TR Great Western Divide June 17-27 2014
Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2014 3:18 pm
A fantastic trip who's TR is long overdue..I know! I've been working on writing up my journal so that I can sit down and write this. And now school has started again along with work... I might just post the first 7 days of this adventure and save the rest for another day in the near future. Here's one with lots of twists and turns... Enjoy!
Day 1- Mineral King to Columbine Lake 7.2 Miles
Got into Mineral King around 9:15ish on Monday night. Had dinner & went to sleep. Next morning as I’m sorting food a bear makes some noise & climbs up on a tree. He was a cub, but I still wanted no flavorful encounters so I stowed all the food back into the bear box. After that encounter I went to get my permit from none other than Jeff Lewis the Mineral King Trailhead Ranger, who I met through a mutual friend at my university in Berkeley. We both study the same subject and are both photographers. We talked for quite a while until I was on my way. I wrapped up the car at the TH & set off. The trail was fairly steep & I had about 50 lbs & 14 days of food so it was quite slow going. I branched off & took the Old Monarch Creek Trail. It climbed steadily for what seemed like miles & eventually I hit the Sawtooth Pass Trail. I don’t really know what else to say other than that was the worst pass of my life! It was absolutely horrid- with sand, & steep sections & blazing sun. It was hardly a trail. I reached Glacier Pass & looked out & saw a fair bit of snow. This entire trip I had serious apprehensions about the snow conditions on namely Pyra-Queen Col & Harrison Pass. I was not a fan to see the snow, but I pressed on up to the pass wearily. The pass itself had amazing views-out to the Whitney Range & of course the magnificent Kaweahs. I somehow managed to gather up the energy & climbed Sawtooth Peak (12,343 FT). The climb was mostly class 2 but certainly not trivial at the summit blocks which were interesting class 3. The views were spectacular but I had to get down as light was fading fast. I made it back to my pack to discover it had been chewed on by the ferocious marmots! No real damage but I also noticed 2 large holes in the bottom of the pack as well from wear. My pack is now 4 years old with close to 600-700 miles on it. This is definitely its last trip…I sure hope it makes in about 1 piece. Since I unfortunately didn't climb Needham my goal now was to get to Columbine Lake-which was only .8 miles away & 700 FT down. I noticed at the pass I lost my bandanna on the way back from the climb. I was frustrated to say the least. And as I was taking a film shot my camera said something about the battery. Earlier in the day my pack fell a bit & the mirror got locked up so I had to undo that. I was now concerned about a lack of batteries! And then when things had to get more interesting they did. I broke my hiking pole in half on a bank of snow by Columbine! Fortunately I hadn't broken it on the cornice at Sawtooth. This was bad news as now my tent wouldn't stay up right & I only had 1 pole. This is when I decided someone upstairs wanted me to turn around & restart. After having a delicious chili meal in the dark I decided I would go back over Sawtooth & drive down to Visalia to get what I needed. Oh…how I dreaded Sawtooth once more!!
Day 2- Columbine Lake to Mineral King TH 7.5 Miles
Alas the next morning I grunted my way back up & lost the trail on the way down & ended up on steep sand slopes that were awful. I met one of the MK rangers & we chatted. I took the Monarch Lake Trail down & eventually ended up at the Ranger Station. Jeff was obviously surprised to see me & so I told him the happenings. We discussed getting into Kaweah Basin via a climb of Lawson. I’ll delve into that a bit later. So I made my way down into Visalia & resupplied & was able to find a single heavy pole… It would have to do. I bought a burrito from Chipotle for dinner & had an A&W Root Beer Float because I was hot & certainly it was magnificent. I also went online to buy the new Mariposa Backpack from Gossamer Gear. I then made my way back up the long & relentless windy road & made it back to the campground at almost the same time as 2 nights prior. I forgot to mention Columbine Lake was very stark & awesome & had great sunset light. I ate my dinner & for the 3rd night in a row had to pitch my tent in the dark. I was not a fan of pitching tents in the dark but hopefully the following day I would have better luck.
