R04/R01/R03/R02 TR: 81 Days in the Sierra w/Rogue Photonic 7/1-9/19/16

[alpinemike]

Yeah I know it's been a while... but a lot has happened for me and I was gone for most of the summer you all know where. But without further delay here's week 6. I have most of the next 3 weeks written so maybe I'll get those posted in the next few days.

Day 36- Climb Hogback Peak
The morning dawned clear and beautiful. Today we climbed Hogsback Peak & were done before 1:30. Anyways we had another loungy & mellow day that was fortunately clearer to the South but not completely smoke free. Very few clouds built, but it’s cooler so I hope especially given the wind we are back into a cooler & drier pattern. Tomorrow we head to the Slide Lakes & climb Slide Peak.

Hogback Peak had an awesome view to the North which included the incredible Palisades and canyon of the Middle Fork of the Kings.

Rogue and Dan after dinner enjoying a lovely fire at our really nice camp.

Day 37- Swamp Lakes to Slide Lakes
Today we went up Gimme Pass & climbed Slide Peak. The pass was easy and the peak was mostly a walk-up. The summit block though was easily Class 4 & quite fun. Another typical Secor peak... no mention of any crazy summit block that required some serious arm and leg strength. He claims it's just a Class 1 walk up all the way to the top. We made it down to camp early & pretty easily & found a decent area, but totally undeveloped, and so another fire pit was made. The night was pleasant & cool in the mid 30’s. So it definitely had turned to a cooler and drier weather pattern... just the way I like it.

An extremely remote Swamp Lake below Gimme Pass. It would be interesting to know the percentage of Sierra travelers that ever make it out to here... maybe 15%? Needless to say I may never be back here.

The summit block for Slide Peak. Oh yeah... totally a Class 2 walkup!

Looking North from Slide Peak the view is equally sublime and incredible.

Day 38- Climb Peak 11,114
Today was straightforward, since we climbed the unnamed peak. We did it up the slope & it was definitely a ****, but the view was amazingly crystal clear & as far as the eye could see. We took a slightly different, but still a loose and shitty descent. Once we got back we still had plenty of time to lounge. We all bathed and swam and it was wonderfully refreshing. I helped plan Dan’s JMT trip, which was very fun talking about the areas. He would be starting the following month while Rogue and I were still out. We had our last fire that night & I enjoyed a good meal with some roasted and crispy tortillas.

Looking over the incredible range! This unnmaed peak truly had a mesmerizing view... Looking over all the land Rogue and I past throw and would pass through this summer!

One of the very pretty Slide Lakes.

Who knows how long this rusted metal has been here or what it is.. but I can bet you a very long time.. Potentially half a century or even more!

[alpinemike]

Day 39- Slide Lakes to Volcanic Lakes
Today was a much longer & arduous day. We first climbed up to what I’m calling Slide Pass & then traversed around to climb the ridge of Kennedy. The traverse was easy & the ridge climb was pretty fun. We got to the summit around 11 A.M., which was very good time. Another epically clear day with a spectacular view in all directions. One of the finest summit views I’ve had. From there we dropped down to Kennedy Pass and got an awesome view of Kennedy Canyon. The ridge traverse was very tedious from there with more downhill than we wanted & shitty sand mixed in with some boulders. But eventually we topped out on the sub-peak & finally saw what awaited us. A very annoying large talus block ridge-line was first. There was a decent boulder/grass ramp run-out to the bottom. But after descending a part of the ridge-line we were faced with a nasty chute that naturally had hard packed dirt and loose rock. It wasn’t long but a little spicy, especially for Dan. We were able to drop down very easily from there to the largest Volcanic Lake. At the Volcanic Lake we took a good break and Dan fished catching a couple small ones, but nothing big enough to eat. I really enjoyed the scenery & grandeur there. From there we headed up to the next lake & found no camping so now we made it to the next one down where we’re all laying out under the majestic sky & epic grandeur. These lakes were certainly the highest and most desolate lakes of the section & I thoroughly enjoyed them. Tomorrow we head to Granite Pass & climb Hutchings, which is our 8th Peak! Maybe out to food at Cedar Grove or Lower Tent Meadow.

Looking towards Kennedy Mtn. We traversed to the ridge and made our way up... Easy and great views all around!

All of these peaks on the Monarch had phenomenal views. And we were in luck... for there was no smoke to obscure the glory to behold! Standing here we could look down two of the mightiest canyons in the Sierra.. The Middle and South Fork of the Kinds.

