John Muir Trail Day 15: Perfect Campsites and the Glorious Evolution Valley (I Live Here Now)

After the absolute highs of summiting Muir Pass, we descended northbound down the massive rocky expanse and into a sprawling valley that ushered us through the Ionian Basin and ultimately into the astoundingly beautiful Evolution Basin. 

Countless named and unnamed bodies of water dotted the landscape as far as we could see with our line of sight interrupted only by massive mountain ranges with dramatically jagged peaks.

The trail gifted us a wealth of stunning visual entertainment as we walked along silently taking it all in, made better by miles of flat path. A rarity on the JMT, we were able to set a fast pace unimpeded by elevation gain or loss and I joyfully walked along relishing the feeling…for a while.After hours of flat hiking at an persistent average elevation of 11,000 feet, I think the searing high-altitude sun was to blame when, out of nowhere, my husband and hiking partner said, “I don’t think I’m going to do any more long distance thru-hikes after this…”

The shock of that statement had me hunting for clarification when I said, “After today or after we finish the JMT?” I had noticed that when the trail dropped us into valleys and left us with the monotony of many miles of flat hiking, our moods seemed to dip and we both fell silent. 

To be fair, we were 15 days and so many miles into this hike. We had not slept anywhere near the realm of well yet on trail. We were not eating enough calories and we were both dropping a lot of weight off our frames and he, in particular, didn’t have any to lose to begin with. We never seemed to be able to drink enough water for how dry the California climate was, how hot the high alpine sun made our days and for how hard we were working. We carried heavy backpacks  in constant movement all day long. The bones, muscles and skin of our feet hurt by the end of the day. And the thought of still many more days to go…well.

In summary, we were profoundly tired. 

But what I failed to notice was that, while I was mostly tired in body, my husband was mainly tired in spirit.We talked about how we were both feeling while we forced ourselves to keep hiking, agreeing in that unspoken way, that we would both be revived once we were able to shift from the vast open mountain basin of full mid-day sun and into the cool shade of the upcoming forest. We just had to move past Evolution Lake, the final landmark before the trail would descend from 11,000+ feet in elevation and into a much lower and less taxing altitude.

Passing Evolution Lake, pausing only long enough to drink some electrolytes and eat a bar, will be one of those enduring regrets we will have about the JMT, but the insane relief we felt as soon as the landscape finally gave way to the blessed cool shade of the Evolution Valley evergreen forests was unmatched.

The trail also began to sharply descend over the next 3.6 miles as we dropped over 2,300+ feet in elevation all the way into McClure Meadow.

By this time, we were shuffling our feet in a forced trudge just hoping the next bend in the trail would be our campsite near the McClure Meadow Ranger Station.  When we were within a mile of our goal for the day, I heard the peaceful sounds of a nearby river and looked up to find an empty campsite void of any other human beings, peacefully set under beautiful pine trees and told my husband, “We’re here.”He looked over at the campsite, knowing we had lucked upon yet another dreamy place to call home for the night and promptly veered off trail to immediately stake our claim.

It took only a few minutes to set up camp and safely store our food stores before we were making a limping beeline straight to the river to cold soak our tired bodies in the impossibly frigid water. As we watched the sunset from our rocky perch in the river, the topic of not finishing the JMT or never doing another thru-hike didn’t come up again…because of course we would.

Day 15 on the John Muir Trail brought an easy morning bathed in the kind of famed light that the Sierra Nevada mountain is celebrated. Packing up camp and taking breakfast on the go was another regret since this particular campsite, nestled among soaring evergreens and a fast moving river, will always be hard to leave.Our hike through the morning was a dream as we skirted one side of Evolution Valley. The trail soon delivered us to another river crossing with calf-deep water moving at a docile clip. We had no issues getting to the opposite bank and in no time we were moving along miles of downhill trail. Each step had us hiking through scenes filled with old growth forests, glorious geology and a dreamy backdrop of character-filled craggy mountains. My photographer’s heart was shrieking with joy.

Down we descended into a valley, until the footpath delivered us to a temporary bridge spanning a river far below. As we approached the temporary structure surrounded by warning signs, recognition finally hit that we had arrived at the San Joaquin Bridge. 

According to the National Park service, sometime during the winter of 2022/2023 “the 69’ steel truss San Joaquin Trail Bridge along the Pacific Crest Trail/John Muir Trail was heavily damaged and failed due to the extreme weight of snow” after the area received “279% of the annual Sierra Nevada snowpack.”

As we made ready to cross the narrow bridge one at a time, Cliff pointed out a sign situated right at the place where a hiker would take their first crossing steps that said, “Bridge not certified for public use. Use at your own risk.”

What in the absolute fresh hell? …and, of course, we crossed.

When we reached the other side of the river, we noticed that the forest became sparse again and changed from pine to twisty cedar trees so filled with personality that I couldn’t resist making them the main character of all of my photography.We also began to see signs for our goal destination of the day: Muir Trail Ranch. MTR was our second resupply point on the JMT and, knowing this, we hustled through the rest of the hike. We were eager to reach a place that would give us a mental break, though there would be no difference than any other stop for the evening on the JMT. There were no showers, a real bed to sleep in or meals due to not having a MTR reservation. (Reservations were obscenely expensive and we gladly opted out.) We would be camping for free next door to MTR, on national forest land, and leaving early the next morning to hike on. 

Above all else, though, was the realization that, according to our maps, by the time we reached MTR, we would officially be hitting the halfway point of the John Muir Trail. For our own specific mileage, we had already passed that point since we had completed over 23+ extra miles after our NOBO JMT permits had us starting at Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead.It didn’t matter a bit, though, as we stood at what we thought was the mid-way point of this legendary trail and celebrated how far we had come together, having never done a thru-hike, never hiked this far, or camped out for this many nights in a row. 

We’re really doing this, I thought to myself, smiling at the thought of years of dreaming about one day hiking the John Muir Trail to actually making it a reality. Hell, yes, we are.

Stats for the Hiker Nerds (Like You and I)

Day 14/15- August 29/30, 2024 

McClure Meadow to Muir Trail Ranch

Mountain Pass/Summit: N/A

Elevation Gain: 320′

Elevation Loss: 2,349′

Mileage: 11.7

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