John Muir Trail, August 2005 Day 10: Piute Creek to Little Pete Meadow, over Muir Pass. 23 Miles. This was the only day I walked with other people. And Muir Pass became my favorite pass of the entire trail. But the day is much more memorable because it is the day the storm began...

The view northwest down the canyon of the South Fork San Joaquin River, taken from the climb up to Evolution Valley.
Evolution Creek, just before the crossing.
Evolution Lake and Mt. Mendel. A big wide-angle lens please.
Lunch break at Evolution Lake. Hawkeye cooking on the right. My red pack in the middle. Robert on the left, who was running the trail but took a slow day to hang with Hawkeye and me. The storm in the background is cooking up something too.
View south at Evolution Lake, towards Muir Pass (out of sight), with Mt. Spencer in the middleground. We thought the weather looked perfect for the long push over Muir Pass.
View west from the top of Muir Pass, Wanda Lake on the left, Lake McDermand on the right. Hawkeye hiking up near the bottom, left of center. No rain on us, yet.
The Muir Pass hut.
View east from the top of Muir Pass, down to Helen Lake, with Mt. Powell in the background. On the decent from here down into Le Conte Canyon the weather gods stopped smiling. It rained all night, and I spent a very windy and uncomfortable night at Little Pete Meadow trying to stay dry, wondering what I was going to do if my tarptent ripped to shreds, which seemed certain. Some hikers behind me were still on the top of the pass when the storm hit, and they spent the night in the Hut, which they report leaks terribly.

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