When You Know Where You're Going (10/24/08)

When You Know Where You're Going.

In early September 2008, three friends from Kindergarten set out to complete a journey to complete the John Muir Trail that began over two years ago. This is the document of that journey, a story that will unfold over several entries.

Here is what happened on the first two days...



Day 01: Saturday September 06, 2008

Woke up early to get out of the Las Vegas heat and into the California heat. I wasn't ready, so I spent some time packing. Also I decided to change my MySpace headline to "Will is taking his last shower in two weeks".

After gassing up the Jeep and a quick stop at Albertson's for some last minute supplies (and Starbucks) it was time to drive 6.5 hrs to Clovis to have lunch at Marcia and Art's house. I stopped in Bakersfield and found a Sports Chalet where I bought a stove and a bear canister.

Lunch was good. I was late and got lost in Clovis, where they have more construction and road closures in the rural countryside than they do in most metropolitan areas. Art and Dad gave me crap for not following the directions they gave me. Dad and Renna gave us a ride up the mountain.

We stopped in Huntington Lake to have brownies and beers at Renna's friends' house (John and Barb). Renna gave me a framed John Muir photograph for my birthday.

We set up camp before dark and headed up o the main area of the resort for dinner where we feasted on Tritip and BBQ Chicken. Several backpackers from Occidental, CA and Beijing, China were relaxing around the campfire, and we spoke with them about their journey.

Dad and Renna shared a tent. Trevor had his own tent. Matt and I slept under the stars.


Day 02: Sunday September 07, 2008

Vermillion Valley Resort to Rose Lake Junction

I was pretty cold in my sleeping bag last night. Although I was totally mummified there was one small opening that seemed to let in a draft. I heard my dad stirring and decided to greet him. Before long everyone was up and dad was cooking breakfast for us: croissants, eggs, kielbasa sausage and more. It was quite tasty, and an excellent way to get started on our journey.

We broke camp quickly as it was getting late, and headed to the VVR store to purchase our tickets for the ferry. While we were there we met a woman who had injured herself and was flown out from some place called "The Third Recess" for medical attention. Her party was still out in the wilderness, and we were instructed to point them in the right direction should we come across them. We said we would do what we could, but since we were headed in the opposite direction, finding her party seemed doubtful.

When we arrived at the dock (in the back of the same junky cargo van we rode in last year) the boat was just coming across the lake full of passengers from the other side. Most of the group coming ashore seemed to be together, and a few very pointed questions revealed what I suspected: These were the men looking for the injured woman we met above! Turns out she was jumping off a rock to pose for a photo, and tore some ligaments in her leg. Luckily they had been carrying a satellite phone and were able to call for help.

The boat ride was uneventful. We rode with a female soloist and an older man who was hiking with his Airedale. The Airedale had a little red backpack on that was pretty cool.

The lake was not much higher this year than it was last year, but I still saw no evidence of the giant German Brown Trout the staff had warned me about. I suspect that if the boat had sunk (a strong possibility considering the load) that we could have easily walked to safety.

Once we reached the other side of the lake it was go time, and everyone dispersed in a hurry, off to achieve their various goals.

The first pass was pretty brutal, or at least it seemed to be. We were still acclimating to our packs and the altitude, which I'm sure, did not make it any easier. After a few miles things leveled off as we meandered by a creek, and we were able to catch our breath a little bit. We probably should have stopped sooner than we did, but pushed through to the Rose Lake Junction.

It doesn't take long to disappear in this world when you know where you are going.