John Muir Trail Part 3/11 – From Deer Creek to Minaret Creek via Red‘s Meadow & Devils‘ Postpile National Monument (8.7 Miles)

I got up and had the urge to steal and hide two pairs of shoes – they belonged to one of the two idiots who arrived very late at the campsite yesterday. Instead of being considerate, they yelled around and were generally obnoxious. I was even scared that they touch my food – at least they kept the bears away.

Speaking of bears – today was the day! When I stopped randomly on the trail to take a picture of trees which leaned downhill while holding on to the white sand they grew in, I heard twigs snap! About 300 feet (100 meters) ahead of me I spotted a big and and a small brown bear running downhill! A Mom and her cub – they were super fast and almost flowing down to the valley bottom! I held my breath and froze – I didn‘t want to disturb them – but internally I was bursting with excitement – finally a bear sighting!!!

I told three other hikers about it who went in the bears‘ direction. I went the other way and cursed my backpack. I got really tired. At one point, I stumbled and sat down, only to drop my energy drink. I put in music to regain motivation and thought about all the animals I‘ve seen so far – this helped a little bit to stay focused and put one foot in front of the other.

The trail varied a lot – from soft meadows with dew clinging to the plants, to mysterious dark forests and a large hill full of burnt down tree stumps, ferns and spikey berries – in the background were always bigger mountains and more valleys opened up.

Yosemite is coming closer step by step! The weather is actually perfect for hiking – not too cold, not too warm – but the daylight hours become less, the colors change to brown and it‘s cold in the evenings. I miss the carefree summer feeling of High Sierra Trail, where all of us would just set up our inner tent or slept outside.

As I was studying the map, a convoi of three pack mules (or two mules and a horse) and a cowboy rode by, greeting me with a „Howdy“. I was envious of the mules carrying the packs. But in my case, I was the mule! The next miles went uphill and although the pain on my shoulders was unbearable, I pushed on through Devil‘s Postpile National Monument – as I followed John Muir Trail, I didn‘t see the famous basalt rock formation directly but I did see a similar crag on the other side of the valley. It looked like angular „rock strings“ attached to each other…some of them upright and others bend to the ground…sorry this description sucks, but it looked so surreal and rare to find. Too bad that climbing on these things is prohibited!

After crossing Minaret Creek I pushed on to Johnston Lake, a brown, swamp type of lake with the local mosquito army probably ready, so I turned around and camped shortly afterwards between the trail and Minaret Creek. Tonight I might be alone again I thought and looked at the beautiful environment and the fire ring right in front of my tent – I would have loved to share this moment with a friend.

For lunch I had tortillas with yummy jalapeño cheese sticks and salami – and two butterfingers for dessert 😋 plus a painkiller. My stomach still hurts, I‘m not sure if it‘s a digestive thing or again the ovaries. Hanging my food was also painful, by being impatient and pulling too fast, I ripped the plastic bag and had to tape it back together before I could attempt to pull up the heavy load again, standing on a rotten tree whose branches where about to break under my weight.

It worked and I could finally relax after organizing my gear as well as washing and drying my clothes. It‘s amazing that usually washing machines do all the work for us, I thought and half-dipped into the river… it was a bit too cold, even though the sun was very hot until in the late afternoon!

But my relaxing time came to a sudden halt in the evening. As soon as it got dark, I heard very few and soft footsteps outside and a sniffeling right next to my tent. I tried to disappear in my sleeping bag by curling up and pulling it over me. What was out there? A loud crash of something falling down kept me on the edge – what could that have been, Sherlock? A dinosaur? A monster from Stranger Things? 😱 I held my breath and knew the answer. But instead of bursting out of the tent and screaming at the furry intruder to go away, I played dead and pretended not to notice what was going on. After a while, the noises ceased and I fell asleep.

John Muir Trail Part 2/11 – From Barney Lake to Deer Creek via Duck Pass (8.2 Miles)

Today it almost worked getting up with the alarm clock at 5.15am. It was windy, dark and cold – I could never go mountaineering like other people do – into the bitter cold of ice and snow fields in Patagonia or the Himalayas. Raindrops were still clinging to the tent but fortunately the food bags remained untouched – both by bears and squirrels – but mostly by the rain which fell throughout the night. If any of the bags collected too much water, the whole thing would have crashed down.

Today‘s trail was exceptionally beautiful and fun – the last mile doesn‘t count, it‘s always excruciating 😖 Hiking has bits of instant gratification: after hiking a few switchbacks up, I looked back down and directly saw my progress: the view back into the valley of Barney Lake, where I camped.

