High Sierra Topix

This trip ended up looking very different than originally planned (see viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20362&p=153446#p153446), but little of 2020 seems to have played out as expected. In late March, I got worried that resupply might not be possible due to covid so I adjusted my permits to allow a resupply from my car at LTE [that is, I got two permits]. Going back to one's car midtrip is a mistake, but more on that in a moment.

The ferry was not running so I started my hike heading around the north side of Lake Thomas Edison to connect with the JMT and from there headed south to Bear Creek. After camping along Bear Creek, I headed towards Lake Italy the next morning. I enjoyed Lake Italy less than the valley below; I'm realizing that some lakes that are too high just feel desolate to me (Lake South America had the same effect). From here, the day got a little more interesting. First, getting around Lake Italy is a chore as it is largely just a boulder field. Second, the weather was getting dicey. Third, I basically lost all semblance of a trail from Lake Italy upwards. I finally made it to Jumble Lake and kept going towards the pass as a storm certainly seemed to be in the forecast. Unfortunately, upon first attempt, I went up the wrong pass. There is a (seemingly unnamed) pass directly west of Mt Julius Caesar's peak that I arrived at. Looking into the valley below I realized things didn't look at all right (that basin looked extremely lonely). The root of my problem was that I was trusting to the Tom Harrison map for this part of the excursion. That map had me thinking that there should be a relatively well-worn trail across Italy Pass but, well, there was not [and the resolution of the map made closer scrutiny impossible]. Lesson learned. I decided to turn back and, luckily, spotted two folks at the top of the right pass ~300m off.

I made my way to the proper pass and started to hurry downhill before the rain. I eventually let the rain declare victory and pitched my tent and took a very pleasant nap during the storm. [While walking down, I ran into a group of 3 guys camped below the pass who were headed to Royce Lakes the following day. I've been wondering how they fared given the weather.] When the storm ended, I continued onward to Honeymoon Lake. This was a real treat as, with the exception of one other group camped right at the north end of the lake, there didn't seem to be anybody else around. I thought this lake was truly lovely and passed a very pleasant evening there. [But, a question: I camped on the small cliff on the eastern shore of the lake where there are many developed campsites. I took one of the ones closest to the lake. If one walked over the cliff, that site was definitely too close to the lake. But, I reasoned that the spirit of the law is that the site should be 30m or so from the water as you actually travel. Under that interpretation, the site was fine. Thoughts?]

The next morning I headed over Pine Creek Pass and started downhill. The clouds that morning gave the day a very ominous feel. I assumed a big storm was in the works and became unsure about my planned route through Humphreys Basin. Roper specifically writes about the basin as a magnet for storms when he discusses Puppet Pass, my planned route, so this may have influenced my thinking! I decided to continue downhill as the weather looked sunnier in that direction. I had lunch at the intersection with the JMT where lots of folks were milling about. Someone shared some water from their gravity-assisted filtration system which was great as the endless squeezing gets tiresome. I camped that night at Sallie Keyes Lake having a lovely swim in the western lake before sunset. That night, I heard a pretty impressive chorus of, well, I don't know what. Wolves? That is what I first thought but I'm now realizing that I have no idea if there are wolves in the Sierras. Coyotes?

I left Sallie Keyes early and hit Selden Pass around dawn. Looking down at Marie Lake at that hour of the day was truly spectacular; I won't forget that moment. On the way up to Selden Pass I also saw a bird (from only a few feet away) that was kind of fascinating. I described it to my stepdaughter as a toaster with wings [so, huge body rather than huge wingspan]. It was brown speckled and I'm trying to figure out what it was. During my day's hike down the JMT I saw a father with two sons and that got me thinking about a trip one day along the JMT with said stepdaughter some day in the future (stepdaughter #2 has a rigid 4.5 mile/day limit on hikes; convincing her might be a tough sell!]. I finally descended back to the lake via Bear Ridge and got a cheeseburger, pie, gatorade, and beer from VVR. I then headed back to my car.

