I had breakfast with the Australian family from „next door“ – they gifted me with an unbreakable metal spork after my spoon broke. If there was a thing like a anti-spider full body hazmat suit, I would totally love to go to Australia and check out the climbing there!

When the sun came out, Anne and I started the short walk over to Swan Slab – an easy to moderate crag for beginners. Courses are held here and kids make their first climbing attempts.

Anne lead two very easy pitches – it was a good introduction. I learned that granite can become as polished as limestone. But my new shoes did their job, it felt exciting to climb in them and shove the hard soles in cracks.

Two other guys, Saseen and Chris, joined in and we compared our gear/anchor building knowledge. Soon after we went bouldering. I usually don‘t like outdoor bouldering so much as I‘m not that strong and I don‘t trust crashpads to keep me safe. I know, it‘s probably all about getting used to it and doing it more often but my thoughts are – why would you pull hard on three meters when you can do long routes with an excellent view?

Anne is super strong – one of the strongest women I‘ve met so far – and easily danced up a boulder that took me endless attempts. I did it in the end – a V0 on the Bridwell Boulder – it‘s humbling! It required a crouching start from two small crimps (that the book called jugs…lol) and no footholds. I had to press my feet against the wall and do a dyno move up and find my own solution from there.

Earlier, Saseen and I did an overhanging arrête (V3) with slopey, polished holds and foothooks – I managed to send it on the third attempt! The boulders are nested in sand and colourful leaves – it’s fun to walk through the forest next to Camp 4 and as beautiful as high up on the walls.

When it was time to change location – the others were trying to make a move on Midnight Lightning (I didn’t really need to try that) – I noticed how my mood dropped and that I needed some solitude, as I was close to crying. I realized that I didn‘t really take a rest day or moment since the long hike and that I was actually very exhausted.

It‘s bad to force things when you‘re not fully ready for them. It‘s also useless to socialize when the social battery is empty. I decided to do go eat a burger at the Village grill and do laundry – the best decision ever! It was really necessary as hiking dirt and dusk from two weeks had accumulated and there’s nothing to make me feel happier than putting on clean, fresh clothes. When I got back to my tent, I could finally lie down and relax.

I got up at 4.20am and walked through darkness on roads and paths towards Camp 4. I got slightly lost and bumped into a huge, posh hotel compex – the „majestic Yosemite hotel“ or similar… I‘ll continue to dirtbag camp 😂 even though I’m now slightly less dirty after the shower of my lifetime.

On the way, lots of smaller animals scurried away into the bushes. At the ranger station there was already a line of people in sleeping bags waiting, some were dozing off on crashpads. It was the first walk-in day so I expected some people. It’s the ritual every climber or person who wants to stay at Camp 4 has to go through: queuing up! I was in the middle of the line, anxious to get a spot. I crouched down on a boulder in the freezing cold – stupid me didn‘t bring a jacket or blanket like everyone else did and there were still two hours to go until the sun came up. A girl gave me an extra sleeping back after she saw me shivering.

At 8am the ranger, dressed in beige and wearing a flat brimmed hat, showed up on a bicycle. She looked grumpy and the process of registering took forever, but a lot of people got in, including me 😀

I took the shuttle back to Curry Village, had an overpriced coffee, tried to send some messages out that I had arrived safely and got my stuff ready.

When I arrived back at Camp 4, I met Noemi at the restroom – an aquaintance from the Berlin performer scene – that was a funny coincidence and somehow I knew that I would run into someone I know. Then I saw the giant boulder sitting next to the restrooms and walked towards it. There was Midnight Lightning, Ron Kauks‘ ultra hard (and high) boulder testpiece – I couldn‘t believe I was standing in front of it!

When the tent was set up, I had to have a look at the message board – was there anyone ready for climbing? I noticed Anne‘s note and met her soon after, when I sat down at her campsite‘s table to draw/write a note that I‘m up for anything. She‘s a super sweet person and I was happy that I already found someone for the next day!

Then I went shopping – the mountaineering store had shoes on sale so I picked a pair of La Sportivas for 50$, a new helmet, a book about climbing in the 60ies in Yosemite and a T-shirt. When I went to the gift store and village supermarket, rain came crashing down. Seeing the Valley clouded with dense, white mist was definitely special – it looked like the clouds are touching the ground!