I quickly made it over Duck Pass and reached Duck Lake. The sheer size of the lake and the surrounding peaks was magical, the view extending into a valley and guess what… more snow-capped mountains!

While crossing the meadow next to Duck Lake I noticed how smooth the rocks in the ground are – many glaciers have polished them over the centuries. It felt like a really special, timeless place. Soon after, the trail ended in a junction and there it was: the famous John Muir Trail (JMT)! I had planned to hike a section from that junction all the way to Yosemite Valley in 8-10 days, taking my time.

I had to cry when I saw the extensive valleys and peaks the trail revealed while ascending on the rim of a canyon and thought – why does this make me so happy? Nature has never disappointed me or betrayed me for an experience – other than people. It is always a safe, yet intimidating space – it makes me feel humble and think about ways how to be a better person. I feel most confident and focused in nature – no distractions, no information overflow. Steadiness and peace. And a direct exposure to raw elements without the luxuries of cities.

After passing many squirrels, vulcanic red rocks and hikers, I met an older hiking lady who broke her nose and blackened her eye when she tripped over a root – and still continued JMT after only two days! I also saw a teenage girl hiking with her (I assume to be) grandmother – how cool is that? There are lots of strong women out there, doing their thing. There was also a team of two witty girlfriends, going fast and ultra-light – their backpacks were tiny and they both revealed that they only packed one change of clothes. We chatted about the options I had but honestly, other than the climbing gear, I don‘t know what to leave at home next time.

On the way down, my backpack suddenly became too much for my feet – it hurt so bad that I had to force myself to walk further, the campsite at Deer Creek did not want appear. How far can 1000 feet be? I kept checking my Osmand app desperately and even mistook dome-shaped boulders for grey tents – granite fata morganas!

Then at last, a green meadow with a refreshing creek running through popped up. Lots of tall pine trees provided enough shade to make this a decent campsite! At least my ability to estimate my hiking speed vs. distance and arrival time is on spot – I arrived at 12:45pm and could choose from many campsites. My lunch was hot – I made instant pho and added chili flakes and a big spoon of crunchy peanut butter – to my surprise it was incredibly tasty, honestly it was better than the soups I had in some restaurants!

I‘m laying in my tent, drinking coffee and stretching my sore muscles, using the golf ball to get in deeper. I have to think of a way how to support my feet by taping them – the weight isn‘t going to be less tomorrow or the day after. Anyway, I made good progress today, giving myself a headstart as I initially wanted to camp back at Duck Lake.

Sadly there are lots of flies outside who are, unlike mosquitoes, unaware of the bug spray and harass me continuously. There‘s a fire ring and if I can motivate myself later, I‘ll make a small fire to keep the bugs away.

John Muir Trail Part 1/11 – From Lake George to Barney Lake (4 Miles)

Despite the anticipation for the trail, getting up was hard! A blue bird and squirrels hopped around my tent so I gave myself a push. While I was slowly organizing my stuff and sipping disgusting instant coffee (another lesson learned…), a familiar voice called out to me: „Finn?“

It was Ed! He rode his Harley all the way up to wish me farewell – it was incredibly sweet! We had a small chat and by 9.15am I finally started the trail towards Duck Pass, only to be stopped by a short fall of rain.

Today, 5th September, is the first day that feels like autumn. Strong wind kept blowing and pushing grey clouds over the sky, leaves and needles kept falling and landing on the dark surfaces of the lakes I passed while hiking through the forest. There‘s a melancholic feeling to it.

The backpack has reached its‘ maximum capacity and the seams look like they are bursting any moments. On the way up, I joked about it with lots of other friendly hikers who had the tiniest daypacks. When I reached my destination, Barney Lake, I helped an 80 year old hiker called „Tinman“ (he has titanium knee replacements) balancing over a small creek and took over his small, light backpack.

He continued hiking up, convinced that the rain was gone but I was skeptical and put up camp at the lake, situated right before Duck Pass. Not that my feet would have made it another meter or foot or whatever. As I was trying to figure out how to turn my tent to protect it from the strong wind gusts, the weather gods kept mixing sun with light drizzling rain. I was glad that I stopped at the lake. Half an hour later, while I was filtering water and hiding my food, heavy rain fell down and I crept in my tent, ate olives and drank the last bit of red wine. I‘m enjoying moments of stillness and sensual reduction. The unfiltered wilderness makes me aware of every moment, whether it‘s good or bad, enjoyable or exhausting.

