Day 9 of one hiker's John Muir Trail trek turned into the kind of Sierra day people remember for years: a pre-dawn start in Independence, a bear stealing an entire batch of pancakes from a family's campsite, two mountain passes before dark, and a night at the famously pretty Rae Lakes.

The writer, a 69-year-old recovering from a lung infection, had just spent two days off trail — including a hospital visit — resupplying in Independence, California. A local driver named Mark, a former Bay Area commercial fisherman turned Eastern Sierra resident, shuttled him to the trailhead for $45, and by 6:30 a.m. he was climbing toward Kearsarge Pass with a pack loaded with six days of food.

The day's best story happened midway up, in a jumble of giant boulders. A family — two parents, three kids and a small brown doodle — were shaken but fine after a young bear walked into their camp while the dad was cooking pancakes and ate the whole lot. The dog, appropriately named Bear, barked furiously and was completely ignored. The hiker reassured them and pushed them to report it to a ranger, noting that bears that learn to associate people with food usually come to a bad end.

He crested Kearsarge Pass in three hours, a solid time given the circumstances, then rejoined the John Muir Trail via a new route — a symbolic moment after the health detour. The day wasn't done. Glen Pass, expected to be the easier climb at around 1,200 feet of gain, turned out to be the harder one: rocky, steep switchbacks, brutal afternoon sun (solved awkwardly with a backpack-mounted umbrella) and a ridgeline walk of 100-plus yards before the descent even began. He descended carefully to the chain of Rae Lakes, crossed a stream on stepping stones, and camped at the busy Middle Rae Lake campground, deliberately choosing a spot near a bear box to protect his food stash.

The tally: roughly 14 miles, 3,944 feet of climbing on the day, and over 18,000 feet accumulated on the trip so far. Next up: Pinchot Pass and a continued push north.

Why does this matter to travellers? It's an honest window into what the John Muir Trail actually demands — resupply logistics, shuttle costs, passes that punish overconfidence, and crowded hotspots like Kearsarge and Rae Lakes — plus a useful reminder about bear safety in the Sierra: never leave food unattended at camp, always use the bear boxes, and report habituated bears to rangers.