Carson Iceberg Wilderness – Paradise Valley Loop – July 17 - 18, 2010 & July 24 – 25, 2010
See the photos
I actually did this trip twice in back to back weekends but figure there is no need to write about it two separate times. I have only done one other trip in Carson Iceberg and that was many moons ago. All I can recall from that trip was that it was freezing…it was already October and we came across a small bear crossing the trail. I had decided that I wanted at least one of the trips that I was leading with Sierra Club to be a wildflower trip. I searched and searched for some options and finally came across what seemed to be a nice loop trip in Carson Iceberg off of H4.
Since I didn’t have much experience in the area and the fact that I like to actually do the route before taking a group out on it I decided to give it a dry run with Curtis and Andrew the weekend before my trip. I was also uncertain whether or not I would run into much snow since the high point go to about 10K. Highland Lakes was our staging point, which is reached by an unmaintained road. A 4WD wasn’t required but it was certainly bumpy in some areas. On the trip the following weekend we stayed at one of the campsites right after the Highland Lakes turnoff. I remember the campsite being quite a bargain and there was running water. There were also several unmaintained campsites right on the river along the road. Highland Lakes itself is a beautiful location with 2 huge lakes that are in a flat open area. The trailhead we were looking for was right before one of the lakes. There were wildflowers all over the place. I won’t call of the flowers out and will just let you look at the pictures.
We headed out northeast on the trail towards the Pacific Crest Trail. The climb was very gradual and the PCT pleasant in this section. We did run into some PCT hikers which got me very excited. Most were clean thru hikers, which perplexed me since I expected some pretty bad stink. We hadn’t picked a campsite beforehand and were more or less winging it the first weekend. Our first campsite was less than ideal and I corrected that the second time around with the bigger group. The next weekend we had a great flat campsite with wonderful views. Although with the campsite we got some rain…and a good ol fashioned Sierra thunder and lightning storm. For a few folks on the Sierra Club trip it was there first time out in rain…everyone and their equipment faired well.
The next day we walked about 15 minutes until we hit a saddle with outstanding views of peaks, peaks and more peaks. This was definitely a spot to sit and rest awhile. We headed down and to the junction of the PCT and the trail to Disaster Creek. This is where we saw the last of the PCTers. The climb up and over the pass was steep and thankfully short and we were heavily rewarded on the other side. The hike down Paradise Valley was simply amazing…wildflowers were in full bloom and just carpeted the area. It was also really neat to see how things change over the course of a week.
The last leg of the trip follows Disaster Creek and is a bit unexciting after going through Paradise Valley but was pleasant nonetheless. Once we hit Gardner Meadows the signage became really really bad and we got a bit turned around. Thankfully it’s very easy to navigate around in this area. Gardner Meadows are really beautiful. The other thing I did not mention is that from the time we hit the JMT/Disaster Creek Trail junction until we got to Gardner Meadows we did not see a single person on either trip. There are still so many places in the Sierras where one can find solitude. This was a really great trip and definitely exceeded my expectations.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Emigrant Wilderness – Cherry Creek – July 1 - 3, 2010
Some trips just don’t pan out the way you planned and this was one of those. It was a decent snow year and I knew that there was a chance that we were going to encounter some snow and of greater concern was the runoff and trying to cross any creeks. It was the first trip of the season, which meant my usual backpacking suspect Steve was present and my friend Andrew also joined us. I had been given a tip awhile back by a friend of mine about a great off-trail lake called Rosasco. The plan was to hike into Rosasco on day 1 and then do an off-trail hike visiting many great lakes in the area….that was the plan anyways. As the time approached for the trip I kept my eye on the snow level reports and knew that if we got to our intended destination it would be through a bit of snow.
We started off at the Bell Meadow trailhead. I’ve never gone out of this trailhead and it is quite nice. I think it’s best to go early season, as it is a popular starting place for horses. Somehow someone forgot to bring water to the trailhead…a sign of experience….so we knew the season was off to a great start. We blew off that little mishap and headed off. There are appropriately enough lots of Aspens as you head in and in we headed until Steve asked me if I had the permit…..DOH! This provided a wonderful opportunity for Steve to burn off some excess energy and he retrieved the permit. Clearly there are some issues with this group…and oh yeah I forgot to mention there was also a temporarily missing hat. Thankfully after the permit was obtained the next few hours of the hike were relatively unexciting. We had the trail to ourselves, which is always the great part of being out early and later in the season. Around 7400 feet we started to run into snow…just patches here and there though. There were some nice wildflowers – penstemon, some lupine. Then we arrived at one of our major junctions where Cherry Cree k meets Buck Meadow Creek. When we got the edge of the creek we just stood and stared…it was basically a raging inferno of water. I was undaunted…well slightly daunted but determined to search for a crossing spot. Searched I did…which meant going downstream to the west. It became clear though unless we wanted to get all of our gear wet and play roulette with early season runoff that we weren’t getting across. Given how early it was we had the area to ourselves and there were plenty of really nice camping spots so we setup camp and broke out the happy hour goods! We had a great evening and a beautiful sunset.
The next morning we decided that we would do a day hike up to Jewelry Lake. I’d figured that we’d run into a bit of snow but that we’d just go as far as we could. We followed the creek to the east and ran into Piute Lake where we saw some campers. Their plans had been foiled as well and they were making the best of things. We got onto the trail and headed to Gem Lake and hit pretty solid snow around 8000 feet. We did a bit of post holing…always a good time and then hit Gem Lake. The lake was beautiful and there were no people there…quite amazing…since I have been there when the tents are almost wall-to-wall. We saw a huge trout swimming in a little outlet of the lake. We decided to push a litter further and go Jewlery Lake where we had stunning views into x canyon and again there were no hikers there either. We decided to turn around and head back and on our return we saw a few people that were headed into Gem Lake. On our way back we went to an overlook point which had wonderful vistas and I went off shutterbugging while Andrew and Steve chilled out and enjoyed the views. We did a little off-trail jaunt back down to our camp and it was time for our favorite time of the day - Happy Hour! We had another wonderful evening with a nice warm campfire and then tucked in for the night.
