Day 15

Heart Lake to Muir Trail Ranch

Resupply Day!

I started my day with Butternut Squash soup. I learned that Marilyn makes all of her own backpacking food. She introduced me to her “soup course” which aids digestion and helps pass the time while the food is rehydrating. Lucky for me, I dehydrated a soup on my own before I came. Soup is my jam right now. It forces me to drink liquids and it is warm and so comforting. I hope there is soup at the Muir Trail Ranch Buckets.

The clouds above started reflecting in Heart Lake and was stunning. I had to stop and take it in.

I had to use the bathroom at 6:15, besides the annoyance of having to get out of bed, it was quickly replaced by awe of watching the sun break over the mountain top and begin the fill the lake.

I’m sure for those of you reading that I sound like I’m always repeating myself, but I am really in wonder of how God Created everything. Just sitting out here and seeing how it all is so different, yet internally coherent. Atoms, molecules, bindings … how all of the pieces configure themselves into so many variations. The complexity, yet the balance of simplicity just is beautiful to me.

Maybe that’s what makes my heart come so alive out here. I love being able to see the dance between complex and simple. It’s like having a zoom lens and zooming in and out… and loving every place that the view stops at.

It’s so easy to find God in places like this. It’s a whole lot harder for me to in a room with people who are annoying me. Yet, it’s in those people it’s not only the fingerprints of God’s work, but God Himself is in them.

The Hebrew word Sa-lem.

God’s image bearer.

I wonder if Adam, when he was walking around in the garden looking for his match, the animals would do a double take … thinking it was God.

Each of us bears a piece of the divine.

That’s a prayer I try to pray every day. “Lord, help me see people the way you see them.”

I wish it was that simple that I did… I have some work to do around particular people.

Maybe that’s what I’ll focus on today.

I packed up and started hiking. Not very far in I heard my name. It was Marilyn and Lucia! It’s funny that you try to go solo yet you keep running into people you know.

I met Lucia on my way into Red’s Meadow. She was hiking with a friend of hers and they watched and filmed me do a creek crossing. She was a tiny woman from Mexico and her pack was massive. As we were hiking she shared it was close to 45 lbs and she was only 107 lbs! Her mission when she got to Muir Trail Ranch was to avoid picking up and weight.

Marilyn and I both had a resupply at Muir Trail Ranch. This was both of our big sections. She was going to go straight to Whitney after this and I had to make it to Onion Valley. That meant each of us had to carry 11 days of food.

We chatted about why we were on the trail and what we were looking for.

Lucia had also quit her job and was looking for clarity. We bonded over it. Also shared how it was hard to make life transitions when parents who love us are so afraid of the choices we are making.

Her mother kept telling Lucia, “ I want you to be happy.” Which Lucia’s response was, “why would I choose things that would make me miserable!?” Her animation telling the story made me smile.

On the way down to MTR we passed mile 105- we are now officially over half way of the JMT!

Muir Trail Ranch is at the bottom of a dusty and desert looking section of the trail. Because I knew there would be food there, I had barely eaten any of my lunch and was definitely hungry.

A bedraggled hiker was sitting at the intersection.

“You guys ready to feast!? The buckets are incredible!”

MTR has a reputation on the PCT as being one of the best places to stop for resupply. It’s not because there is a store or a restaurant but rather it’s all of the extra food that JMT hikers can’t fit into their bear cans, got off trail early or just wanted to swap out that are left behind.

You can find everything from $12 dehydrated dinner meals to first aid kids and toiletries. There are over 15 buckets that people are free to peruse.

I personally was hoping to find crystal light packets and flip flops/something similar to camp shoes.

We got to the buckets and saw what the fuss was about. There were about 12 of them ordered from oatmeal, snacks, drinks, one dedicated to tortillas, another to ramen, extra clothing, first aid, toiletries etc. There was even a whole bucket on MREs that the local fire station dropped by after watching a tree that was struck by lighting.

