Wed. August 31         Miles today: 20         Total so far: 1,899.9             Sierras Section I

It was very dark this morning, even though we’ve changed the alarm clock to 5:20.  The moon has waned so much that it isn’t a “big light bulb in the sky” for us anymore!  Actually, one of the things I’m finding I really enjoy about long-distance hiking is being able to really notice and experience the difference it makes as the moon goes through its monthly cycle.  The moon is really beauiful, and with the clear skies in the mountains, we can enjoy that beauty to the max.

We set off for the last bit of climb to 10,140 foot Benson Pass, and reached the top by 6:15 am.  The sunrise light to the east was pretty, but what surprised me was the amount of sunrise color in the western sky as well.  I must say that Benson Pass is truly a lovely place, and the trail was not too hard either going up or coming down, because the trail was mostly dirt, and had a nice mix of steep places and flatter places that made it very do-able, even with a heavy pack.

Then we went through more great Tuolemne Meadows type scenery on the way to Smedbeg Lake, which was another gorgeous northern Yosemite lake.  The scenery here is equal to anything on the JMT, but there are far fewer hikers.  If you prefer solitude and beauty to crowds and beauty, skip the JMT and come here!  After Smedberg Lake, the trail went down into a deep canyon and through some very rugged country.  I had a hard time because the trail was so steep, rocky and rough.  Once I slipped and fell, but thank God, I was not hurt, (because my pack took the brunt of it).  But I was pretty shaken up and felt very scared at the possibility of what COULD have happened. 

We finally made it down (after falling, I was loathe to try to speed up) into the Benson Lake area.  Since the lake and its famous beach, the “Benson Riviera” are 4 tenths of a mile offtrail, we passed it by.  But one thing really impressed me.  Near the side trail to the beach, there are some HUGE trees.  Wow!  Now we faced a 1,600 foot climb to Seavey Pass.  The trail was very steep, rough and hard.  I ws really huffing and puffing!  But of course, the higher we went, the more mountains we could see.  We stopped for lunch at a beautiful little unnamed lake.  It was so peaceful and restful after the hard slog on the trail this morning!  After lunch, it didn’t take long to reach the pass.

But going down the other side of Seavey Pass turned out to be my personal nightmare.  It was very steep, and the trail was almost totally covered with rocks of some sort, either just lying loose or deliberately “cobblestoned” in place by trail crews.  The loose grit on top of the cobblestones makes every one of them very slippery.  I was constantly slipping and almost falling.  Instead of happily “bombing down” as I do on dirt trails, I had to pick my way, one step at a time, among the rocks.  I got so frustrated with my own slowness, knowing Bill could easily just zip down (he is a master of the “controlled fall” method of getting down a hill!), that I could not help but cry a bit while continuing to hike.  No way was I going to stop, but I was in a mental morass of being scared I’d fall again, angry with myself for being scared, angry with myself for being angry with myself and kicking myself for getting into a “pity party” instead of really, truly trusting God to help me.  By the time we made it to the canyon floor, I was totally wiped out, and my knees and feet were aching.  I really needed our afternoon rest break!

And just when I was feeling totally low and miserable, God gave me a kind little gift He knew I would appreciate.  All the way down into the canyon, I’d been angry that the trail crews had cobblestoned the trail.  But lo and behold, at a junction in the canyon, some trailworker had worked very hard with rocks, NOT to cobblestone, but to outline the 3-way junction very clearly, even involving a “pillar” stone in the center.  It looked sort of like a rock garden, and I am a total sucker for gardens.  I stood there and said, “OK, thankyou, thankyou, whoever you are that did this.  I love it!”  And there was a clear, cold creek nearby, where I got a liter of water, added Crystallite lemonade powder, and drank the whole thing on the spot.  Ahh! Now I was definitely feeling better!  (by the way, Crystallites’s “On the Go” packets are awesome!  They’re light and perfect for adding electrolytes or just plain nice flavor to your water). 

Rested up, Bill and I began the climb to Macomb Pass.  The trail was steep, but not horribly rocky, and it did have a few flatter places where we could catch our breath.  We got more great views of “deep canyon country”, but the views also showed us something else that was a bit worrisome–a big thundercloud buildup, off to the east.  “Better stake down the tarp tonight!” we said to each other!  A bit later, we came to a “granite slab” section of trail where sometimes it ws hard to figure out where the trail WENT.  We’d be standing around, scratching our heads and looking for rock ducks, but there were too few.  In the end, we found that our best guides were the “meadow muffins” left behind by horses! 

We made it up and over Macomb Pass quite late in the day, and looking at the thunderclouds coming closer and closer, there was no way we were going to camp “up high.”  So we half-ran down the trail on the other side of the pass (it was a DIRT trail, hooray!) while catching quick glimpses of the lovely evening light on the canyon walls.  We were determined to get as low as we possibly could before dark, and finally reached a dense grove of trees sheltered by huge boulders.  We did our very best to secure our camp for the possibility of big wind and rain in the night.  It was good to finally crawl into the sleeping bags.  This has been for me a very emotional rollercoaster day, with the blessing and the joy of the beauty we are seeing, and the privilege of being able to do what we’re doing, but at the same time the utter frustration of not doing well hiking downhill.  I had to spend quite awhile talking to God about it before going to sleep.