The following day we had a relatively quiet hike out except for my constant sniffling…did I mention I had a cold and my poorly executed plan to carry my camera equipment that included 2 lenses and a tripod. The first trip definitely helps to brush some of the cobwebs off the packing brain. On our way out we started to see a lot of folks that were headed in including lots of horses. For the life of me I can’t figure out where we stopped for food and beer but most certainly there was beer. Although we didn’t get to where we wanted to go it was a really nice hike and a great place to camp.
Some trips just don’t pan out the way you planned and this was one of those. It was a decent snow year and I knew that there was a chance that we were going to encounter some snow and of greater concern was the runoff and trying to cross any creeks. It was the first trip of the season, which meant my usual backpacking suspect Steve was present and my friend Andrew also joined us. I had been given a tip awhile back by a friend of mine about a great off-trail lake called Rosasco. The plan was to hike into Rosasco on day 1 and then do an off-trail hike visiting many great lakes in the area….that was the plan anyways. As the time approached for the trip I kept my eye on the snow level reports and knew that if we got to our intended destination it would be through a bit of snow.
We started off at the Bell Meadow trailhead. I’ve never gone out of this trailhead and it is quite nice. I think it’s best to go early season, as it is a popular starting place for horses. Somehow someone forgot to bring water to the trailhead…a sign of experience….so we knew the season was off to a great start. We blew off that little mishap and headed off. There are appropriately enough lots of Aspens as you head in and in we headed until Steve asked me if I had the permit…..DOH! This provided a wonderful opportunity for Steve to burn off some excess energy and he retrieved the permit. Clearly there are some issues with this group…and oh yeah I forgot to mention there was also a temporarily missing hat. Thankfully after the permit was obtained the next few hours of the hike were relatively unexciting. We had the trail to ourselves, which is always the great part of being out early and later in the season. Around 7400 feet we started to run into snow…just patches here and there though. There were some nice wildflowers – penstemon, some lupine. Then we arrived at one of our major junctions where Cherry Cree k meets Buck Meadow Creek. When we got the edge of the creek we just stood and stared…it was basically a raging inferno of water. I was undaunted…well slightly daunted but determined to search for a crossing spot. Searched I did…which meant going downstream to the west. It became clear though unless we wanted to get all of our gear wet and play roulette with early season runoff that we weren’t getting across. Given how early it was we had the area to ourselves and there were plenty of really nice camping spots so we setup camp and broke out the happy hour goods! We had a great evening and a beautiful sunset.
The next morning we decided that we would do a day hike up to Jewelry Lake. I’d figured that we’d run into a bit of snow but that we’d just go as far as we could. We followed the creek to the east and ran into Piute Lake where we saw some campers. Their plans had been foiled as well and they were making the best of things. We got onto the trail and headed to Gem Lake and hit pretty solid snow around 8000 feet. We did a bit of post holing…always a good time and then hit Gem Lake. The lake was beautiful and there were no people there…quite amazing…since I have been there when the tents are almost wall-to-wall. We saw a huge trout swimming in a little outlet of the lake. We decided to push a litter further and go Jewlery Lake where we had stunning views into x canyon and again there were no hikers there either. We decided to turn around and head back and on our return we saw a few people that were headed into Gem Lake. On our way back we went to an overlook point which had wonderful vistas and I went off shutterbugging while Andrew and Steve chilled out and enjoyed the views. We did a little off-trail jaunt back down to our camp and it was time for our favorite time of the day - Happy Hour! We had another wonderful evening with a nice warm campfire and then tucked in for the night.
The following day we had a relatively quiet hike out except for my constant sniffling…did I mention I had a cold and my poorly executed plan to carry my camera equipment that included 2 lenses and a tripod. The first trip definitely helps to brush some of the cobwebs off the packing brain. On our way out we started to see a lot of folks that were headed in including lots of horses. For the life of me I can’t figure out where we stopped for food and beer but most certainly there was beer. Although we didn’t get to where we wanted to go it was a really nice hike and a great place to camp.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Yosemite NP – Evelyn Lake Loop – August 14 - 15, 2010
The loop trip from Tuolumne Meadows up to Evelyn trip is a great one. I did this trip about 5 years ago and this time I was leading a Sierra Club trip. I was also hopeful that I wouldn’t get totally dehydrated like I did the last time. Our gang hit the trail around 9:30 under cloudy skies. The trip south on Lyell Canyon is one you won’t forget. It’s a really beautiful setting…hemmed in by mountains on both sides and a beautiful river running down the middle of the canyon. Needless to say there were a lot of stops a long the way to take photos. The trip through Lyell was the easy stroll portion of the hike and after turning at the junction we headed up abut 1800 feet. The good news was we had plenty of clouds to keep us cool. When we got to the top of the climb we started to get some good views as well as a brisk wind. The wind followed us and followed us and followed….it was quite exciting. Soon we were at Evelyn Lake, which we had to ourselves. We all passed the test of setting up tents in strong wind after searching for some sites that would be somewhat protected. Most of us were freezing at this point and just wanted to huddle and shiver together. We talked story until dinnertime. Our reward for the blustery conditions was the sunset it was probably the most spectacular sunset I had ever seen. Of course I decided not to bring my SLR along (doh!). The group busted out the cameras and we had a nice photo shoot. After a number of hot tangs I hit the sack and tried unsuccessfully to keep all of the dirt from the blowing wind out of my tent. On Sunday the sun was up early and unfortunately the wind was still going. This was certainly motivation to get packed on the trail. I was so cold I actually had to hike in a long sleeve shirt (shock…). The trip out was very nice, the clouds disappeared and the crowds appeared. The Rafferty Creek trail is a bit like 101 during rush hour given the high sierra camp and great views. We made quick business of the 10 miles and took a break to dip our toes in the river before getting to the trailhead. Since we were out so early in the afternoon we headed out without a beer (shock again) or food. Even though the weather wasn’t the best the company was great and the scenery spectacular.