A part of the large burn zone for the Rough Fire that raged through here the previous summer.

Coming down off the ridge to get to the Volcanic Lakes proved to be a little spicy. Loose and steep but fortunately not too long. The scenery was dramatically more alpine around the Volcanic Lakes compared to the rest of the section.

Day 40- Volcanic Lakes to Cedar Grove
Today was a long & challenging day. We made it all the way down to Road’s End from the Volcanic Lakes. We got a decent start and climbed up above Granite Pass in good time. Unfortunately we awoke to some smoky skies to the North, but the view was still pretty impressive from Granite Pass. We finally could see Hutchings & it looked to be a straightforward climb. From the pass we quickly dropped down into Granite Basin, which had a pretty view toward the Granite ridge but you couldn’t see Granite Lake. From there we climbed up to the Lip, where Rogue & I had lunch. Dan said he wasn’t feeling the climb up Hutchings so he went down the trail & would meet us at the bottom or Lower Tent. We began the climb up to the peak just as we saw some stock stop where we had lunch. The climb was easy and short. The summit block was fun Class 4. And the view to the South & East was exceptional. Albeit hazy it was still fantastic. We quickly got down to our packs and began the plunge all the day down to 5000FT from 10,340 FT. A serious endeavor that we topped last year. At Lower Tent we found no Dan so we knew he made it all the way down. And by 5:15, so did we. Fortunately the view down was much nicer than last year, since there was no smoke, and only haze. It also was not nearly as hot down at the bottom as when we left. A much more pleasant time down here it would be. Dan was waiting there for us for an hour & 45. We all hopped in & made our way to a delicious dinner. Double Cheeseburger & chili with some beer. How glorious it was being down here, eating good food & having 2 layover days. We got a pretty close site to the entrance/exit of the campground. We chatted about our adventures over the course of the adventures since Dan would leave the following morning.

I really enjoyed the beauty and starkness of the Volcanic Lakes. Truly an alpine delight!

Looking South from Granite Pass we saw a bit of haze but forutnatele we still had an impressive view of the Kaweah's and the Great Western Divide. Mt. Huthcings is dead center and we'd be climbing it shortly.

Granite Basin definitely had a classic granitic Sierra feel and look to it.

The super fun Class 4 summitblock of Hutchings demands your vigilance.

Victory atop the pinnacle!

Presiding over his domain. This is my land and have I been through it all!

A very clear view looking down Copper Creek. One which we did not get the pleasure of seeing the previous year due to the smoke. I don't ever want to go up this long and obnoxious hill but I feel like it will happen at some point.

Day 41- Layover
This morning Dan bad us goodbye since he left by 8. We got our first & closest site, since it vacated and we did our usual errands of laundry and showering and naturally eating! We had 2 layover days since we got out one day early so we used it to eat as much delicious food as possible since the next section would be another long and challenging 14 day section.

Day 42- Layover
As is typical for us our layovers focused on lounging around and eating and we most certainly did that! Hot dog with chili & Caesar wraps & pizza’s among other things come to mind. We actually had internet access so we posted on HST & then nerded out by rebuilding our computers. Rogue is going for an 8 core i7 that’s over a grand I’m doing a 6 core for around $800. That's just for the computer processor alone. (Addendum... I eventually built a new computer but it ended up being cheaper than this original crazy plan... It's still pretty epic as I type on it. Rogue on the other hand actually decided to spend more money haha. ) Our rigs will be pretty similar though.(Um.. nope they are definitely not). We definitely spent lots of time looking at computer parts & builds, since yes we are both pretty solid nerds and enjoy some of the finer technological things in life when we're not out here living like hobos!

[alpinemike]

Alright Week 7! Officially over half way!

Day 43- Road's End to Junction Meadow
After saying goodbye to all the wonderful food we said goodbye to Cedar Grove which we won’t return to for quite a while. At least 2 years as I see it. Hell it may be even longer now that both Rogue and I have somewhat settled down in our civilized lives! Today we got up to Junction Meadow. We got a ride very quickly, within 10 minutes of standing on the side of the road. It was around 7:30 and from 2 guys that were doing the Rae Lakes Loop. We chatted with the ranger & then set off. We fortunately had a crisp morning & there was lots of shade even on the switchbacks. Overall, a hard day; but not horrible, since we got to camp by 4ish. Hot and dry in parts of the canyon & I certainly have no interest in being through it again, especially anytime soon. We had a good dinner and a fire followed by a restful night. I have done this stretch of trail several times now and while parts are scenic I will be reserving it for the no other option category of trips.

