Ten Lakes Basin – a quick photographic pack trip
Earlier this week I spent a few days in the Ten Lakes Basin area of Yosemite National Park. Although I’ve backpacked widely in the high country of the park over the past years – OK, decades… – this was actually the very first time that I visited this popular backpacking destination. I think I had shied away from it for a couple reasons: it seems perhaps too popular and accessible, and I tend to prefer somewhat higher and more alpine terrain. But it was time, I visited, and I’m glad I did.
I managed to get to the park fairly early on a Monday morning and pick up a wilderness permit without problems. (Congratulations to ranger “Elizabeth” who issued her very first Yosemite wilderness permit to me… ;-) It was less difficult to get the permit than it might be under different circumstances: school has started for many and the midweek backcountry “traffic” begins to decline near the end of August. Although I had permit in hand by 9:00 a.m. or so, for a variety of reasons I did not hit the trail until about 1:30.
Although I carry a map and can do a fine job of finding my way around in the mountains with or without a trail, these days I sometimes don’t obsess over “knowing everything” (as if that were even possible!) about the route ahead of time. That was the case on this trip. I was familiar with the trailhead, having driving past it many times, and I had often looked up the valley into which it goes. But beyond that I initially had almost no idea of the actual terrain – in fact, I had long be under the mistaken impression that the Basin is on the south side of the ridge. Wrong.
Before I actually hit the trail I did consult the map more carefully and discover that the lakes are actually on the other side of the ridge… and a few hundred feet below the high point of the trail on a ridge that divides Mariposa and Tuolumne counties. I was starting to catch on that there might be a bit more climbing on this trip than I had really imagined – I sort of intentionally did not measure the climb… which turned out to be about 2000 feet. Now a 2000 foot climb is not a giant one, especially compared to some of 3000′ to 5000′ that I’ve done in the southern Sierra – but neither is it exactly a happy little afternoon walk. In the end, what with stops for photography and food and water along the way, it was close to 7:00 p.m. by the time I arrived at my campsite at “lake three,” the lake to the left of the trail when it arrives in the Basin. I basically set up camp, fixed dinner, did a bit of reading, and went to sleep.
Day 2 was fairly lazy. I did not get up early, so I missed some possible early morning photo opportunities, though I used the better part of the rest of the morning to scout out shooting locations for later. In the afternoon I wandered on up to the next lake and did a bit of photography, especially on the way back down when shadows from the cliff to the west were starting to create some interesting lighting conditions. I also visited the main lake (“lake two”) and found a couple scenes that I returned to photograph later in the evening.
By the end of this second day I was thinking more about the tremendous panorama I had seen as I crossed the high ridge above the lake on the way in. I was stunned by the wide open views, especially toward the peaks of the Sierra crest from Dana and Gibb past Conness to other high peaks far to the north, all set off against the rock-strewn summit of the ridge, tree covered ridges below, and below all of that the depths of the Tuolumne River canyon. I started to make a plan to do a “dry camp” on the ridge on the next night and try to photograph the evening and then the following morning.
On the third day I still had this plan in mind in the morning. But first I did more photography around lake three, including near the outlet stream where I had found some still-fresh vegetation and flowers. (By this time much of the summer plant life is starting to show signs of going dormant. Many flowers have blossomed and gone to seed and some very early hints of fall color are already starting to appear.) After this I decided to explore further up this creek and by a combination of use trails and cross-country scrambling I managed to get up to lake five. I returned to my camp by about 2:00 – hungry for lunch! – and soon packed up with the plan of doing that “dry camp” on the ridge for the photography.
Late in the afternoon I started up the trail and I reached the ridge by about 4:45 or so – but I was somewhat disappointed to find that a very large wildfire was burning to the west and sending quite a bit of smoke my way, and also generally adding a lot of brown haze to the scene that had been so clear two days earlier. I poked around a bit and found a potential camp spot for my bivy sack in a clump of trees on the ridge, but in the end I decided that the photographs I had in mind just weren’t going to happen in these conditions – and I decided to head out and drive home that night. (One often doesn’t know for sure whether such decisions are right or not – but I think this was the right decision given that the fire continued – continues, as I write this – to grow and shortly forced a closure of the Big Oak Flat road into the valley.)
