JMT day 11 – Gold staircase, heat and a flame surprise

August 14 – Lake Helen on the golden ladder to Lake Palisades

Another day of 16 miles came forward, but at least we did not have a complete mountain pass over us. Instead, we go out in Mather Pass, climbing halfway today on the golden ladder. That would leave the last thrust for tomorrow, when we looked at the top and continued moving towards Pincchot Pass.

Early start from Lake Helen

We left the Helen Lake Early, going downhill towards Big Pete Meadow, where we stopped to take photos in the «rock monster.» From there, we crossed Meadow, appropriately named, since we saw many grazing deer in the morning light.

Lunch breaks and new trail friends

We stopped for lunch next to a fresh and shaded stream before starting our uphill up in the heat of the afternoon. Along the way, we met Jen («generator»), who was making a section to the PCT, and a father and son duo that covered a section of the JMT. Later, we would camp close to them in Palisade Lake and, like so many others, they mentioned remembering that Catie passes them before. That seemed to be a recurring theme.

Palas and the golden ladder

A series of explosions near the base of Mather Pass turned the path into a maze of fallen trees, each that forced us to stir, bend down or deviate. The sun was relentless, and when we reached the Golden ladderI was already exhausted. I quickly stayed behind Catie and Kim, sailing only the golden ladder, only my fear of heights for the company.

This was not an escalation either, this was the last section of the John Muir Trail that was completed. It was completed in 1938 by the teams of the Civil Conservation Corps that carved their famous hand curves. They transformed what was once an almost impossible route into one of the most emblematic (and nervous for me) of the path.

The response steps were recorded directly on the steep head wall, my first sample of many curves with falls. It was stressful in parts, but I kept my eyes locked up on the road, resisting the impulse to look down, and finally I did it on the first part of the pass to get to Lake Palisade Lower. I handled it much better than I imagined, especially walking alone. Each step was felt as a little victory over my fear of heights, which was part of the reason I assumed the challenge of the path John Muir.

A flame surprise

Hot and exhausted, I literally ran into one point, accidentally triggering my SOS emergency satellite. Fortunately, I managed to turn it off before connecting and starting a rescue application. Not long after, I looked up to see two flames walking towards me. For a fraction of a second, I thought I was hallucinating, but they turned out to be flames of San Diego, called Tango and Frank, specifically raised to walk in the Sierra Nevada. They rested on Lake Palisades before their own climb on Mathher Pass.

Arriving at the camp on Lake Palisades

I still had another half mile to get to our camp, and I don’t remember felt so exhausted while walking. Each step was slow and heavy, my rhythm was reduced to a crawling. A part of me wanted to give up, sincerely, I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I kept moving forward, one step at the same time. When I finally arrived at 6:30, completely spent, I discovered that Catie had already installed the store and prepared my dinner. She was very grateful, she is a great daughter, and her consideration made the collapse of the camp much sweeter. I ate quickly and put myself directly in my sleeping bag.

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