Alright... finally found some time to write up Week 3 of this adventure. Being an undergrad at a university and trying to work definitely gets in the way of writing up trip reports let alone climbing mountains! But without further ado.. here comes Week 3 which I would say was the most tumultuous week of my life with adventures filling almost every other day. I will be as straight as possible and try not to embellish anything. Hopefully that will allow all of you to try and experience what these adventures were like if you were in our shoes! Let's begin..
Day 15- VVR to Blayney Hot Springs 5.2 Miles
Today started out quite funny. We missed our ride to Florence Lake originally and thus had to wait around VVR for several hours longer. In the meantime we feasted on our last good meal for what to me seemed like eternity afterwards. Chili-Cheese Fries was the meal of choice. It would be 15+ days before I got to taste something so magnificent as that. Rogue was able to get us a free ride to Florence for which we were quite gracious. Florence lake oddly enough wasn't nearly as low as Thomas Edison and thus the ferry ran all the way across the lake. We crossed the choppy water and began the trudge to Blayney hot springs. I believe we had 14 days worth of food... Well technically Rogue had 14 and I think I had slightly less. I just couldn't muster up the strength to carry any more.. and boy would that bite me hard later! We had our delicious breakfast burritos from VVR for dinner and then decided to cross the San Joaquin river and jump into the hot springs. I only dipped my feet in but no doubt it was very nice. I was completely barefoot crossing the river both times and on the return trip it was already quite dark.. that was an interesting experience! Today marked the last time we camped by anyone on this entire section until the very last night out! Difficult to believe that but there are places in the Sierra where that is still very much a reality.
Day 16- Blayney Hot Springs to North Goddard Creek 11.5 Miles
Today it was up Goddard Canyon to where North Goddard Creek meets the San Joaquin. It was a long, hot, and brutal day. Mostly due to the weight of our packs which was easily in the high 40's, low 50's range. We jumped into the San Joaquin at the bridge on the Muir Trail and the water was magnificent. Icy cold and most likely the coldest water I've ever jumped into before oddly enough.The views in the canyon were quite gorgeous with all the waterfalls and cascades. This was my first time in the area and it was definitely living up to it's beautiful reputation. When we reached North Goddard creek we crossed the mighty San Joaquin although now it was no more than a mere trickle! Had a great campsite there with an awesome fire and turned in for the night. Tomorrow would begin the adventure of adventures.. The first of 11 days without seeing a trail.
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Day 17- North Goddard Creek to Lake 11,196 (North of Davis Lake) 3.5 Miles+
Today the mileage was not a lot but the terrain was completely new to both of us. We made our way up North Goddard creek quite easily for much of the way up to Davis Lake. The views were fantastic and the terrain was mellow. I was hoping not to see anyone today, since that could potentially ensure an entire 11 days worth of not seeing anyone else, but also we actually ran into a whole Boy Scout Troop! We looked up at Mt. Mcgee and definitely decided we didn't want to climb it, for it looked like an awful climb. We got to the outlet of Davis Lake and had a fantastic view across to parts of the Goddard Divide. We rounded the corner and then began angling up and around a knob. Wow, that situation got annoying and sketchy quite fast. We were left standing on a ledge where the only good move was up a Class 4 one. Full pack on too! I was not a fan of it at all but we made it no doubt. We made our way around Davis Lake which does have the tedious talus as described and finally made it to our glacial flour colored small lake. It was a very pretty lake with fantastic open vistas. The guardian Mt. Goddard loomed above us. We found a nice campsite there and turned in for the night as tomorrow we would trek into the mystic Ionian Basin.
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Day 18- Lake 11,196 to Lake 12,080 (Scylla Lake) 3.5 Miles
This day would be a special one for I would finally get into Ionian Basin. Last year I had intended to make my way in there but I never made it in. Finally I would see this mythic land. We went up and over Davis Lakes Pass and Wanda Pass. Both of which were straightforward and provided awesome views. From Wanda we could see the Southern Part of the range which included the Kaweah's. Almost as soon as we descended and started eating lunch two other people came down the pass. They said that they may go down the Enchanted Gorge and up Goddard Creek into Ionian Basin all in one day. Rogue and I definitely thought this to be quite unlikely given the awfulness of the Enchanted Gorge. At any rate we ventured deeper into the heart of Ionian Basin. We passed several lakes with a color that one could only dream up.. The deepest darkest shade of blue. And not only the color but also shape/texture of the rock was amazing. Most of it was black and fractured and undeniably sharp. It's as if one isn't even in the Sierra anymore. All of it is the ancient metamorphic rock that once made up all of the Sierra. We topped out on a ridge and I laid gaze upon most likely the single most amazing sights I would see this entire trip. My words and photographs do not give it justice. The lake below Scylla was just set beautifully in a basin where the wall of Scylla rises straight up and the Three Sirens stand guard close at hand. The awe that came over me was unparalleled. We camped on the peninsula, which presented rough and hilly camping, but we made do. The evening gave way to a very pretty sunset and soon we were in our bags for it was the coldest night I remembered. At 12,080 even in July it doesn't get much higher than the mid 30's. I slept soundly that night amid ancient tales of Greek Mythology swirling in my head.
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