Day 8: Upper Basin to the Palisade Creek/Middle Fork of the Kings River intersection via Mather Pass
14 miles; 1,399 ft elevation gain; 4,246 ft elevation loss

Unfortunately, today would be our last full day on the John Muir Trail. I had no problems on the climb to Mather Pass - a short 3.2 miles with 1,185 feet of elevation gain - but the long downhill afterward was hard on my knee. We hiked over ten miles and descended 4,200 feet; it was a loooong day. Not just because of the distance and elevation, but because my hiking pace was getting slower and slower.

When we took a break overlooking Palisade Lake, I reluctantly conceded that it would be prudent to exit the trail at Bishop Pass. I was disappointed - I had been looking forward to completing the full trail, and I felt betrayed by my body. But it was definitely smarter to exit while I still could; I had no desire to test the emergency features on our Garmin inReach!

While I was feeling sorry for myself on the hike down, I could still appreciate the beautiful scenery around me. Mather Pass is another high pass at 12,068 feet, offering expansive views in both directions. The descent from the pass into the Palisade Lakes Basin is especially scenic. The terrific views continued as we approached the Golden Staircase, an infamous section of the JMT comprising nearly 100 switchbacks. This was the last section of the trail to be completed, in 1938, and it took ingenuity and hard work to construct the series of steep switchbacks up the cliff - a 1,500-foot ascent. Most people bemoan having to climb the Golden Staircase, but I would have gladly traded the downhill for the uphill on this section!

The rest of the hike to our campsite was more easygoing, with the trail paralleling Palisade Creek. We decided not to go all the way to the LeConte Canyon campsite and instead pitched camp at the intersection of Palisade Creek and the Middle Fork of the Kings River. It was a smoky evening, and any views through the trees were obscured by haze. It was another early night as we prepared for our exit the next day.

Day 9: Over Bishop Pass to South Lake
15.4 miles; 4,166 ft elevation gain; 2,362 ft elevation loss

Today was our last day on the trail. Steve had offered to split the hike out into two days if that was easier on my knee, but once we decided to leave the trail, I just wanted to finish. And all backpackers know: when the end is near, the draw of a hot shower, a proper meal, and a soft bed is irresistible. This turned out to be the right choice, as most of the second half of the day was rainy and overcast; another night camping would have been wet, and we wouldn't have been able to enjoy the beautiful lakes or scenery.

We hiked our last miles on the John Muir Trail - 3.4 miles and 744 feet of elevation gain - from our campsite to the LeConte Canyon campsite. From there, we said goodbye to the JMT as we headed east on the Bishop Pass Trail. We had a lot more climbing to do - 3,284 feet in 6.5 miles - to reach the pass. I had no problems on the climb and made decent time. Steve even said you wouldn’t know my knee was hurting based on my hiking pace. Too bad the rest of the JMT wasn’t uphill!

The views on the ascent just kept getting better. The day started out with blue skies and a few clouds, although other hikers had told us the forecast called for afternoon storms. Sure enough, as we climbed, the clouds continued to gather. When we reached Dusy Basin, it started to sprinkle, so we stopped to put on our rain gear. I also stowed my camera in my pack, and it didn’t come out for the rest of the hike.

The skies looked more and more threatening as we approached the pass. We were hustling to get up and over before the storm broke. We didn’t even stop at the pass as we hurried down the trail. It started to thunder, and boy, adrenaline is a surefire way to forget some knee pain. At one point, Steve looked behind him and did a double take when he saw me right on his tail. He asked how I was doing, and I said, “Adrenaline is a hell of a drug.”

The storm moved on as we descended, and I started to breathe a little easier once we had put some distance between us and the pass. The skies remained cloudy and gray, with light rain showers off and on. That was a shame, because there are a lot of beautiful lakes on the way down from the pass, but everything looked muted in the rain and clouds.

From the pass, it was 5.6 miles and 2,294 feet of elevation loss to South Lake. Pretty quickly, we were able to catch a ride down to Bishop, and we found a room in town. We’d had snacks during the hike, but never stopped for lunch since we were trying to outhike the storm - so we were definitely ready for a good meal (plus, nine days in the backcountry!). We had delicious burgers and drinks at the Mountain Rambler Brewery.

Using a combination of the Eastern Sierra Transit Authority and a private shuttle, we were able to retrieve our car from Horseshoe Meadows the next day. We drove through Death Valley on our way to Las Vegas, where we stayed the night and had an awesome dinner at Rainbow Kitchen. We made the final drive home the next morning.

Our trip didn’t go exactly as planned, but we still had eleven fantastic days in the Sierra Nevada. Hopefully I can get back there to finally finish the northern half of the John Muir Trail!