I made a simple dinner and met all the other climbers from my site – a funny Polish guy called Pavel, three Americans and two Germans. The next neighbors are German too. At Camp 4, you share your site with 6 other people and it is very international.

As soon as the sun went down, it got really cold. I got sleepy and felt exhausted, so I wrote my climbing partner request post in my tent. That‘s when Aourell, a French guy I met earlier, when we both stared at a boulder problem, called out – ‚Finn, do you want to come – we have some red wine and whiskey?‘

Of course I said yes. Sitting by the warming campfire and listening to a couple from Manchester who did the northwest face of Half Dome in 27 hours was a good evening program. Our small group shared many stories about hiking, climbing and Burning Man. During a lull in the conversation, a huge grey racoon showed up, danced around the bear boxes and climbed up a tree super fast! The animals are so present here, it feels wild even though the Valley is so busy with traffic and people.

It was a really nice and welcoming first evening at Camp 4. The spirits of climbing pioneers and the Valley‘s rich history are definitely hanging around and it‘s a diverse place! I imagined the Valley and Camp 4 a tiny bit differently but then, it all looks very familiar too. Anyway, I‘m off to sleep and super psyched to climb tomorrow!

John Muir Trail Part 11/11 – From Trail Junction at Sunrise Creek to Happy Isles / Little Yosemite Valley (.. Miles)

I got up well rested and felt better every minute while hiking down, as the altitude got less and less. The forest opened up into a meadow full of flowers, brushes and burned tree trunks. To every side, giant granite pillars and domes rose. Half Dome was among them and I got a good view while getting closer. It‘s impressive to see something in person after admiring it on TV shows, films and photos over the years.

At Little Yosemite Valley camp, I noticed that my permit forced me to exit that day after talking to other hikers, I knew I could stay one night at the backpackers‘ campground as my permit was still valuable then. Okay, so I‘ll be sooner in the valley as I planned it – awesome!

Hiking down was exciting – it got more intense every minute, as steep walls began to rise up on all sides. A huge, dramatic canyon opened up and I was able to look down into the most Eastern part of Yosemite Valley. The Merced river carved its‘ way down, forming waterfalls and pools on its‘ way.

The landscape was gorgeous to look at, but the amount of people sucked and the steep, sandy steps and switchbacks on the way down caused me to fall and bring my knees to their absolute limit. The very last part of my John Muir Trail section hike was only two miles long – but it felt like an eternity.

I pushed on past dayhikers, a lot of them were out of shape (or am I really getting fitter?) so they were moving quite slow, blocking the narrow path and blasting music on their phones or taking quick selfies. Most of them didn‘t smile or greet back. It was a totally different atmosphere than in the backcountry.

At the trailhead at Happy Isles I asked someone to take a photo of me and then, several people congratulated me and I cried a little bit. Even if I just did a section of JMT, it wasn‘t easy – the cold, the bears, the altitude, the hardship of camping and my constant pain… I was proud to have finished it.

I got on a crowded shuttle bus that took me to the campsite. Everything felt overwhelming – orientation and getting used to the crowds and cars and giant walls that enclosed me.

After eating my hopefully last freeze dried meal and stretching out I already felt better. But then I noticed that I really needed a shower and walked over to Curry Village, a weird and curious place bustling with people. I was prepared to pay 5$ for that shower – but it was for free as the official summer and pool season had ended – awesome!

I got back to the campground to find my neighbors, a couple from Scotland, Andrew and Claire, grilling sausages over the fire. They brought me cold beer, chocolate and skittles from the store as a gift. We had hilarious conversations and even two rangers joined: a younger guy whose job is to scream at bears that steal out of open food lockers behind oblivious peoples‘ backs, an older woman with almost white hair and a generous smile – she had lots of stories on board and gave me tips about how to get into Camp 4 tomorrow. The fire was crackling and we nervously glanced around to spot bears, only to find complete darkness and peace. What a perfect evening to end my long distance hiking days!

