Day 5 - Click on Map
Day 5 (July 30) seemed a little bit like a test for me as we approached the next pass in the line of passes northward on the John Muir Trail. We had adjusted our camp last night to stay below 11,000 feet in order to reduce any altitude issues. The day started out with plenty of sunshine and a nice slog up the hill to approach Glen Pass. Charlotte Dome was looking splendid in the morning sunlight and the view of Charlotte Lake made us wish we had made the extra trip down the night before. We started our ascent up the pass and were soon at the lakes below the pass and looking up at our morning ascent. This would become our ritual for the next few days, kind of like having our morning coffee and tea! I was to say somewhat nervous of the potential altitude issues with Glen Pass being just over 12,000 feet. However, we were able to make the climb up the pass with no side affects on my side and I was able to carry my entire load without shedding some to Mike. I am sure he was a happy camper that morning! At the top of Glen Pass we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the Rae Lakes basin below to the north and the beautiful views to the south.

We spent a little bit of time at the top of the pass before descending through the snow fields on the northern side. The snow fields were minimal and did not cause us any problems dropping down into Rae Lakes. These lakes are truly awesome! This is definitely a destination trip place as it would be nice to spend several days camping and fishing these lakes and outlets. The views of the lakes and Fin Dome and the Painted Lady were spectacular! We stopped at the outlet to Lower Rae Lake to fish the stream and were rewarded with hybrids, rainbows and brookies! The colors on the brookies were outstanding! We had now been able to catch three different species of the sierra trout, waiting for the cutthroats of Yosemite and the browns of the lower streams and rivers ahead of us! With all five we would be able to complete the grand slam in one trip.

We made our way down the canyon passing Arrowhead and Dollar Lakes towards the Woods Creek crossing. We ran into three ladies who were on their third year segmenting the entire JMT. This would be the year that they competed the trail, coming in from one of the eastern side passes through Dusy Basin. It was in the afternoon and they looked a little tired so they asked us the proverbial question... "How much farther to..?" Not wanting to lie, we let them know it was a couple of miles to Rae Lakes, depending upon which one they were aiming for. We got a chuckle when they asked how long in hours not in miles. Now that was a question we were not prepared for! How long does it take to climb up the hill for a couple of miles depends on a lot of things! If it was me in the last couple of days, it could have taken hours! We did the best thing we could and let them know how long it took us to drop from the lakes and let them figure it out from there.

We continued down to Woods Creek and crossed the suspension bridge, each posing for the obligatory pictures and we had lunch on the north side getting our energy up for the climb to Twin Lakes. It was definitely a nice climb up the creek and canyon. Near the top, we began the final ascent up through the aspens and past the junction to Woods Lake and Sawmill Pass. It was nice to start to level off as we approached Twin Lakes to find our spot for the night. On the climb up the canyon, we ran into a nice father and daughter team taking a rest on the side of the trail. The rest of their party was up at the lakes making camp. We would share the trail with them for the next couple of days trading places and stories! The campsite at Twin Lakes was situated on the south side of Lower Twin Lake and we were glad to be there and spend the night!

To view photos of our trip please refer to the Photo Albums section of this site!