Lake Virginia to Vermillion Valley Resort

Mileage: 14.3 miles (23.0 km), total 92.4 miles (148.7 km)

Today was a highly anticipated day for us because we were going to reach Vermillion Valley Resort or VVR as it is commonly referred to. VVR is set on the shores of Lake Edison. Unfortunately for us, as 2015 is such an incredibly low snow year, the water level at Lake Edison is much lower than it would be in an average snow year. Therefore, VVR was no longer running its larger boat (commonly seen on JMT videos) but was using smaller boats and dropping hikers off further away from the trail head.

The night at Lake Virginia was pretty cold but it was a beautiful spot to camp.  We headed out from camp and passed by Tully Hole and Cascade Valley.

We decided to climb up Goodale Pass rather than Silver Pass today on our way through to VVR. It was a nice climb along some beautiful mountain lakes such as Lake of the Lone Indian.

We eventually reached the top of Goodale Pass and from there most of the climbing was done with only a long walk from there to the end of our day at VVR.

The trail passed through some absolutely stunning meadows which were full of wildflowers and were really beautiful. From there it was a long, long walk in along a ridge alongside Lake Edison to get to VVR. Looking at the lake it was apparent just how low the water level was.

The afternoon’s hiking just seemed to go on forever but eventually we arrived at VVR. We put our packs down on the ground and sat down in front of a whole bunch of hikers sitting out and enjoying a beer in the fresh air. We went into the store and got our free beer and enjoyed a drink.

We had booked a cabin so took all our stuff up there and relaxed a little. It was good to have a quick shower and it was $6 well spent! Our little tent cabin was next to Fred and his wife who we’d first met at Cathedral Lake. Fred’s wife was struggling physically with the trail so Fred (a California schoolteacher) was going to continue on whilst she headed home.

VVR operates on a tab system and the danger with that is you help yourself to beer (which is precisely what we did). After dinner and a few drinks, it was time to hit the sack after a long day.