John Muir Trail Part 10/11 – From Lower Cathedral Lake to Trail Junction at Sunrise Creek (.. Miles)

Today was the hardest day I’ve had so far, including the hospital visit in Utah. The altitude problems got worse.

At least the beginning and the end of the day were enjoyable! When the sun came out, it was nice to sit on the flat rock and enjoy the warmth while preparing tea and soup. I decided to eat ramen for breakfast, for a change. The lake was still and the wind had stopped blowing. There were really strong currents during the night and a bright, full moon illuminated the white domes. I had to tie a rock to a tent stake as the wind would pull it from the ground, leaving one tent wall flapping around like a ship‘s sail. It was a real Halloween night in the High Sierra! 👻

I hiked towards Cathedral Pass, it’s not a big ascent but it still felt like something was sitting on my chest. After Sunrise High Sierra Camp – a couple of closed down huts without any water within a 3 mile radius (so not a good spot to camp) – the trail led up again and I followed with a snails‘ pace. Out of breath and weary, I laid down on a flat rock and almost fell asleep of exhaustion. My head felt heavy and drowsy and suddenly, I got scared. There was no water around and for almost two hours, I didn’t see anyone else. I knew I needed to get down, to escape the altitude.

After trodding on, listening to old albums from Moby, Paula Cole and A-ha, the trail went downhill through a dense pine tree forest and around 4pm I came across a small clearing next to a creek, where several tents have been set up already. Relieved to finally be around fresh water and people again, I said hello to a guy sitting on a log and decided that I‘ll spend the night here. That’s how I got to know John and his friend Sam, who came soon after.

We chatted and had dinner together. I decided to finally try the instant Mac&Cheese I bought – it was unbelievably disgusting, so I added more „plastic“ melting cheese and cringed the whole time while eating. I finished it off and told my bear adventures to the others – they laughed and offered me skittles and burner fuel – super nice! I started to feel better! The forest around us was dense and had lots of debris lying around – an ideal hideout for wild animals! To make a statement, I put my plush animals on top of the bear canister. Because they are extremely wild and scary!

John Muir Trail Part 9/11 – Rest Day – Lower Cathedral Lake

Today is Friday the 13th and maybe this is the reason why my plan to solo climb Cathedral Peak didn‘t work out.

I got up, motivated and anticipating the unknown adventure. When I started hiking back the 2.5 miles I came from yesterday, I felt good but that changed as soon as I got on the climber‘s approach trail. It wasn‘t that steep for the most part, but I had a hard time breathing properly – combined with a weird pressure in my head and the usual pain, it became a struggle to reach the ledge where the climbs start. The altitude really got to me. It was clear that in this condition, I wouldn‘t do a route in free solo style. When I saw some parties starting their way up, fully racked with gear, I felt disappointed – this would have been real fun!

Then my legs became heavy as if there was lead in them. I paused often and tried to figure out a more direct way down towards Cathedral Lake where I set up camp. I was too slow to navigate properly, using a map and compass. My brain was wrapped in a fog, so I gave up the attempt to half climb, half slide down a steep, rock-filled gully. I didn‘t want to end up in the hospital again. So I hiked all the way back on the original trail and despite the light backpack, it was really hard. So my climbing day became a rest day, if you call hiking 12 miles a rest day.

When I got back to my tent, I ate a big portion of spaghetti bolognese Carla gave to me, and rested the remaining day, taking notes and mental photographs of the majestic mountains surrounding me. I discovered old, gnarly trees and particularly smooth boulders next to my tent and touched their withered surfaces.

I reminded myself to be patient and accepting of these „obstacles“ as it’s all part of the trip, the good days and the difficult ones. Cathedral Peak is on my open project list from now on! 😼

John Muir Trail Part 8/11 – From Tuolumne Meadows to Lower Cathedral Lake (.. Miles)

Sunshine woke me and I rolled out of the tent to see Carla already busy with breakfast preparations. Within 20 minutes there were coffee with hemp milk, a delicious plate full of hash potatoes, scrambled eggs with spinach, guacamole and salsa on the table. What a way to start the day!

