TR: Sierra Wandering ~ 08/24 - 08/30/2013
Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 7:48 pm
I had no idea that the Fish Fire had started the day before I left for this trip. I could smell smoke at the Cottonwood Pass trailhead the first night, but it didn't seem too bad. The next morning I woke to clear skies and what appeared to be another beautiful summer day in the Sierra. . . but the conditions took a turn for the worse in the afternoon.
By the time I reached Miter Basin the smoke and ash made it unbearable. I met a hiker who told me, "two guys said they could see the fire from New Army Pass today". New Army Pass was only a few miles away. The fire was in Kennedy Meadows, less than 30 miles south, and it was heading toward us.
By 2:30 pm there was a dark amber haze over Soldier Lake, so I turned around and hiked back to the car. This made for a long first day, hiking over 22 miles round trip with a full pack.
On the drive back down to Lone Pine I could see the smoke filling the Owens Valley. Even Mount Whitney was barely visible due to the thick smoke and ash. The Rim Fire in northern Yosemite was still mostly uncontained so I wasn't sure about the conditions anywhere in the Sierras. I drove north to Bishop hoping that things would clear out the following day.
Fortunately the next morning brought clear skies. It looked like the fires in the Southern and Northern Sierras were both a safe distance away. After a seemingly endless wait for a permit at the ranger station in Bishop I was on my way to Plan B.
I still had five days left so I decided to cross the Sierra crest at Lamarck Col and explore the Ionian Basin.
I followed the Lamarck Lakes trail out of the North Lake area and before long I was setting up camp above Lower Lamarck Lake. I found a great spot behind the shelter of some trees and rocks and made dinner overlooking the Owens Valley. I was trying out a new 2.5 ounce kitchen setup made up of a B.G.E.T. (Brian Green) titanium esbit stove, Evernew 400ml Cup + Sidewinder Ti-Tri Bundle by Trail Designs and Ruta Locura carbon fiber lid. Since I usually only boil a few cups of water to cook freeze dried dinners or to make coffee this little stove setup was just right.
The weather forecast called for a good chance of thunderstorms so I was using a Mountain Laurel Designs cuben fiber Solomid for the 360 degree wind and rain protection. I would be happy to have a good shelter later in the trip.
Due to some problems with my SPOT locator beacon I had to hike back down to Bishop the next morning and didn't get back on the trail until 12:30 pm. I hated to go back down the mountain but when solo hiking I didn't want to take any chances. By the time I got back to Lamarck Lake I was definitely acclimated for the rest of the trip.
I followed the use trail up to the ridge above Upper Lamarck Lake. I had a lot trouble finding the way down from this ridge in the snow last winter so I was anxious to see the real trail. It was clear and the view from the top of the ridge was beautiful.
Once I reached the top of the ridge I followed the very narrow use trail that traverses the steep east ridge on the other side. This trail was completely covered by snow when I was here last winter and the ridge was just a dangerous snow and ice chute. It was a nice change of pace to just follow the trail this time.
There were a few use trails along the way to the Lamarck plateau and all seemed to provide easy hiking. Getting to the top of Lamarck Col required some creative scrambling but nothing difficult.
After two low snow years in a row the snow field at the base of Lamarck Col was almost gone and the little tarn at the bottom was almost dry. Photos from just a few years ago show a much larger snow field.
(continued)