Mile 941.6: Donahue Pass and Tuolumne

As we hiked up to Donahue Pass, so were 20-30 boyscouts. We leapfrogged for a while, but that's awkward with a huge group v. one person. I stepped aside to play extra-long with my rainpants and sunscreen, so when I started back up again I was like a wide, smooth highway of no post-holing.

As we got closer and closer to the valley, we saw more and more people: dayhikers, overnighters, JMTers. I was j t overwhelmed. I found out that it IS true: through hikers can smell dayhikers (as I'm sure they can smell us). We smell like sweat and DEET and sunscreen and pee, othey smell like soap. Americans smell like chemically perfumes and TIDE, the Japanese smell amazing.

The terrain was really steep switchbacks down the valley coming down from Donahue, until it hit the Tuolumne River and the accompanying valley. Then it was easy, flat, barely sloped meadow walk until we hit what passed for civilization to us. Microburst and I both got amazing packages from our mothers, we doled out the cookies inside and hung out for hours. We ended up treating ourselves to a dinner of couscous cooked in LIQUID, canned soup, and two bottles of wine that were intended for sharing amongst more people. Oh well, we got drunk instead. Double Check and I talked about music for a little bit, and I was possessed with the idea that getting the nice Christian boy to listen to Immortal Technique was a good idea. He said later, "Well, now I know a lot more about you." Ooops.

The next day, Microburst went down into the valley with Calorie and Doublecheck to be tourists, while Sweet 16 and I, feeling like Yosemite veterans/tourist avoiding misanthropes, had a lazy day of eating followed by easy, downhill miles to Glen Aulin. Unfortunately, I got completely lost there, and ended up looking for her in what seemed to be an old, haunted abandoned stable, while she had set up her tent very conspicuously where the signs, if followed, direct campers. Microburst would catch up the next morning.


- Typoed on my iPhone