The loop trip from Tuolumne Meadows up to Evelyn trip is a great one. I did this trip about 5 years ago and this time I was leading a Sierra Club trip. I was also hopeful that I wouldn’t get totally dehydrated like I did the last time. Our gang hit the trail around 9:30 under cloudy skies. The trip south on Lyell Canyon is one you won’t forget. It’s a really beautiful setting…hemmed in by mountains on both sides and a beautiful river running down the middle of the canyon. Needless to say there were a lot of stops a long the way to take photos. The trip through Lyell was the easy stroll portion of the hike and after turning at the junction we headed up abut 1800 feet. The good news was we had plenty of clouds to keep us cool. When we got to the top of the climb we started to get some good views as well as a brisk wind. The wind followed us and followed us and followed….it was quite exciting. Soon we were at Evelyn Lake, which we had to ourselves. We all passed the test of setting up tents in strong wind after searching for some sites that would be somewhat protected. Most of us were freezing at this point and just wanted to huddle and shiver together. We talked story until dinnertime. Our reward for the blustery conditions was the sunset it was probably the most spectacular sunset I had ever seen. Of course I decided not to bring my SLR along (doh!). The group busted out the cameras and we had a nice photo shoot. After a number of hot tangs I hit the sack and tried unsuccessfully to keep all of the dirt from the blowing wind out of my tent. On Sunday the sun was up early and unfortunately the wind was still going. This was certainly motivation to get packed on the trail. I was so cold I actually had to hike in a long sleeve shirt (shock…). The trip out was very nice, the clouds disappeared and the crowds appeared. The Rafferty Creek trail is a bit like 101 during rush hour given the high sierra camp and great views. We made quick business of the 10 miles and took a break to dip our toes in the river before getting to the trailhead. Since we were out so early in the afternoon we headed out without a beer (shock again) or food. Even though the weather wasn’t the best the company was great and the scenery spectacular.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
6/13/10 – Purisima Creek
Curtis and I did a backpacking readiness hike in Purisima Creek Open Space Reserve. This trip was out of the Half Moon Bay side of the reserve. Total trip was about 7 miles. The trip consists of a loop that starts out in redwoods and follows Purisima Creek, which was welcomed given how the weather was this weekend, Starting elevation was 400 feet and total elevation gain was 1400 feet. We started on the Purisima Creek Trail, Turned onto the Craig Britton trail, which is only, open to hikers and then completed the loop on the Harkins Ridge trail. We saw some good flowers including lupine, forget-me-nots and monkey flower to name just a few. By the time we got to our top elevation it was plenty hot and my backpack did not help. On the way down there were some really steep descents and unfortunately I didn’t have any sticks since one of my new ones is broken. When we got back to the car I was ready for my hiking reward….beer!
Trail Description
Curtis and I did a backpacking readiness hike in Purisima Creek Open Space Reserve. This trip was out of the Half Moon Bay side of the reserve. Total trip was about 7 miles. The trip consists of a loop that starts out in redwoods and follows Purisima Creek, which was welcomed given how the weather was this weekend, Starting elevation was 400 feet and total elevation gain was 1400 feet. We started on the Purisima Creek Trail, Turned onto the Craig Britton trail, which is only, open to hikers and then completed the loop on the Harkins Ridge trail. We saw some good flowers including lupine, forget-me-nots and monkey flower to name just a few. By the time we got to our top elevation it was plenty hot and my backpack did not help. On the way down there were some really steep descents and unfortunately I didn’t have any sticks since one of my new ones is broken. When we got back to the car I was ready for my hiking reward….beer!
Trail Description
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
SEKI/Inyo NF - North Lake to South Lake – August 1- 7, 2009
This was a trip that had a number of unexpected things come up which of course all just added to the adventure. North Lake to South Lake is one of those classic must-do Sierra trips and that just so happens to run along the John Muir Trail for a part of way. This was going to be another section for Steve to add to his JMT section hike collection. Curtis was the planned 3rd party of our merry group but an unfortunate boo-boo a couple of weeks earlier in Yosemite that side-lined him and Steve and I were on our own.
Day 1 – South Lake to Dusy Basin
Oh how this adventure began. We drove into the parking lot at South Lake and found to our surprise there wasn’t a single darn parking space. We didn’t get a really late start either so I have a feeling that the lot had filled the previous day, which was a Friday. We ended up having to park about a mile or so away in a permitted parking zone….what a pain. So we unloaded all of our stuff, left it at the trailhead, parked the car and hitchhiked back up….it was then that I realized that I didn’t have my hiking poles or my camera…DOHHHHHH….I’m not sure what upset me more the poles or the camera….since Steve had his camera it was my poles. I can’t remember the last time I’ve backpacked without those things and with some of the ascents we had in front of us I just knew I had to have them. I know Steve wanted to kill me (I can’t blame him) but we started hiking down, hitched a ride to the car and after some time got a ride back. We even ran into the nice ladies who had given us the first ride…I am sure they thought we were completely disorganized (poor Steve). It was now late at this point and I was not looking forward to climbing in the hot sun or getting the leftover camping spot in Dusy Basin. Nevertheless we started making up good time and eased into backpacking taking in the lakes and great wildflowers. Soon enough we were headed for the top of Bishop Pass and ran into a sign warning us of rock fall danger. The amazing thing is that we saw pack horses coming down off of this pass. By the time we got to the top of the pass it was later in the afternoon and windy….neither of us felt like lounging around at the top…although there was one other two-some at the pass and one of them was having a little nap. We headed down into beautiful Dusy Basin and was once again reminded why I love the High Sierras so much. Dusy is probably one of the prettiest basins I have ever been in and just looking into it I wished we had more time to spend there. We setup camp, broke out our reading materials and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. We watched a beautiful sunset that included some alpenglow and then settled in for a quiet nights sleep.
