(Click on any photo to enlarge) Mather from the South is one of the easiest of the high passes on the JMT. We were on top of it in less than one hour after breaking camp and being on trail by 7:00am. As we started to descend the other side, we realized how hard the Northern approach of Mather really is! We couldn't believe that we didn't remember any of the climb, except the Golden Staircase, from last year. Last year Mather came on a 20 mile day and we all had our heads down focusing on the trail as opposed to looking around and enjoying the beautiful terrain. We were all glad we were going down it instead of the alternative. Palisade Lake and its corresponding drainage Palisade Creek are some of my personal favorite areas on the JMT and in the High Sierra in general. Last year we stopped at Palisade for breakfast and it was calm and very scenic. I always love entering this area. As we lost altitude and headed for LeConte
Canyon and Grouse Meadows the shade of the aspens in Palisade Creek Canyon were a welcomed deterrence from the mid August sun reflecting off the granite. After a few hours we started getting hungry and and decided to try to get to Grouse Meadows for our lunch break. We found a suitable spot and relaxed for about an hour at a georgeous bend in the Middle Fork of the Kings River. Funk and I started getting photo happy as we tend to do on our trips. Funk is a fantastic photographer and I learn so much from him that some of my photos actually look pretty good! As we relaxed a doe and her two kids decided to cross the river just below our lunch spot. It was neat to see that she didn't feel threatened by us and the three of them went about their business. 'The Machine
' was done relaxing so that meant it was time to leave. Christi doesn't like to linger at beautiful sites like Funk and I do. When there is mileage to be done she wants to get on with the task. I guess its a good thing as Funk and I would probably still be out there if she wasn't driving us all the time. We made our way past the LeConte Ranger Station and headed up through Little Pete Meadows then to our camp above Big Pete Meadows. We found a great spot next to the river and went through our evening routine and were in our bags sound asleep by hikers' midnight. 
Canyon and Grouse Meadows the shade of the aspens in Palisade Creek Canyon were a welcomed deterrence from the mid August sun reflecting off the granite. After a few hours we started getting hungry and and decided to try to get to Grouse Meadows for our lunch break. We found a suitable spot and relaxed for about an hour at a georgeous bend in the Middle Fork of the Kings River. Funk and I started getting photo happy as we tend to do on our trips. Funk is a fantastic photographer and I learn so much from him that some of my photos actually look pretty good! As we relaxed a doe and her two kids decided to cross the river just below our lunch spot. It was neat to see that she didn't feel threatened by us and the three of them went about their business. 'The Machine
' was done relaxing so that meant it was time to leave. Christi doesn't like to linger at beautiful sites like Funk and I do. When there is mileage to be done she wants to get on with the task. I guess its a good thing as Funk and I would probably still be out there if she wasn't driving us all the time. We made our way past the LeConte Ranger Station and headed up through Little Pete Meadows then to our camp above Big Pete Meadows. We found a great spot next to the river and went through our evening routine and were in our bags sound asleep by hikers' midnight. 
No comments:
Post a Comment