August 1, 2014
Right out of the gate we climbed up and out of the canyon to Evolution Valley- up, up! The switchbacks were bordered by a waterfall that fed into the San Joaquin river and we got a nice view of it about halfway up along with several pretty cascades.
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| Pretty cascades in the morning light |
Here's a link to a short video of the waterfall:
http://youtu.be/uYbvEvYd_B8
When we got to the top of the switchbacks we arrived at Evolution Creek, which was our first, and it would turn out to be our only, shoes-off creek crossing. The water was cold and felt good on our achy feet! Tiphane and Jackie Ray were just getting to the other side when we arrived. Here's a short video of Daveed crossing the shallow creek.
http://youtu.be/WdMtyZXtTA8
We stopped for lunch in McClure Meadow, which was so pretty! Really nice views of all of the surrounding mountains and the calm and meandering Evolution Creek that went all through Evolution Valley. It was like a scene from Hobbiton, lush greenery, peaceful and quiet. We filtered water from the shore where there was a tiny little whirlpool. I tried to take pictures of it but the water was so clear and calm there was no contrast to show up in the picture!
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| McClure Meadow |
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| This is the creek side place I saw the little whirlpools |
Then it was up, up, up again on hot and dry switchbacks to Evolution Basin. Wow! What a wonderful sight! So pretty! I stopped so many times to take pictures and just drink in the scenery. Evolution Lake was drop dead gorgeous! We got an awesome look at Darwin's Bench on the northeast side of Evolution Lake. Evolution Basin is every bit as gorgeous as we had heard! We're in big mountain country now with peaks and passes at 12,000+ ft.
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| Going up! |
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| Hi mom! |
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| That's Darwin's Bench in the upper left, soon we'll be walking at the base of it! |
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| First view of Evolution Basin. Merp. |
As we were hiking along Evolution Lake, we passed two guys with a climbing rope. Daveed just had to ask what they were up to! They had just completed the Evolution Traverse. It's basically a ridge walk from one end of the basin to the other. It's mostly 3rd and 4th class with some technical 5th class. Took the guys 2 or 3 days to complete, not including a day to hike in and a day to hike out. Daveed looked at me with an expression of "we should do this for our next adventure!!!".
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| Darwin's Bench and Evolution lake |
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| Daveed leads the way! |
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| Evolution Lake |
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| More Evolution Lake |
We continued on and crossed the inlet to Evolution Lake on the biggest most sturdiest rocks ever! The crossing was so fun and so picturesque!
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| Daveed crossing the inlet to Evolution Lake |
We camped at Sapphire Lake, which is surrounded by beautiful mountains. Prettiest campsite yet! We're right along the lake with awesome views all around! Tiphane and Jackie got a sweet spot that had some shelter from the wind. We're above tree line here so there is nothing but rocks. No tree cover and no soil. Just gravel. Makes doing bathroom business a bit tricky! We had fun making dinner with Tiphane and Jackie, hiding from the wind in their sheltered camp spot.
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| Sapphire Lake |
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| Making dinner in the wind shelter at Tiphane and Jackie Ray's camp |
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| The Clan! Daveed stood the tripod on top of Jackie Ray and Tiphane's tent and it was somehow not crooked! |
We had great views of the alpineglow on Darwin's Bench from our tent and the mountain directly across from Sapphire Lake.
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| Alpineglow on Darwin's Bench |
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| Seriously. From the tent!! |
My feet killed today for some reason. There was no downhill today so I don't know what gives. My knees hurt too :( I dragged the last 3 miles to camp, the scenery was the only thing that kept me going. I took my boots off at camp and couldn't bend my toes for about 5 minutes, they were extremely painful and sensitive. My big toes and the balls of my feet are still numb and I'm kind of concerned...
It was cold and windy along the lake, which made for drying laundry faster! I hadn't washed my shirt in a few days and the smell was starting to make me gag! Daveed carried a giant rock to rig up my clothesline, I don't know how he does stuff like that after hiking all day! He always amazes me with his strength! I can hardly walk across camp to make dinner and he's lifting and carrying giant rocks! The clear skies and wind will make for a cold night and a cold morning. Early start tomorrow for Muir Pass and to account for many breaks as we descend 4000 feet after the pass...woof.
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| Camp at Sapphire Lake, elevation 10,979 |
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