Day 9 September 6th

Start - Deer Meadows
End –  Lake Marjorie                                        
Mile – 13.8

Today is a big climbing day up to the Palisade Lakes and over Mather Pass then down 6.5 miles then up 3 miles to Lake Marjorie.

There were a gazillion switch backs that never seemed to end up to the Palaside Lakes.  Once you get to the lakes you never really get near the lakes.  The trail starts to go up above the lakes in preparation for the Golden Stair Case and up and over Mather Pass.

Sorry, but I didn’t understand what all the hoopla is about the “Golden Stair Case”  I actually did not know I was on the Golden Stair Case until days later.
Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate all the hard work the original trail makers did as well as the CCC and all the volunteers have done for this section on trial. But, I didn’t notice anything special.  Maybe I was distracted by the beauty which surrounded me.

About a 11:00 AM and a hour from me reaching the top of Mather Pass, the clouds started to turn grey and then dark. Oh no, here I am near the top of Mather Pass at 11955’ and a afternoon thunder storm is starting to brew.  I think I even felt a rain drop or two.  I put on my rain jacket, zip open the pit zips on my Preclip Jacket and start back up the pass.  I’m taking a chance that I can get to the top and over before the thunder and lightning starts.  I don’t know what the weather or clouds look like on the other side of the Mather Pass, but I hear thunder in the distance.  It’s still ok where I’m at. No real rain just the clouds building up and getting darker and darker and darker.

By the time I reach the actual pass, I can see that 10 miles away in the area where my next camp would be at Lake Marjorie there is a big storm.  I see lightning and hear thunder.  No doubt that area is getting a lot of rain.

While I’m at the pass and looking to the south, I noticed the clouds directly above and behind me starting to look like the clouds 10 miles away.  Oh No. I’m going to get dumped on.  I reach into my pocket and pull out a single pack of squeezable instant carb gel and suck it dry.  The trail from the pass going down is a series of very long switch backs but on very good maintained trial.  It’s about a mile more or less long.  I tighten up my waist and shoulder straps and start jogging down the trail. The storm aint gona get me!  Must have been a sight to see, some guy running non stop down the mountain.

By the time I got to near the bottom, the sky above me  started to clear and the sun was starting to peep through the clouds.  What? All that running for nothing?

Do you believe in Karma?

Let me explain.  For the past few days, I have been having a sock issue.  The 2 pairs fairly new Injinji socks I brought started to get holes in them.  Bummer.
I started to use my only pair of sleeping socks which happen to be hiking sock, to hike.  Now I really only have 1 ½ pairs of hiking socks total. And with 5 day more hiking.

As I was nearing the bottom the pass I start to slow my pace from a jog to normal walking.  Now I can move my head from staring down on the trail while jogging to now looking around normally.

At the first moment that I raise my head to look around, believe it or not, sitting on top of a rock is a pair or smart wool hiking socks.  I could tell they were slightly used but clean. I swear to god this is true! When I told this story to a few other hikers days later, they all told me they also saw those socks on the rock. But didn’t bother to take them.

Of course if there were other hikers in the area I would have asked if left the socks and I would return them.  That’s just the way I grew up.  But there was nobody!  So they are  MINE, MINE, MINE! Ha ha ha. “Finders, Keepers, Losers Weepers” I regress…

I try on my new socks, but unlike Cinderella and the glass slipper, my new socks are a little big.  That’s fine with me. I’m not complaining. I got new socks!

Are you Bob Davies?
Seen Bob Davies?
No?
Thanks anyway…….

By the time I reach the intersection of the Taboose Pass trail and the JMT, I see about 2 dozen young CCC worker coming down the trail heading for their camp. I make a point to always take the time to thank them for all the hard work they do. So one by one as they pass me, I say “You guys do great work, thank you”.  I always get a great big smile in return and thanks back. It’s a great feeling.

I meet a Ranger around Bench Lake and we talk about bad the storm was a few hours ago. He says there was thunder and lightning and a little rain. The Ranger also said it was the tail end of some storm coming from the Gulf of Mexico and should be a concern later in the week.
The Ranger mentioned to me that he was invited to dinner with the CCC crew a few miles away and was anticipating a much better meal than what he was going to have to make himself.  That’s’ probably what was on his mind instead of asking to see my permit.  That’s cool.

I finally get to Lake Marjorie at 6:00 PM and the wind is starting to pick up and the temperature is dropping fast.  It’s all exposed around the lake with no trees.

I turn one corner of the trail and what do I see?  A lime green stephenson warmlite tent all zipper up.  I call out” Bob Davies from Tuxedo New York, are you in there?” “Yes, that’s me” Bob shouts from inside his tent. “I’m Rod, your ride back to San Francisco, remember me?”

We shake hands and proceeds to tell me he fell in the creek, pack and all at the South King River.  Bob tell me that he been hiking with 2 other men his same age and hiking style for the past 5 days. Richard and Jon are their names. Also for the past 2 days have seen “Debbie from Alaska” in the same camps as the 3 guys.

It’s to cold to chit chat and I still haven’t found a tent site or made dinner. So I tell Bob I will hike with them in the morning and I take off to find a camp.  I find a nice large flat spot near the lake but it’s still windy and getting colder. I set up my tent, climb in and set up my alcohol stove and wind shield just beyond the vestibule of my tent.  While dinner is cooking outside , I’m warm and dry inside the tent.  All I want to do is eat and go to sleep.

Now I know that bears are never seen  above 11000’ so I leave my bear can inside my tent.  It’s really inside the vestibule of the tent and not actually inside the tent.  I don’t think it really make a difference when only a thin layer of nylon separates the two. The point I’m trying to make is that the can wasn’t 10-20 feet away from me where I normally set it.

Now that I think about it. Since I ate inside my tent, the smell of all that good Ramen noodles would have attracted a bear and would have wanted to go inside my tent to further investigate.

There is a point to all this rambling.  While I was sleeping, in the middle of the night I hear what sounded like something jumping in the water behind my tent.  I heard splashing and trashing and the sounds of something coming out of the water and walking around.  I thought there is a god dam bear trying to catch some trout in the lake behind me! That can’t be. Bears don’t like 11000’ elevation!

I was getting a little concerned and even a little more concerned when I noticed my bear can inside my tent. Not really inside, but you know.  It was cold and windy outside. I didn’t want to have to get out of my tent to move the bear can.  Even if I did get out, I might come face to face with a bear eating a trout dinner.  So I simply opened up my vestibule took hold of my bear can like a bowling ball and rolled it forward 10 feet away from my tent.  STRIKE!

Since most of my days have been spent hiking primarily solo, I’m looking forward to a little companionship and someone to talk to for the last few days on JMT.