8 days in the High Sierra

My trip of the year

So this was the trip of the year for me, as is right given that I concocted the idea last December, and submitted for my Whitney Permit back at the end of January! My plan was to head out to the High Sierra for 8 days of backpacking and Scrambling, and except for scaling back my first day due to an injury 3 weeks out, everything went exactly as I'd hoped, if not better than!
I flew into and out of Mammoth Lakes, CA. A charming little town situated at 7,500 feet. The flight over the Sierra's was a great way to start the trip. I landed and was on the road in my rental by 7 pm. Lucky me, I reserved an economy car, and ended up in a Camry because that was only one of 2 vehicles left in their fleet! I camped that night just outside of Mammoth Lakes at Sherwin Creek Campground, getting up early the next day to get to Kittridge sports to pick up stove fuel, then off to the Forest Service Visitor center to pick up my permits. I'm glad I arrived an hour early, as I was second in a line that grew to about 20 groups by the time they opened the doors!
This then is where my adventure really began, as I arrived at the McGee Creek trailhead, headed out on my first overnight trip!

I made quick work of the 7 mile trip, Passing by many wildflowers on the way, as well a beaver made lake!

Shortly after passing the lake I started the climb up to my original goal of Grass Lake, only to find it taken over by a horse camp. So I climbed up more on to Steelhead lake, catching a glimpse of Grass Lake from Above, as well as finally getting a great view of White Mountain!
. I arrived at Steelhead lake by 12:30, ready for some quality R&R to make sure my recently injured foot was fully recovered, and aside from the misquitos, which treated the repellant as an appetizer, I was at the perfect spot!

Day 2 saw me hike out from the McGee Creek Drainage, and head South to Onion Valley, my base camp for the next three nights. Onion Valley CampsiteI had camp setup by 1, and was originaly going to head up to Golden Trout Lake, but upon setting up camp I found I was right beside a trail to Robinson Lake. So I pulled out my map and realized that just above the lake was Independance peak. At just under 11,760 feet, this fit in perfectly for my acclimization plan, and so an unexpected scramble it was!

The scramble up Independance was a blast. The first 1,000 feet up the scree slope wasn't as bad as many I've been on, and the last 500 feet of class three boulder scrambling was a real joy! At the top I was rewarded with an incredible view of the Sierra's to the West and Owen's Valley to the East, as well as a nice view of Robinson Lake from above.
View from Independance Peak

I had a very uneventful decent, and went to bed early.
Day 3 dawned to find me driving down a great high mountain gravel road towards White Mountain Peak.

This was my first 14er, and what an easy one it was. It was a nice stroll up and back down. I was in a bit of a hurry to because I had to get down to the Interagency office before 4:30, so I covered the 14 mile round trip in 5.5 hours. After getting down from the mountain, I stopped by the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest for an hour, before heading South to pick up my permit for Whitney the next day, as well as my permit to head into King's Canyon the day after.
Day 4 and I was up at 3:30 am so I could get to the Whitney TH by 5.

I made quick work of the first bit of trail, arriving at the first ledges just as there was enough light to turn off my headlamp. I caught a great sunrise on the way up!

I maintained a 50 minute moving 10 minute rest pattern, taking in calories at each rest and so made great and steady progress up to Iceberg Lake. I took the ledges option up to Iceberg Lake, which was about as much fun as I've ever had scrambling! Once there I finally got a great view of the upper gully!
. I ascended the Gully in just over an hour, where I ran into my first bit of route finding trouble of the day, but none-the-less made it painfree to the summit of Whitney. Of course there was a hoard of people at the top, so I didn't stay for long.

At the top, I continued on to the Whitney trail for the decent, and quickly and easily grabbed Mount Muir on the way down. My third 14er in 2 days.
It was on the way down that I met my new friend Evan. We fell in together just after the worst-ever-99 switch backs. (that's a torture I hope I never endure again!) We talked the rest of the way down the mountain, where he bought me dinner at the Portal Store in exchange for a ride into town where he'd left his car. I'm hopeful we'll get to do some trips together, which will put me out on my own a bit less, which can be nothing but good. Overall it was an 18 mile day with 13,000 feet of elevation change in 13 hours. I was quite pleased, and thoroughly used up.
Nothing a good nights sleep didn't cure though. Day 5 saw me back at it. I moved my car from the Onion Valley Campground to the Trailhead of the same name, where I promptly made it up to Kearsarge Pass. The entire hike up the valley I kept mentioning to backpackers I passed coming out how wonderful this little valley was, and they kept telling me that it got better and better. Boy were they right! Here's a video I took from Kearsarge Pass: Kearsarge Pass
Hiking down into this valley, while brutal because of the sun, was certainly one of the prettiest hikes I've ever been on! but by the end of the valley, the sun and the blister I'd gotten decending the switch backs began to tell, so instead of heading deeper into the Canyon, I turned back and made my way back to Kearsarge lakes, passing Bullfrog Lake on the way.


Day 6 dawned bright and clear and cool. I headed back to the car, then drove over 120 to Yosemite. I arrived in time for dinner in Wawona, then crashed for the night. Day 7 saw me up bright and early, when I headed to the Mariposa Grove. I got there at 6:15 and had the place to myself until the Hordes of tourist started showing up at nine. All told I hiked about 9 miles (I hit nearly every single trail). The sequia's where really something special! That afternoon I braved the crowds and Zoo that is Yosemite Valley. I don't think I'll ever head there again!
Day 8, I was scheduled to go up El Cap via the gully, but thunderstorms kept me away. Instead I headed back 120 to Porcupine flats, where I hiked down to North Dome, and played around a pit on Indian Rock(s)
.
Finishing up that 10 mile day, I slowly made my way back to Mammoth Lakes, where I hung out at the coffee shop for an hour, then headed to the Airport to Fly home.

All in all, an incredible journey, totaling 7,000 miles by air, 1,000 miles by car, 110 miles and 50,000 feet of elevation change on foot, 7 peaks, 4 of which were major, three of which were over 14,000 including the 1st and 15th highest in the lower 48!

And my main take away is that I love the high sierra's, and will definitely be back as early as 2013!
And here's a link to the full photo album if you're interested: Full album

Images

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