Date: September 10, 2017
Miles: 827.4 – 848.1
No part of me wanted to get up at 5 this morning and since we only planned to cross one pass today, I slept in until 5:50. When I finally got packed up, I started up the ten mile climb to Muir Pass. The trail followed the Middle Fork of the Kings River the whole way and had some spectacular waterfalls, and lazy meanders through meadows and lakes. I almost missed Monster rock along the way since I wasn’t aware that it wasn’t right on trail but was actually tucked into a campsite. I just happened to turn my head at the right moment and caught sight of it.
I finally got to the top of the pass on legs that felt like wet noodles. I guess I foolishly expected that I wouldn’t have any more physical issues since I’ve hiked over 2,000 miles by this point, but I was clearly wrong. Muir Pass kicked my bum. Despite my exhaustion, I thought it was the coolest pass so far, mainly because the trail followed the Middle Fork the entire way and passed so many snow-ringed lakes.
We headed down past Wanda lake into the Evolution Valley and passed amazingly beautiful scenery along the way. The kind that compels you to put the headphones away and just walk. Eventually we reached a campsite in McClure Meadow on Evolution creek next to a ranger station and set up for the night.