The view looking back into Kings Canyon is quite beautiful. It's hot and dry and a challenge to climb out of but the view from above is magnificent.

We had a really nice camp at Junction Meadow. I had never stayed here before and fortunately this time around the bugs weren't too bad.

Day 44- Junction Meadow to Lake Reflection
Today we made the climb to Reflection. Yesterday we did 3,100 FT+ of climbing & today was only 1,900 FT, so not a bad day. We made East Lake by lunch & we made camp by 3. There was a log jam across Bubb’s Creek which meant we didn’t have to ford it. No one camped here yet; whereas at Junction Meadow, a volunteer crew was doing some analysis on vegetation at East Lake. We jumped from some rocks and enjoyed the stupendous views but the water is still quite chilly. The pleasantries stopped there though as I **** up dinner royally. I spilled over half my gumbo out on the ground & then managed to spill more on my shoe later. Needless to say but I almost killed someone. I had to finish my triscuits so that I could at least get some more nutrition. Which, naturally **** me over for the next day since I had no crackers. After that **** we both watched The Edge of Tomorrow, which was a pretty cool movie. Tomorrow, a long & hard day awaits us over Little Joe’s Pass & to Lake South America.

I've been to East Lake three times now and I have to say it's one of the finer lakes in the Sierra.

Likewise with Lake Reflection I've been to multiple times and it is a paradise with an incredible opportunity for cliff jumping!

Day 45- Lake Reflection to Lake South America
Today we climbed up Little Joe’s Pass, which was a **** & a half, given we took the wrong chute up. This of course caused us to do major technical Class 3 with our full packs with 12 days of food. Typical **** that we end up on as usual. I say this joking but honestly I swear half the time Rogue and I end up on some ridiculous crap that we never intend on and we're like... "Oh well, just another day for us in the Sierra". The 12 days of food bit really made this pass the challenge. I'll take technical Class 3 any day over carrying that kind of weight. Nonetheless we made it up that son of a **** & vowed we’ll never return given the grueling climb. It was much later than we hoped for, but we pressed on to Lucy’s Foot Pass in order to climb Ericsson. That pass, to me looked like an even bigger **** & I never intend on doing it. I convinced Rogue to climb the peak & we trudged up the easy slope to the ridge and climbed the fun Class 3 to the top. The view was hazy, but still very worth it. Ericsson is such a prominent peak from the North that it truly is a landmark that stands out and begs to be climbed. The trudge down and to LSA was pretty miserable, since we were totally out of energy. We got there after 7:30 and found a decent camp. Dinner was painfully late, but very satisfying. The night was cold and in the mid 30’s & we had a decent amount of frost & ice in the bucket the following morning.

Looking at the technical Class 3 ridge we managed to end up on while getting to Little Joe's Pass... yes lovely fun times!

Looking down the proper chute from Little Joe's Pass. Does Lake Reflection always look that small.... no, only if just spent half a day trudging up thousands of feet with 12 days of food does it.

Lucy's Foot Pass. Lucy can keep her foot and the damn pass. This looks absolutely wretched.

The really fun Class 3 at the top of Ericsson was short but sweet.

[alpinemike]

Day 46- Climb Stanford
Today, we climbed Stanford. Likely the most technically challenging peak of the entire trip with the exception of North Palisade and Mt. Humphrey's. First we made it up Harrison Pass, which was easy & then climbed the easy slope up to Gregory’s Monument. I certainly have no intention of ever going up or down the Northern side of Harrison. Too steep, sandy, and long for my taste. The view was pretty epic given it was a clear day & no smoke had inundated the Sierra yet. From Gregory's the real **** began and it got very real right away. The initial downclimb off the ridge was some of the sketchiest climbing I’ve ever done. Total Class 4 & not 3. We literally had to hang from the rock over a chasm & lower yourself onto a boulder. And then a difficult Class 4 move over an overhanging boulder. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do it but I did somehow. From there the route was obvious with major technical vertical Class 3 on mostly good rock. Very fun and thoroughly enjoyable. The summit was badass & the view still good. I found a weird pipe bomb register just as we were leaving. Super new...mid 2000’s from some Colorado club, weird no doubt. Anyways the return was spicy Class 3 fun & the crux was difficult but easier than the downclimb. Definitely a much longer day than anticipated but still a success on my 2nd highest peak. [Addendum: This was my second highest peak at the time. Since then I climbed Humphrey's and Middle Palisade on that trip. Later that year I climbed Langley and finally Whitney capping out my elevation barrier at least for a while.]