Day 3- Mineral King TH to Pinto Lake 8.5 Miles
This morning there would be no God awful Sawtooth Pass! I would make my way over Timber Gap & Black Rock Pass. I patched my bag as best I could & dropped off my extra food as now I would only carry about 11-12 days of food & was able to ditch my Ursack. Thank goodness… I wanted to lighten the load, since I still had over 9 lbs of camera gear and that didn't include a large DSLR on my neck. I started up the trail & it was not nearly as bad as Sawtooth but still steep & as I made it to Timber Gap I bumped into the most fascinating of people… Mr. Soch, who was my 11th Grade Math teacher. I was elated & I could not believe my eyes. What a grand embrace we had. I went down the trail and then up until finally reaching Pinto Lake. Finally I could have dinner and pitch a tent and it wasn't in the dark! I slept very soundly that night after my delicious Gumbo dinner that I dehydrated and made myself. The night was very pleasant… no lower than about 38-40oF while at Columbine it was below freezing when I had spent the night there!
Day 4- Pinto Lake to Big Arroyo Jct 10 Miles
Today I went over Black Rock Pass from Pinto. Boy… she was a dozy. Not as bad as Sawtooth but still 2,800 FT of elevation gain. Made it to the top in a little over 3 hours.. Which I felt was decent. The views were phenomenal but I think Sawtooth Pass had better views. The view of Spring, Cyclamen & Columbine was probably the best I've ever seen in terms of alpine grandeur. Made my way down & the view at Little 5 Lakes was nice but not as good as expected. Then I made it to Big Arroyo Jct & that’s when things got interesting. I had a feeling sweep over me. The moment I got to the Jct I felt like going into Kaweah Basin was not the thing to do. It was a similar feeling as last year when I was traveling very close the Kaweah Basin. Last year I was in the Kern-Kaweah River Canyon and I had a feeling sweep over me that was very unpleasant and foreboding. I find it rather fitting because of all the stories of how nasty the Kaweah rock is and especially the sinister Black Kaweah that has taken quite a few lives over the years. It seems as though The Kaweahs do not invite me alone. One can say what they will about the mountains but I find that they most assuredly speak to the traveler who will listen to them. I always trust my instincts and for whatever reason they were telling me not to enter into Kaweah Basin. I think I will leave that basin for when I have a partner to travel them with. And then I decided I will be travelling on the HST to the Upper Kern for the next 2 days. I might take the HST to the JMT & go to Tyndall Creek & from there head to the Upper Kern & LSA. I don’t wish to travel through Kern Canyon but it’s a necessary evil at this point. My entire trip was being rerouted for the 2nd time. I had plans to get into Kaweah basin and check out Picket Guard Lake and climb several peaks but alas all of that was going to have to wait another year. I met a large party that went over Kaweah Pass that day. Nasty & horrid as warned! I met 2 other gentlemen that I met 2 days ago who have been climbing in the area. They told me Glacier Pass is completely doable & avoidable of snow. I haven’t decided how I want to get to MK yet. Potentially go over the HST via Kaweah Gap and see Hamilton Lake & Valhalla again & go down into Redwood Meadow area. Tomorrow Kern Hot Springs.. hopefully I find the springs this time.
Day 5- Big Arroyo Jct to Kern Hot Springs 13 Miles
Today was a pretty mellow day albeit a bit long. Around 12-13 miles traveled. Made it in a little over 6 hours. All of this terrain I had seen last year only a couples weeks later in the year so I tried to power through it since I knew it was just getting hotter as the day went on. The clouds really built today & now they seem to be dissipating again. I’m not sure what they are foretelling… but could be in for some thunder in the next 4 days. I finally got to see the Hot Springs. They are essentially a bathtub…but too hot for me. I enjoyed the cold waters of the Kern instead. It got up into the low 80’s here at least. I made up my mind & decided I want to travel to the JMT Jct & travel North from there. I hoped to get to the Tyndall Creek Ranger Station tomorrow which is a lot of uphill & 12+ Miles.
