High Sierra Topix

Many of us here have done the JMT at least once, some have done it numerous times. My specific interest here is to find out which section you considered the most scenic, especially from those backpackers that strictly stuck to the trail? Please describe briefly what intrigued you most about your chosen location.

Pick one of the locations below or add one if your favorite is not on the list, locations need to be strictly along the JMT, no side trailed lakes (Ediza) or close cross-country locations near the JMT (McGee Lakes). Thanks

1. Lyell Fork/Donohue Pass
2. 1000 Is Lake/Garnet Lake
3. Marie Lake
4. Evolution Valley (McClure/Colby Meadow)
5. Sapphire Lake (Evolution Basin)
6. Deer Meadow
7. Upper Basin
8. Rae Lakes
9. Bighorn Plateau
10. Mt. Whitney area

Tough call. The other worldly feeling as I descended from Mather Pass late in the day and walked through the Upper Basin with the peaks bathed in Alpenglow was mesmerizing. Possibly the perfect end to a wonderful day that included great swimming in Lower Pallisades Lake, great conversation at the lake and Mather Pass, and a great sense of community. I had stopped at a tarn to refill my water and was thinking how it was like I was on another planet when a girl who I had been talking to up on the pass caught up and said in an almost reverent whisper, "It's like I'm on another planet."
However, I'm going with one you don't have on your list, Evolution Lake to just south of Muir Pass. The views from the pass may not have been as spectacular as from Mather, but the beauty of Evolution Lake and the peaks surrounding it had me taking more pictures than I ever have before or have since. Wanda Lake was so so pristine it was hard to distinguish the shoreline in my photos. It looked like I was taking photos of the ground until you looked more closely and could pick out the shadows of the huge tadpoles swimming in the lake. The background on my computer is a picture of Wanda Lake with the peak on the west shore lit up in the morning light, its image mirrored on the surface of the lake. I was overcome with emotion while walking along Wanda Lake. Feelings of joy, sorrow, awe, a feeling that I cannot describe. Interestingly, a lawyer from Canada who was hiking the JMT with his son asked me what I thought about that part of the trail, and I told him I thought it had ruined me for hiking anywhere else, it was just so beautiful. He said to me, there are places in the Rockies that are so beautiful they will make you cry. The thing is, I was so overwhelmed while walking along Wanda that I came close to crying. I had heard that phrase before, so beautiful, you make me wanna' cry, but never understood it until that day.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience at Wanda. I think many of us can relate to these feelings after witnessing something beautiful during our travels in nature, it touches our souls and leaves a permanent mark on it.

I second a lot of what Lumbergh21 said. All of Evolution Basin is amazing (Sapphire is my favorite, personally), and so is LeConte Canyon on the other side. Upper Basin just past Mather Pass is also great.

One slightly lesser-mentioned favorite that I love:

Sallie Keyes Lake. This comes reasonably early in the trail, before you get to the absolutely mind-boggling scenery of the somewhat higher country further south, and for me it strikes a perfect balance. It's high-altitude, and it has beautiful mountains all around it, but it doesn't have quite that austere, awe-inspiring feeling that some of the higher and more rugged landscapes have-- where you feel like a tiny little visitor to a sacred place. Instead, it feels more peaceful and welcoming, the kind of place where you can take your shoes off and run around in the grass and go for a swim. You will hit plenty of those sacred places later on, but I thought Sallie Keyes was the single most relaxing and peaceful place I saw on the whole trail.

(also, sorry Maverick for phrasing this as if you don't know the area already-- I didn't notice you wrote it and just assumed that this post came from a Sierra novice for some reason).

(also, sorry Maverick for phrasing this as if you don't know the area already-- I didn't notice you wrote it and just assumed that this post came from a Sierra novice for some reason).

No problemo.

As a professional photographer, I am always interested in knowing what places speak to the soul of our backpackers, a lot of people hike the JMT and never go off-trail, so knowing what subject matter interests people the most, saves me time and effort, though I sometimes still prefer going to the more obscured locations anyway.

papercup wrote: One slightly lesser-mentioned favorite that I love:

Sallie Keyes Lake. This comes reasonably early in the trail, before you get to the absolutely mind-boggling scenery of the somewhat higher country further south, and for me it strikes a perfect balance. It's high-altitude, and it has beautiful mountains all around it, but it doesn't have quite that austere, awe-inspiring feeling that some of the higher and more rugged landscapes have-- where you feel like a tiny little visitor to a sacred place. Instead, it feels more peaceful and welcoming, the kind of place where you can take your shoes off and run around in the grass and go for a swim. You will hit plenty of those sacred places later on, but I thought Sallie Keyes was the single most relaxing and peaceful place I saw on the whole trail.

(also, sorry Maverick for phrasing this as if you don't know the area already-- I didn't notice you wrote it and just assumed that this post came from a Sierra novice for some reason).

I think I get what you are saying, Sally Keyes is like a comfortable room in your home while Evolution Basin, etc. is like being in a cathedral. They can both affect you deeply, just in different ways.

Evolution Basin, hand down.

I have done the JMT in bits and pieces, but never as a thru-hike. So I do not know if that qualifies me for having done the JMT.

It is amazing how the circumstances flavor our feelings for a place. My experience at Evolution Lake was different. I got there tired, went to the lake to jump in for a dip, stepped on a rock and up floated a huge half decayed rat! I then walked almost a mile to get water above the lake. Jaded by my experience I now saw one piece of evidence after the other of heavy use. A horse-packer group came by. I went downstream to get some solitude, and another group was camped there. Passed dug-up toilet paper. A few years ago, I again passed through. This time I went on and camped on Darwin Bench, which I think is more scenic.

Another trip, I camped at Marie Lake. I went over to the east side, just across the lake from the JMT. I found a perfect campsite. It was beautiful, fished, took a dip (no dead rat) and this side of the lake was quite pristine. Weather was perfect, as was the sunset. Although Marie Lake is not as scenic as Evolution Lake, it FELT more beautiful to me.

Because I do not have expectations of solitude or pristine conditions on the section from Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal, I could set aside irritation from the crowds. Although it is the most crowded part of the JMT, it is, in my opionion the most scenic. I did it up from Whitney Portal, which allowed morning sun on Whitney and that direction you are facing the scenery. Coming down from the pass, the view of on the west is amazing.

LeConte Canyon, specifically Grouse Meadows.

I very much connect with the vibe @papercut described (shoes off! running in the grass! swimming!). For me, that feeling was strong in Grouse Meadows. After crossing Muir Pass and living above timberline for two days, I dropped into LeConte Canyon and it felt like I arrived in Shangri-la. The meadow was pristine and granite spires towered around me. I was deep in the wilderness heart, and it felt like home. There's a spot in Grouse Meadows where the creek bends around a boulder and it forms a sweet swimming hole. I took a zero day here, camped on the margins of the meadow, swam often, sunbathed, and simply enjoyed witnessing sunlight move across the canyon walls.