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We had postponed a decision on our final route until this point. We knew how
the trip would begin and end, but days four and five had several alternatives.
Would we head x-c toward McGee Lakes from Evolution Valley? If so, would we
pack x-c from McGee over to Sapphire Lake or backtrack to Colby Meadow? Or
would we forego those opportunities and continue on the Muir Trail? My two-day
fishing permit began today, so the lakes were appealing but certainly not the
only fishing-hole in the area. With all that in mind, we returned to the
Goddard Canyon bridge, crossed over the South Fork, and ascended into the
stunning gorge of lower Evolution Creek. The first stretch was warm and quiet,
with great views up and down Goddard Canyon framed by large mountain hemlock
trees. Crossing a slight crest, the roar of the creek took over, and the great
cascades showed their persistence by the great cavities carved into the hard
granite. Each bend in the trail brought new waterfalls into view, and no one
falls was superior in its beauty. My favorite stretch, however, was the creek just above the falls, where the stream stepped
down foot-high drops and whose gentle murmur was muted by the roar from lower
down. In a short while we were at the ford, which was not quite knee-deep at
the time. The darkening skies suggested that the level might be rising later in
the day, and soon a single clap of thunder echoed off the valley walls as we
passed Evolution Meadow. The clouds thickened further, but that single rumble
was as close to stormy weather we encountered. I've noted on past trips that 10AM is the make-or-break point for Sierra rain. If cumulus clouds aren't building by then they rarely produce rain, and these had just come in at the wire.
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We met the local ranger at the next stock fence; he reassured us that the
forecast was for improving but cooler weather. Since Lamarck Col was tough
enough in good weather, this was very good news! We soon reached the ranger
station at McClure Meadow (my brother never never saw the place). The view from the
meadow was as just as advertised - spectacular shades of green contrasted
against the pale grey of the Evolution Peaks and the darker shades of the
clouds. Many small trout darted in the still waters of the creek, and silver
snags added yet another shade of grey as they lay in the quiet stream. Julie was running out of steam, victimized by her head-cold; Larry suggested I move ahead and scout out a camp. My first stop was near Colby Meadow, and the site held great promise until I heard the shout from nearby. I looked across the stream and straight into another camp, where someone was taking a solar-shower; the privacy of this site was clearly compromised! I moved on a little further, but now Evolution Creek was quite a distance from the trail. I waited until we were all together again, then we dropped our packs and searched for a decent site. Larry disappeared for quite a while, then returned to us with news of a great spot. After ten minutes of wandering we found it again, set up a nice camp by Evolution Creek, and discussed our options. We decided our best bet was to stay here a second night, giving us a full day of rest before tackling Lamarck Col. It would be a tougher day to cross the col from this lower camp, but the day off would do all of us good. Larry and I tried the stream for fish, and we caught and put back several small ones before returning to camp for more typical camp food. I found it hard to concentrate on fishing here - the massif of Mendel and Darwin dominated the eastern sky, turning an amazing crimson at sunset, and the outflow from Evolution Lake crashed into the valley a short ways off. The good news was that our 9900-foot elevation allowed us to make use of the plentiful downed wood: a pleasant fire contributed nicely to the ambience, and we turned in for a restful sleep.
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