JMT // Day 7

Lake Virginia –> Vermilion Valley Resort

15 mi

Most nights I am too tired to stay up and see the stars at their brightest. I am just way too exhausted. But most nights I usually do have to get out of my tent to pee. It’s usually very cold and the last thing I want to do is get out of the warm cocoon of my sleeping bag and into the cold air outside my tent. But I tell myself not to mind it because the star gazing is some of the best I have ever seen. These are some of most and brightest stars I’ve ever gazed up at. We’ve been so lucky to see shooting stars (there were meteor showers happening at this time) almost every night on the trail.

We woke up early, before the mosquitoes and had our coffee and oats before heading on our way. We have consistently been some of the last people to pack up and start our day, but shortly after we do, we end up passing everyone that passed us earlier while we were having breakfast. We had a deadline to meet today, and that was getting to Lake Edison for the water taxi at 4:45 that will take us to VVR and our next re-supply.

On our way there, we had some climbing to do: up and over Silver Pass. It was a magical pass with never ending beauty. On the way down, the trail followed a creek all the way to Lake Edison, so we stopped for lunch and to soak our feet in the cold water. Lately, my lunch has been looking like a peanut butter and chia seed tortilla and a Clif bar.

Around 3pm we got to Lake Edison where there was already a small crowd of hikers. Our buddy Medicine Man beat us there, and about a half hour after us, our other friend Peter arrived. Both of them had stayed at Lake Virginia with us the night before. It’s funny how you meet people and make friends on the trail. When you are hiking in the same direction as someone, you end up passing each-other, sometimes several times a day. And if you are taking a break or camping in the same spot, you have plenty of time for conversation.

Edison Lake was the warmest lake we’ve swam in so far (the creek on the outskirts of Tuolumne being the coldest). All the other hikers waiting for the boat had piled their backpacks under a tree, took off their sock and shoes and extra layers and hopped in the water for a dip. I had decided that I would go the whole trail without taking a shower, I just rinse myself and my clothes in lakes and streams whenever I get the chance, to rinse off the dirt and sweat that builds up throughout the day.

After my swim, I laid out on the warm rocks to dry off in the sun. Another young hiker shows up, and we strike up a conversation. We can tell he does a lot of hiking by the gear he’s carrying. This suspicion is confirmed by his humble mentions of hiking the PCT, AT, CDT, and El Camino de Santiago. It’s so interesting hearing the stories thru-hikers have to share about the trail and the adventures they’ve been on. We met some other friends too, like Crocs and Quartz, a couple out on their own adventure, as well as two 15 year old girls with their family on the JMT. We all sat near each other on the the way over.

We got to VVR and were met with a quick info sesh about the grounds and a free beer upon arrival. We opened our tab (because that’s how VVR works) and I picked up my re-supply box (thankfully VVR accepts UPS delivery and I finally got some of the stuff I had prepared). We looked at the dinner menu, but since they didn’t have anything vegan or under $20 we decided to cook our own dinners. I started sorting through my re-supply and planning for the next few days. At this point we realized how quickly we were hiking and that we could go further than we expected each day, so we decided to skip our resupply at Independence, pack 9 days of food, and plan to top-off our bear canisters at Muir Trail Ranch, then and going straight to Whitney. I packed up my bear box and set up my tent among the many other tents. We hung out by the lake with our new friends until the sun went down and the stars came out. Around 9pm we went to sleep.