Day 6
Fish Creek to Edison Lake
11.7 miles

Broke camp at 7am. The mosquitos were bad this morning and it turned out to have been a big mistake to not buy insect repellent at Red's Meadow. The approach to Silver Pass had snow on the trail and this was the first time I had to scramble across the snow and pick up the trail again. This wasn't difficult and I reached Silver Pass at 9:30am. I left Pocket Meadow and the Mott Lake trailhead at 11:45am, taking frequent stops on the way down to Edison. There are aspen and wildflowers here that I have not seen.

I passed more hikers than normal today. There was an older man heading north who had first attempted the JMT 27 years ago. He and his wife had made it as far as Edison from Tuolumne when his wife sprained her ankle and they were forced to abandon the trip. Now, solo, he's picking up the trail at Edison and he's finishing what he started. There were two hikers with their four dogs, each with their own little packs, the six of them were out for a week. A man with a 20 year-old walking stick with stickers and pins from past hikes, and two hikers with light packs that were practically running along the trail doing 8-9 miles a day. They were using two-way radios and shouting to other group members along the trail. I stopped to let them pass but could hear them almost a quarter mile away. There was a group of 3 guys that had started out as 6 guys, but some were forced to make an early exit. There was also a woman who had convinced her husband to do the hike. Closer to Edison, I met Chukchasi, a native American woman that moved back to this area after the federal government gave her land that they had taken from her father.

I got to the ferry landing about 2:30pm—plenty of time to catch the afternoon boat. My cheap boots were still really bothering me, so I decided to take my pocket knife to them and cut big holes where they were rubbing against my ankle, and cut ventilation slits along the sides. As noted earlier, this turned out to make a big difference and although my boots were never comfortable, they were not a major problem again. I couldn't help but think that maybe running shoes would have been better?

The ferry landing is a great place to catch up with other hikers and I had a good time talking to John, a University of Tennessee architecture student and his father Bill, both of whom had previously done 78 days on the Appalachian Trail. They were doing the JMT without tent's, preferring to save the weight and sleep on the ground in their sleeping bags. They had started at Yosemite Valley and were only on day 5—averaging well over 20 miles a day. They eventually had to get back to LA to catch a plane and had no idea how they were going to get there. I offered to give them a ride if we ended up at the portal at the same time, but figured at their pace they would complete the entire trip in 12 days and finish two days before me.

The ferry came around 4:45pm and took a large group of hikers and people from a local tribe across to Vermilion Valley Resort. I was disappointed in this place, and being back among cars, TV's and consumer products put me in a decidedly bad mood, and I felt lost. I had considered staying here a full day tomorrow but knew right away that I didn't want to stay any longer than I had to, and I was anxious to get my resupply package and get back on the trail the next morning. It felt like a race to get everything done that I had too: wash, shower, buy supplies, make phone calls ($2 a minute!) Many of the 15 or so JMT hikers there that evening put their tents together. I felt much better after I settled in a bit. It felt good to share stories and enjoy the camaraderie of the trail.

Although I'm doing the JMT solo, this stopover made me feel part of a group—a group of hikers that are going at their own pace, but that are all on the trail at the same time, enjoying the same kinds of triumphs and dealing with the same kinds of disappointments. A strange day today, but in its weird way, one of the highlights.