Another challenge was hanging my food – I‘m not entirely convinced by the result but also I don‘t know how to do it better. I kinda just hope that the rain forces the bears to rest in their caves (or wherever they sleep 😉

The day didn‘t start great – but it got better every hour. I ignored my alarm clock set for 6am – got to get into hiking mode again! – and slept an hour longer. When I finally got up, I felt sleepy and stiff. My lower belly hurts again, so I took painkillers, put water and a few snacks into my daypack and started off towards Crystal Lake. It was only a 1.4 mile trail, but I got lost both ways… while dealing with the recurring stomach pain and other weird issues my body has which have sadly become normal to me. I can definitely feel the altitude (around 9000 feet here) this time, I‘m having a hard time breathing when I‘m hiking upwards.

Crystal Lake however, was absolutely stunning. I got there when it was still a bit cool and no one else was there. I waded into the clear, turquoise water with confidence but when the first gush of wind came, I turned around with just my arms and legs wet, sitting in the sun and shivering.

When arriving back at the campground, I brew coffee and hid in my tent – for the first time since I‘m in the United States, rain started to fall. It wasn‘t a lot but strong enough to cool down the air. I had to get back to Mammoth Lakes though to obtain my backcountry permit and resupply on food for the next 12 days.

Luckily the rain stopped whenever I was inside a shuttle or store. On the shuttle, I met Ed, a charming bus driver who was one day before his retirement and decided to have as much fun as possible at work. He would stop the shuttle next to tourists and asked them for the correct way to a certain lake – as everybody was asking him the same question, day in day out. He also made lots of Dad jokes („Is anyone an artist here? Well, I draw… attention!“) and entertained us with facts about the area. I told Ed it would be funny if he dressed up as a bear during work.

The rest of the evening, I enjoyed the lake view with crime podcasts and red wine, before laying all the food out and sorting it after days. As I already dreaded, it did not all fit into the bear canister which puts me in a bad situation – I have to hang my food from tree branches or it will get eaten by a bear. It is nothing I have looked into during the research phase, so I‘ll have to experiment a bit!

It‘s very peaceful here – pink clouds contrast an otherwise blue sky, the wind carries sounds of the lake and the pine trees to my tent. Everything is sorted for tomorrow and I‘m tired from the red wine and the altitude. Good night!

Jenny offered me a ride to Mammoth Lakes in the morning – cool! On the way we passed beautiful lakes and hills and lots of yellow „bear xing“ signs.

Mammoth Lakes has a free shuttle transit system which is great but of course I missed my bus about a minute and hiked into town instead.

Mammoth reminded me very much of an Austrian ski resort, shops, ski rental shop, restaurants, hotels and lodges along a main street. The income source and attraction, the mountains, are visible from every point. People come to here to camp, hike, fish and ride their bikes (I also saw some downhill bikers waiting for a bike shuttle, for which I have the same sympathy as for „cool“ snowboarders, but whatever…). In winter, the bike trails are transformed into ski slopes.

A shuttle with a very aggressive driver took me upwards to „Lakes Basin“ – I picked my campground spontaneously and it was a good choice. Lake George is right next to the site and the hosts are nice. It‘s a good place to acclimate and prepare for my second big trail – a section of John Muir Trail, northbound. I‘ll start in two days.

After setting up camp, I hiked around the lake, admiring the granite formations and the crystal clear water. I swam a full round and dried in the sun. While studying the clouds and sky, I noticed that all of a sudden, everything had become quite dark and the clouds rumbled – but no raindrops fell down yet. The winds picked up during the night, all the bees and bugs flew lower than usual and I knew for certain that it was going to rain soon!

The initial plan for today was to go climbing with Nate, but after the shops were closed (It was Labor Day which is like 1st of May), I could not buy new climbing shoes. I‘m eager to buy a high-top shoe with a stiff sole (ideal for crack climbing) but the model I want (La Sportiva TC Pro) is too expensive here. My toe was still recovering so I told Nate I‘d take a lazy day.

And somehow, I really needed this – after a month of traveling and hiking, experiencing new things everyday, I was glad I could just hang around without any big ambitions than reading and relaxing. I could also move back into my „old“ favorite room at the hostel and started my day with good coffee and a brownie. While sitting and chatting with many other hikers, a very sweet hiker duo offered me fresh vegetables with dip and a chicken wing in a tortilla with rice!