Day 6- Kern Hot Spring to Wallace Creek Jct 12.3 Miles
Another long day all the way to Wallace Creek instead of Tyndall Creek. I was just too tired to make it the rest of the way. Had an early start this morning & then I had a bit of a mishap. I fell into the creek! It was the first crossing at 7:30 in the morning…It was darn cold. Everything seemingly got wet. Fortunately the camera & film were safe. My fleece got wet & so did my other socks & of course shoes. I lumbered my way to Jct Meadow with wet feel in a little over 2 hours which was a fast pace. Started to dry things out there & had some lunch. The trail was quite hot, dry, & exposed after Jct Meadow (Kern). The views were amazing on the trail though looking back towards the Kaweahs. The mosquitoes at Wallace Creek were almost completely unbearable. The worst I had ever seen anywhere in the Sierra up till this point. It was a pleasant evening chatting with lots of High Sierra Trail hikers and JMTer's. It was the most people I thought I would see for a while since the next few days I would be in the Upper Kern Basin and making way to Lake Reflection via Harrison Pass.
Day 7- Wallace Creek to Lake South America 7.7 Miles
A much mellower day with less miles and less uphill. 2 years ago I attempted to do the entire JMT with a friend of mine. We unfortunately did not make it past Muir Trail Ranch and thus I never got to see the 2nd half which I've heard is more spectacular than the first half. Well finally I got to see the area below Forester Pass and the Bighorn Plateua. The views are phenomenal. Bighorn Plateau is just unreal. The Great Western Divide, The Kaweahs, The Whitney Area are all around you. I loved travelling into the Upper Kern Basin. I fell in love with the vastness and grandeur. LSA was gorgeous to me, especially with the views at its outlet. It may have been the most epic spot in the entire range I had stood at! It got quite cold there since it was still fairly early in the season and I was in my sleeping bag as soon as the sun set.
To be continued...
Day 1- Mineral King to Columbine Lake 7.2 Miles
Got into Mineral King around 9:15ish on Monday night. Had dinner & went to sleep. Next morning as I’m sorting food a bear makes some noise & climbs up on a tree. He was a cub, but I still wanted no flavorful encounters so I stowed all the food back into the bear box. After that encounter I went to get my permit from none other than Jeff Lewis the Mineral King Trailhead Ranger, who I met through a mutual friend at my university in Berkeley. We both study the same subject and are both photographers. We talked for quite a while until I was on my way. I wrapped up the car at the TH & set off. The trail was fairly steep & I had about 50 lbs & 14 days of food so it was quite slow going. I branched off & took the Old Monarch Creek Trail. It climbed steadily for what seemed like miles & eventually I hit the Sawtooth Pass Trail. I don’t really know what else to say other than that was the worst pass of my life! It was absolutely horrid- with sand, & steep sections & blazing sun. It was hardly a trail. I reached Glacier Pass & looked out & saw a fair bit of snow. This entire trip I had serious apprehensions about the snow conditions on namely Pyra-Queen Col & Harrison Pass. I was not a fan to see the snow, but I pressed on up to the pass wearily. The pass itself had amazing views-out to the Whitney Range & of course the magnificent Kaweahs. I somehow managed to gather up the energy & climbed Sawtooth Peak (12,343 FT). The climb was mostly class 2 but certainly not trivial at the summit blocks which were interesting class 3. The views were spectacular but I had to get down as light was fading fast. I made it back to my pack to discover it had been chewed on by the ferocious marmots! No real damage but I also noticed 2 large holes in the bottom of the pack as well from wear. My pack is now 4 years old with close to 600-700 miles on it. This is definitely its last trip…I sure hope it makes in about 1 piece. Since I unfortunately didn't climb Needham my goal now was to get to Columbine Lake-which was only .8 miles away & 700 FT down. I noticed at the pass I lost my bandanna on the way back from the climb. I was frustrated to say the least. And as I was taking a film shot my camera said something about the battery. Earlier in the day my pack fell a bit & the mirror got locked up so I had to undo that. I was now concerned about a lack of batteries! And then when things had to get more interesting they did. I broke my hiking pole in half on a bank of snow by Columbine! Fortunately I hadn't broken it on the cornice at Sawtooth. This was bad news as now my tent wouldn't stay up right & I only had 1 pole. This is when I decided someone upstairs wanted me to turn around & restart. After having a delicious chili meal in the dark I decided I would go back over Sawtooth & drive down to Visalia to get what I needed. Oh…how I dreaded Sawtooth once more!!