So, at about 6:00 p.m. I started down from the ridge, having resolved to make a beeline for the trailhead. Most of the trail is conducive to fast downhill walking, with the exception of a few steep and rocky sections near the beginning and end of the descent, and I made good time. I arrived at my car before 8:00 p.m. – still enough light to see well, but fading fast – and was soon on the road back to the Bay Area.
Feel like you are hiking around in circles? Maybe you are!
The New York times reports on a study concerning how people do (or don’t…) find their way in varying conditions. It turns out that in some situations, “wandering around in circles” more or less accurately describes what folks will do when they get lost, at least if there aren’t sufficient visual cues to help them keep a straight line.
Apparently we all have a tendency to veer. (I once tested this when I was out on the Racetrack at Death Valley. Since there is little in the way of obstacles – save an occasional toe-whacking rock! – I tried closing my eyes and walking a straight line on the playa at night. After 100 steps or so I invariably, well, varied and ended up heading slightly off to the side.)
El Niño? Time for weather junkies to begin speculating!
Starting about this time of year, many of us outdoor types are susceptible to speculations about the upcoming winter weather. Most of us are looking for something “interesting” – as in record-breaking rain/snow, an unusually early start to the season, and so forth.
Those who enjoy the seasonal speculation will appreciate the reports that El Niño conditions are returning for the upcoming season. Adding some uncertainty – but making the speculation all the more fun – El Niño can bring anything from above normal to below normal precipitation to the central/northern California area where I live. Apparently a weak El Niño can bring reduced rainfall, while a strong event (like the one I recall from the mid-1990s) can produce record-breaking conditions.
The current prediction? Conditions are still evolvomg, but at this point it looks like a weak to moderate event.
Yosemite bear takes nap in car – with doors and windows closed!
I’m not making this up – see the story here: http://jeffreytrust.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/smartish-bear-tricks-part-6/
(In other news, YosemiteBlog reports that there is now wifi service at Curry Village. Could have used that when I stayed there last November!)
What I've been doing – August 2009
I hate to start a post with an apology for how little I’ve posted – but that’s what I’m going to do. Although I’ve been posting regularly at my photography web site (where you’ll be able to find photos of the trips I’ll describe below as I post them), I’ve managed to neglect this site for weeks!
So, some reports on recent Sierra backpack trips….
Young Lakes
Near the beginning of August I spent four days doing photography at Young Lakes in the Yosemite high country out of Tuolumne Meadows. I’ve been to Young Lakes several times in the past and I thought it was about time to devote some significant time to photography at this location.
The weather was, uh, “interesting” – but that is actually better for photography. I’d rather have some spectacular clouds, occasional soft filtered light, rain, and interesting sunset conditions than have a week of typical Sierra summer perfect blue skies! By the time I arrived at Tuolumne Meadows to start my trip I knew that the weather was going to be special. I stopped at the Meadow Grill just after noon to grab lunch before hitting the trail, and while I was inside there was quite a downpour of hail. With the precipitation starting so early, it was apparent that the weather would be an issue, so I decided to swap out my bivy sack and take a small one-person tent instead. Not only would that be better in real rain, but since I was going to base camp in one location for three nights the luxury of the small tent would be welcome.
I headed up the trail past Lembert Dome in light sprinkles that continued off and on throughout the afternoon and evening. Given concerns about the weather and my somewhat late start I did little photography on the hike to lower Young Lake. This turned out to be a decent decision since it rained harder as I approached the lake and in the end it was after 7:00 p.m. when I finally arrived – leaving just time to set up the tent and make dinner before night fall.
I was lazy the next morning, but for the rest of the trip I managed to get up early for morning photography, find myself in interesting places for late photography, and even do the cross-country walk out to Roosevelt Lake, which I’ve wanted to visit for some time. This is a bit of a different walk than the cross-country hikes I tend to prefer. While my favorite cross-country routes are at or above timberline – where you can go pretty much where you want to go – the first half of this hike from Lower Young Lake to Roosevelt travels through some fairly thick (for the Sierra) forest. The basic idea is that you keep a point just to the left of Conness peak in mind as your goal, and you triangulate back to Ragged Peak and the ridge it sits on behind you. Then you try not to lose/gain too much elevation as you travel through the forest area, dodging large drop-offs and other obstacles and generally following a slight loop to the right of what would be the straight line between the start and end points. Eventually I came to a meadow and creek at the base of a climb to the saddle leading to the valley holding the lake. I climbed this, keeping to the right of the creek, and finally entered to open country in this high valley. From here the path to the high, barren lake is fairly straightforward – with great views of the west face of Mount Conness all along the way.