I bee lined to the drinks to find something sweet I could mix into my water bottle. I found a lemon watermelon thing that was amazing. Once I had that, I was able to more leisurely peruse the buckets and chat with the other hikers.

It was a mix of JMT and PCT hikers. Since MTR is half way between Yosemite and Whitney, there was also a mix of NOBO and SOBO JMT hikers. It was fun to sit, eat some of the communal food and chat with each other. Marilyn and I decided to pick up our resupply the next morning and concentrate on eating the food we had. Would have been a good plan for me if I hadn’t picked up more food while sitting there for a few hours.

I went into the store and plugged in all of my battery packs. Since I was picking up my resupply the next morning, I could leave my larger battery pack plugged in overnight. I looked around and bought a large fuel can, post card with postage and a pair of gaiters with french fry print on it.

I came back out to the table, rechecked the drinks bucket and decided to pack up. If I got to camp before 3, I could set up, have enough time to do laundry and let it dry.

I looked over at Marilyn and she seemed to have the same idea. We packed up and headed over to the camp area.

When we got there we noticed a huge group of 20 somethings. In that mix, I recognised Madison and waved hello.

Marilyn and I looked for camp spots that were farther away from the group, but couldn’t find any. Instead we settled to camp near the edge, next to an older man that looked like he was meditating on a large log behind his tent.

Every time I looked at that man, he was sitting on that log staring out into space. I think I saw him move once to go to his tent and go back to the log to resume what he was doing. I asked Marilyn if she knew what he was thinking about.

“I talked to him earlier and asked if he had any deep thoughts and he said, ‘not one’ “

We both laughed at the truthfulness of the statement.

She continued, “He is a Dean at some school and we talked about his gear. His bear can was custom made for the dimensions of his pack and he has several of those zpacks tents.”

We nicknamed him, “the professor” and set out to do laundry and eat.

While we were doing laundry,

we were hearing lots of commotion from the big group. They were gearing up to go to the hot springs.

The MTR hotsprings are across the river from the campsite. Previous reports had said the hot springs were in accessible because the river was too high and it wasn’t crossable. Some PCT hikers decided to get rope and create a way across themselves. Now there was a hand line across the river that people could try to cross.

The big group had gone there the night before and was planning on doing it again. Soaking in the hot springs and watching the stars was the plan. I wanted to go, but I didn’t want to chance crossing a river at night with a headlamp. Marilyn shared she also wanted to go. We decided we’d watch the group cross and go in the morning before our resupply pickup.

The big group had about nine people in it. It had gotten larger as the day went on. Rambunctiously they gathered up their things and went plowing into the river. It didn’t look unmanageable. It was fast but the hand line looked solid. One by one they crossed and then we could hear their voices across the way.

That was doable. We would go in the morning. We finished preparing our food and talked about sending items home to lighten our packs.

They came back while we were cleaning up our meals. The plan for them was to have a MRE feast. They had taken most of the MREs left by the fire fighters and decided to do a taste exchange. While they were preparing, some of them were building a fire pit. Marilyn and I were fairly certain that fires were not allowed in the area of the forest we were in. While she went to check for signs, I got up and walked into the middle of the group.

“Hey guys, not to be a kill joy, but are you absolutely certain that we are allowed to have fires here?”

“There are lots of pits in other parts of the camp,” one of the women said.

“Cool, just wanted you guys to be absolutely sure.”

“I’ll check my permit,” said one of the guys.

I retreated back to the rock where my bear canister was going to be wedged.

I heard the guy reading the permit out loud, “Fires are prohibited above 10,000 feet and select sites below. Blarney hot springs. Looks like we can’t do a fire here guys.”

Marilyn returned.

“I couldn’t find the sign.”

“That’s okay, it’s apparently on the permit. They won’t do the fire tonight.”

She nodded and we both went to our tents.

Eventually I fell asleep.