TR: Valhalla / Kaweah Gap / Nine Lakes Basin ~ May 17th to 22nd 2022

[Love the Sierra]

I pray I will be out there when I am 72! Snow, altitude, uphill and heavy pack make for exhausting days! Thank you so much for the report. Good to see what conditions are like. I have been wondering about the skeeters.

[michaelzim]

Thanks for the feedback and all...Herewith a few replies:

@SenorNeiltz The lake I was near in the upper basin there had no clear water when I arrived. Two days later it had some, so the melt is on. The Precipice Lake zone is kind like a snow trap in that little valley leading up to the pass so it would hold snow for longer but you can go past it easily enough on the rocks to the north (if the snow is soft). Big Arroyo did not look like much snow to me and I suspect you could head off to Whitney right now. June 5th. should be fine unless we get some nuttso Arctic weather - which is possible in the new goofy weather normal!

@Wandering Daisy Yes, good point. The HST going in was indeed a bit of a roller coaster as I recall thinking on numerous occasions that "this should be the uphill part" or "the downhill part" when the opposite was happening. Considering it now maybe there was more uphill than I realized...And I had been wondering about a try for Volcanic Lakes in summer. Ha, ha. NOPE!
I will get to a trekking pole post in due course perhaps, though I may be an exception to the rule due to some dance background. My knees hold up remarkably well going downhill (no idea why) and without poles I lean forward going uphill - which may actually be easier on me? The whole shnork seems to revolve around whether my core/abs are engaged. With poles they are not, and I think that may have contributed to my fatigue. I need to do another trip to find out - and not say more in this post as "poles" may be a "thing" subject.
Yes, fire evidence big time on the Generals Highway...Man, we are going to lose all or forests at this rate as more and more trees are dying from the drought and heat (and then the beetles). I'm glad I saw what all this used to look like when brown trees were a rare exception to be noted.

@grampy Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...Stars.....Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh, yeah. I had even set my camera up for some night shots. Ummmmmm...seems like I forgot! Ha, ha. I guess I must have slept pretty good on the non wind night in 9 Lakes. Oh, it was the cold night when it went 5 degrees below freezing too.

@wildhiker Nope, no time in the Giant Sequoia groves as went in and out of Wolverton due to the possible return plan via Tablelands...which was a long shot but still. Also, when getting my self permit the crowds in the big trees area kind of put me off...and I live not far from an almost private grove of giant Redwoods (with the tallest Redwood in CA in it) so can get my "big trees" hit in peace. Maybe next time though.

Nemophilia...of course! Thanks.

@Lenier As mentioned, a few mosquitoes on the way up at lower elevations but none up top and none anywhere on the way down - go figure?! You should be fine at Tamarack this weekend. Plus the forecast looks kind of cool to cold.

[rormisto]

Michael, brilliant trip report. This is, nearly to the letter, the first off-trail backpacking trip I ever went on. Down to the overly-ambitious (for that trip) return via Lion - Lonely - Tablelands, followed by the direct route back. Brings some nostalgia to my mind and a smile to my face. Thank you!

Also, the photography is brilliant. It may not be as grand or striking as many other classic Sierra views, but coming over Kaweah Gap eastbound and having the Big Arroyo just laid out in front of you never gets old to me. Might be that same nostalgia!