TR - Bishop Pass to Florence lake by way of JMT

[overheadx2]

Just did a trans sierra hike from So. Lake to Florence. We had a great time, and except for some JMT hikers, we had each location to ourselves. I have started to look at JMT guys as hiking ghosts since you see them occasionally on the trail. but they just seem to walk and never stop to camp. Laconte Canyon was amazing, and Evo Valley rivals Yosemite in my opinion. Thanks to some Sierra Topixs guys, I made the hike to Darwin and another unnamed lake above Evo. Valley, and scored a wide open Rainbow / Golden bite for about 2 hours. Lots of bigger fish up high with all the little guys you could want along the trail. I am relatively new to longer pack trips, but the whole trip was more beautiful than any place I have ever hiked before (especially McClure Meadow). If you have never done the So. Lake No. Lake loop, do yourself a favor. While it is popular, it's popular for a reason. To be honest, we camped each night by ourselves, and always felt we were alone.

Thanks for all the help and advice given before hand, it was appreciated, Phil

[cgundersen]

Phil,
With >35 million people in CA, I'm always thrilled by the seclusion the Sierra offers even on relatively busy trails. It's definitely a great way to re-charge! And, I bet the Florence water taxi was a welcome sight! Or, did you grind it out?
cg

[overheadx2]

I was shocked as well at the amount of isolation we found along the way, especially after hearing some of the negative feed back about the congestion on this route. While I was far from alone, the beauty of the area was literally 5x's anything I had ever experienced in the back country and certainly worth sharing with a few through hikers.

It was hot at Florence, so we swam until the taxi came at 11:00. Turns out the taxi shut down on Sunday the 9th. They were planning on the 15th, but then they got a call that more water was being drained, so there wouldn't be enough water for the taxi to run. I feel for the folks that we had talked to thinking that they had till the 15th.

[SweetSierra]

On a portion of an 8-day solo trip from Duck Lake to Virginia Lake on the JMT, I saw only two other parties. One was the son of Sierra mountaineer Jim Watters. I knew Jim from Sierra Club Service Trip seminars that he attended and from one of the last trips he led in the Evolution Valley area. His son bears a striking resemblance to him and I felt fortunate to meet him. The other person was a woman hiking solo. When you see others on the trail, they just pass you by in a few moments and you're alone again. If I'm hiking solo, I like to see others camping nearby. I enjoy knowing there are people nearby even if we never meet.