After packing up and saying good bye to Carla I went back to the trail where I left it yesterday. The next 6 miles where exhausting. I did not enjoy hiking through sand and granite steps leading up towards Cathedral Lakes. After many breaks and admiring huge granite domes that appeared to my right and left, I arrived at Lower Cathedral Lake.

It is absolutely stunning what centuries of glaciers did here – the almost white granite slabs are completely polished. I took a nap at the lake shore, swam a very short round to clean the dust and sweat off me and ate lunch. I hiked around to find a campsite and picked one in the middle of a granite hill. It‘s so peaceful here except a few annoying dayhikers yelling and testing the echo of the walls.

I had the typical dull pain in my stomach again so to feel better, I ate some dark chocolate Carla gave to me. Then the surrounding granite hills were calling me to explore them. I scrambled up an easy, smooth slab and got an excellent view into the valley of Tenaya Lake.

Then I noticed the walls to the left of my campsite. It looked climbable so I decided to take a closer look with my climbing shoes in my hands. It was a steep slab with some flakes running up the walls.

I chose the easiest way up, carefully choosing holds for my hands and feet, as the rock was both firm and crumbly, some parts were covered in black lichen.

Free soloing is lots of fun as you‘re totally in the moment, even more than with protected climbing. My fear of slipping and falling down was not constricting me at all, instead it was a useful guide, like a sixth sense. Whenever moving straight up didn‘t feel right or seemed impossible, I traversed to a better looking place and continued the way up, trusting tiny crystals to push myself onto the next ledge.

On the top, I was extatic – everything went fine and I was alive! The 360 degree view was surreal – a place so different from everything else I‘ve seen in my life until then. To my far left, I recognized a familiar shape – a round dome cut in half. I checked on my navigation app and the direction was correct – if I‘m not wrong, I saw Half Dome from my small summit!

Yosemite is so close now, I‘m in overdrive. I crave climbing so much when I look at the big walls surrounding me and start to imagine what it would be like to spend a night on a portaledge.

From my camp I have a good view of Cathedral Peak, and although I want to solo climb it, it seems distant, steep and uninviting. Also it’s not clear to me how I’ll get up to the crag. I‘ll see how I‘ll feel tomorrow!

The sunset has left everything in a beautiful soft rose light. I‘m cuddling with my plush animals in my tent against the cold, thankful for every second of this experience.

John Muir Trail Part 7/11 – From Lyell Canyon Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows (.. Miles)

My water filter froze over night so I had to wait until it thawed. A tiny bit of water was left in my bottle and I used it to make hot chocolate and oatmeal. The pot warmed my hands and I slowly woke up. A friendly ranger came towards me to check my permit – imagine working here and being outdoors every other day!

The hike into Tuolumne Meadows was fairly easy, a sand trail cutting through soft grass. More and more dayhikers showed up closer to the campground. Once I got there, I asked a lady with sparkling eyes where the café-shop is – she told me directions and also lots of stories about bears as she had been camping here for 35+ years. I got hungry like a bear so I walked the short trail to the shop and ordered a cheeseburger and wedges – a nice and inexpensive treat.

While I talked with two friendly burners (burning man festival goers) from Lithuania, the woman from before showed up again and introduced herself as Carla. She wanted to give me free food, as she listened to my bear adventure – I got lots of delicious backpacking meals, snacks and even an instant berry smoothie!

I had period pains, so I took on her offer to stay one night at her campspot here in Tuolumne! We drove back the short distance and parked in the spot next to her big tent. Carla‘s car is full of hiking gear and crystals velcro-taped to the dashboard 🙂 She is originally from Oakland and works as an acupuncturist / TCM healer. I got my first acupunture session ever on smooth granite stones next to the river! How cool is that!! I‘m deeply grateful for meeting all these friendly souls.

She had gone to hike a small tour while I relaxed in the sun and cooled my feet in the river. From where I lied down, I could observe Lembert Dome and immediately imagined myself climbing it! Later in the evening, I helped to keep a small fire alive while Carla made a delicious dinner – fusili with a beef & basil tomato sauce and spicey ginger tea. She is really an angel, supporting me so much without asking anything in return.