Day 2 – Dusy through LeConte Canyon to unnamed lake below Wanda Lake
We were up fairly early and we knew we had a lot of downhill to do (2000+ feet) before climbing up again. I am no fan of downhill unless there is a nice cold beer to reward me at the end and this day there wouldn’t be. It was really interesting to see the landscape and vegetation change as we hiked down into LeConte Canyon and the wildflowers kept getting better and better. We saw lots of cool waterfalls on the way down and between the wildflowers and waterfalls I was some distracted from the jarring going on with my knees. Once we got into LeConte Canyon we started to head Northwest (I think). At this point it was the middle of the day and it was a scorcher and we didn’t really know what our destination was. Part of me wanted to get up over Muir Pass and camp at one of the lakes at the other side but I knew it would be a very long day and we’d likely pull into camp at sunset. We had already been told that Helen Lake was inhospitable to campers and that our best bet was on of the small lakes on the way up….Note to self: Try to do some more research on sites before going out. Steve didn’t want to tackle the pass that day so we took a couple’s recommendation that we ran into and tried to find a ledge that they had camped out on. It took us a little while and we found it but I just didn’t feel safe with the spot…I certainly wasn’t going to go wandering around in the dark for fear of falling down many feet. So we ended up camping on the single patch of grass and flowers by the lake right below a slope full of talus and rock. It wasn’t ideal at all but it was getting late, the sun was setting and it was cold. We soon discovered there was a marmot resident that apparently was less interested in our food and more ticked off that we had invaded its territory. We hung out after sunset lounging in our camp chairs (ah camp chairs a necessary luxury I’ve determined) and using our sleeping bags as throws. When it got too cold we packed it in and settled down for a cozy night.
Day 3 – Unnamed Lake to Evolution Valley
Interestingly enough we didn’t see anyone come through on the trail from the time we setup camp until we were about to leave. I’m guessing most folks settle in somewhere lower in LeConte Canyon by the Ranger Station. We chowed down on some grub, packed up and got the show on the road. I was really looking forward to this day and seeing Muir Hut. I had seen plenty of pictures but I had always wanted to see it in person it looked like such a cool setting and had built by Sierra Club many many years ago in honor of John Muir aka “The Man”. We passed Wanda Lake on the way there which was a really beautiful lake and frankly I thought we could have found some camp spots there…everything was really exposed so it would have been a bitterly cold night but doable nonetheless. When we got up to Muir Pass we were the only ones there (woohoo!) oh well us and the hoards of marmots. I have to say it was very cool to be up that spot and have it all to ourselves. We opened the door to the hut and had a look inside…it was definitely a very cozy place especially given the fireplace. Soon enough our moment alone on the pass was interrupted by other hikers but we had been there for a while and it was darn chilly so it was a good time to head down. The hike down into Evolution Basin is just amazing I was really tickled by the upper lakes – e.g. Wanda…..Steve thought it looked like a moonscape which is right up my alley. We talked to some hikers including some older gentlemen from TN I think that were through hiking the JMT….they had Tarptents so I felt an immediate connection ☺ . We ran into another hiker who told me I had “nice guns”…I was completely clueless as to what he was talking about until Steve enlightened me and told me it was my arms (oops) I wasn’t sure how to take that. We hiked on and on….passing lake after lake and stopping for lunch at Evolution Lake. In hindsight I think it would have been really nice to camp at one of the lakes in Evolution Basin but we had already planned at camping in the Valley so we sojourned on and on….at this point we definitely had our hiking mojo and we kept looking for that perfect spot and soon realized we better stop being picky. We ended up finding a nice spot right by the river, which allowed us to do some cleaning of ourselves as well as our clothes. We were soon to find out the next day that we had absolutely made the right decision to stop looking for sites and stay put.
Day 4 – Evolution Valley to Muir Trail Ranch
As we started out on day 4 we realized that we found the last established campsite before we hiked down to the San Joaquin. We also had the early morning pleasure of being eaten alive by mosquitoes as we did a minor stream crossing. There were several folks that were headed up into Evolution Valley and Basin and we were definitely glad we were going the other way vs. the uphill slog….folks headed south for the most part were either JMTrs or were coming out of Florence Lake. Steve and I were looking forward to today because we were headed to some hot springs!!!! I remember this day as a somewhat quiet hike…the noise from the river was so deafening you couldn’t really hear anything else. When we got the junction of the JMT and North Lake Trail we stopped and took a break and had a nice chat with some JMTrs. They were also Tarptenters…..so I was of course happy to share that I was a fan and that I couldn’t wait to get another tent. They were carrying a cool little contraption to keep bears aware from their goodies although it not legal in Yosemite or SEKI. It was basically a wire that carried an electrical charge apparently the only run that had been had was with the guy who own the contraption….he had actually zapped himself. They were able to hook up 3 bags to the rope though and it was definitely a great ultra-light alternative. I can’t remember where the group was from but they were definitely from out of state and two of the group were father and son. I was always think it’s great when you see multi-generational groups out backpacking. We saddled up after our lunch break and once we saw our Muir Trail Ranch signs headed down through the trees and out of the high high country. We decided to cross the river and establish camp on the other side since one of my books had recommended the sites on the other side. In hindsight I think the sites on either side of the river were perfectly fine and it was a bit frigid crossing that river first thing in the morning on day 6. Steve wanted to waste no time checking out the springs and we just followed the use trails to the springs. The largest pool was muddy muddy muddy and I had no desire to get in so we walked over to a lake nearby that was warm by Sierra standards and I did get in and get a bit of a wash….oh so nice. We then found another little spring…very little you couldn’t get your whole body in and I just hung out there for a while. As the sunset we hunted around for sparsely available firewood and then settled in for the evening.
Day 5 – Muir Trail Ranch – Layover Day
Layover days….there was a time where I refused to take a layover day….I get too bored and restless but have tried to be a bit more mellow about this as time goes by and there were hot spring after all at this rest place. It was a lazy morning in camp and I got some reading and cleaning in before heading out to the warm lake and some spring dipping. The day was basically dedicated to lounging and sunning…not a bad thing when you are on vacation.
