Intro
My first thru-hike came in the form of a 5 day, 45 mile (72 Km) trip starting from Tuolomne Meadows in Yosemite, and finishing in the small mountain town of Mammoth Lakes, a 3 hour bus ride away.
While working in Yosemite over the summer, my friend / former roommate / existential Youtube rabbithole afficionado – Misha, decided to visit me.
He hiked almost a 1000 miles of the PCT the year before! After finishing his summer job at Banff National Park, he was eager to revisit one of his favorite sections.
Lyell Canyon, Donahue Pass, Thousand Island Lakes, baby marmots, and much more can be found in the stunning Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.
PCT hikers crush this section in 2 or 3 nights, but we decided to go slower and take time to enjoy the trail, doing the distance over 4 nights. If you’re not on a time crunch either, I highly recommend 4, maybe even 5 nights.
So without further ado, here’s how it went.
Day 1 – 9 Miles
Misha and I hitched a ride from Yosemite Valley up to Tuolomne Meadows thanks to friends / fellow park workers / CRUSHERS, Pete and Janet.
After a brief delay involving a camping trailer stuck in a ditch, we were on our way to the high country. We couldn’t help but admire the beautifully burning fires and crimson smoke in the distance.
And so we began.
Pete and Janet joined us for 8 miles of the trail before heading back to the valley. We had a blast swimming in the ice cold Tuolomne river, smoking a joint, and walking through stunning meadows.
Pete broke a couple of Backpacking Ethics along the way (not gonna say how), but at least he has a cool trick with a sock from what he tells me. Might ask him to film a tutorial sometime.
We finished our miles for the day and set up camp in Lyell Canyon, next to a pile of rocks housing a family of marmots! We saw a fluffy little marmot pup, and that’s when I knew I wanted one as a pet.
Hikers Beware – Don’t leave your trekking poles lying around.
These cute fuckers will chew and destroy the handles, so hang up your poles on a tree branch to keep em safe.
An awesome start to the trip, and ready for what’s to come!
Day 2 – 12 Miles
Another beautiful day, clear of yesterday’s smoke, and it started off with some light shenanigans..
It’s 7 am and I’m squatted up a hill in some trees – answering the call of nature. All of a sudden, a hiker passing the trail below stops in perfect alignment with my coordinates. Straight ahead and 30 meters away.
He takes out his phone, aims the back camera exactly at me and starts recording.
” Today is Towwwwwwwnnnnn Dayyyyyyyyyy Folks !!!!”
It took 3 seconds until I realized he was just a regular old guy vlogging his hike and using the front camera.
Thankfully he wasn’t filming me in 4k taking a shit behind some bushes, but in today’s world you never know.
Soon after we started on trail and headed to Donohue Pass. 11,000 feet above sea level and sitting between the peaks of Lyell and Donohue.
Marmot Abduction?
Along the way we made a marmot friend, and I swam in another glacial river fed by a stubborn pile of snow. Crazy to think it hasn’t all melted by late July. And even crazier that the Russian guy is afraid of cold water (MiSHa).
We reached the top of the pass and made more Marmot friends. Truly the most sociable wild animals I’ve met.
I don’t know the laws around Marmot kidnapping but I’m willing to risk severe legal repercussions to have one.
Coming down from Donohue we passed more meadows and eventually came to Thousand Island Lake.
We set up camp for the second night beside a different lake close by. Small, shaded and full of mosquitos.
It’s funny how when a couple of mosquitos are flying around our room at night, the mission is to assassinate each and every one with our weapons of choice (I like the classic Clap o’ Death).
But outdoors it’s a whole different story.
There aren’t 10, or even a 1000 mosquitos. There’s an infinite number of them.
You have to nuke the whole national park to get rid of them.
Even that might only work for a day.
Day 3 – 13 miles
We started off hiking on the upper ridge of a huge canyon below us, a light haze of smoke hugging the land.
A mostly downhill day, descending into the canyon as we pass small streams, alpine flowers, and more breathtaking views.
3 horses carrying a family, and 3 more horses carrying tons of equipment rode past us. They left behind a cloud of dust, barn smell, and some thoughtful gifts on the trail ahead.
I respect the horses, but why go backpacking and not even carry your own bags? It takes away from the feeling of accomplishment. The only exception I can imagine would be if you physically cannot walk or your dream is to be a cowboy (go for it).
Devil’s Postpile
Soon enough we ended up at a crossroads.
We could take a shorter route to our campsite, or a longer route with a detour at American National Monument “The Devil’s Postpile”
You bet your ass we checked out what in the fuck is a “Postpile” and why the devil made one.
Turns out it’s basalt columns, made from the melting and cooling of lava (sounds devilish) and formed into tall hexagonal shaped columns of rock.