Day 2- Columbine Lake to Mineral King TH 7.5 Miles
Alas the next morning I grunted my way back up & lost the trail on the way down & ended up on steep sand slopes that were awful. I met one of the MK rangers & we chatted. I took the Monarch Lake Trail down & eventually ended up at the Ranger Station. Jeff was obviously surprised to see me & so I told him the happenings. We discussed getting into Kaweah Basin via a climb of Lawson. I’ll delve into that a bit later. So I made my way down into Visalia & resupplied & was able to find a single heavy pole… It would have to do. I bought a burrito from Chipotle for dinner & had an A&W Root Beer Float because I was hot & certainly it was magnificent. I also went online to buy the new Mariposa Backpack from Gossamer Gear. I then made my way back up the long & relentless windy road & made it back to the campground at almost the same time as 2 nights prior. I forgot to mention Columbine Lake was very stark & awesome & had great sunset light. I ate my dinner & for the 3rd night in a row had to pitch my tent in the dark. I was not a fan of pitching tents in the dark but hopefully the following day I would have better luck.
Day 3- Mineral King TH to Pinto Lake 8.5 Miles
This morning there would be no God awful Sawtooth Pass! I would make my way over Timber Gap & Black Rock Pass. I patched my bag as best I could & dropped off my extra food as now I would only carry about 11-12 days of food & was able to ditch my Ursack. Thank goodness… I wanted to lighten the load, since I still had over 9 lbs of camera gear and that didn't include a large DSLR on my neck. I started up the trail & it was not nearly as bad as Sawtooth but still steep & as I made it to Timber Gap I bumped into the most fascinating of people… Mr. Soch, who was my 11th Grade Math teacher. I was elated & I could not believe my eyes. What a grand embrace we had. I went down the trail and then up until finally reaching Pinto Lake. Finally I could have dinner and pitch a tent and it wasn't in the dark! I slept very soundly that night after my delicious Gumbo dinner that I dehydrated and made myself. The night was very pleasant… no lower than about 38-40oF while at Columbine it was below freezing when I had spent the night there!
