Day 14 Aug 14, 1982<br>The 10 in the Muir Hut
woke up.. oh us too. They went on down to Helen Lk.
and we fixed breakfast and started out. There was
solid snow down to the lake where we passed the group
fixing their breakfast in the snow at the shore of Helen
Lk. The snow was patchy and the trail rocky down to
the next lake. We arrived at Big Pete Mdw. and the
lake in it from all the snowmelt. Right after the
meadow the river drops in a continuous cascade, There is
a grand view down the canyon with its glacial U
shape and smoothly polished granite. We stopped for
lunch just above Little Pete Mdw. We soon met the
ranger and she caught up with us a little later and said
since we didn't ask and since Owen was doing so good
she would tell us where the good fishing was. It is
below Palisade Ck.--exactly where we had planned on
going. She said her husband came in once a month and
fished for their dinner. We dropped off the high spot
and soon arrived at the Dusy Basin trail junction.
There was a high school group there. We sat down to
visit and they talked to us just like they already knew
us. One asked if a guy looked familier and I said no
but when he got up I recognized him as the leader of
the group we camped with at Ireland Ck. in Tuolumne
Mdws. Apparently he had told them about us, what a
delightful meeting. He had another group and they were doing
South Lk. to North Lk. They had wanted to do it the
other way around but could not get a permit. If we had
been just a few minutes earlier we would have missed
them. He said it poured rain on them at Shadow Lk. the
night we got sprinkles at Red Cones. He also said they
easily caught 8-13 inch trout there . Gary would like to
know that and he may find out, he said he and his wife
may go there and fish for a few days before he
rejoins us at Vidette. We picked up with a group of San
Diego firmen and sped on down to Grouse Mdw. We did not
find any campsites and went on past the meadow
looking. Not finding any we came back to just above the
lower end. There were quite a few people there and all
the good campsites were taken so we took a mediocre
one we had seen earlier. Went fishing and caught two
7 inchers for dinner. Looked for my Uncle Bens
white and wild rice in vain. This is a fine canyon with
vertical granite walls especially on the west side, very
much like Yosemite. The guy we talked to last year in
Dusy Basin had not exaggerated a bit. Beams of light
radiated out of the side canyons above the meadow and made
a perfect end to the day. Near sundown the wind
picked up but stopped by dark. 10.5 downhill miles
today.