I’ve never tried to summon Satan before, but if my life depended on it I think this is the place I’d give it a go.
After soaking in the sun and indulging in the Devil’s Lettuce, we continued on to Red’s Meadow campground.
Free Food
72 hours away from civilization and all of a sudden we can eat real food.
The campground had a small restaurant, so I decided to be responsible and think of what my body needs.
A double hamburger and a chocolate milkshake.
Sorry did I say one milkshake? I meant to say 2, because they somehow called my name twice for that order…
I wouldn’t call myself religious, but I do accept miracles whenever they happen to appear.
Maybe it was the Devil from the monument, leaving us a “Thanks for Visiting” lootbag.
As if that wasn’t enough, smack in the middle of the campground lay a glorious Hiker’s Box.
I didn’t know these existed, but it’s a cardboard box filled with supplies that backpackers left behind for whatever reason.
Sometimes they don’t need things anymore, and other times they shipped it to themselves in advance, then realized they can’t stomach eating their 500th White Chocolate Macademia Clif Bar.
Granola bars, electrolytes, first aid kits, ramen, backpacker meals, protein oatmeal, unlabelled ziplocs of mysterious white powder (either salt, sugar, protein powder or cocaine…).
All absolutely free !!
I felt bad taking so much, but Misha reminded me that if we don’t take it, it’s possible no one will.
So being a good Jew, I loaded up on as much as I could.
Now that our stomach and food barrels were full, we set up camp close by.
Bears?
Some day hikers passing, by warned us they saw a bear just 5 minutes away, saying we should reconsider our camping spot.
Hahahahahahahahaha
Why would we?
There’s only Black Bears in California since they killed all the Grizzlies in 1924.
And Black bears are pussies.
Just yell “Bear” at them and they run away in fright of acknowledging their own existence.
I have, however, listened to enough Joe Rogan to have a healthy fear of Grizzlies and their flesh eating capabilities and tendencies.
So we stayed in the same spot, and guess what?
Nothing happened.
Day 4 – 11 miles
After a relaxed breakfast and taking down our tents, we spent the next 3 hours hiking up, and up, and even more up…
Many uphill miles later we summited Mammoth Pass and found ourselves at McCleod lake, our camping site for the night.
But it was only 11 am…
So we did the only thing we could.
Chill.
It was pretty windy and even rained (Surprising in California summer), but eventually it calmed down and warmed up.
We went swimming for a bit, and somehow ended up in conversation with a firefighter there with his family.
After seeing we’re just a couple of nice young lads, he blessed us with some kick ass home-made beef jerky.
Grass fed, hormone injected beef, home spiced and dehydrated, that was so much tastier than any store bought jerky.
What a legend.
Eventually all the day visitors left the lake, and we were the only ones left, camping between the lake and cliffs overlooking all of Mammoth.
Day 5 – 5 Mile Bonus (Off Trail)
Woke up at 5 am for sunrise, then hiked 5 miles into town to catch the first bus back to Yosemite.
While waiting for the bus I ate some French toast, and Misha had an 8am hamburger.
After the 3 hour bus ride brought us back to the park, I had just enough time to eat lunch, shower (Much needed) and get ready for work at the good ol’ Yosemite Valley Lodge.
Conclusion
My first taste of multi-day backpacking was everything I hoped for and more.
I highly recommend doing this section of the PCT, which you can start from Mammoth Lakes or Yosemite, whichever you prefer.
You do need permits however, which can be won by lottery or available for walk-ins.
Get your permit here https://www.recreation.gov/permits/445859
While the full PCT is still a goal of mine, I’m excited to explore new trails around the world, steadily pushing myself towards longer trips until then.
What’s the longest you’ve gone backpacking for?
Where did you go?
Let me know in the comments and hope you get out there one day!
Are you fit for your next Backpacking Trip?
Injured? Out of shape? Scared of Marmots?
As a Personal Trainer and fellow Hiker, I can help you feel unstoppable no matter where you go!
Thanks for the awesome video, I’ve done this hike a few times, and it never gets old. First from Happy Isles to Reds, more recently, Reds to Bishop. Hoping to get the time to go from Reds to Cottonwood Pass this summer.
Glad you enjoyed John!! Oh yeah it’s a hike definitely worth repeating, any other thru-hikes you’d highly recommend?
In the Bishop, Ca area, what’s often referred to as the North Lake/South Lake Loop, a hike starting at North Lake(near Bishop) going over Puit Pass, I think it is, through La Conte Canyon on the JMT, then back towards Bishop via the Bishop Junction, near the La Conte Ranger Station, that brings you to South Lake. There is shuttle service from South Lake TH to the town of Bishop.