14     Vermillion Valley Resort - Tuolumne Meadow  64.8 miles

Vermillion Valley Resort

Silver Creek                                              5.6 m

Deer Creek                                             17.7 m

San Joaquin Mountain                               19.0 m

Tuolumne Meadow CG                               22.5 m

The afternoon ferry transported me back to the PCT. Due to the sinking water the wharf had to be moved quite a bit since arriving at VVR. Until dark I made good progress. Again I was to experience freezing at night in the next few days. Three more high passes had to be crossed. The area near Red's Meadows was severely affected by an extremely strong winter storm. Thousands of trees were blown over. Until my arriving there the forest service had been in operation with quite a few lumber jacks. They just managed to clear the PCT by the time I arrived. Red's Meadows Resort and Pack Station were still closed to the general public. Just we hikers were admitted. The restaurant was open and the store was waiting for the first delivery. And here I met John C. Riley, an artist with Oscar nomination. He was there for horseback riding with a bunch of kids. And as is usually the case at such places I met a number of fellow hikers. Some of them I hadn't seen for quite a while.

Visiting the nearby Devils Postpile National Monument is a must. This is an about 60 ft high rock cliff consisting of regular hexagonal basalt columns. There are very few places on the globe with such nice columns. A group of kids was working nearby on the trail to repair it for this year's hiking season.

The final descent before arriving at Tuolumne Meadows was recently repaired and consisted of many rock stairs. When I finally arrived at the bottom the trail continued in a broadening valley until coming to the camp ground. Here we were directed to an area far away from the paying car campers. So water and toilet facilities were a bit away. And here are no showers or laundry facilities. Post Office and store are inside a big tent that is set up for the short summer period. I made a day trip with the National Park Service bus into the Yosemite Valley. After all the peace and quietness along the PCT this was a shock. It seemed like Disneyland. There was far too much hustle and bustle.

Washer and dryer are outside at Vermillion Valley Resort

Early morning ice on a puddle

A meadow with hoar frost

Blow downs near Red's Meadows

Devils Postpile NM

Trail crew working on PCT

Towards Tuolumne Valley in Yosemite NP

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