When it got dark, we put on our warmest clothes and threw the sleeping pads in the car. A ranger program was supposed to happen that night, where they tell you about star constellations, but the parking lot of Lembert Dome remained empty and no ranger showed up. We walked over to the white and even granite surface and sat down on our pads where the talk would have happened. Carla and I watched the stars and milky way while talking about chinese medicine and its‘ different views on the body and health. Tired and happy, I fell asleep immediately after we came back to the campground.

John Muir Trail Part 6/11 – From Donohue Pass to Lyell Canyon Meadow (… Miles)

Waking up with warm sunlight was much better than with the alarm clock in the darkness. I slept very well unlike the others who were unfortunately too cold – the weather change is unexpected but I‘m getting used to the dropping temperatures.

We all took it slow this morning – Savannah gave me something to improve my coffee and I could pack without a hurry. Soon I said goodbye to the others and started hiking.

When walking uphill towards Donohue Pass (around 11000 feet) I struggled with the thinning air, but I also noticed that I felt fitter, stronger. My body is adapting. My feet hurt less. If I can manage to get down my base weight, I could be even faster. Of course, I‘m already making plans for the next years, I want to hike the entire JMT and parts of the PCT. I don‘t know if I could do the full PCT. But I‘d like to try at least!

Shortly after the pass, the landscape changed into a giant impressionist painting – Lyell Canyon – a valley full of granite slabs with waterfalls forming creeks meandering through lush meadows, snow-capped ragged peaks and round boulders, evergreens and bristle cones. I‘m probably repeating myself at this point, but it just doesn‘t stop being amazing: Mountains, meadows, beautiful granite, tears of joy.

Getting down from Donohue Pass was hard, my knees don‘t like long descents on granite steps. I‘m always afraid of tripping or twisting my ankle.

Everything went fine though and after chatting with several hikers and taking lots of snack and water breaks, I arrived at the bottom of Lyell Canyon. It looked like from a fairytale. I‘m officially in Yosemite National Park – and it feels magical! Five more days and I‘m in the Valley…

My campsite is less crowded today – I made a fire but so far I‘m the only one enjoying it – Cathy hasn‘t showed up yet – she is probably camping somewhere else. I improved my chicken ramen with chili and peanut butter – a good meal that „feeds the engine“ as Cathy put it. As I‘m sitting here, warmed by the flames, I‘m thinking about improving my hiking experience.

Checklist for next time: an ultra-light inflatable pillow, a small pocket mirror (I don‘t want to look like a zombie and my contact lenses cause a lot of problems with all the dirt…), a tiny gas stove system (Jeff showed me his and it fit into his closed hand without the fuel cartridge!).

John Muir Trail Part 5/11 – From Garnet Lake to Junction before Donohue Pass via Thousand Islands Lake (… Miles – will update asap!)

I woke up and noticed that my sleeping bag was damp – the tent ceiling was full of small condensation drops which kept falling down. Even my shoes felt stiff and ice-cold. Frozen dew and dirt clung to every surface. The sun rose and shone on the opposite walls – great. I had a hot chocolate a woman gave to me yesterday as a comfort and to warm up. It was smart to have brought gloves, a fleece buff and a beanie – the trio kept me warm more than once, during hiking or at camp!

I slowly got in motion like a grumpy cat on sleeping pills. The trail couldn‘t have been any more scenic as it rose and fell next to gorgeous crystal clear lakes and soft flowery meadows with white granite boulders strewn in.

I took a break at beautiful but very windy Thousand Islands Lake – I stretched, snacked and decided to hike Island Pass but camp right before Donohue Pass instead of doing both passes in one day.

It was a good decision as the campsite at the junction was one of the best so far – another hiker I met, Cathy, camped here too and gave me good coffee – we agreed to start a fire later as it‘s freezing when the sun hides behind a cloud.

I took my time to take a nap in the sunshine, wash my entire tent and air out everything – tonight I want a clean surrounding and I hope to get more circulation to avoid icicles inside the tent.

