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One trick I learned long ago was to get up before the sun to make my morning toilet. The mosquitoes and flies are usually not up and so things are a lot more pleasant than they are at other times of the day. So I get up as the sun first starts to light up the peaks to the south of us. Today will be a short day by design, partially to spend time at Thousand Island Lake and partially so we aren't too pressured to get all the pieces of llama stuff in order too fast. Bugs more than anything speed things along this morning.
Packing gear isn't too bad, but breakfast is kind of late as I wait for Megan to get up and have eggs (her preference is to wait until the tent gets too warm). We begin a tradition of putting out the lunch and snack items in the morning so we can take what we need for the day (only at the end of the trip do we realize that doing this the night before saves considerable time). Once lunch and snacks are packed away and all the gear loaded, we hit the trail about 10 am. Soon we rise up above the dam on Waugh Lake. We are now looking at the southeastern edge of Yosemite, with Mt. Lyell above the far end of the lake at the very corner of the park and Rodgers Peak, essentially the north end of the Ritter Range, anchoring the left side of our view. But soon enough we dive back into the trees and manage to cross Rush Creek a couple of times to reach the John Muir Trail where a small wooden sign only informs us that this is the Pacific Crest Trail (the PCT seems to take precedence over the Muir Trail on Forest Service signs).
Here is where we begin the trip-long exercise of being semi-celebrities owing to our association with the llamas. Until we approached the Muir Trail we saw nearly nobody, but once on the trail encounters with other groups are frequent. Most take a photo or two, a few ask questions. But today the interactions are minor; we only stay on the trail a short time.
I was pleased after the big rise yesterday to not have reopened blisters on my left heel (blisters made by the preference of MoleFoam to stick to socks rather than feet). Things feel a bit suspicious today on the uphill and so I am checking, but all is OK so far.
Our short time on the trail carries us up to Island Pass, which has a number of small lakes reflecting a great view of Banner Peak and, over its shoulder, a glimpse of Mt. Ritter. It is such a broad col that you don't really know you are on the pass. The wind ripples the lakes' waters and we decide to eat our lunch here. While we eat some passers-by goggle at the llamas tied up nearby. Once our lunch is gone and our appetite for photos sated, we continue a short distance along the trail before cutting off it to head to campsites on Thousand Island Lake.
For a long time camping near the outlet of the lake has been restricted, and so rather than hike down to the outlet and then back up along the shore to find a site, which is the way the current trail runs [the older USGS topo used above has an old trail near our descent route], we decide that the terrain is gentle enough to simply head nearly due south and find a site this way. We soon find places that would make fine camps for the llamas but would require us to lug water a very long distance, so we move a little farther downslope. Now some tarns might provide water (though as they aren't draining at the surface, I'd probably still go to the main lake), but the grasses are getting more complicated and honoring the 100' limit on distance from water is getting hard. The view, though, from a large rock near this possible site is pretty stunning. Megan peers out and wonders if a peninsula into the lake might hide a better site. After recon in the immediate area fails to turn up something good, we go down to the water, crossing the trail of use hikers have used to come this far up the lake. Some spots look inviting but aren't acceptable for camping. Finally we find a spot hiding in some rocks that has clearly been used for camping. While Megan guards the site from interlopers, I head back and bring down the llamas. We are just over 1 airline mile from the outlet, well above the quarter-mile camping exclusion zone.
Our site is quite windswept, but after the bug wars the previous night this is quite attractive. We have a sweeping view of Banner Peak and the lake next to our camp, but some gnarled trees provide some shade and shelter right in the camp. Soon enough Megan is swimming in the the lake while I have the llamas out grazing. However in putting the llamas out I realize that the picket rope Greg provided is missing. I remember coiling it up at the last camp but realize I must have put it down to spread out some llama droppings and never picked it up. I send a message to Greg through the YB unit, but after thinking on it a little I decide that the parachute cord I have will probably stand in reasonably well.
We see a big patch of smoke pass by as the sun goes lower down. This probably was coming from a big fire near Big Sur; we would see more smoke off and on almost the entire trip. Dinner is mac and cheese for Megan and my field burrito for me. As the sky darkens and Megan retires to her tent, I try taking some star photos, but the sky is too light. Sleeping out, I put the camera next to me. In the middle of the night I try a few more photos, though the composition is pretty lousy.
All in all, a pretty good day. But I worry a bit for the next few days. We have to pass an area where we cannot camp and a long stretch of the trail is in woods where browse for the llamas might be sparse. Ideally we should leave early in case the day becomes really long.
Day 2. 3 miles to JMT, 1.3 to Island Pass, ~1.5 miles to campsite, 9,200' start, 10,200' at Island Pass, 9840' at Thousand Island Lake
5.8 miles, 640' net elevation gain, 1,000' total elevation gain
Total to this point: 11.3 miles traveled, 3100' total elevation gain.
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