down piute to martha and back - part i

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lostcoyote
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down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by lostcoyote »

we did a rather short trip this september that started out as a rather long trip as follows:
1. head over piute pass and then book on down to the san joaquin river.
2. head on up goddard canyon, cross reinstein pass and be in heaven at lake 10232
3. head north into ionian then east thru ionian and come out near helen lake
4. then head over muir pass to evolution lake and exit thru lamark col

didn't work out like that... but here's what i got in pictures...

had a great sunset the first night out at loch leaven

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and woke up to a nice crisp sunrise reflection in the waters

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then we headed up over the pass and made camp at muriel lake. we had some weather activity all around us but it never rained on us. i took a time lapse video of the cloud activity over mt. humphreys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiXCUqMVg0I" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

then we received another spectacular sunset...

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next morning, we proceeded downstream and made camp a few miles below hutchinson meadow. then once again, we goofed around with the cameras taking water pictures. it was here that my hiking partner dropped his lenscap in the water and i watched it scoot on down the slide into a pool, never to be found. than awhile later, he dropped the camera from 2 feet and it smashed onto the granite hardpan.ugggh,,, but it proved out to be as durable as haseblad's reputation of durability and seemed to work just fine. just the lens shade got bent a little which i straightened out with a swiss army knife can opener/screwdriver the next morning.

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the next day, we packed up and headed on down thru piute taking lots of water breaks for a couple of old geezers with worn out knees and feet. anyways, we made it down to the san joaquin river and turned upstream a few more miles making camp at aspen meadow. it was another uneventful day with partly cloudy skies and dusty trails. the next morning, i played around with a few aspen tree compositions...

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then onward we go.
here's a typical scene along the san joaquin river...

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notice that this report is more of a picture story, since i am rather lacking for words to describe this well used trail that lots of us have already done. it was, however, my first time over piute pass, having never bothered to do it over my nearly 40 year backpacking career. hoot-hoot!... my mind was set on ionian basin, for the 7'th time around the block.
Last edited by lostcoyote on Sun Nov 04, 2012 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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lostcoyote
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down piute to martha and back - part ii

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okay, so now, we are headed south into goddard canyon which is where the rock turns to lots of shale that makes nice wide slot canyons with a few falls along the way

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we made it to a camp just above a waterfall and then pulled out the cameras once again for some fun and games. i remember that my foot slipped into the water and i nearly did the splits. anyways, here's some more water shots...

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...finally arriving at the waterfall:

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next day, we head upstream...

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...to martha lake and make camp near the outlet. there was a group of folks camped down below martha in the last stand of trees. found out later that it was ironmike.

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the next morning, i was psyched up to get over reinstein pass and into one of my favorite areas... lake 10232... but first, we pack up, take a few morning shots...

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...and get up to the pass.

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looking north at valor pass on the le conte divide

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looking south to a place i call heaven..... but not on this trip!

turns out that my hiking buddy had tweaked his foot on a loose rock while coming up to the top of reinstein pass. we started down on the ramp system but after a short while, his foot just wasn't cutting the cross country anymore - trip aborted.

here's a parting shot while hiking back up the old dusty trail of piute canyon

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it also turns out that we had crossed paths with eric and his wife up above hutchinson meadow while on the way back out. didn't even know it until a month later and a few email exchanges - LOL - if he had only pulled out his HST coffee mug and offered me a couple shots of whiskey to help soothe my missing the ionian blues. maybe next time.
Last edited by lostcoyote on Sun Nov 04, 2012 4:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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vandman
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Re: down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by vandman »

Great photos LC. That's some of the best country in the Sierra!
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Re: down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by Herm »

lostcoyote;
Thanks for sharing a great photographic TR. I like your Mount Humphreys time lapse. Was that shot from near the outlet at Muriel? The view reminds me of a shot of my wife sitting in the upper decks of the amphitheater overlooking HB.
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paul
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Re: down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by paul »

lostcoyote - do you have these photos posted online somewhere I could look at a larger version? I see some possible route-finding info in there that I'd like to look at more carefully.
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Re: down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by kpeter »

Beautifully done. It seems that you enjoyed the journey even if you did not make your planned destination. And that is as it should be.
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lostcoyote
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Re: down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by lostcoyote »

herm, yeah, the time lapse was done near the west end of muriel lk. it was set up at 1 frame every 2 seconds. another fun thing to do with time lapse is to video your campsite while breaking it down at 1 frame/sec .

paul, PM sent.
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Re: down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by LMBSGV »

Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing.
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TehipiteTom
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Re: down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by TehipiteTom »

Gorgeous photos! Too bad you didn't get to Lake 10232 this time (I'm with you, it's one of my favorites), but you did see and shoot some gorgeous country (I really need to get back to Goddard Canyon...).
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Re: down piute to martha and back - part i

Post by richlong8 »

That is a really nice trip report. Thanks for sharing. What was the camera you were using? Very nice.
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