Looking at Mt Stanford from Gregory's Monument. Really gives you the sense that it is indeed a pinnacle on a serrated ridge.

Climbing to Mt. Stanford involved finding a narrow ledge that dead-ended at this pile of Class 3 blocks. They were quite fun to climb.

Looking North from Mt. Stanford you have a commanding view of everything from the Palisades to the Monarch Divide to Mt. Goddard. Truly a worthy climb.

Looking South the view is equally impressive with the Great Western Divide and Kaweah's and the expansive Upper Kern Basin.

Looking back at Gregory's Monument you can see that the fun just begins when you get there. Somehow there is a way from where Rogue stands to that point and it doesn't involve the gnarly ridge.

Day 47- Climb Caltech
We climbed Caltech today via the South Ridge & it went very smoothly. We managed to climb the unnamed peak which turned out to be called Mt. Torchbearer. From there we followed the ridge. We got back to camp at a good hour and there was a guy on the shore of the lake that we chatted with. There were people camped here at LSA all 3 nights. Tomorrow we would explore a more remote part of the Upper Kern and climb Genevra.

The view of the Great Western Divide from Caltech Peak is otherworldly. It is the finest sub range of the Sierra and truly commands your gaze no matter where you are.

Lake South America is a beautiful lake in my opinion. High (just shy of 12,000 FT, desolate, and with incredible views it does not get much better. Doesn't it look like South America to you?

[alpinemike]

Day 48- Lake South America to Lake 11,560 FT (Below Mt. Genevra)
Today ventured over to an unnamed lake below Mt. Genevra. Easy terrain to get there and we had enough time to climb Mt. Genevra too. It wasn’t nearly as bad as we had thought. The view was good, but unfortunately more smoke from the South has infiltrated the basin. We found a nice grassy area to camp & spent a lazy late afternoon in our tents as clouds built & collapsed over the divide.

I really enjoyed the time we spent in the Upper Kern Basin. It is everything I love about the Sierra. This is looking west at the Great Western Divide and all the magnificent peaks!

Looking into a remote and desolate cirque below Mt. Jordan and Genevra. We would camp at that lake for the next 2 nights. Mt. Jordan is named after the founding president of Stanford University.

Looking into the heart of the Upper Kern. You can see the Kern Canyon stretching down into the foothills.

Looking North from Genevra you can see East Lake and Lake Reflection.

I called the unnamed lake Genevra Lake. It really was an awesome place to spend a couple nights. Truly in the middle of nowhere.

Day 49- Layover
Today was a lazy day. Less clouds built today, which might mean the chance for weather is over again. Today was a layover day filled with bathing & laundry. We decided yesterday to skip Jordan & do Milestone instead because of the shitty sandy route up it. Hopefully we can get Milestone, since it is a very prominent and impressive peak. I read a lot of Greek Philosophy and particularly Plato and that's typically what my layover days are spent doing. Over the course of the past couple years I have managed to read a good majority of Plato's work... time well spent I'd say! Tomorrow we head into Milestone Creek.

[Wandering Daisy]

Thanks for the update! It was interesting to read your account of the upper Kern since I was there this summer. Am looking forward to more.

I have been up Harrison Pass (with 16 days of food and in tennis shoes) and it is not as bad as it looks. I used my ice-axe even though there was no snow or ice. I jammed the ice axe in the dirt and pulled myself up to keep from sliding back down. It is slow and tedious, but before you know it you are up. At the time I did it, I had an injured (bruised) ankle so could not wear boots, so I just put Superfeet insoles in my tennis shoes.

Hope you made it to Milestone Pk. It is a great climb.

[alpinemike]

I had this week all typed about about a month and a half ago but the photo editing is what kills me so I finally got around to that. Maybe if we're all lucky I'll get my act together and finish this whole thing in the next month!

