Topix Carcamp 2007 &Snow Crown Summit
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 5:07 pm
WHO: Snow Nymph, TrailTrekker, Tomcat, Rosabella, MooseTracks, Ridgeline, Trailbud, Trekker, Ranboze, Lewis, Quentinc, Will_jrobb.. with visits from Sierra Snail and Tina.
WHERE: Lone Pine Campground, Pizza Factory, High Sierra Cafe, Onion Valley, Pancake Peak
BASIC TR: I rolled into PF Friday evening around 6:30 to find MooseTracks, Tina and SierraSnail enjoying some lively conversation. After an engaging in a brief hello, picking up my lasagna-to-go and welcoming Trailbud and Ridgeline to the party, I headed up the Portal Rd to the end where my cooler that I left in a bear box 2 weeks ago was still there. Score! I cruised back down to LPCG where I met Rosabella and set up my 4WD camp-mobile. Will_jrobb made a brief stop, dropping of a buncho wood (thank you very much Will_jrobb) and headed to his sierra room. MooseTracks, Tina and Sierra Snail joined the campfire some time later and Tomcat stopped by for some laughs before heading up to Cori's not-so-secret spot.
After a yummy breakfast at the High Sierra Cafe, Rosabella, MooseTracks, Trailbud, Ridgeline and myself drove up to Onion Valley and met up with the others. After the introductions and a fashion show from Tomcat, we all headed up the Kearsage Pass Trail. Despite the windy valley floor, it was a cloudless morning (and day) and we all shed our layers not long after the start. At Bench Lake, Trailbud and Rosabella opted to babysit the unneeded weighty items we all removed from our packs for the ascent up to Snow Crown. When MooseTracks and Ridgeline finished their Mountaineers Olympics events of the shotput and discuss throw, we all packed up and headed up to the saddle to the east of the summit.
The ascent up the chute from Bench Lake was steep and loose. I launched a good sized rock after a bad foot placement and held the title of official beer-buyer... temporarily After gaining the saddle, Quentinc continued on to grab the summit first and MooseTracks, Ridgeline and Tomcat waited for the rest of us to stroll on up to snack rock. From there, it was just pickin yer way up thru the boulder field. Tom led us over the north ridge and around to the west side of the summit block for the final ascent. Snow was to be found on Snow Crown, but it was not deep. Trekker and Lewis went as far as the north ridge and then waited for the rest of us while we gained the summit. We didn't get to the summit until after 3pm.
During the descent we radioed Trailbud and Rosabella indicating that we would likely miss our dinner reservations at PF unless they heroically descended before us and drove into LP to have at least some of "us" there for the 7pm feast. They graciously also slogged all of our gear that they were babysitting with them. The descent down the chute was like playing dodgeball, with all the loose rock. Lewis grabbed the beer-buying award for launching the largest boulder of the day. Word for the day... ROOOOCCCCKKKKK!
Pizza fest and campfire commraderie were filled with a lot of laughs and good times. Oh... and let's not forget about the bears. Someone spotted a bear over near MooseTracks tent, so we all took off with our cameras to go find the bear. As we neared her tent, we heard someting crashing out of the tree next to her tent, which was probably Boo-Boo, although we didn't see him scamper off in the darkness. A short time later, a camp neighbor alerted us to "two huge bears just down the camp road a bit". Again, several of us took off with our cameras, and me with my 1,000,000 candlepower light. Sierra Snail spotted Yogi mom and Boo-Boo. I got a glimpse of Boo-Boo running towards the stream. Sometime during the evening, Yogi overturned the bear box in Lewis' and my camp spot!
tada
It was great to meet new folks and hike again with old folks... oopsy, that didn't sound right. Hmmm... come to thing about it...
Anyway, good times, fun laughs, nice workout. Photos later
WHERE: Lone Pine Campground, Pizza Factory, High Sierra Cafe, Onion Valley, Pancake Peak
BASIC TR: I rolled into PF Friday evening around 6:30 to find MooseTracks, Tina and SierraSnail enjoying some lively conversation. After an engaging in a brief hello, picking up my lasagna-to-go and welcoming Trailbud and Ridgeline to the party, I headed up the Portal Rd to the end where my cooler that I left in a bear box 2 weeks ago was still there. Score! I cruised back down to LPCG where I met Rosabella and set up my 4WD camp-mobile. Will_jrobb made a brief stop, dropping of a buncho wood (thank you very much Will_jrobb) and headed to his sierra room. MooseTracks, Tina and Sierra Snail joined the campfire some time later and Tomcat stopped by for some laughs before heading up to Cori's not-so-secret spot.
After a yummy breakfast at the High Sierra Cafe, Rosabella, MooseTracks, Trailbud, Ridgeline and myself drove up to Onion Valley and met up with the others. After the introductions and a fashion show from Tomcat, we all headed up the Kearsage Pass Trail. Despite the windy valley floor, it was a cloudless morning (and day) and we all shed our layers not long after the start. At Bench Lake, Trailbud and Rosabella opted to babysit the unneeded weighty items we all removed from our packs for the ascent up to Snow Crown. When MooseTracks and Ridgeline finished their Mountaineers Olympics events of the shotput and discuss throw, we all packed up and headed up to the saddle to the east of the summit.
The ascent up the chute from Bench Lake was steep and loose. I launched a good sized rock after a bad foot placement and held the title of official beer-buyer... temporarily After gaining the saddle, Quentinc continued on to grab the summit first and MooseTracks, Ridgeline and Tomcat waited for the rest of us to stroll on up to snack rock. From there, it was just pickin yer way up thru the boulder field. Tom led us over the north ridge and around to the west side of the summit block for the final ascent. Snow was to be found on Snow Crown, but it was not deep. Trekker and Lewis went as far as the north ridge and then waited for the rest of us while we gained the summit. We didn't get to the summit until after 3pm.
During the descent we radioed Trailbud and Rosabella indicating that we would likely miss our dinner reservations at PF unless they heroically descended before us and drove into LP to have at least some of "us" there for the 7pm feast. They graciously also slogged all of our gear that they were babysitting with them. The descent down the chute was like playing dodgeball, with all the loose rock. Lewis grabbed the beer-buying award for launching the largest boulder of the day. Word for the day... ROOOOCCCCKKKKK!
Pizza fest and campfire commraderie were filled with a lot of laughs and good times. Oh... and let's not forget about the bears. Someone spotted a bear over near MooseTracks tent, so we all took off with our cameras to go find the bear. As we neared her tent, we heard someting crashing out of the tree next to her tent, which was probably Boo-Boo, although we didn't see him scamper off in the darkness. A short time later, a camp neighbor alerted us to "two huge bears just down the camp road a bit". Again, several of us took off with our cameras, and me with my 1,000,000 candlepower light. Sierra Snail spotted Yogi mom and Boo-Boo. I got a glimpse of Boo-Boo running towards the stream. Sometime during the evening, Yogi overturned the bear box in Lewis' and my camp spot!
tada
It was great to meet new folks and hike again with old folks... oopsy, that didn't sound right. Hmmm... come to thing about it...
Anyway, good times, fun laughs, nice workout. Photos later