A little later, a scruffy-looking guy with a white beard and round glasses in a stained, green windbreaker showed up. He introduced himself as PCT-thru-hiker Jeff. While he set up his tent, I collected firewood. Together, we lit up the fire and soon, other hikers showed up – attracted by the warm glow and Jeff‘s friendly shout-outs to join us. Corey, a girl who wanted to thru-hike the JMT southbound, was relieved when she found us – her feet would hurt so much that she couldn‘t think of finishing the trail. We comforted her and made dinner. That‘s when Sarah, Casey and Savannah (I hope I‘m spelling your names right, girls 🙂 joined us and immediately sat down at the fire. Just like Corey, they looked exhausted after doing Donohue Pass from the more strenuous side.

We chatted into the night and Jeff, father of our spontaneous „trail family“ told entertaining stories and gave us tips about gear and thru-hiking. He has done pretty much all of the US long distance hiking trails and at age 60+ he’s still doing 20+ (!) miles (that’s sometimes a half-marathon im kilometers!) every day on the PCT. Whenever I set up my camp every day, he is still out there, hiking until darkness falls. One of Jeff‘s hiking folklore stories was about „Catwater“, a woman of his age or older, hiking endlessly and since many years. How did she get her name? The legend says, she drank water from a creek where a dead cat was in… in the middle of the Sierras – no idea how the animal got there – she filtered it and deemed it okay to drink. We all shuddered and laughed. The 7 of us exchanged reasons why we chose to hike these trails. It was really good to have company and stay up later instead of curling up in the tent alone at 8.30pm.

On a side note, I‘ve read lots of trip reports and blogs about long distance hiking and some people said both the JMT and the PCT are full of people, toilet paper and trash. I wonder where that comes from. I‘m currently on a section that JMT and PCT share and it‘s not crowded – I meet hikers maybe every 20 minutes or less, sometimes an hour goes by and I don‘t see anyone. As for trash and used toilet paper (which, as a reminder you should pack out = take with you) I saw little bits but nothing that ruined the wilderness experience. I collected any plastic trash that I saw so far.

John Muir Trail Part 4/11 – From Minaret Creek to Garnet Lake via Rosalie Lake (10.9 Miles)

This morning, everything was peaceful and calm but my suspicion grew and after putting in contact lenses, I could see the disaster: the sounds from last night definitely came from a bear who, balancing or jumping from a fallen tree, ripped through all three bags and devoured my food. All of it. Except the stuff in the canister, which I found a few meters down from where I put it, completely scratched and dirty. At least I had one or two meals and breakfast oatmeal left in there, so I wouldn‘t be starving.

I collected empty wrappers of ramen, mashed potatoes, protein bars, skittles… the bear had a nice 30$ meal! It even munched all my fruit squeeze bags and opened the peanut butter jar with its’ claws to lick the peanut butter from it. It‘s weird that I didn‘t hear the rustling sounds of the wrappers – the bear must have feasted in silence.

My plan to save money did not work out – now I‘ll have to resupply at Tuolumne Meadows which is probably not as cheap as the Grocery Outlet Store back at Mammoth. At least the backpack was a lot lighter and allowed me to hike further today.

Starting was hard though as I felt defeated and furious – a little bit at the bear but mostly at myself – I brought too much food and didn‘t hang it properly. I also had to clean the canister as it was full of bear slobber and it took forever. An experiended older hiker told me later that hanging food in this area was not entirely legal anyway and futile – the bears are too smart and strong. I felt dumb for even attempting it and realized that the first two nights I was very lucky because every bear could have easily gotten to my food.

When I told several people the story, they kindly offered me food – within two hours I had enough meals and snacks together that I didn‘t have to worry about the next days. I‘m deeply grateful about the generosity and I would do the same to someone in need. I learned my lesson. Ironically, the instant coffee was not eaten and somehow I wished I had left it out instead of my main meals.

My mood lightened as I stopped at several beautiful lakes for small breaks. My destination was Shadow Lake, but when I got there, I still had energy left (and a little less sore feet) so I continued up to Garnet Lake. I chose a campsite on the East shore to have every last bit of sunlight.

Tonight, everything fit into the canister and I didn’t have to worry about it anymore. I cleaned myself with wet wipes and fresh water from the lake and felt proud that I hiked a longer distance than originally planned.