[pct-l] hiking the John Muir Trail/Tyndall Creek

[Marion Davison]

Jeff wrote:
> I've hike the JMT, or parts of it, off and on since the late 1960s.  
> What I've seen is there is a fall-off of people after Labor Day.  
> However, I never felt that the trail was crowded - ever.  There was 
> supposedly a bubble of hikers in the 70s when the counter-culture made 
> backpacking cool.  I didn't notice it. 
> 
> Sure I'd see five or six or more groups of people hiking the opposite 
> direction on the busiest of days, but I choose not to camp near them.  
> If you get 100 yards off the trail, you have the Sierra to yourself.  
> Most people don't camp more than 50' from the trail it seems... 
> 
> The worst I've seen was at Tyndall Creek - there were six or seven 
> parties - 30 ore more people - camped there when I cruised in last 
> summer in a rainstorm.  We didn't care, and set up above the crowds, 
> much to some people's annoyance I think. 
> 
I have also encountered a crowd of people every time I have passed 
Tyndall Creek.  People stop because it is the closest bear box south of 
Forester Pass.  But if you walk some more southbound, less than a mile, 
you come to "Tyndall Frog Ponds" which also has a bear box and a huge 
level area to camp.  So I always camp there, and feel no crowds.
By the same token, five miles north of Forester, the closest bear box to 
the pass is at "Center Basin Creek crossing" and there are always vast 
numbers of people camped right by the box.
All the more reason to hike with a bear can so you can camp anywhere and 
avoid the crowds.
Marion