Re: TR: PCT-SHR Donner to Piute Pass Jul 13-Aug 10 2016
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2016 12:29 pm
frozenintime -- thanks! here's some more...
...the last of my calluses sloughed off this week and I have returned to my usual tenderfoot state -- it has taken me several days to recover from the emotional trauma induced by this...
A passage from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, which I picked up again this week: "Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just the means to an end but a unique event in itself."
July 26 — Day 14: 8.0 hrs, 12.9 miles, +3100/-3200
To the SHR’s Doorstep
Upper Thompson Canyon to Matterhorn Canyon beneath Sawtooth Ridge
I awoke to the call of some coyotes that had also sung me to sleep last night. I found myself in a significantly wet tent and quilt since the sand pad I was camped on was saturated from the meandering meltwater streams at the the top of Thompson Canyon. Campsite selection lesson learned (temporarily, it turned out). Nevertheless, I was up and on my way by 7:30, headed up to the saddle that would then take me down to Kerrick Meadow and back on the trail for the rest of the day. The saddle is a pretty broad target and the stroll through the boulder studded meadows in the upper reaches of Thompson Canyon was very pleasant in the morning sun. I ended up a little high on the saddle. This was to develop into a theme for the trip (witness yesterday’s struggles with proper contouring) and by the end I was considering giving myself the trail name Too High. On this occasion I found a pretty nifty chute that led south and down to an easily navigated wooded slope that dumped me into Kerrick Meadow.
It was then a simple matter to head east across the meadow until I picked up the trail that parallels Rancheria Creek. About 50 yards to the north on that path I encountered the trail to Peeler Lake and spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon making my way on trail through the complex terrain from Peeler Lake through the Robinson Lakes area and past Slide Mountain on the way up to Mule Pass. It was a pretty hot day and I struggled with lightheadedness all day long, which did not help with my first conversation (with somebody other than myself) since the day I crossed Sonora Pass. I met a father and his two sons on the east side of Peeler Lake who were headed west, and he asked me if the campsites at Peeler Lake were occupied. When I told him it was a no camping zone and posted as such, he asked what they were supposed to do. I wanted to suggest Kerrick Meadow but my brain wasn’t up to the task of recalling its name much less putting it into a coherent sentence. After an awkward silence, we said goodbye. Oops.
The trail along the north shoreline of Peeler Lake is an impressive bit of construction, as were other sections of trail that led up to Mule Pass. I am always taken aback by how much physical labor is invested in our trail system, and I wonder what its current-dollar value is. I cannot imagine trying to secure funding for equivalent projects today. Such were my thoughts as I hiked onward and upward. Given my ongoing acclimatization issues, it took me quite some time to gain the 1000’ from Peeler Lake to Mule Pass — I just about collapsed in dismay upon reaching the high, pretty meadow beneath Slide Mountain only to see there was more climbing to be done to reach the pass. Fortunately, it was only something like another hundred vertical feet. The views from the top were, once again, simply astounding. Sawtooth Ridge leads the eye right to Matterhorn Peak and then around to the Finger Peaks with upper Slide Canyon nestled in between. I stopped for a late lunch and to soak in the views. On my way down from the pass I met the last group of people I would see for another couple days and then headed up Slide Canyon along Piute Creek. My original plan had been to cross Matterhorn Col into Spiller Creek Canyon, but it was clear to me that I could not possibly go that far so I picked a spot a fair distance off trail at the top of a set of falls with lovely views of the Finger Peaks, Sawtooth Ridge and Matterhorn Peak. After supper I did a food inventory, which conclusively proved a) I would be coming into Tuolumne Meadows in two-and-a-half days on fumes and b) I was an idiot for sending food home with Stacey eight days ago…
Dennis
...the last of my calluses sloughed off this week and I have returned to my usual tenderfoot state -- it has taken me several days to recover from the emotional trauma induced by this...
A passage from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, which I picked up again this week: "Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just the means to an end but a unique event in itself."
July 26 — Day 14: 8.0 hrs, 12.9 miles, +3100/-3200
To the SHR’s Doorstep
Upper Thompson Canyon to Matterhorn Canyon beneath Sawtooth Ridge
I awoke to the call of some coyotes that had also sung me to sleep last night. I found myself in a significantly wet tent and quilt since the sand pad I was camped on was saturated from the meandering meltwater streams at the the top of Thompson Canyon. Campsite selection lesson learned (temporarily, it turned out). Nevertheless, I was up and on my way by 7:30, headed up to the saddle that would then take me down to Kerrick Meadow and back on the trail for the rest of the day. The saddle is a pretty broad target and the stroll through the boulder studded meadows in the upper reaches of Thompson Canyon was very pleasant in the morning sun. I ended up a little high on the saddle. This was to develop into a theme for the trip (witness yesterday’s struggles with proper contouring) and by the end I was considering giving myself the trail name Too High. On this occasion I found a pretty nifty chute that led south and down to an easily navigated wooded slope that dumped me into Kerrick Meadow.
It was then a simple matter to head east across the meadow until I picked up the trail that parallels Rancheria Creek. About 50 yards to the north on that path I encountered the trail to Peeler Lake and spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon making my way on trail through the complex terrain from Peeler Lake through the Robinson Lakes area and past Slide Mountain on the way up to Mule Pass. It was a pretty hot day and I struggled with lightheadedness all day long, which did not help with my first conversation (with somebody other than myself) since the day I crossed Sonora Pass. I met a father and his two sons on the east side of Peeler Lake who were headed west, and he asked me if the campsites at Peeler Lake were occupied. When I told him it was a no camping zone and posted as such, he asked what they were supposed to do. I wanted to suggest Kerrick Meadow but my brain wasn’t up to the task of recalling its name much less putting it into a coherent sentence. After an awkward silence, we said goodbye. Oops.
The trail along the north shoreline of Peeler Lake is an impressive bit of construction, as were other sections of trail that led up to Mule Pass. I am always taken aback by how much physical labor is invested in our trail system, and I wonder what its current-dollar value is. I cannot imagine trying to secure funding for equivalent projects today. Such were my thoughts as I hiked onward and upward. Given my ongoing acclimatization issues, it took me quite some time to gain the 1000’ from Peeler Lake to Mule Pass — I just about collapsed in dismay upon reaching the high, pretty meadow beneath Slide Mountain only to see there was more climbing to be done to reach the pass. Fortunately, it was only something like another hundred vertical feet. The views from the top were, once again, simply astounding. Sawtooth Ridge leads the eye right to Matterhorn Peak and then around to the Finger Peaks with upper Slide Canyon nestled in between. I stopped for a late lunch and to soak in the views. On my way down from the pass I met the last group of people I would see for another couple days and then headed up Slide Canyon along Piute Creek. My original plan had been to cross Matterhorn Col into Spiller Creek Canyon, but it was clear to me that I could not possibly go that far so I picked a spot a fair distance off trail at the top of a set of falls with lovely views of the Finger Peaks, Sawtooth Ridge and Matterhorn Peak. After supper I did a food inventory, which conclusively proved a) I would be coming into Tuolumne Meadows in two-and-a-half days on fumes and b) I was an idiot for sending food home with Stacey eight days ago…
Dennis