TR: Pear Lake and Lower Table Meadows
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 5:14 pm
Hello Everyone!! Its been a while.
This is about a week and a half late. This trip was thrown together at the last minute and I did not expect it to blow my mind. It did. It was not a super serious trip either, more of a, lets carry as much as we possibly can and live like Kings in the Mountains. The trail to Pear Lake was mostly covered in snow. We found our way by using yellow triangles nailed to the trees, which I assume are for back country skiers going to the Ski Hut below pear lake. We found our way easily enough and from my front door in Santa Cruz it took a little less than 12 hours before we were pitching tents at Pear Lake. The first night we were the only ones there (it was a Thursday). By the next afternoon another group had come in, then two more the next day. We did some exploring around the immediate area and up into Table Meadows. The rapidly melting snow turned the basin into a web of micro-drainages, with thousands upon thousands of small creeks joining, splitting, and joining again on their way down the mountain. The temperatures hovered around the upper 60s during the day and low 40s, maybe upper 30s at night with clear skies the whole time. The cold was not bothersome. We did not see a single mosquito. Some of the most beautiful backpacking conditions I have ever experienced. Go get your springtime Sierra fix! Its gorgeous up there right now.
SNOW CONDITIONS
There is solid coverage from ~8500 ft on north facing slopes, south facing slopes are bare up to ~11000 ft. Snow is melting rapidly. Lakes above 9000 ft are mostly frozen, thawed around the edges. At night we could hear the lake cracking and refreezing, by morning the lake would be completely frozen again. There were a lot fish in the lake, but all were very small.
P.S. Look out for the marmots at Pear Lake-- fearless, mischievous, daring, and god damn annoying. They chewed up my sandals and tried to eat my hat.
North Facing
South Facing
The Crew
JAH BLESS
This is about a week and a half late. This trip was thrown together at the last minute and I did not expect it to blow my mind. It did. It was not a super serious trip either, more of a, lets carry as much as we possibly can and live like Kings in the Mountains. The trail to Pear Lake was mostly covered in snow. We found our way by using yellow triangles nailed to the trees, which I assume are for back country skiers going to the Ski Hut below pear lake. We found our way easily enough and from my front door in Santa Cruz it took a little less than 12 hours before we were pitching tents at Pear Lake. The first night we were the only ones there (it was a Thursday). By the next afternoon another group had come in, then two more the next day. We did some exploring around the immediate area and up into Table Meadows. The rapidly melting snow turned the basin into a web of micro-drainages, with thousands upon thousands of small creeks joining, splitting, and joining again on their way down the mountain. The temperatures hovered around the upper 60s during the day and low 40s, maybe upper 30s at night with clear skies the whole time. The cold was not bothersome. We did not see a single mosquito. Some of the most beautiful backpacking conditions I have ever experienced. Go get your springtime Sierra fix! Its gorgeous up there right now.
SNOW CONDITIONS
There is solid coverage from ~8500 ft on north facing slopes, south facing slopes are bare up to ~11000 ft. Snow is melting rapidly. Lakes above 9000 ft are mostly frozen, thawed around the edges. At night we could hear the lake cracking and refreezing, by morning the lake would be completely frozen again. There were a lot fish in the lake, but all were very small.
P.S. Look out for the marmots at Pear Lake-- fearless, mischievous, daring, and god damn annoying. They chewed up my sandals and tried to eat my hat.
North Facing
South Facing
The Crew
JAH BLESS