JMT/Merced Lake Junction to Cathedral Lake

Mileage 9.8 miles (15.8 km), total 18.5 miles (29.8 km)

The day began with a walk out of the burn and back into the forest and a steep climb up Sunrise Mountain towards Sunrise Pass. This section was quite steep as it climbed along Sunrise Creek and definitely had us out of breath. We ran into our first PCT hikers along this stretch who now had about 900 miles or so under their belt. It was fun to chat with them, they were very friendly and willing to talk about their experiences and respond to our endless questions.

Starting the day up towards Sunrise Pass

The interesting part is that they told us even after hiking so many miles and well and truly having your trail legs, the Sierras are hard. That made us feel a lot better!

The climb up Sunrise Pass was pretty nice and we saw a coyote at one point working his way up the valley. Once we got to the top, it was time for a quick breather and then onwards down towards Long Meadow.

Sunrise Pass

Following a short descent we reached Long Meadow. This was our first experience of alpine meadows along the JMT and it was really stunning. It made you appreciate how fragile these environments are and also how special. It was a warm day (even at altitude) so we stopped now and again in the shade to rest and appreciate the views.

Long Meadow

Ben in Long Meadow

After a lunch stop in Long Meadow, we kept walking and eventually the terrain became more rocky as we climbed up towards Cathedral Pass. This didn’t seem as bad as the climb earlier in the day and we were soon descending down to Cathedral Lake and our campsite for the night.

Cathedral Lake, unsurprisingly, was home to what seemed to be every mosquito along the JMT. However, it was such a stunning setting we didn’t mind. The lake itself sits right under Cathedral Peak and the views were incredible as the sun set. I heard John Muir himself climbed Cathedral Peak and it was humbling to know the view John Muir had of the Peak and the lake would not have changed since his day.

Heading down towards Cathedral Peak

Cathedral Lake

Cathedral Peak

After reaching Cathedral Lake, we set up camp and I had enough time for a quick refreshing swim in the lake before turning in for the night.

A nice campsite for the evening