John Muir Trail Day 13: No Easy Days on the JMT- Golden Staircase to Muir Pass

Waking up on Day 13 of the John Muir Trail meant no mountain summits or passes for the day.  You would think my husband, Cliff and I would have been able to breathe a deep sigh of relief but, knowing the JMT as I now did, there were no easy days to be had for this epic thru-hike.

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I still woke up excited as I mentally went over our major goal of the day – to get as close we could to the base of Muir Pass.

It’s another highlight on a trail filled to the brim with legendary points of interest and Muir Pass was towards the top of my must-see list. I had seen outrageously beautiful pictures of the trail leading up to the famous Muir Hut and I was beside myself to be able to finally tackle this part of our adventure.

We packed up our camp and chose to eat breakfast as we hiked along but this meant moving quickly on from another campsite we absolutely adored. I wondered, at the time, how we kept lucking out on these phenomenal campsites and hoped our winning streak would continue.Heading out on the trail, I found it hard to juggle my breakfast, bottle of coffee and camera as I kept stumbling along. The Sierra Nevada light was too distracting as it cast an irresistible glow on the stunning scene surrounding us.  

The trail led us through Deer Meadow where we stopped to watch a doe and her fawn grazing.  Delighted, we ambled along, enjoying the slight downhill dirt path and the rare opportunity to breathe with our mouths closed for a change.

Our pace felt natural and soon we lost ourselves in good conversation on a glorious morning with what felt like not another soul around for miles, until we reached the junction for the Middle Fork Kings River Trail. We knew, from looking at our trusty JMT map, that this would signal the beginning of the trail trending upwards with no break until it reached the top of Muir Pass.If the JMT is known for never being short on uphill climbs, at least it provides first-class entertainment, surpassing all that elevation gain, with sheer scenic beauty. For the next 7.8 miles, I was easily distracted from the 2,650+ feet upward trending trail. Recurring thoughts of THIS is why I am here circled endlessly in my head while I stared breathlessly (seriously, the lungs deserved time-and-a-half pay for all their overtime work) at the landscapes I had only seen in Ansel Adams photography books.

As we hiked into the evening, we began to look for another epic campsite and naturally thought Starr Camp would be a good choice. One look at Far Out, though, and the repeated warnings against going anywhere near this well known and overused area had us making alternate plans. “Full of poop” was an effective entry that had us hiking on until we happened across yet another nameless gorgeous site gifting us with views of nearby waterfalls and a valley below our perch on the mountainside. We had the area all to ourselves until late evening when a tired but nice couple waved at us in greeting, quietly set up their tent and promptly fell asleep.

As we settled in, I noticed several hikers by their bobbing headlamps quickly making their way up the trail deep into the night. I wondered if they were aiming to summit Muir Pass despite the darkness and couldn’t help but be envious of their energy and the countless stars they would see from that spectacular vantage point.Tomorrow, I thought. Tomorrow, it would be our turn to take in every astounding step that led us finally to the storied summit of Muir Pass. 

Stats for the Hiker Nerds

Day 13- August 29, 2024 

The base of the Golden Staircase to the base of Muir Pass

Mountain Pass/Summit: N/A

Elevation Gain: 2,659’

Elevation Loss: 910’

Mileage: 11-ish

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