Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:37 pm
It was a grand time!
I arrived at the Onion Valley parking lot on Friday evening to find TrailTrekker enjoying the quiet solitude. A short while later Doug and his son Ryan arrived and it wasn't long before we all crawled into our respective driving machines to escape the cold and bed down for the night. By morning, SnowNymph, Trekker, DodgerBill and daughter Rebecca had arrived.
The north slopes of the peaks to our south were still dusted with snow and made for a nice contrast against the winter colors. Although chilly, it was a beautiful morning, and we all headed up the Kearsage Pass trail a bit after 0900. We snacked briefly at Gilbert Lake before heading off on the trail to Matlock Lake. There was a bit of snow on the trail to Matlock, but otherwise, the trail was dry. After everyone selected their "spot", tents were pitched, lunch was devoured, and then we headed xc to Bench Lake.
It was a pretty chilly night... despite my Marmot 0 degree bag, 4 layers on top (light weight capilene, expedition weight capilene, fleece, and a MH softshell), and 2 layers on my lower extremities I was chilly most of the night. Sooz gave me a thermal pad to try, which stayed warm the entire night (Note to self: add these to my winter camping list).
Come Sunday morning, we said our goodbyes to Doug and Ryan, and Bill and Rebecca who had to get back home, and we welcomed Tomcat who drove up to join us for a dayhike to Mt. Gould. Sooz, SnowNymph, Tom and myself headed for Mt. Gould while Trekker stayed in camp for awhile, feeling a little under the weather.
Boy, was I feeling the altitude on Sunday. I felt ok, I was just suckin' air and feeling the altitude big time. I REALLY appreciated SnowNymph running sweep on the summit ascent and waiting for me to haul my tired self up to the top. I was the only Mt. Gould virgin in the group and was stoked at bagging this one. Again, it was great to be amongst folks who were motivating, positive and supportive. It was a gorgeous day and quite windy and chilly on the summit. The descent down the soft sandy north slope was a total blast... probably the most fun descent I've had!
Since I had taken a daypack, I dumped my beast pack at the Matlock Lake trail junction, so when we arrived back at the junction, Tom and I said our goodbyes to Sooz and Corrine and we headed on down to the parking lot while Sooz and Cori returned to Matlock to pack up their gear.
It was fun meeting everyone and a great adventure!
My photos are here
I arrived at the Onion Valley parking lot on Friday evening to find TrailTrekker enjoying the quiet solitude. A short while later Doug and his son Ryan arrived and it wasn't long before we all crawled into our respective driving machines to escape the cold and bed down for the night. By morning, SnowNymph, Trekker, DodgerBill and daughter Rebecca had arrived.
The north slopes of the peaks to our south were still dusted with snow and made for a nice contrast against the winter colors. Although chilly, it was a beautiful morning, and we all headed up the Kearsage Pass trail a bit after 0900. We snacked briefly at Gilbert Lake before heading off on the trail to Matlock Lake. There was a bit of snow on the trail to Matlock, but otherwise, the trail was dry. After everyone selected their "spot", tents were pitched, lunch was devoured, and then we headed xc to Bench Lake.
It was a pretty chilly night... despite my Marmot 0 degree bag, 4 layers on top (light weight capilene, expedition weight capilene, fleece, and a MH softshell), and 2 layers on my lower extremities I was chilly most of the night. Sooz gave me a thermal pad to try, which stayed warm the entire night (Note to self: add these to my winter camping list).
Come Sunday morning, we said our goodbyes to Doug and Ryan, and Bill and Rebecca who had to get back home, and we welcomed Tomcat who drove up to join us for a dayhike to Mt. Gould. Sooz, SnowNymph, Tom and myself headed for Mt. Gould while Trekker stayed in camp for awhile, feeling a little under the weather.
Boy, was I feeling the altitude on Sunday. I felt ok, I was just suckin' air and feeling the altitude big time. I REALLY appreciated SnowNymph running sweep on the summit ascent and waiting for me to haul my tired self up to the top. I was the only Mt. Gould virgin in the group and was stoked at bagging this one. Again, it was great to be amongst folks who were motivating, positive and supportive. It was a gorgeous day and quite windy and chilly on the summit. The descent down the soft sandy north slope was a total blast... probably the most fun descent I've had!
Since I had taken a daypack, I dumped my beast pack at the Matlock Lake trail junction, so when we arrived back at the junction, Tom and I said our goodbyes to Sooz and Corrine and we headed on down to the parking lot while Sooz and Cori returned to Matlock to pack up their gear.
It was fun meeting everyone and a great adventure!
My photos are here