If you ask hikers what their favorite section of the JMT is, chances are they say it is Evolution Valley. Even those who don't thru-hike the entire JMT often cover this area. The North Lake to South Lake loop through Piute Pass is a very popular section. Likewise, hikers reach MTR from Florence Lake and either hike or take mules to Evolution Valley and backtrack. A 3–4 day hike in this section is the best the High Sierra has to offer.
Day 9: MTR to McClure Meadow
MTR has a lot of trees and a lot of campers. As you climb, you get out of the treeline.
At Muir Trail Ranch I picked up my resupply bucket, discarded a Windburner canister that was still half full after cooking for the whole group of five for nearly eight days, and spent a night here fighting a slow leak in my air mattress that had been getting worse since Nüümü Hu Hupi, a problem that would follow me most of the way to Le Conte Canyon. After MTR there is no resupply without a long detour over a pass.
Above Muir Trail Ranch the trail crosses into Kings Canyon National Park, and everything changes: the mountains get taller, and the two miles along the gorge below Goddard Canyon moved me to tears. This is the Kings Canyon I had read about.
I camped at McClure Meadow, partway up the valley. The camp was pleasant, by the river. There is a ranger station here, but I did not talk to the ranger.
The two miles along the gorge below Goddard Canyon moved me to tears. This is the Kings Canyon I had read about.
Day 10: McClure Meadow to Sapphire Lake
Evolution Valley was the best day of my trip. Evolution Lake sits beneath Mount Darwin and Mount Mendel, and it is no wonder this is the favorite stretch of the JMT for so many people. Theodore Solomons named the Evolution peaks in 1895 after Darwin, Huxley, Spencer, Wallace, Haeckel, and Fiske.
As I climbed out of the valley toward Muir Pass, Evolution Basin opened up: Lake McDermand and Wanda Lake, stark and stunning, a landscape that reminded me of Ladakh.
Day 11: Sapphire Lake to Le Conte Canyon
From Sapphire Lake the trail threads past Wanda Lake, the last named lake before the pass, just as stark as Evolution Lake but with far fewer people camped at it. Muir Pass, with its round stone Sierra Club hut, is the top; the descent down Le Conte Canyon on the far side is long and steep, and I was glad I was not climbing it the other way. On either side of Muir Pass, the two lakes are named after John Muir's daughters, Helen and Wanda.
The Sierra Club built the hut in 1930 as a storm shelter. There were other hikers at the pass, and we went inside.
From Muir Pass the trail drops for miles down Le Conte Canyon, following the Middle Fork of the Kings River past the Le Conte ranger station. In 2021 I turned off here and climbed out over Bishop Pass to South Lake. I had to go help my daughter with her college tours, so I exited early and saved the rest of the high passes for another year.
Days 12 and 13: Dusy Basin and South Lake
I had arranged for two of my friends to come and pick me up from South Lake. To sweeten the deal, they agreed to hike past Bishop Pass and stay with me for a night at Dusy Basin. On Day 12 I climbed about 2,600 feet from Le Conte Canyon to Dusy Basin, and on Day 13 I walked out at South Lake.