Day 6 – Muir Trail Ranch to Meadow
Today there was no set destination…..my my what has happened to me. I definitely had a major backpacking-planning breakdown this summer this would have never happened in the past. We need we wanted to at least get to Hutchinson Meadow and I was secretly hoping to get into a lake (I forget the name now) off of the main trail just outside of Hutchinson Meadow. I knew my goal was going to be a stretch though since it involved a bit of climb to just get into….in any case I was on vacation and in the Sierras so was pretty sure we’d land a sweet camping spot. When we hit the North Lake/Piute junction it was all-uphill and I was glad to be in the high country again. Hiking up the canyon was really nice and it looked like there were a bunch of good surprises awaiting us. The river that flowed through the canyon was beautiful and we took a couple of nice stops next to it to fuel up. The trail eventually flattened out and we started walking through lots of trees and bad patches of mosquitoes. I was really surprised we were having mosquito issues so high up given the time of the year but I suppose I always blocked out previous years mosquitoes seasons and forget how long those buggers are actually out. We saw good wildflowers this day including Leopard Lilies which in addition to Lupine and the Mariposa Lily is probably one of my favorite Sierra flowers if not my favorite. We kept walking and decided to not walk to late in the day and ended up making the camping right off the trail and close to the river which afforded clothes washing opportunities. I think this was also a night where I made wayyyyyy too much food for dinner….macaroni I suspect that gave us belly aches. The weather was also changing at this point and there was a definite chill in the air. I knew that it was this cold where we were that the Basin was going to be much colder. We also knew that we didn’t have much mileage to get to the North Lake trailhead so the discussion began about hiking out early. I had really wanted to spend a layover day in Humphrey’s Basin to explore the lakes in that area but knew based on past experience that rain was likely. We didn’t make any decisions at this point and decided to play it by ear in the morning.
Day 7 – Meadow to North Shore
When we woke up in the morning it was really cold. I think we both started out in hats and gloves although for some unknown reason I believe I had shorts on…I think this was just wishful sun thinking on my part. We also had a talk at this point about heading all of the way out. There was no doubt that the weather had turned and I suspected that if there was any precipitation it would likely be hail if not snow. We walked on and into the basin and I have to say it met and exceeded my expectations…what an amazing place. I think the one thing that surprised me was how open it was. This area definitely warranted a few days of exploration and without navigation challenges it certainly would be fun. Unfortunately for us it was very overcast and we were trying to keep on the move so we could be warm. If we had stopped at the point we reached the basin and headed to lake we had planned to camp at it would have been before noon and it would have been a chilly afternoon and evening so we decided to just keep on walking and headed to Piute Pass….where it was windy and therefore we moved down very quickly. We were also running into more and more a people and a number of folks were headed into the basin for a few days of exploration and some people we had talked to said there was snow in the forecast. Well we were headed for the warm weather of Bishop ☺ The hike down to the trailhead was pleasant and littered with wildflowers. When we got to the trailhead we then had to figure out what to do….Curtis was our transportation and we basically hiked out 2 days early so it was fair to say our pick up ride was not even close to us. There was no cell coverage at the trailhead so we wandered down the road a bit and made sure that we looked a little lost. Finally a fishermen asked us where we headed…thank goodness….our fishermen was a local friendly who drove us all the way back to the car….this was definitely a good 20 minutes or so out of the way for him. Along the way he told us about living in Bishop and how it was the best place to live….no doubt. When we got back to the car there was a little store and we wandered over to get the obligatory congratulatory beers while I called our other ride to figure out what to do. In the end Steve and I decided to drive all the way back to the Bay Area that day….I was definitely a bit moody about that since I try to stretch out any amount of time I can in the Sierras especially the Eastern Sierras but they’ll be here next year and besides margaritas were waiting for us at Whoa Nellie Deli.
Another JMT section done, a weeklong vacation hike in the Sierras accomplished and mind you…NO RAIN…woohoo…Steve and I will dispel this myth.
This was a trip that had a number of unexpected things come up which of course all just added to the adventure. North Lake to South Lake is one of those classic must-do Sierra trips and that just so happens to run along the John Muir Trail for a part of way. This was going to be another section for Steve to add to his JMT section hike collection. Curtis was the planned 3rd party of our merry group but an unfortunate boo-boo a couple of weeks earlier in Yosemite that side-lined him and Steve and I were on our own.
Day 1 – South Lake to Dusy Basin
Oh how this adventure began. We drove into the parking lot at South Lake and found to our surprise there wasn’t a single darn parking space. We didn’t get a really late start either so I have a feeling that the lot had filled the previous day, which was a Friday. We ended up having to park about a mile or so away in a permitted parking zone….what a pain. So we unloaded all of our stuff, left it at the trailhead, parked the car and hitchhiked back up….it was then that I realized that I didn’t have my hiking poles or my camera…DOHHHHHH….I’m not sure what upset me more the poles or the camera….since Steve had his camera it was my poles. I can’t remember the last time I’ve backpacked without those things and with some of the ascents we had in front of us I just knew I had to have them. I know Steve wanted to kill me (I can’t blame him) but we started hiking down, hitched a ride to the car and after some time got a ride back. We even ran into the nice ladies who had given us the first ride…I am sure they thought we were completely disorganized (poor Steve). It was now late at this point and I was not looking forward to climbing in the hot sun or getting the leftover camping spot in Dusy Basin. Nevertheless we started making up good time and eased into backpacking taking in the lakes and great wildflowers. Soon enough we were headed for the top of Bishop Pass and ran into a sign warning us of rock fall danger. The amazing thing is that we saw pack horses coming down off of this pass. By the time we got to the top of the pass it was later in the afternoon and windy….neither of us felt like lounging around at the top…although there was one other two-some at the pass and one of them was having a little nap. We headed down into beautiful Dusy Basin and was once again reminded why I love the High Sierras so much. Dusy is probably one of the prettiest basins I have ever been in and just looking into it I wished we had more time to spend there. We setup camp, broke out our reading materials and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. We watched a beautiful sunset that included some alpenglow and then settled in for a quiet nights sleep.
