Gary Croan’s John Muir Trail (August 1956)

The other day The LovedOne brought home a small book from the “free” box at the library. It turned out to be a 5^th Edition (1953) of Starr’s Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region (purchased from the still extant Vroman’s Books in Pasadena, California).

The guide’s paper dust jacket was still in good condition, so it was somewhat of a rare find (at least for us trail guide geeks). Even rarer were the notes I found inside: Log of the John Muir Trail Hike by Gary Croan (August 1956).

These detailed the backpack Gary’s Scout troop did along the Muir Trail that summer from Yosemite Valley to Florence Lake. Also included were his personal gear list and a brochure for Dri-Lite Foods, one of the pioneers in freeze dried foods.[1]

His troop appears to have been based in the Los Angeles area, which meant they got to Yosemite Valley on [now old] Highway 99, since Interstate-5 didn’t exist in 1956. I’ve found brief notes in old guidebooks before, but this is the first set I’ve found detailing a backpack on an iconic trail in the days before permits and crowds and freeways.

That he described the same backpack I did in August of 1972, sans Scouting and going as far as Piute Creek, is a remarkable coincidence.  I am not, however, reproducing Gary’s notes here as some nostalgic paean to the “good old days” – as hindsight tends to accentuate the “good” and edit out the “bad” – but merely as a look at a young person’s outdoor experience in a now bygone era.[2]

August 4^th – Saturday

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August 5^th – Sunday

6:30AM	Got up.
7:45AM	Ate breakfast.
9:30AM	Broke camp.
11:05AM	Arrived at Vernal Falls. I never want to go up another stairs.[4]
12:30PM	Lunch at Nevada Falls.
6:00PM	Made camp. Camped along trail before pass into Long Meadow.
7:00PM	Ate cold dinner. Went to bed.

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August 6^th – Monday

6:00AM	Got up. Ate no breakfast because we thought we would reach Long Meadow soon.
7:00AM	Broke camp.
11:00AM	Ate lunch at Long Meadow.
5:00PM	Made camp. Tuolumne Meadow. Duty: Camp detail. Went to store & replenished food that bear had taken.
7:30PM	Ate dinner.
9:00PM	Went to bed.

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August 7^th – Tuesday

6:00AM	Got up.
7:30AM	Ate breakfast.
9:00AM	Broke camp.
12:00PM	Lunch. About ½ hour before & during lunch we fished (no luck).
5:30PM	Made camp. Upper Lyell Base Camp. Duty: Fire building. B. Lynn, R. Ax & I got to camp first; so we built fire & got everything ready.
6:30PM	Ate dinner.
8:00PM	Went to bed.

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August 8^th – Wednesday

6:00AM	Got up.
7:30AM	Ate breakfast.
9:30AM	Broke camp.
11:30AM	Got to top of Donahue Pass. Pass was completely covered with snow.
1:00PM	Lunch at junction of Marie Lake outlet and Rush Creek.
5:15PM	Made camp. Thousand Island Lake.
7:30PM	Ate dinner. Went fishing after dinner (no luck).
9:15PM	Went to bed.

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August 9^th – Thursday

6:15AM	Got up.
7:30AM	Ate breakfast.
8:30AM	Broke camp.
9:00AM	Did conservation by building ford across Thousand Island Lake outlet.
12:15PM	Lunch at Shadow Creek junction.
1:00PM	Made camp. Shadow Creek. I went swimming. Duty: KP.
5:00PM	Went fishing.
6:15PM	Ate dinner.
8:20PM	Went to bed.

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August 10^th – Friday

6:00AM	Got up. Layover day Shadow Creek.
8:15AM	Went fishing at Lake Ediza. R. Ax caught one fish.
2:30PM	Ate hot lunch which was a regular dinner.
6:30PM	Ate dinner.
8:00PM	Went to bed.

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August 11^th – Saturday

6:00AM	Got up.
7:15AM	Ate breakfast.
9:30AM	Broke camp.
1:00PM	Lunch at Minaret Spring.
2:30PM	Arrived at Reds Meadow.
2:45PM	Took shower at hot spring.
3:30PM	Made camp. Reds Meadow. Duty: Fire detail. Refill day.
4 to 5PM	Went to store.
5:00PM	Distributed new food & supplies.
7:00PM	Ate dinner.
9:00PM	Went to bed.

