Leon Turnbull Photography

Once again, I got up very early, packed up my gear, and headed down the trail. I had a long day ahead. I stopped first at the lower falls. This is the largest of the three waterfalls on the SF San Joaquin River, 59 ft. high. I was not expecting the lower falls to be so high and so outrageously beautiful, and it was the easiest to see, being right by the trail with a fabulous overlook. I ate my breakfast here after photographing the waterfall. Perfection established.

From my campsite, it was a 20 mile hike back to my car. I was not really sure that I could hike the entire 20 miles, but I also knew there was a great campsite at the end of Florence Lake, at the 16 mile mark. I wanted to get there at least. The small uphill parts of the hike were a bit tough with my tired legs, but mostly the hike was downhill the entire way, and I felt very good … until I hit the 15 mile mark. That last mile to the campsite was long and tough, I knew I would have to stop at the end of the lake. I probably could have made it the whole way after getting a good rest at the lake, but the last four miles would have a lot of uphill hiking, and I just felt it was better to relax, camp one more night, and then the last four miles in the morning would be very easy. It was also very hot. I wanted to get home, but it would be killer to hike that four miles now. Why do that to myself?

During that last mile to the lake, I almost stepped on a rattlesnake. It was right in the middle of the trail and I was *not* looking down at the time. I was looking at the scenery. Foolish me. I would have stepped on it for sure but thankfully, Mr. Snake was not sleeping, he saw me coming, and moved out of the way before I stepped on him. This near incident was much worse (closer to disaster) than my mountain lion encounter two days prior. Whoosh! Immediately after this, I came across a backpacker who was in very sorry shape. He was out of water and way overheated, and he was on the verge of fainting from heat exhaustion. The last water source was only two miles back, and the river was less than a half mile ahead. How could he be out of water? I did not really know how to help him. I gave him some of my water, and I told him to take off his pack and lay down and rest for a half hour or more to get his energy back. He did not want to take my advice however, and insisted on continuing on the trail. Ok, whatever. But he was going so slow and could not keep up with me. He made it down to the river a little after I did. He did take off his pack there and rested for a good 2 hours, then he headed up the trail on the last 4 miles to the trailhead. I don’t know if he realized there was so much uphill on the last part, and I think he was going to have a very tough time on the hike. I guess he made it. I did not see any bodies along the trail the next morning.

Most every backpacker I met along the trail was very friendly, as you would expect, except for one total jerk. Why is there always one person that ruins your experience? I came across him on the trail on the last day, and he asked me how far it is to Muir Trail Ranch. I knew I had just passed it a little while ago, but of course I would not know the precise distance to it, so I told him it was one or one and a half miles. I thought this was an excellent estimate (and a correct one, I might add). However, not only did he *not* thank me for this information, but instead he just pointed at me and said, “well which one is it? is it one mile or one and a half miles? You may as well have said it is one or thirteen miles”. What the heck??? Give me a break, you idiot. If you want such a detailed and exact distance, then why are you not carrying a GPS yourself, instead of asking other hikers along the trail who don’t give a hoot how far it is to your precious destination? I did not want to get into any big thing with him, so I just said “well, it is one of those two distances”, and then continued on my way without saying good bye or anything else. He was still carrying on about it as I left him. Unbelievable. Some people.

Meanwhile, after setting up camp at the river, I decided to go for a quick dip in the water. It was a hot day, and I was tired. How could I resist? The river was freezing cold, and it was a very quick dip, but it sure felt good. I had a relaxing evening at the campsite, ate my dinner, did some photography, and in the morning took a little more time to get going, having breakfast and some coffee first. This is what backpacking should be all about. The last 4 miles on the trail did have some uphill, but I felt good, and it was a quick and easy 4 miles. The long drive back home included a stop at Pizza Factory to refuel. Now that is a great ending to a great trip.