I started this with the intention of trying to complete the full route in 5 days and to bail out at Bubbs creek and try to beat Luke’s record if I felt like I couldn’t get the whole 154 mile route done in 5 days. I carried all my own gear, food for 5.5 days and found plenty of water along the trail for filtering.
Day 1- starting at 4:04am on Sept 6, I started climbing up Copper Creek. It was a steep climb but beautiful as the forest opened to big grassy views of Kings Valley. Granite Creek pass offered great views and the climb down into Simpson meadow was quite steep. The trail was easy to follow and mostly cleared of the downed trees previously reported except for the last few miles before the junction with the JMT at the middle fork kings river. Devils washbowl was stunning and I promise to return there to camp and spend a whole day in the creek one day. I slept outside no tent under the stars at the JMT junction after almost 32 miles of hiking mostly uphill. No bugs and cool but pleasant temps.
Day 2- I started at 4:14am and walked along palisade creek for much of the morning up the Golden staircase. The creek had several small waterfalls that I passed as I ascended Mather. The terrain was a mix of grassy canyon meadows with red bushes, high elevation forest, and rocky open basins. I ascended Pinchot in the evening and rushed down towards Woods creek. I was slow and tired today but determined to get at least 28 miles before setting up camp. I had decided to instead do the northern route as the trail was measuring farther than reported and I knew I’d need a 6th day to complete the whole route.
Day 3- I slept in an extra hour and started just after 5a. I felt strong and really enjoyed sunrise along Woods Creek. I noticed lots of trout in all the lakes today, esp in the Rae lakes. I passed some pack mules on the climb up Glen. One of the old cowboys was even sitting atop a mule as it descended the pass. As I came down Glen, I started running, esp with my pack weight down after eating 2.5 days of food and I continued this on and off all day. The temps were high 60’s and comfortable and it was sunny with almost no bugs. I finished at 5:29p on Monday Sept 8. I