While this walk was great fun, it was not a great photographic opportunity given the midday time frame. I had better photography luck with early morning photography of the forest around the lower Young Lake and with evening photography at this lake and (especially!) at the more open and alpine upper Young Lake.
Sabrina Basin
My next trip (with my talusdancers buddies) was to have been a weeklong adventure in the upper Kern drainage. It would have taken us in via Kearsarge and Forester Passes and then out by way of formidable Shepard Pass.
But that didn’t happen.
A variety of things interfered with the original plan. Several people had to cancel at the last minute. I had a dental problem at the last minute. And on and on… So, we improvised and came up with a less aggressive alternative trip – a four day/three night basecamp trip up high into the Sabrina Basin in the eastern Sierra above Bishop.
I almost didn’t make this trip either! The night before the trip, literally as I was finishing my packing, I cracked a tooth! Fortunately, I was essentially packed and my dentist saw me the next morning. By noon I had a temporary crown on the tooth and I was making last minute arrangements to meet my friends in the eastern Sierra. I was on the road at 2:30 and arrived at Four Jeffrey campground at about 9:00 p.m. Whew!
The next morning we grabbed a real breakfast at the little lodge in Aspendell (recommended!) before driving up the road a bit, parking near Sabrina Lake, and heading up the trail to Blue Lake. The conditions were a bit strange for early June. An unusual fall-type weather system was scheduled to pass across the northern Sierra and there was even talk of the possibility of snow as low as 9500′. (We would be camped above 10,000′ for the whole time.) While the cool weather certainly makes for much more pleasant hiking, especially on climbs from east side trailheads, the evening was very cold and windy the first night at Blue Lake – and this continued more or less throughout the trip. (We never did get snow, or even rain – but it was cold enough to freeze our water on several nights.)
On the second day we moved up higher into the basin, finally ending up at Topsy Turvy Lake. This is a wonderful rock-filled lake at the base of a talus slope in country that is heavily affected by glaciation. Nearby are a bunch of interesting lakes: Midnight, Moonlight, Sailor, Hungry Packer, and more. The terrain above is my favorite in the Sierra, beginning with open meadows with small clumps of trees interspersed with lots of glaciated granite and much running water. We managed to visit most of these high lakes and I had opportunities to wander about wtih camera and tripod and photograph this wonderful terrain.
On the final morning we go up relatively early – some earlier that others. Ernie was up and on the trail a bit after 6:00; I was on the trail perhaps an hour or so later; while Owen had a lazier morning. We all hiked the mostly descending trail back to our cars below Sabrina Lake by about noon – just in time to head down to Bishop for lunch pizza.
Next up?
I know I’ll be going back up to the Sierra soon, but I don’t have any firm plans just yet. I’d like to do one more short August trip – perhaps next week and perhaps 10 Lakes? It is my tradition to do at least one post-Labor Day trip to enjoy the quiet and changing colors of early fall in the Sierra and my friends and I frequently manage to squeeze in one late September or early October trip if the weather cooperates. I may also try to get to Cathedral Lakes on the last weekend of September for some photography. And then… there are the aspens… they call me to the east side at the start of October every year. :-)
The best laid plans…
I had perhaps about 30 minutes of packing left to do this evening for a four-day pack trip in the eastern Sierra, with plans to leave early tomorrow morning. All of my food was measured out and packed. All of my gear was laid out and organized in preparation for final packing.
Then I broke a filling. Now, instead of being in the Sierra tomorrow it seems that I’m more likely to be visiting the dentist. Ah, life!
A few day hikes in the Tuolumne Meadows area
In an online discussion group I read and post to someone asked about hikes in the Tuolumne Meadows region of Yosemite. They were going to be there for only one day, and wondered what some of the options might be. Since I wrote up a reply and posted it to that discussion group, I figured I might as well share it here as well. Here goes…
You’re talking about MY country now! ;-)
There are, of course, a ton of interesting day hikes in the Tioga/Tuolumne region. Which one is right for you depends a lot on how much time you’ll have, your preferences for terrain and other features, what time of day you are there, and so forth. I’ll just mention a few to get you started.
