It was incredible to revisit Evolution Valley after 15 years. We woke up at 06:30 and got on the road by 07:00. I was very stoked to get a last minute wilderness pass from recreation.gov, but I made the mistake of going to High Sierra Ranger Station on Kaiser Pass Rd instead of High Sierra Sierra Ranger Station District in Prather. Luckily they were able to call the Prather station and email our wilderness permit!

Don't make the same mistake I made!

By the time we got our permit it was already 13:00. We missed the 12:30 ferry across the lake and the next ferry didn't come until 15:30. We decided to walk the extra ~5 miles instead of waiting. In hind sight I wished we just took the ferry because it made our first day to Muir Trail Ranch 11 miles instead of 6. It was fine, it's good for our legs anyway.

It turns out we made a slight wrong turn. There is very clearly two trails on the map. One goes to the ferry dock on Florence Lake at the Eastern end, the other continues to MTR. What the map does not indicate is an OHV trail for the vehicle that resupplies MTR. Somehow we followed the OHV trail and lost track of it on the granite slabs leading up the valley. We had to bushwhack our way back North to the trail. It wasn't too bad, but we definitely lost some time meandering miles on our way.

We made it to MTR much later than I anticipated due to the miles around Florence Lake. The Resupply Store was closed, but the hot springs were calling our names. I knew they were a little muddy, but a warm soak is always welcome after a long day of hiking. We opted to camp on the hot spring side of South Fork San Joaquin so we didn't have to cross again after a nice long soak. Definitely worth bringing solid water shoes.

Our next day involved hiking up to Evolution Valley. We were a little unsure how bad the switch backs would be. Through hikers at MTR asked us if we knew what it entailed (honestly it wasn't that bad). Sam is a little new to backpacking, but several weeks before we did 6k ft of ascent over a few miles so we knew we could tackle anything. From MTR it's about 10 miles to Evolution. It's a beautiful trek along the South Fork San Joaquin, gently cascades greeted our eyes all day. Not too much elevation gain until the switch backs at the wonderful hanging valley from Goddard Canyon.

Hanging valleys are super interesting. It's the confluence of two glaciers from eons past. A large glacier carves a massive valley while a smaller glacier meets it and leaves a valley that is much higher in elevation than the main valley. That is our destination.

The South Fork San Joaquin was beautiful. The entire trail was along the river and it graced us with gorgeous cascades and continuous views of the divine. We were still a little apprehensive of the coming switch backs.

The switchbacks up to Evolution were no sweat. Easy compared to what we've done together in the past. The grade was not challenging and we had fun walking up. The valley is something else. An eden made just for us.

Hiking up Evolution Valley was a joy. We saw tons of wildflowers still in bloom in late July and the water was gushing. A good time to visit. The bugs were still annoying but luckily we had purchased more DEET from the resupply store because our tiny bottle had run dry.

We had planned to make it to Evolution Lake, but we were exhausted after two 10+ mile days so we camped near the apex of the valley just after crossing the creek.

In the morning I convinced Sam to go off trail and hike up the valley wall to see the view down the hanging valley. She was hesitant because she isn't accustomed to bushwhacking, but I'm determined to acclimate her to the off trail experience.

We hiked back to MTR without too much trouble. Sam's feet started to get some blisters and bruises from the long days. Her shoes were too tight and we determined a wider toe box was in order.

We felt refreshed after a long day and a soak in the hot springs. Sam's feet were not perfect but we only had to go 6 miles to the ferry! We woke up at 06:00 in order to make it to the 10:00 ferry. Along the way we just so happened to meet an old lady who was family friends with the Ross's who owned the ranch next to MTR. She was maybe in her 70s and had been coming here her whole life. Very interesting.

At the ferry terminal make sure to call the North terminal to let them know you are waiting.

We swam in Florence Lake while we waited super stoked to get home, have some burgers and beer.

That first burger and beer is always a treat!