Day 4- Pinto Lake to Big Arroyo Jct 10 Miles
Today I went over Black Rock Pass from Pinto. Boy… she was a dozy. Not as bad as Sawtooth but still 2,800 FT of elevation gain. Made it to the top in a little over 3 hours.. Which I felt was decent. The views were phenomenal but I think Sawtooth Pass had better views. The view of Spring, Cyclamen & Columbine was probably the best I've ever seen in terms of alpine grandeur. Made my way down & the view at Little 5 Lakes was nice but not as good as expected. Then I made it to Big Arroyo Jct & that’s when things got interesting. I had a feeling sweep over me. The moment I got to the Jct I felt like going into Kaweah Basin was not the thing to do. It was a similar feeling as last year when I was traveling very close the Kaweah Basin. Last year I was in the Kern-Kaweah River Canyon and I had a feeling sweep over me that was very unpleasant and foreboding. I find it rather fitting because of all the stories of how nasty the Kaweah rock is and especially the sinister Black Kaweah that has taken quite a few lives over the years. It seems as though The Kaweahs do not invite me alone. One can say what they will about the mountains but I find that they most assuredly speak to the traveler who will listen to them. I always trust my instincts and for whatever reason they were telling me not to enter into Kaweah Basin. I think I will leave that basin for when I have a partner to travel them with. And then I decided I will be travelling on the HST to the Upper Kern for the next 2 days. I might take the HST to the JMT & go to Tyndall Creek & from there head to the Upper Kern & LSA. I don’t wish to travel through Kern Canyon but it’s a necessary evil at this point. My entire trip was being rerouted for the 2nd time. I had plans to get into Kaweah basin and check out Picket Guard Lake and climb several peaks but alas all of that was going to have to wait another year. I met a large party that went over Kaweah Pass that day. Nasty & horrid as warned! I met 2 other gentlemen that I met 2 days ago who have been climbing in the area. They told me Glacier Pass is completely doable & avoidable of snow. I haven’t decided how I want to get to MK yet. Potentially go over the HST via Kaweah Gap and see Hamilton Lake & Valhalla again & go down into Redwood Meadow area. Tomorrow Kern Hot Springs.. hopefully I find the springs this time.
Day 5- Big Arroyo Jct to Kern Hot Springs 13 Miles
Today was a pretty mellow day albeit a bit long. Around 12-13 miles traveled. Made it in a little over 6 hours. All of this terrain I had seen last year only a couples weeks later in the year so I tried to power through it since I knew it was just getting hotter as the day went on. The clouds really built today & now they seem to be dissipating again. I’m not sure what they are foretelling… but could be in for some thunder in the next 4 days. I finally got to see the Hot Springs. They are essentially a bathtub…but too hot for me. I enjoyed the cold waters of the Kern instead. It got up into the low 80’s here at least. I made up my mind & decided I want to travel to the JMT Jct & travel North from there. I hoped to get to the Tyndall Creek Ranger Station tomorrow which is a lot of uphill & 12+ Miles.
Day 6- Kern Hot Spring to Wallace Creek Jct 12.3 Miles
Another long day all the way to Wallace Creek instead of Tyndall Creek. I was just too tired to make it the rest of the way. Had an early start this morning & then I had a bit of a mishap. I fell into the creek! It was the first crossing at 7:30 in the morning…It was darn cold. Everything seemingly got wet. Fortunately the camera & film were safe. My fleece got wet & so did my other socks & of course shoes. I lumbered my way to Jct Meadow with wet feel in a little over 2 hours which was a fast pace. Started to dry things out there & had some lunch. The trail was quite hot, dry, & exposed after Jct Meadow (Kern). The views were amazing on the trail though looking back towards the Kaweahs. The mosquitoes at Wallace Creek were almost completely unbearable. The worst I had ever seen anywhere in the Sierra up till this point. It was a pleasant evening chatting with lots of High Sierra Trail hikers and JMTer's. It was the most people I thought I would see for a while since the next few days I would be in the Upper Kern Basin and making way to Lake Reflection via Harrison Pass.
Day 7- Wallace Creek to Lake South America 7.7 Miles
A much mellower day with less miles and less uphill. 2 years ago I attempted to do the entire JMT with a friend of mine. We unfortunately did not make it past Muir Trail Ranch and thus I never got to see the 2nd half which I've heard is more spectacular than the first half. Well finally I got to see the area below Forester Pass and the Bighorn Plateua. The views are phenomenal. Bighorn Plateau is just unreal. The Great Western Divide, The Kaweahs, The Whitney Area are all around you. I loved travelling into the Upper Kern Basin. I fell in love with the vastness and grandeur. LSA was gorgeous to me, especially with the views at its outlet. It may have been the most epic spot in the entire range I had stood at! It got quite cold there since it was still fairly early in the season and I was in my sleeping bag as soon as the sun set.
To be continued...