Day 2 – Dusy through LeConte Canyon to unnamed lake below Wanda Lake
We were up fairly early and we knew we had a lot of downhill to do (2000+ feet) before climbing up again. I am no fan of downhill unless there is a nice cold beer to reward me at the end and this day there wouldn’t be. It was really interesting to see the landscape and vegetation change as we hiked down into LeConte Canyon and the wildflowers kept getting better and better. We saw lots of cool waterfalls on the way down and between the wildflowers and waterfalls I was some distracted from the jarring going on with my knees. Once we got into LeConte Canyon we started to head Northwest (I think). At this point it was the middle of the day and it was a scorcher and we didn’t really know what our destination was. Part of me wanted to get up over Muir Pass and camp at one of the lakes at the other side but I knew it would be a very long day and we’d likely pull into camp at sunset. We had already been told that Helen Lake was inhospitable to campers and that our best bet was on of the small lakes on the way up….Note to self: Try to do some more research on sites before going out. Steve didn’t want to tackle the pass that day so we took a couple’s recommendation that we ran into and tried to find a ledge that they had camped out on. It took us a little while and we found it but I just didn’t feel safe with the spot…I certainly wasn’t going to go wandering around in the dark for fear of falling down many feet. So we ended up camping on the single patch of grass and flowers by the lake right below a slope full of talus and rock. It wasn’t ideal at all but it was getting late, the sun was setting and it was cold. We soon discovered there was a marmot resident that apparently was less interested in our food and more ticked off that we had invaded its territory. We hung out after sunset lounging in our camp chairs (ah camp chairs a necessary luxury I’ve determined) and using our sleeping bags as throws. When it got too cold we packed it in and settled down for a cozy night.
Day 3 – Unnamed Lake to Evolution Valley
Interestingly enough we didn’t see anyone come through on the trail from the time we setup camp until we were about to leave. I’m guessing most folks settle in somewhere lower in LeConte Canyon by the Ranger Station. We chowed down on some grub, packed up and got the show on the road. I was really looking forward to this day and seeing Muir Hut. I had seen plenty of pictures but I had always wanted to see it in person it looked like such a cool setting and had built by Sierra Club many many years ago in honor of John Muir aka “The Man”. We passed Wanda Lake on the way there which was a really beautiful lake and frankly I thought we could have found some camp spots there…everything was really exposed so it would have been a bitterly cold night but doable nonetheless. When we got up to Muir Pass we were the only ones there (woohoo!) oh well us and the hoards of marmots. I have to say it was very cool to be up that spot and have it all to ourselves. We opened the door to the hut and had a look inside…it was definitely a very cozy place especially given the fireplace. Soon enough our moment alone on the pass was interrupted by other hikers but we had been there for a while and it was darn chilly so it was a good time to head down. The hike down into Evolution Basin is just amazing I was really tickled by the upper lakes – e.g. Wanda…..Steve thought it looked like a moonscape which is right up my alley. We talked to some hikers including some older gentlemen from TN I think that were through hiking the JMT….they had Tarptents so I felt an immediate connection ☺ . We ran into another hiker who told me I had “nice guns”…I was completely clueless as to what he was talking about until Steve enlightened me and told me it was my arms (oops) I wasn’t sure how to take that. We hiked on and on….passing lake after lake and stopping for lunch at Evolution Lake. In hindsight I think it would have been really nice to camp at one of the lakes in Evolution Basin but we had already planned at camping in the Valley so we sojourned on and on….at this point we definitely had our hiking mojo and we kept looking for that perfect spot and soon realized we better stop being picky. We ended up finding a nice spot right by the river, which allowed us to do some cleaning of ourselves as well as our clothes. We were soon to find out the next day that we had absolutely made the right decision to stop looking for sites and stay put.
Day 4 – Evolution Valley to Muir Trail Ranch
As we started out on day 4 we realized that we found the last established campsite before we hiked down to the San Joaquin. We also had the early morning pleasure of being eaten alive by mosquitoes as we did a minor stream crossing. There were several folks that were headed up into Evolution Valley and Basin and we were definitely glad we were going the other way vs. the uphill slog….folks headed south for the most part were either JMTrs or were coming out of Florence Lake. Steve and I were looking forward to today because we were headed to some hot springs!!!! I remember this day as a somewhat quiet hike…the noise from the river was so deafening you couldn’t really hear anything else. When we got the junction of the JMT and North Lake Trail we stopped and took a break and had a nice chat with some JMTrs. They were also Tarptenters…..so I was of course happy to share that I was a fan and that I couldn’t wait to get another tent. They were carrying a cool little contraption to keep bears aware from their goodies although it not legal in Yosemite or SEKI. It was basically a wire that carried an electrical charge apparently the only run that had been had was with the guy who own the contraption….he had actually zapped himself. They were able to hook up 3 bags to the rope though and it was definitely a great ultra-light alternative. I can’t remember where the group was from but they were definitely from out of state and two of the group were father and son. I was always think it’s great when you see multi-generational groups out backpacking. We saddled up after our lunch break and once we saw our Muir Trail Ranch signs headed down through the trees and out of the high high country. We decided to cross the river and establish camp on the other side since one of my books had recommended the sites on the other side. In hindsight I think the sites on either side of the river were perfectly fine and it was a bit frigid crossing that river first thing in the morning on day 6. Steve wanted to waste no time checking out the springs and we just followed the use trails to the springs. The largest pool was muddy muddy muddy and I had no desire to get in so we walked over to a lake nearby that was warm by Sierra standards and I did get in and get a bit of a wash….oh so nice. We then found another little spring…very little you couldn’t get your whole body in and I just hung out there for a while. As the sunset we hunted around for sparsely available firewood and then settled in for the evening.
