Friday September 16 and our final day on the trail, the rising sun still blocked by the eastern peaks on the nearby lake. I was wakened by bright light filling my tent. I peered outside and though not visible yet, the rising sun cast a bright morning glow onto the prominence of Vogelsang peak. Last evening a gusty wind blew well into the early morning. Remnants of that wind, calmer now, rippled the waters of Vogelsang lake. It was an idyllic Yosemite back country morning and emersed in the quiet I sipped a cup of coffee in deep thought. Man, how I love it. Out here, I’m always drawn into contemplation, to thoughts of my parents, my family and my life. I think of my father, who as a young adult in the 1920’s, earned his eagle scout badge around Convict Lake in the southern Sierra’s in the 1920’s. I like to think he’s walking with me, hand on my shoulder, safely guiding me along the trail in some ethereal and spiritual way. My mother, on my other shoulder, who always was there to carry me through the tough days of life. Thoughts of next year and my youngest son getting married and future plans to backpack with him, and his siblings. I thought of my wife, who fully supports my outdoor obsession and my time away in the mountains. I have a lot to be thankful for and being in this beautiful country reminds me of those blessings.

Soon my mind jostled back to the task at hand and the regime of packing up camp gets underway. Our backpacks are lighter having eaten a good share of the weighty food and we sling them over our our shoulders, wiggled them into comfortable positions and with our usual “lets roll”, headed down the trail. Within a quick mile we came upon to the quiet Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, devoid of any activity. The camp had been disassembled and stowed for the winter but one could easily imagine the spring time hubbub at this beautiful spot, with its rushing creeks burgeoning with snow melt. Now, in the throes of an ongoing drought, the creeks were trickles and easy to cross. Vogelsang High Sierra Camp area is also the junction for several connecting trails and like spokes on a wheel, merged at this hub. To the east, trails head to Evelyn and Ireland Lakes and eventually Donohue Pass. To the Southwest, Booth, Emeric and Babcock Lakes and the junction to Merced Lake. Our own trail merges here and our travels will be taking us down Rafferty Canyon and our terminus at Toulumne Meadows.

Five days earlier we extricated John due to his ankle injury. You may recall we ended up laying over another night at Sunrise camp (we had planned on being at Merced Falls that night). That decision put us a day behind our original plans. To gain back that lost time we had to alter our final plans. Originally, we intended to hike southeast, past Evelyn Lake to a campsite in Lyell Canyon. On the way we would hike out and back to Ireland lake. The following day (what would have been today), we would have hiked out to Toulumne meadow to complete our trek. Instead, Vogelsang Lake became our last campsite and today’s hike cut off the original outward hike toward Ireland lake. It was unfortunate because I really wanted to explore that area.

Following the GPS maps on my cell phone we navigated and found the our new detour, Rafferty Creek trail. Since Rafferty Creek trail was not part of the original plan it was unknown to us. I knew it was a primary route up to Vogelsang out of Tuolumne. Rafferty Creek Trail not disappoint as it’s course along bone-dry Rafferty Creek was quite scenic with breath-taking distant views of the eastern spine of the Sierra. Coming out of Vogelsang HS camp, the trail descends at a fairly steep incline through a forest of lodgepole pines and typical boulder-laden landscape. To our left, unseen Boothe lake lays nestled in the lowland beneath an unnamed peak. The trail advances through Tuolumne Pass on its northerly descent, eventually flattening out along the dry creek. The well-traveled trail was cut deep into the land and we followed a trajectory across a breadth of land carpeted with red splotched heather-filled meadows and sporadically erratics (glacier deposited boulders). Rising in the distance the eastern most part of Yosemite National Park was Mt Dana, clear and majestic against the robin egg blue sky.

Our pace was steady, not particularly difficult and I was soon lost in the usual backpacker’s rhythm of step and pole placement and the repetitious, sounds of my breathing. As we closed in on the John Muir Trail and Lyell Canyon we started to see more people coming up the trail, day hikers and backpackers alike, asking for trail intelligence and information. At times, I walked ahead of my friends, intentionally giving the two brothers some time to converse along the trail and enjoy some trail solitude myself. As we skirted along Rafferty creek we descended steeply through switch-backs and rocky steps in a forested area. Without looking at our maps, we sensed that the John Muir Junction was near and this proved correct as the headlong trail steeply dropped to then level off and intersect with the famous John Muir Trail. To the left on the John Muir Trail, a footbridge crossed the bleached river rocks Rafferty creek. With several miles left to Toulumne Meadows, we stopped to gobble down our last meal on the trail. As we ate lunch, hikers passed, heading down Lyell Canyon and points beyond. Some stopped to query us on our trek, while others with their first-day-on-trail enthusiasm blew by in energized conversation with themselves.

It was time to get moving and for the final time we donned our backpacks. With a relax pace and walking side by side on the wide trail we proceeded at a comfortable pace on the John Muir Trail. We talked about favorite parts of the hike, the effort put forth and the beauty of the area. I thought about how important it is to know you trail buddies. Everyone has their idiosyncrasies as do I and a level of acceptance and tolerance is important for a successful trip. Jeff and I have hiked together a long time and know each other well. Kevin fit right in as did John (who left earlier due to injury).

John and I had planned his trip for nearly a year and he had spent a lot of money for equipment and travel to come from Houston for this trek. I felt a pang of guilt he was not able to finish. But such is the vagaries of backpacking. Nature is in control and often reminds in unpredictable ways. After several miles we arrived at the pacific trail and veering left and heading toward Toulumne meadows lodge. This proved to be a wrong turn as we should have kept right continuing down the John Muir toward Lambert Dome and Glen Aulin Road where we parked the truck. This unwittingly added an additional mile to our hike! That last mile is always the longest. Jeff appropriately called it the aggravating mile to which we all laughed and agreed. After 6 days, we were ready for some good food and a long warm shower. That reality lay two hours away at my sisters house where she kindly allowed us to stay overnight. We arrived at the car, unloaded our well worn gear into the back, climbed into the car and headed back to civilization.

Epilogue:  Many thanks to my wife Annette who puts up with me to taking a week out of each year to do these backpacking trips. I know the other guys feel the same way about their wives too. Each year gets a little harder on the body, but the mind remains optimistic and excited every time I head out. Many thanks to the “Medi-vac” Millers!  Celia (my sister) and Gary (brother-in-law) were instrumental in helping extract John H after his ankle sprain. Since they live in the Sierra foothills, their home has become a convenient stopping point for us on our trips. The Millers are always ready to provide a hot shower, a great meal, fine wine and a soft bed. If not for them, it’s a good chance that my trek would not have continued. I also need to thank my hiking friend Curt Cragg who lent me his Delorme (Garmin) Inreach for the trek and two bear canisters. I’ve learned a lot from Curt and his willingness to educate and share gear save me expense and time in hunting it down. Thanks to all who express their enjoyment at viewing my photos and stories of the trail. I really enjoy sharing them. In some way, I hope those who aren’t into backpacking or hiking, find my experiences and photos of interest and satisfy a curiosity about these beautiful areas. The Sierra never disappoints me and I am enjoying these experiences in the wilderness and discovering much about myself and these lands. Thanks for taking time to read my stories.

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