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August 12^th – Sunday

6:30AM	Got up. Got up. I built firepit for cooking merit badge.
9:30AM	Broke camp. Did conservation along trail by removing dead trees etc. from trail. Went to Red Cones extinct volcano. P. Perkins & I collected lava cinder for fish aquariums (5 lbs extra).
12:45PM	Lunch at Crater Creek.
4:00PM	Made camp. Deer Creek. Duty: Cook. Went fishing (no luck).
7:15PM	Ate dinner.
8:15PM	A herd of horses almost ran through the camp so we put up spook lines in case they came back. Sat around the fire & sang songs.
9:30PM	Went to bed.

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August 13^th – Monday

5:30AM	Got up and went fishing with Mr. Perkins and “Doc” Lynn. Also discovered we aren’t at Duck Creek like we thought. No fish again.
8:30AM	Got back from fishing and fixed full breakfast for cooking merit badge.
9:15PM	Ate breakfast.
10:50AM	Broke camp.
2:00PM	Lunch at Duck Creek. Built ford across creek.
4:45PM	Made camp. Purple Lake. Duty: KP. Had to do a lot of work to cleanup after YMCA.
7:00PM	Ate dinner.
9:30PM	Went to bed.

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August 14^th – Tuesday

6:00AM	Got up.
7:30AM	Ate breakfast. Saw a porcupine & doe.
8:45PM	Broke camp.
10:00AM	Met an old hiker with 60 lb pack & dog.[5]
11:20PM	Made camp & ate lunch. Tully Hole. Duty: Camp detail. I fixed Mr. Perkin’s hiking staff which he broke.
5:30PM	Ate dinner & went fishing. Thomas caught 1 fish.
9:00PM	Went to bed.

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August 15^th – Wednesday

6:00AM	Got up.
7:30AM	Ate breakfast.
8:15PM	Broke camp.
12:15PM	Lunch at lake [Silver Pass Lake] south of Silver Pass.
3:30PM	Made camp. Camped at trail camp south of Pocket Meadow. Duty: Fire detail.
6:00PM	Ate dinner.
8:15PM	Went to bed.

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August 16^th – Thursday

6:00AM	Got up.
6:30AM	Ate breakfast.
7:30PM	Broke camp.
11:45PM	Lunch at fork of Bear Creek.
2:30PM	Made camp. Upper Bear Creek Meadow. Duty: Cook.
6:30PM	Ate dinner. Went fishing and everyone caught fish. I caught 4-6 fish and Mr. Perkins caught a 12″ fish.
9:00PM	Went to bed.

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August 17^th – Friday

6:00AM	Got up.
6:30AM	Ate breakfast.
8:30PM	Broke camp.
11:30PM	Lunch at Sally Keyes Lakes.
3:30PM	Made camp. Blayney Meadow. Duty: KP “Doc” Lynn’s birthday so we gave he & Mr. Perkins beer we had been carrying since Sunday.
5:30PM	Dinner.
8:30PM	Went to bed.

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August 18^th – Saturday

6:00AM	Got up.
8:15AM	Ate breakfast.
8:30PM	Broke camp.
11:45PM	Lunch half way along Florence Lake.
2:00PM	The end at last, north end of Florence Lake.
5:30PM	Dinner in Bakersfield.
10:15PM	Got home.

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[1] Dri-Lite Foods opened in 1951 – born of an ill-fated Girl Scout outing.  The scout’s morale had waned after a long trek carrying canned food. Troop leader Ann Benedict realized that in order to preserve energy while active, the food would need to weigh substantially less. She developed the idea of freeze-dried and dehydrated meals that would provide the foundation for today’s Backpacker’s Pantry, based in Boulder, Colorado.

[2] I did some very light editing and added my own photos for effect.

[3] This was a summer time event during which burning hot embers were spilled from the top of Glacier Point. There non-natural firefalls began in 1872 and continued until 1968.

[4] This was their longest (11 miles to camp) and toughest (5,700 feet of elevation gain) day of the trip.

[5]I’d love to know what constituted “old” to Gary and how much his pack weighed.

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