I took long naps, listened to Jimi Hendrix and talked to a close friend on the phone. In the evening, Nate came around and we talked over beers – Jenny joined after hiking and we had another adventure trying to get more beer from a liquor store. I didn‘t have my passport with me and my driver‘s license was not accepted. So we had to drive to another gas station and pretend that I only accompany Jenny on her beer trip. Mission completed, I fell into bed and was asleep fast.

After a baked beans breakfast, Jenny and I stopped at the fair. I talked to the staff about the „campground“ disappointment and…received a full refund! I didn‘t expect that because in Germany/Austria employees would just shrug their shoulders. Glad to have my money back, I wanted to see the derby naturally, so we got tickets!

Then we went hiking around the „Happy Boulders“ – a bouldering area north of Bishop full of vulcanic stone. It is probably the best bouldering area I‘ve seen so far – there was lots of easy, but interesting stuff. Giant holes in the rocks, caves and overhangs made the climbing really physical, but we only scrambled up easy routes with our approach shoes.

From the parking lot, a trail led to Owens river – a welcome refreshment – we jumped in and sunbathed a while before driving back into town.

I got really hungry and we went to a Mexican restaurant – wow, the food was delicious (I had a taco salad with pulled beef). However the oil the cook used must have been too much or too fat – we felt so full and bloated after eating that it was uncomfortable.

The County Fair today was even fuller than the day before – it was Labor Day Weekend after all and lots of people queued up for the Derby. We waited in an endless queue for beer, sat down and chatted to a friendly guy explaining how the Derby works.

The cars and trucks were already lined up with numbers on top. They would compete against each other in five or six rounds, cars and trucks separated.

Inbetween there was an „iced t-shirt“ contest and we knew that this had to be the same style of contest than the „boot race“ at the Rodeo. Five teams were given two t-shirts frozen in an ice-block. They had to smash them against a barrel and whoever was the first to „unfreeze“ the shirt, had to put it on – a guy won the round.

The final car round took place and one car fired up the show – engine smoke and stuck wheels included – a fierce, lime green Fiat (or was it a VW? It was hard to tell from the start as all the cars had been modified and looked pretty banged up without windows and a hole in the roof – the driver‘s escape route).

My first demolition derby – it was lots of fun and I could have watched it forever. At one point, it was over and the audience, holding giant lemonade „vessels“ and popcorn bags the size of trashbags, made its‘ way towards the rest of the fair. America. You‘re fascinating and weird.

After spending one night on the fairground parking lot, I decided to check in at the hostel again – luckily there was space, but the room was less nice. Jenny, my German aquaintance from yesterday, and I decided to grab a couple of crashpads and drive up to a world famous bouldering area: the Buttermilks!

This area is incredible. Lots of huge, round granite boulders are scattered in the desert while the Sierra mountains dwell in the background. The rock surface is sharp and crystalline – not exactly a treat for the skin. We started off with a downclimb route – a V0 (FB 4/4+) and it resisted every one of our attempts. Lastly, I squeezed up between two boulders to get on top.

Our next project – another V0 – proposed the same difficulties – slippery footholds and tiny crimps made it impossible for us to top out. It was very hard and unforgiving but we had fun.

Finally, I managed to climb a V1 onsight, it required less stemming and balancing but power-moving up on big jugs (which hurt nevertheless). I added a sit-start to it, making it a V2, called „The Prow“ – at least I did one full, clean ascent in the Buttermilks – yay! This time, I used chalk though.

It was hard enough to climb with a disintegrating shoe – when I looked down at my left toe it was bleeding from a deep cut! The tiny, sharp crystals were digging into the skin.

We took a look at „Ironman“ – a famous hard problem (visualisation training 😉) and went to try „Hero Roof“ (V0) and a few easy slabs. Jenny managed to do another route on a huge boulder.

Soon my fingers (and the poor toe) decided they were done for the day so we drove back, stopping at the Burger Barn – oh my god – finally a great burger with fries and home made lemonade! We were so full after eating, we could barely move.

Jenny decided to come along to the rodeo – I was getting very excited! While waiting in the arena, Donna and Chuck, a super nice older couple from LA offered us cold beer and explained some rodeo rules. At the same time, cowboys and cowgirls (all wearing flanel shirts, wrangler jeans, hats and boots) were warming up on their horses.

The show started with a patriotic moment – a cowgirl carrying a large flag rode to the middle of the arena and everybody had to stand up and sing the national anthem with their hats/caps in their hands. Jenny and I cringed – it was awkward.

The bulls came first – some of them weighing up to 1500 pounds – and shot out of the small stalls when the gates were opened. They were furiously bouncing and trying to shake off the cowboys. The very first rider actually stayed on top longer than the eight second minimum! All the others were thrown off within a blink of an eye.

