Day's end: Duck Pass Trail
Day's miles: 11.4 miles
Total trip miles: 71.0 miles
Today we woke up early to do some laundry and sort through our resupply box before going to the cafe for a big, delicious breakfast. We both ordered lots of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, watermelon and coffee, and it was way better than the powdered milk and granola we had been having on the trail. While at the cafe for breakfast we ran into Rob, Mike, and his hiking friend, Chris, again. We also met two new guys who were section hiking the JMT, Robin and John, and Robin's dog, Nilla. Over breakfast, we discussed our next trail resupply/stop locations, and make the decision to add in a stop to Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR). Originally we planned to take a zero day at Muir Trail Ranch (MTR), but we had been hearing from lots of hikers that VVR was a lot more "hiker-friendly" than MTR and that as a thru-hiker at VVR, your first beer and your first night's stay are free. The free beer coupled with the rave reviews convinced us to alter our plans and take our last remaining zero day at VVR.
After breakfast, everybody left to get back on the trail while we putzed around Red's Meadow making sure that we had everything we needed until we made it to our next resupply. The last one left was Mike, whose friend Chris was only hiking with him as far as Red's Meadow. Mike had 2 or 3 more people joining him to finish the trail, but they would not be here for 2 more days. It was sad to leave Mike by himself, especially knowing how much fun it had been hiking with him and the others this far. He was the first of our new trail friends that we left, and I was awful sad leaving him and not knowing if we'd ever see him again.
At our first water break of the day we ran into Rob again and met two new guys who were hiking the JMT, Ian and John, who were also planning on stopping at VVR. The rest of the hike today can be described as only a slog. It was uphill, sandy, and made even more difficult by the extra food weight that we had packed into our bear cans. A few times the trees opened up and we saw some spectacular views of Fish Creek below. We had planned on hiking a few more miles to Purple Lake, but when we got to the Duck Pass Trail about 11 miles later we were so worn out that we decided to call it a day. Apparently, the rest of the people we had met on the trail felt the same way, and we all found camping spots in a large meadow. We felt extra safe knowing that Nilla the dog was close... perhaps she will protect everybody from any bears nearby... probably not.
Looking down to Fish Creek
Cleaning up before bed
Day 7 camp
You can enlarge any of these pictures by clicking on them.
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