August 5

Sapphire Lake to Senger Creek – 20.4 miles

This was resupply day for me, Somer and Harrison. We’d all sent food and other items for pick up just off the trail at Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) which we’d each mailed a few weeks before arriving in 5 gallon buckets. MTR asks for buckets since they are transported by truck, then boat across Florence Lake, and an ATV from the lake to MTR. Buckets protect the contents from the elements as well  as various critters. Jason had planned an earlier resupply which he skipped, and was instead getting by successfully eating extras from others. MTR had “hiker boxes” with extras which would add to his personal supply. I’d been counting the days to MTR since I’d sent 2 cans of beer, specifically 21st Amendment Blood Orange IPA – largely because it’s what I had in cans at the time, but also quite tasty!

While we earlier had to climb 11 miles NOBO to Muir Pass, we now had about 17 miles of net descent from Sapphire Lake below Muir Pass at almost 11,000’ to a low point at MTR of 7,600’. There was some climbing along the way, but the trail was mostly down to MTR. Since the reputation of MTR was strict adherence to a 5 pm daily closure, we were motivated to make good time to ensure we retrieved our resupplies. Coming first after Sapphire Lake was Evolution Lake, then Evolution Meadow through which ran a swollen Evolution Creek. Trail signs directed us across the meadow to a safer crossing which was pretty high but overall not too strong and quite manageable. Each day brought serendipitous meetings with fellow through hikers, and on this day, near the crossing, we met Katy Elkins and her daughter who were “kicking cancer’s ass”, with Katy having just completed chemo 3 months prior. She and her daughter were SOBO and finished their JMT a few days after I did. Awesome!

We followed Evolution Creek as it plummeted down to South Fork San Joaquin River, which we then followed as it roared downward as well. The rain returned once we arrived at the northern boundary of Kings Canyon NP, and it turned into a downpour the rest of the way to MTR. The resupply was a rushed affair as we jostled for space out of the rain with several other hikers under a small canopy to sort through our supplies. Extras that I opted not to carry were swept up quickly. I was not alone in having packed more in my resupply than I needed, but my beers stayed with me!

After an hour or so, the rain had mostly let up, and Jason and I struck out first to find a campsite further along the trail. The day’s mileage and the suddenly heavier pack slowed me a bit as we started to climb to Seldon Pass. It was slow going, and as soon as we found a nice site for camping alongside Senger Creek we dropped our packs and quickly set up our tents to shelter from the rain. Somer and Harrison joined us later, having used MTR’s internet connection before hitting the trail to catch up with us.