Day 5 – Muir Trail Ranch – Layover Day
Layover days….there was a time where I refused to take a layover day….I get too bored and restless but have tried to be a bit more mellow about this as time goes by and there were hot spring after all at this rest place. It was a lazy morning in camp and I got some reading and cleaning in before heading out to the warm lake and some spring dipping. The day was basically dedicated to lounging and sunning…not a bad thing when you are on vacation.
Day 6 – Muir Trail Ranch to Meadow
Today there was no set destination…..my my what has happened to me. I definitely had a major backpacking-planning breakdown this summer this would have never happened in the past. We need we wanted to at least get to Hutchinson Meadow and I was secretly hoping to get into a lake (I forget the name now) off of the main trail just outside of Hutchinson Meadow. I knew my goal was going to be a stretch though since it involved a bit of climb to just get into….in any case I was on vacation and in the Sierras so was pretty sure we’d land a sweet camping spot. When we hit the North Lake/Piute junction it was all-uphill and I was glad to be in the high country again. Hiking up the canyon was really nice and it looked like there were a bunch of good surprises awaiting us. The river that flowed through the canyon was beautiful and we took a couple of nice stops next to it to fuel up. The trail eventually flattened out and we started walking through lots of trees and bad patches of mosquitoes. I was really surprised we were having mosquito issues so high up given the time of the year but I suppose I always blocked out previous years mosquitoes seasons and forget how long those buggers are actually out. We saw good wildflowers this day including Leopard Lilies which in addition to Lupine and the Mariposa Lily is probably one of my favorite Sierra flowers if not my favorite. We kept walking and decided to not walk to late in the day and ended up making the camping right off the trail and close to the river which afforded clothes washing opportunities. I think this was also a night where I made wayyyyyy too much food for dinner….macaroni I suspect that gave us belly aches. The weather was also changing at this point and there was a definite chill in the air. I knew that it was this cold where we were that the Basin was going to be much colder. We also knew that we didn’t have much mileage to get to the North Lake trailhead so the discussion began about hiking out early. I had really wanted to spend a layover day in Humphrey’s Basin to explore the lakes in that area but knew based on past experience that rain was likely. We didn’t make any decisions at this point and decided to play it by ear in the morning.
Day 7 – Meadow to North Shore
When we woke up in the morning it was really cold. I think we both started out in hats and gloves although for some unknown reason I believe I had shorts on…I think this was just wishful sun thinking on my part. We also had a talk at this point about heading all of the way out. There was no doubt that the weather had turned and I suspected that if there was any precipitation it would likely be hail if not snow. We walked on and into the basin and I have to say it met and exceeded my expectations…what an amazing place. I think the one thing that surprised me was how open it was. This area definitely warranted a few days of exploration and without navigation challenges it certainly would be fun. Unfortunately for us it was very overcast and we were trying to keep on the move so we could be warm. If we had stopped at the point we reached the basin and headed to lake we had planned to camp at it would have been before noon and it would have been a chilly afternoon and evening so we decided to just keep on walking and headed to Piute Pass….where it was windy and therefore we moved down very quickly. We were also running into more and more a people and a number of folks were headed into the basin for a few days of exploration and some people we had talked to said there was snow in the forecast. Well we were headed for the warm weather of Bishop ☺ The hike down to the trailhead was pleasant and littered with wildflowers. When we got to the trailhead we then had to figure out what to do….Curtis was our transportation and we basically hiked out 2 days early so it was fair to say our pick up ride was not even close to us. There was no cell coverage at the trailhead so we wandered down the road a bit and made sure that we looked a little lost. Finally a fishermen asked us where we headed…thank goodness….our fishermen was a local friendly who drove us all the way back to the car….this was definitely a good 20 minutes or so out of the way for him. Along the way he told us about living in Bishop and how it was the best place to live….no doubt. When we got back to the car there was a little store and we wandered over to get the obligatory congratulatory beers while I called our other ride to figure out what to do. In the end Steve and I decided to drive all the way back to the Bay Area that day….I was definitely a bit moody about that since I try to stretch out any amount of time I can in the Sierras especially the Eastern Sierras but they’ll be here next year and besides margaritas were waiting for us at Whoa Nellie Deli.
Another JMT section done, a weeklong vacation hike in the Sierras accomplished and mind you…NO RAIN…woohoo…Steve and I will dispel this myth.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Tahoe National Forest – Warren Lake – August 22 & 23, 2009
In mid-august I led a local Sierra Club trip in TNF to Warren Lake. I hadn’t been to Warren Lake before but I had visited Paradise Lake, which is just on the other side of Warren years before. I ran across this hike reading a book about wildflowers and thought the trip sounded really nice with the potential of wildflowers and a nice challenging hike in and out of the lake. I did not expect to see many other people on this hike because of the effort at the end of the hike to get to the lake. There is about a 2200 foot gain followed by 2100 feet of loss in about a mile. The total one-way length of the hike is 7.5 miles. I was excited about this trip because I had hiked with everyone before and they were a really great group. It took us a little re-navigation to make it to the trailhead, which is on the south side of I-80 at Donner Summit because there was a bunch of construction going on. We headed out and went through he tunnel that goes under I-80 and headed up to the east of Castle Peak. When we got to the saddle Tobi provided an interesting perspective to Castle Peak. We headed into Coon Canyon and were rewarded with wildflowers….I had low expectations of seeing wildflowers because it was already late in the season. The group quickly split in two…those busy with picture taking and flower-identification and those who wanted to get to the lake. I think when we got to ridge above Warren Lake we all had some hesitation….the data about the drop did not lie we were going to drop very very quickly many many feet. There was some apprehension but we had a very hardy group and we got down pretty quickly….my knees were rocked and I was glad to be down….I wasn’t about to think about going back up. I was a bit disappointed when we got the lake there were very few sites for a tent and was glad that no one else was down there or else we would have had trouble finding spots for the whole group. Also there was a lot of vegetation that blocked a view to the lake. The lake itself was really big and nice and several folks in the group headed in for a swim. We had a good evening together hanging out and talking to each other before heading to our tents. I should mention that this was a tarptent trip I think we had a total of 5 on the trip.
