June 20

917-943

Today we hike over our final high Sierra pass- 11,000 foot Donahue pass. Reports from other hikers have let us know the pass is non-technical, which is music to our ears. Let the good times roll.

On the way up we stop by thousand island lake, aptly named for the myriad of tiny islands dotting the surface of the lake.

This is a popular backcountry fishing location and we pass by a handful of fishermen. Passing along, climbing further, it dawns on us that the reportedly easy Donahue pass still is quite high in elevation, and a slog in the lingering snow.

Eventually we make it to the top where we officially enter Yosemite national park, and get a view of tuolumne meadows- one of the largest high elevation meadows in the sierra- thousands of feet below us.

John Muir spent a season here as a sheepherder, bringing 2000 sheep to these expansive and fertile meadows. There he began to see the damage of livestock overgrazing, referring to them as ‘hoofed locusts.’, and began developing his ideas on conservation of wild spaces.

We walk 10 miles through the meadows, seeing shockingly clear water along the way and head to our next planned camp spot at a national park car campground. Unfortunately, when we arrive we see that the entire area is closed down and camping is illegal within 10 miles of this area.

The good news is that we pass by our first road in over 200 miles. Our long stretch of complicated resupply logistics has come to an end, and so we get an easy ride into the local town of Lee Vining. In town we stop at a diner that offers an all you can eat soup and salad buffet. The soup and salad options are very limited, but we get our money’s worth on sheer quantity alone. At the dinner we see our friends Anvil, lumberjack, and frogger who found themselves in a similar predicament with camping. We camp at a campground in town where we can take 3 minute showers without soap.