1. If you are only there for a very brief time, a minimal hike is simply to hike out across the meadow to the Soda Springs area. You’ll enjoy this more if you do it in the morning or late in the day. This is an easy and essentially flat walk – and there are several alternate routes – that takes you across the meadow and the river and into the edge of the forested areas.
2. Another short walk can take you to the the bridge across the Tuolumne on the John Muir Trail as it starts up Lyell Canyon. You can start this at any of the parking areas along the spur road to Tuolumne Lodge, though I think the route from the main campground is more scenic.
3. To get just a _bit_ more flavor of the backcountry, you could hike the one mile trail to May Lake and its high sierra camp set beneath Mt. Hoffman. (This is not all the way up to Tuolumne – e.g. it is further west along the Tioga Pass road.
4. The relatively short hike from the back of the Tuolumne Campground to Elizabeth Lake is scenic and gets you to a wonderful, meadow-surrounded sub-alpine lake. There is plenty to explore there.
5. If you want to get to a high place with great panoramic views of Tuolumne and the surrounding peaks (especially the Cathedral range) the hike to the top of Lembert Dome is a classic. Some find sections at the top a bit exposed for comfort, but it is not really dangerous at all – hundreds of people climb it every day. I prefer to start this hike from the “dog lake trail” parking lot between the wilderness permit station and Tuolumne Lodge.
6. To quickly get to true high sierra terrain, the hike from the Tioga Pass entrance station to the Gaylor Lake Basin can’t be beat. The route is short but steep. There are tremendous views of 13,000+ Mt. Dana across the meadow, and the basin itself has plenty to explore. You can even visit the remains of the old mining site at the head of the basin.
7. If you have a good half day, the hike out to Mono Pass is spectacular. You’ll get all the way to the Sierra crest on foot, you’ll travel through wonderful alpine terrain, you’ll get to see more historic remnants of log cabins near the pass. If you are a very aggressive hiker you can work nearby Parker Pass and/or Spillway Lake into your hike as well.
8. Another classic day hike – of roughly the same length at the Mono Pass hike but at somewhat lower elevation – takes you from T-Meadow to Cathedral Lakes.
There are more… many more.
Enjoy.
Subscribe
-
Archives
- April 2026 (1)
- April 2012 (1)
- January 2011 (1)
- September 2010 (2)
- August 2010 (1)
- July 2010 (4)
- June 2010 (6)
- May 2010 (11)
- April 2010 (4)
- March 2010 (1)
- February 2010 (1)
- January 2010 (5)
-
Categories
- Abstract
- Black and White
- Castle Rock
- Commentary
- Death Valley
- Desert
- Environment
- Equipment
- Events
- Gear Reviews
- Green World
- History
- Mission Peak
- Mono Lake
- Mount Shasta Area
- News
- Ocean
- Owens Valley
- Pacific Northwest
- People
- Photography
- Places
- Point Lobos
- Quicksilver
- Quicksilver Historical
- Quotable
- Random
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Santa Teresa
- Sierra Nevada
- Site News
- Technique
- Trails
- Trips
- Uncategorized
- White Mountains
- Wildlife
- Yosemite
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
Dan's Outside 
Help with a wildflower ID?
Speaking of my Ten Lakes Basin pack trip, I wonder if anyone out there can help me identify the white flower that appears in this photo? I’ve just spent a half hour staring at some wildflower ID books that I own and looking at internet resources, but I just can’t quite find the match – which seems odd since this flower is something I’ve see frequently in the Sierra.
As the photo shows there are small clumps of little white flowers in groups at the end of stems, and each of the stems holding a group of flowers splits off from the same point on the single main flower-bearing stem of the plant. There are – I think – a few very thin leaves along the stem. I do not know what the plant looks like below the portion that we can see here.
I saw many of these on the Ten Lakes Basin trail in Yosemite earlier this week. These were photographed between 8500 and perhaps 9000 feet among corn lily plants at the edge of Half Moon Meadow. Being around the corn lily plants, it is obvious that there is a lot of moisture in this spot, though it was no longer all that wet. I’m pretty certain that I also saw this flower in drier areas.
Your help is greatly appreciated!
Dan
Share this:
August 28, 2009 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | basis, flower, help, ID, identification, lakes, many, mountain, nevada, range, sierra, small, ten, white, wild, wildflower, Yosemite | Comments Off on Help with a wildflower ID?