Day 66: ⛺ @ mile 834.8 - ⛺@ mile 851

Date: 12.06.2018 Miles hiked today: 16.2 miles Total Mileage: Mile 851 No one slept in this morning and we were back on the trail on 5am! It's a little less than 4 miles to the John Muir Pass and I hope to be there soon. Today's hiking plan is a challenge. Between the John Muir Pass and the next pass are 27 miles of down and uphill. I would like to hike to the Muir Trail Ranch, which is down the valley just before the climb for the next pass starts. All in all that would be about 24 miles today, including a pass. Sadly, the Muir Trail Ranch only opens its doors on the 16th of june. So we started hiking at 5 am and made our way up to the pass. Half way up we got lost. The snow covers the trail and we were following the footprints of previous hikers. But it looks like the footprints end at the river, but our mobile app doesn't say anything about a river crossing. So we spend 40 minutes for one mile to find out where the trail goes. We hike up all the river and cross a snowfield but nothing. That kind of sucks cause we got up early and now just wasted this time with finding the trail. Finally, joanne sees some other hikers and we could made up where the trail is supposed to be. But we first have to climb down and cross the river. I got really annoyed and just crossed the river not bothering about my shoes, socks and long underpants getting wet. The water was icy and my feet got really cold too. Could hardly feel them anymore soon later as we would walk on snow. Joanne and Peter were looking for a safer and drier way to cross the river. I was still annoyed and hiked on, assuming that Joanne and Peter are right behind me. The uphill was harder than expected. Not because it was very steep but because of the snow and the river crossings and my feet being ice cold. But also the last mile was quite steep uphill on snow and i had to take a couple of small breaks. Eventually, I made it to the top of the pass and enjoyed the John Muir Hut, a really cute emergency shelter made out of stones. Other hikers would arrive but no sign of Joanne and Peter. One hour later they finally arrived! I've asked all hikers coming up where Joanne and Peter are but still figured out they would be a little faster. Also, I was getting a little worried about the downhill. The later we go, the more postholing - which i try to avoid. Thats the main reason of getting up that early. The John Muir Pass is often cited as one of the most difficult passes on the trail due to the miles of snow fields one must pass in either direction to reach the summit (11'969 feet). The uphill was quite ok but i could feel the snow becoming slushy already. So we started with the downhill. And it was an endless downhill hike of postholing and trying to make progress. It felt like it never ends. My feet got soaked several times when I postholed into a river or stream below the snow. Sometimes I would stick in the snow till my hips. Often till my knees. It's hard work to move on like this, never sure if the snow will hold your weight or if you sink in. It takes a lot of concentration and arm muscels in order to get you out of the snow asap once you sinked in. Around 11pm I was done with the snow fields. Joanne and Peter are further back. I'm already tired but the plan was to hike to the Muir Trail Ranch which is still 16 miles away. So I hike on. I put some music in my ears but it doesn't really help. I'm so tired and can only walk very slowly. I eat nuts and bars but no change. At noon I break for lunch. I'm not really hungry but hopefully that helps to get some energy back. I wait for Joanne and Peter and both feel about the same when they arrive. We hike on and I can hardly keep my eyes open. But after a while i feel better. Still, we will not be able to hike till the Muir Trail Ranch today, it's just too far after that morning. We decide to hike on till we find a nice spot. Tomorrow we will only do a small hiking day, close to the next pass so we can hike it early the other morning, rather than doing the pass on the same day. Not far from where we are the trail crosses the massive Evolution Creek, often seen as one of the most difficult stream crossings in the Sierra Nevada range. In high snow years, the crossing can be chest-deep for average sized hikers. We would like to have this done today so we don't have to bother about it tomorrow anymore. A couple just arrived at the crossing before us and are crossing the stream now. That's good, so we can see how they deal with it and where it's best to cross. I find a good spot to cross it where the water just hits above my knees. The current is no problem. We are really lucky this year! The stream itself is beautiful and as all of us are totally out of energy we decide to camp right here. The only annoying thing are the moskitos! We are being eaten alive by them! Joanne has a special spray with her and that seems to help a little. So we cooked dinner and hide in our tents, making sure no moskitos made it inside the tent too! Doors are closed and shall not be opened again! It's just about 7pm but that is fine. Going to bed early tonight! Its 8pm now and im ready to fall asleep. Looking forward to tomorrow. Again a small hiking day, no passes and alarm clock is set for 6 am only! Looovely :)