The bulls were chased through an exit door when the stunt was over and a guy on a tractor pulled over the dirt field to rake it.

The next discipline was roping and tying down the bulls – a team of two riders showed off skills necessary for working on a farm. Catching the bulls by the horns with a lasso was easy for most riders, but none of them could get both hind legs into the loop. More bull riders came and the same show was repeated with horses.

The final discipline were cowgirls riding their horses very fast and making them turn around three barrels swiftly. Inbetween there were two „boot races“ – one for kids and one for adults – the contestants had to leave one boot/shoe at a pile and run back and forth through the dirt. Donna insisted that I participate but my toe was still hurting and some people took the race way to seriously – two guys started fighting in the middle of the track 😂

After the rodeo Jenny and I watched another sliding zombie show and a climbing tower where you could pay 10$ to win 100$ – on the very top of the tower, which was in really bad shape, five 20$ bills were attached and waiting for climbers. None of them managed to hold on to the tiny holds at the top. We didn‘t try, saving our strenght for tomorrow!

In the morning, a young woman from Germany chatted me up if I was looking for a climbing partner – it had never been easier than in this town! We agreed to go bouldering soon. I was happy to extend my stay in Bishop and see new places. However, I had to check out of the hostel and leave my beautiful room as I had a campground reservation at the fairgrounds. Determined to get good coffee first, I spent a few hours at Black Sheep Coffee, the local spot for climbers to meet up. The coffee was mediocre despite coming from a good espresso machine – maybe it‘s the water in the US that ruins even good roasts? I would still come back as it’s a cozy café and the staff is lovely.

Anyway, in the afternoon I set up my tent next to the fairground and noticed that it was actually just a parking lot for RVs. So I paid 80$ for two nights on a dried-out lawn where I had to fear getting run over by big SUVs. Feeling cheated and exhausted, I ate a quick bite and made my way into the County Fair. I would never visit its‘ German/Austrian equivalents but I figured it‘s fun in another country.

There were not a lot of people there when I walked around and discovered weird stuff – an exhibition with too many photos crammed into a small space, next to artificial flowers and hand woven blankets. Alltogether it was so ugly that I had to laugh – small-city charm under neon lights?

I missed a filled cookie & strawberry pie contest but the results from previous years were exhibited in glass boxes.

I went to a show of „Decayed Brigade“ instead – a group of monsters, zombies and other horror characters who slid down the floor on kneepads, jumping over obstacles and more zombies. The outfits were really cool!

In the same location, a retired school gym, were small vendor stands of the weirdest selection: a guy selling fishing rods and hooks next to a palm/tarot reading woman next to representatives of the local Republican party next to UV glow masks.

Another feature was a big assortment of toy weapons – I‘ve never seen so many plastic guns for kids in a row.

Next to that stand, another guy sold plates with quotes for people who took pride in being rednecks. As much as I would like to try out shooting again, the obsession with guns in the US is over the top. It reminds me of German sports car owners who protest a speed limit although many people are getting killed every year on the highways.

To get into a better mood, I got an overpriced light beer and a corndog – the corndog was delicious (does anyone out there have a recipe?) – and sat down to listen to country and rock music. The musician I initially wanted to see got sick so a 60ies cover band (mostly CCR tunes which I actually like) replaced him.

I woke up early, packed my stuff and started hiking into town, trying to flee from the evil sun that was eager to hit the desert. After only 40 minutes, it got unbearably hot, so I was happy to accept the lift by Nate who was driving into town for work.

I checked into The Hostel California (THC, heh…) and was met by a very welcoming, warm host called Brendon. Dreading hostels a bit (because of previous hostel experiences and their lack of cleanliness), I was positively surprised – I got a bed in a cozy, clean room and took a long nap.

It was obvious that other climbers and hikers made up the clientel – there were tons of guidebooks, crashpads and autographed photos from famous climbers on the walls.

A remodelled garage serves as a lounge and I spent some time sitting there with snacks and a cool tonic, looking at guidebooks and old photobooks. There is so much climbing history to learn and so much to do in the Eastern Sierra, it is overwhelming and I‘ve started making a list of new places I want to visit in the future.

The rest of the day was not spectacular – I had a mission to buy new underwear and hiked through Bishops under the brutal sun – the local K-mart carried only underwear in 3X and larger sizes. I did not want to look in the kids section so I ended up buying a super functional but pricey piece at Eastside Sports. Hiking and climbing is quite hard on the clothes!