Palisades - John Muir Trail

Palisade Lake, Kings Canyon National Park. The climb up the John Muir Trail from Deer Meadow was no easy task, and climbs up a stretch of trail I call the Granite Staircase. Having rested at the lake for some time, another backpacker I had met along the climb finally reached the lake, and fell to his back out of exhaustion and awe. Being exhausted and not willing to traverse the lake to look for a camp, I settled on a small and private 'bivy' location on a shelf high above the lake.