The next morning most of the group woke up because of rain. I hoped if we slept a little longer then it would go away I was definitely not looking forward to climbing out of the lake in a downpour. Fortunately for us the rain stopped and the climb out was not as painful as anyone thought it would be. The other bonus on the hike out was that I found my camera….I had apparently set it on a tree branch when we stopped for a lunch break….oops. The group had split up again into two but was finally reunited at the saddle by Castle Peak. We also went and took a look at Frog Lake from the pass. We then headed down and got back to our cars in record time….which left plenty of time to take the group to Ikeda’s where shakes, burgers and pie awaited us.
In mid-august I led a local Sierra Club trip in TNF to Warren Lake. I hadn’t been to Warren Lake before but I had visited Paradise Lake, which is just on the other side of Warren years before. I ran across this hike reading a book about wildflowers and thought the trip sounded really nice with the potential of wildflowers and a nice challenging hike in and out of the lake. I did not expect to see many other people on this hike because of the effort at the end of the hike to get to the lake. There is about a 2200 foot gain followed by 2100 feet of loss in about a mile. The total one-way length of the hike is 7.5 miles. I was excited about this trip because I had hiked with everyone before and they were a really great group. It took us a little re-navigation to make it to the trailhead, which is on the south side of I-80 at Donner Summit because there was a bunch of construction going on. We headed out and went through he tunnel that goes under I-80 and headed up to the east of Castle Peak. When we got to the saddle Tobi provided an interesting perspective to Castle Peak. We headed into Coon Canyon and were rewarded with wildflowers….I had low expectations of seeing wildflowers because it was already late in the season. The group quickly split in two…those busy with picture taking and flower-identification and those who wanted to get to the lake. I think when we got to ridge above Warren Lake we all had some hesitation….the data about the drop did not lie we were going to drop very very quickly many many feet. There was some apprehension but we had a very hardy group and we got down pretty quickly….my knees were rocked and I was glad to be down….I wasn’t about to think about going back up. I was a bit disappointed when we got the lake there were very few sites for a tent and was glad that no one else was down there or else we would have had trouble finding spots for the whole group. Also there was a lot of vegetation that blocked a view to the lake. The lake itself was really big and nice and several folks in the group headed in for a swim. We had a good evening together hanging out and talking to each other before heading to our tents. I should mention that this was a tarptent trip I think we had a total of 5 on the trip.
The next morning most of the group woke up because of rain. I hoped if we slept a little longer then it would go away I was definitely not looking forward to climbing out of the lake in a downpour. Fortunately for us the rain stopped and the climb out was not as painful as anyone thought it would be. The other bonus on the hike out was that I found my camera….I had apparently set it on a tree branch when we stopped for a lunch break….oops. The group had split up again into two but was finally reunited at the saddle by Castle Peak. We also went and took a look at Frog Lake from the pass. We then headed down and got back to our cars in record time….which left plenty of time to take the group to Ikeda’s where shakes, burgers and pie awaited us.
Yosemite National Park – Ten Lakes – September 12 & 13, 2009
This was my third time into the Ten Lakes area and this time I was leading a local Sierra Club trip. I really enjoy hiking in Yosemite in September because the weather is so nice and in general the trails are less crowded. I probably saw the most folks I’ve ever seen hiking in September this time around. There are no pictures with this blog because I decided to skip having a camera given this was my third time here.
The start of this trip did not go as planned due to some unexpected delays related to logistics but things got sorted out. The hike into the basin was very enjoyable and we had nice weather. By the time we hit our high point on the trip the clouds had built a bit and we did get a little rain. When we got to the lake the weather cleared and we looked for a good spot. There were several people already camped out and we didn’t spend too much time looking for a perfect spot since the group was more interested in getting in some lake time and others were interested in hiking up to the furthest of the Ten Lakes. A small group of us headed up to lake furthest east in the area. There was about a 700 foot somewhat steep climb up the lake but we were rewarded when we got there. The lake is definitely the most beautiful of the lakes I’ve seen in the area and there were lots of great campsites. No one was camped out at the lake I suspect because of the extra effort it takes to get there. After hiking up and then down into the basin you usually aren’t too excited about hiking up again. If I came into this area again I’d definitely like to stay at this lake. We headed back down to camp and started up a campfire, which led to a good time of swapping stories and having good conversation. On Sunday we got up pretty early because of the “Shoo Bears” we heard coming from multiple camps but none of us saw anything. We headed up and out and rewarded ourselves by getting some good Mexican in Groveland.
This was my third time into the Ten Lakes area and this time I was leading a local Sierra Club trip. I really enjoy hiking in Yosemite in September because the weather is so nice and in general the trails are less crowded. I probably saw the most folks I’ve ever seen hiking in September this time around. There are no pictures with this blog because I decided to skip having a camera given this was my third time here.
The start of this trip did not go as planned due to some unexpected delays related to logistics but things got sorted out. The hike into the basin was very enjoyable and we had nice weather. By the time we hit our high point on the trip the clouds had built a bit and we did get a little rain. When we got to the lake the weather cleared and we looked for a good spot. There were several people already camped out and we didn’t spend too much time looking for a perfect spot since the group was more interested in getting in some lake time and others were interested in hiking up to the furthest of the Ten Lakes. A small group of us headed up to lake furthest east in the area. There was about a 700 foot somewhat steep climb up the lake but we were rewarded when we got there. The lake is definitely the most beautiful of the lakes I’ve seen in the area and there were lots of great campsites. No one was camped out at the lake I suspect because of the extra effort it takes to get there. After hiking up and then down into the basin you usually aren’t too excited about hiking up again. If I came into this area again I’d definitely like to stay at this lake. We headed back down to camp and started up a campfire, which led to a good time of swapping stories and having good conversation. On Sunday we got up pretty early because of the “Shoo Bears” we heard coming from multiple camps but none of us saw anything. We headed up and out and rewarded ourselves by getting some good Mexican in Groveland.
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