Dan's Outside

A Long Pack Trip Coming Up

Later this summer I and a group of friends will do the longest pack trip I’ve done in a number of years – 14 days on the trail between Agnew Meadow and South Lake. I can’t wait!

I did three trips of approximately this duration a number of years ago. The first two were with my wife, who no longer backpacks. On the first we spent 13 days – if memory serves – travelling the route from near Morro Rock in Sequoia National Park, over Kaweah Gap, down to the Kern River, up Wallace Creek, to the top of Mt. Whitney, and then out at Whitney Portal.

Later we did another equally long trip together. This one started at Florence (or is it Edison? ;-) Lake and entered Kings Canyon National Park. We climbed up into Evolution Basin, crossed Muir Pass and dropped into Le Conte Canyon, then climbed the Golden Staircase to Palisade Lake, crossed Mather Pass, dropped down the other side and then climbed again to Pinchot Pass, descended to Woods Creek, and aborted our planned route past Rae Lakes and over Glen Pass, instead descending through Paradise Valley (?) to Kings Canyon. It rained. A lot.

The next long trip was also my first solo. Yes, my first solo trip was two weeks long… ;-) I started out in Sequoia and headed towards Kaweah Gap, but left the main route and climbed up and over Elizabeth Pass before eventually descending to Bubbs Creek. I had been unsure of whether I would continue as I dropped down into the canyon, but when I got there I turned right (left would have taken me to Kings Canyon in a few miles) and headed up over Glen Pass, descended past Rae Lakes, and finally exited (once again) via Paradise Valley.

Since those trips, my longest pack trip has been last year’s 9 day trip from South Lake to Onion Valley. (Lot’s of high passes!) I love the long trips. Even though I adapt to the trail and go into “mountain mode” quite quickly these days (it takes, oh, maybe 32 seconds…) things change after 5 or 6 days on the trail. There is a wonderful point at which you lose track of days and the outside world and you simply live from day to day and moment to moment, taking it all in as it comes.
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June 29, 2005 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trips | Comments Off on A Long Pack Trip Coming Up

Waterfall Trip

***I’m back
from my little mad dash to Yosemite Valley and back yesterday. I didn’t want to miss the best-in-a-decade waterfalls this spring.

I left home around 4:30 a.m. and was at Bridalveil Fall a few minutes after 8:00 a.m. This fall was so full that water was even running through the parking lot and parts of the trail to the viewpoint were under nearly a foot of water.

From here I headed up the Valley, stopping to take some pictures of El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, and the overflowing Merced River. Large portions of the lower Valley are underwater; many areas that are normally forest or meadow are now lakes.

I parked the car at Curry Village, loaded up my pack, and hit the trail around 11:00. I walked up to Happy Isles, where I stopped for lunch by the Merced where it goes under a bridge. As I started up the trail I passed the famous sign indicating “211 miles to Mt. Whitney” on the Muir Trail and pondered for a moment my upcoming trip across 100 miles of the Muir Trail this coming August – and my plans to hike the whole thing next summer. (Oddly, a sign at the top of Nevada Fall indicates “215 miles” to Whitney. Go figure.)

But the crowds were not conducive to too much pondering, so I started up the path and arrived before long at the bridge below Vernal Fall. There was a huge crowd here as well, so I didn’t stay too long. I headed up the Mist Trail which was about as wet as it gets. I put on my rain jacket but regrettably not the rain pants, so my lower half was pretty soaked when I got to the top. Again, a huge crowd was at the top of this hike – it was hard to find a clear spot on the smooth granite to lie down and dry off. I spent a good 45 minutes here, eating, drying, and napping.

(The last time I was on this trail was late November last year. There were definitely fewer people then – and ice on the trail.)

Since I had plenty of time I decided to go on up to the top of Nevada Fall, a few miles further. There is only one spot on this trail that is in the direct line of the mist from the fall but, if anything, the closeup view of this fall is better than that of Vernal Fall. I grunted up the last steep section and finally arrived at the top a little after 4:00.

I took the alternate Muir Trail route down. It follows the other side of the canyon, starting out high rather than descending steeply right away. Here there were many creeks flowing across the trail and in several spots the trail passed through small seasonal waterfalls.

I arrived back at Curry in time to get a small pizza for dinner and drive over to Yosemite Falls. I took a very quick hike up to the bridge below the falls (on the newly opened alternate trail) before returning to the car in time to see the very last light on the peaks above the valley as the full moon rose.

Wow.

I left the Valley a little after 8:00 for the long drive back to San Jose, arriving home at 11:55 p.m..
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May 22, 2005 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trips | Comments Off on Waterfall Trip