TR: August 2013 Solo Hike to the Whaleback (and Back)
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:32 pm
Better late then never! Here's a trail report for a leisurely 14 day solo hike I did in August 2013. The primary objective of this hike was to take digital photos of The Whaleback from Glacier Lake, at the head of Cloud Canyon, which offers an unusual and very beautiful perspective looking down at the undulating spine of the Sierra's own Moby Dick. I'd been there several times before, but never with a digital camera.
The trip started at the Kearsarge Pass trailhead in Onion Valley on August 13th. I spent the night before at the Onion Valley campground, where the friendly campground host showed me the last available walk-in camp, hidden from view up above the other camps. A very nice spot.
That evening, after the last of the day hikers cleared out, I was able to claim a primo parking spot very close to the trailhead, which made it easy to get started on the trail early the next morning.
If you catch the first switchbacks early in the morning, it's an easy hike up to Kearsarge Pass even for this old fart. This is a heavily used trail, with many dayhikers, but the pass offers easy access to the high country and is a favorite for many hikers hooking up with the JMT, either heading north to Rae Lakes or south over Forester Pass. The pass sports one of the longest switchbacks in the Sierra.
But the reward for that unsightly ultra long zig is country that looks like this:
I found a very private campsite in the trees to the the very left of this photo, up the hill a bit from the outlet of the middle lake, with a nice view of the lake.
I've been hiking in the Sierra for over 40 years and this was about as dry as I've ever seen it. The water at the first lake was a little sketchy (I'm always a little leery about water sources in heavily used areas like this and don't carry a water filter), so I ended up getting water from the middle lake. It had been a warm, bright and sunny day. I was treated to a nice sunset.
I cowboy camped that night, which is my preference, and woke up to another perfect day.
This day and the next were easy days, giving me time to acclimate for the big climb over Forester Pass. I walked down to Bullfrog Lake . . .
. . . and continued down to the John Muir Trail junction, then down the Vidette switchbacks and up Bubbs Creek to upper Vidette Meadow, where I was treated to an exquisite sunset. Once again, not a cloud in the sky this day.
. . . to be continued
The trip started at the Kearsarge Pass trailhead in Onion Valley on August 13th. I spent the night before at the Onion Valley campground, where the friendly campground host showed me the last available walk-in camp, hidden from view up above the other camps. A very nice spot.
That evening, after the last of the day hikers cleared out, I was able to claim a primo parking spot very close to the trailhead, which made it easy to get started on the trail early the next morning.
If you catch the first switchbacks early in the morning, it's an easy hike up to Kearsarge Pass even for this old fart. This is a heavily used trail, with many dayhikers, but the pass offers easy access to the high country and is a favorite for many hikers hooking up with the JMT, either heading north to Rae Lakes or south over Forester Pass. The pass sports one of the longest switchbacks in the Sierra.
But the reward for that unsightly ultra long zig is country that looks like this:
I found a very private campsite in the trees to the the very left of this photo, up the hill a bit from the outlet of the middle lake, with a nice view of the lake.
I've been hiking in the Sierra for over 40 years and this was about as dry as I've ever seen it. The water at the first lake was a little sketchy (I'm always a little leery about water sources in heavily used areas like this and don't carry a water filter), so I ended up getting water from the middle lake. It had been a warm, bright and sunny day. I was treated to a nice sunset.
I cowboy camped that night, which is my preference, and woke up to another perfect day.
This day and the next were easy days, giving me time to acclimate for the big climb over Forester Pass. I walked down to Bullfrog Lake . . .
. . . and continued down to the John Muir Trail junction, then down the Vidette switchbacks and up Bubbs Creek to upper Vidette Meadow, where I was treated to an exquisite sunset. Once again, not a cloud in the sky this day.
. . . to be continued