Day 7-8 – Vermillion Valley Resort
After a solid week of hiking, we had earned ourselves a zero day (thru-hiker slang for a day of no hiking!) We had originally expected to reach Lake Edison too late to catch the ferry across to Vermillion Valley Resort, located on the far East side of the lake. We were going to camp near the ferry landing and catch the first boat across in the morning.

Day 6-7: Deer Creek to Vermillion Valley Resort
​While eating breakfast at Red’s Meadow Resort, I had grabbed a copy of Elizabeth Wenk’s “John Muir Trail” to read up on Devil’s Postpile as well as the next section of the trail. The guidebook declared that the first 5.5 miles of our 6th day on trail are considered “[…] the most monotonous on the JMT.”

Day 5: Minaret Creek Junction to Deer Creek
Our first stop for day 5 was a visit to Devil’s Postpile National Monument. ​We were there early enough to beat the regular tourist crowd and we also got to see the sun rise over the odd columnar rock formations.

Day 3-4: Gem Lake to Minaret Creek Junction
On our third day on trail we joined up with the JMT.
We were up and out of camp nice and early, taking advantage of the cool morning air as we climbed up through the forest to nearby Agnew Pass. We especially enjoyed crossing through the meadows beside Clark Lakes.

Day 1-2: ​Tioga Road Trailhead to Gem Lake
After nearly a year of planning, we made it to our start day.
We woke up in Yosemite Valley and took the time to enjoy breakfast, a last shower and to do one last check on all of our gear. Then my father-in-law drove us up to our trailhead, a couple hours away near Tioga Pass.

Dan and I rarely travel back to a previously visited location. Yosemite Valley is now an exception. Two years ago we came through Yosemite Valley as part of a backpacking trip from Tuolumne Meadows (in the High Sierras) to Half Dome and then to the Valley.
When we started planning our John Muir hike, we decided that we wanted a few extras days to spend in Yosemite Valley so we booked ourselves into the Curry Village tent cabins (now known as Half Dome Village.)