I now think that it was a mistake to route myself back to the car. That is too much temptation! It didn't help that I am unable to hike solo without turning things into a one-man time trial. So, while I had planned 5 nights for this route, it only took 3 nights so I would need to wait a few days before starting off again. Further, I had a recurring injury that was nagging a little. This seemed the wrong year to require assistance [this was probably the driving factor in my decision; I had been concerned about the injury for the past few nights]. In the end I got in the car and headed back to the East Bay. It was an abbreviated version of what I had originally planned, but given the fires, the hurricanes, and all of the other bounty that we are blessed with at the current moment, I am finding myself very happy to at least have had this version of the trip actually happen.

Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts in the spring. I didn't end up having opportunity to make use of some of those insights this summer, but there is always next!

ben

bwd - nice report, but it would be better with at least a couple of photos. Thanks for posting it.

Regarding your “less than 30 m from the lake” campsite; as others have discussed in other topic threads, it pretty much comes down to 2 issues; not imposing yourself too much on ability of other campers to enjoy the lake view (without staring at your tent), and preserving water quality. Being more or less “above” the lake (rather than “away from”, in a horizontal sense, is probably fine if you camp on durable surfaces (i.e. not on a lot of loose dirt that you churn up and send sliding into the lake). Otherwise, probably not as critical as performing your other camp functions (washing up, pooping, etc) well away from the water.

Your howling/singing animals were undoubtedly coyotes; your “toaster bird” was probably a grouse. Check “part 3” of robertseeburger’s trip report for a Grouse photo you can compare your sighting to:
viewtopic.php?t=20948

Great report---but I agree, you need photos!.

Well, you don't need them, but we'd like to see them.

As for your campsite, the regulations say 30m. They also say to choose an established campsite. many times those two criteria are in direct conflict with each other--and I know most rangers would much prefer you use an existing site, rather than creating a new one. The only suggestion I would make--and it's something we try to do as often as possible--is to choose the established site farthest from the water, trying to meet both criteria.

Yes, the bird was likely a Blue Grouse female. If it had been a male, you would have heard it calling before you saw it. The female makes a low clucking sound if she has juveniles nearby. The plumage of a male is a bit more colorful.

@bobby49 & @grampy Now that I'm looking at blue grouse photos, it was definitely that. Thank you!
@balzaccom Good points re the campsite. Using existing ones that are slightly out of regulation rather than creating new ones definitely squares with my intuition.

Holy smokes, three nights? Whew, that's really moving! I agree about the trails shown on Tom Harrison maps. Many are in the category of use trails, at best. The much more realistic (and accurate) portrayal of trails is on the USFS giant JMW/Seki map.

Thanks for the report! I've also learned that planning a trip itinerary with two consecutive permits isn't really ideal for me psychologically, despite how much it may seem to make sense from a perspective of efficiency (combine two trips with one drive!). Every time I've done this, my excitement and motivation to continue exploring drops precipitously on the second trip.

Curious why you started from the Vermilion TH north of Edison and then connected with the JMT south to Bear Creek rather than starting from the Bear Ridge TH on the south corner of Edison?

Thank you for the report! Glad you made it through safely.

Your error coming out of Lake Italy reminds me of the famous case of Charlie Hench who came of Lake Italy, took the wrong pass, and fell onto a ledge where he waited a week for rescue. It was made into an episode of "I shouldn't be alive."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=hnWE6EgG1ws

@kpeter yikes! let's just say i'm very happy to have avoided that particular 15 minutes of fame on this trip.
@windknot that's a good question. my basic assumption was that vermilion TH was where i was supposed to go based on my permit [which stated mono creek]. am i wrong about that assumption? it definitely added several miles, not all of them esp scenic.
@giantbrookie always happy to add to my map collection, so thank you for the pointer!

My goodness....you woke up at Honeymoon Lk. and went to bed at Sallie Keys. That is a heck of a day. Really nice loop you did. Thanks for sharing.
ts