacks!

We made it! Day 9! It was finally here! In truth, despite the wonders of the High Sierras we experienced over the previous eight days, we were often times counting miles before our first set of snacks. Hunger had set in as we were averaging more than 13 miles a day with heavy packs and significant elevation gains and losses. We were ready for a more substantial meal and some more snacks to give us a boost.

The morning at McClure Meadow was chilly and still a bit damp from the rain the day before. We heated up some coffee and oatmeal and found a sunny spot next to Evolution Creek to warm up. It took us a few miles hiking out of McClure Meadow to finally escape from the chilly breeze but we moved quickly, our steps fueled by the motivation of the food waiting for us! We weaved around the meadow until we hit the main crossing of Evolution Creek. Our first bump in the road on our path to Pop Tarts. We took our shoes off, put on our sandals, and waded more than twenty feet across the creek which at times went up to our knees.

Once we finished the creek crossing we began to hit the steep descending switchbacks along the creek side waterfalls through Evolution Valley and Evolution Basin. This section of our hike and the following descent into Goddard Canyon, despite its affect on our knees was another one of our favorites during our trip. Again, unfortunately, our camera phones could not do it justice.

After reaching the base of our steep descent, the last sections of the trail before reaching Muir Trail Ranch varied significantly mile by mile. First we walked through dense forest cover, passing over bridges and following the creek. Suddenly, the forest disappeared around us and walked parallel to the creek for a long stretch along a narrow and rocky path, with steep slopes towering above us. Just as quickly, we were surrounded by an aspen meadow, the silver dollar leaves of the surrounding trees flickering in the wind. Once we hit the Piute Creek Junction and transitioned into the John Muir Wilderness, the lush landscape around us changed just as drastically to hillsides covered in Jeffrey Pines and junipers. This small section would be so different from any we had yet experienced or would see again.

We were more than ready to reach our resupply. The abundance of natural wonders we had seen in such a short distance made our 10 mile day feel like an eternity. The trail entered dense forest cover until we finally hit the Muir Trail Ranch junction, and descended down several steep switchbacks to the Ranch. When we arrived, it was everything we had hoped for.

Throwing our packs down, we wasted no time retrieving our package, filling up fresh water, emptying our trash, charging our phones, and rummaging through the hiker barrels. We found bags of trail mix, packets of peanut and almond butter, and even one bucket filled with begs of fancy prepared meals and desserts like Pad Thai and cheesecake. It took us several hours (with breaks in between to stop and eat more snacks) to refill our bear canisters with not just our own meals but plenty of extras. We came away with some great treats including decadent and salty salmon jerky, cheesecake, a few fancy dinners for some variety, lots of peanut butter packets and a couple of our own packages of Oreos.

We stopped into the small store at the ranch to send out a quick e-mail (at $10 for 15 minutes) to our family to let them know we were safe and healthy. Then after one more quick look through the buckets, we put on our significantly heavier packs, and hiked about a half-mile to a nearby campsite. We considered trying to make it to the nearby hot springs which we had been dreaming about for a few days. However, when the time came to ford a significant portion of the San Joaquin River, we decided we'd prefer dry feet for the night. We set up our tent and let it dry out from the evening before.

Then, still full from our lunch feast, we stood with a few fellow northbound hikers and chatted about our experiences to that point. It was comforting to hear that despite different types of equipment we carried and our different levels of experience, we each shared similar sentiments, frustrations, and joys from our JMT hike so far. One woman we met along the trail began with us and after her resupply her pack still only weighed 18 pounds. She was accomplishing around 20 miles each day and we felt both inspired and a bit jealous of her good planning and ability to pack so light.

As the sun began to set and clouds rolled overhead, we sat down for an extravagant meal of salmon jerky and Pop Tarts before going to bed. The resupply at Muir Trail Ranch just hit the top five list of our favorite places on the JMT.