Day 50- Lake 11,560 FT (Below Mt. Genevra) to Lake 11,920 FT (Below Table Mtn.)
Today we made it up Milestone Creek but not without some amusement along the way. We descended from our lake down to the trail with no issues. We had a grand view up Thunder Creek which was gorgeous and an area I hope to visit someday. Casper Lake was truly magnificent and likely the nicest lake in the basin. We met an older guy who was in despair about getting to the Muir Trail via the Upper Kern trails. He lost the trails on both & couldn’t figure out where to go. Needless to say, we gave him the best advice we could given the trails are in bad shape & he would be doing cross-country regardless. He had issues with that, even though the terrain is so easy. Oh well… Hopefully he figured it out. Anyways, we continued along and picked up the Milestone Creek Trail for quite a ways. All the way into the basin we followed it, which was nice. This clearly was a very old trail that has somehow survived the decaded even though it has not been maintained for ages. Very strange clouds built early, but eventually progressed into thunderheads all day. When we took lunch, it looked like rain was on the way. Milestone Creek & Basin truly are a gem. Gorgeous scenery & super easy terrain make for a place I would return to. From there things got interesting. I was under the impression the route up Table started at a different lake than Rogue. Well, we made it up to our lake in good time & found very little camping and certainly no established camping. Pretty good indicator already that we were at the wrong lake. I pushed to go look at the face of Table to make sure it matched the photo of the route. Naturally getting around the lake was a **** in itself. But eventually we got up there & what did we see… Absolutely nothing like the photo, indicating it was the wrong side & we would have to move camp. And that’s exactly what we had to do. Drop altitude, just to gain even more of it back. Oh well, we got to see more of the area and check out a gorgeous lake on the way to ours. When we got here we quickly realized it was the right face and fortunately there were established sites. It was a very epic scene with the walls of Table & Midway above us and a view down to the Whitney region. By evening the clouds did nothing & we had a very pretty sunset.

While there is nothing truly special about a reflection in a lake, this one might be a little different. This lake is not identified by any name nor any elevation on any map.... it as insignificant as they come with respect to human markers especially since no trail leads to it. And the fact that there were no established camp sites here makes me think very few people ever go here... and even fewer get a perfect reflection.

Casper Lake is probably my favorite lake in the entire Upper Kern Basin. And Thunder Creek that is the hanging valley in the background is a special place that I will venture to one of these days.

Entering Milestone Creek was one the most sublime experiences I've ever had. Truly a magical place with a dominant peak that beacons you to climb it!

Ah yes.. our screw up. This was our view of Table Mtn. from what I called Table Mtn. Cirque. Hey, at least it was pretty. Who knows how many people even venture into this super remote cirque...

Can you feel the majesty, the serenity, the beauty, the magic of this place? I could and I can't wait to go back. After thousands and thousands of photos this summer this one is undoubtedly one of my favorites.

Day 51- Climb Table Mountain
Today we had great success on Table Mtn. Got there by 10:30, which is our earliest ascent yet. The route was easy even though Secor claims otherwise…figures. And of course it is the South face & not SE face like he claims...another potential episode of Death by Secor. The squeeze that we had to perform was interesting no doubt. You really did have to squeeze through an opening of rock caused by a large chockstone. The worst part was the smoke which somehow totally inundated the whole range; likely from multiple fires. This caused us not to climb Midway even though we easily could have. The clouds built steadily but amounted to nothing. Hopefully the smoke starts to clear & we get better views as Table’s could have been epic, but way too hazy. Got back down super early & spent a lot more time in the tent. Hopefully not too much more of that as I am getting bored of it. I guess you can only read so much Plato before you get tired of even that. Tomorrow over Milestone Pass into Milestone Bowl & a climb of Milestone!

Table Mtn. truly has a tabletop for a summit! A magnificent view to the South of the Kaweah's and to the East of the Whitney Group.

On a narrow system of ledges and a few loose chutes you make your way up to the top of Table Mtn. The view looking across to Milestone Pass, Milestone Mtn. and beyond was magnificent.

Rogue is pointing down to what is called "The Squeeze" or "Keyhole".

Yes you literally squeeze through that small opening in the rocks. One of the most interesting climbing maneuvers I've ever had to do.

[alpinemike]

Day 52- Lake 11,920 FT (Below Table Mtn.) to Milestone Bowl
We made it up Milestone Pass pretty easily. Even the top section was easy with minimal Class 3. From there we traversed across to the start of the route up Milestone. We managed to find cairns quickly and by lunch (Noon) we were on the summit of the epic Milestone Mtn! The route overall was pretty easy with fairly straightforward Class 3. The view was less smokey but definitely lots of clouds were building and we didn’t dawdle on the summit. Anyways we got down to our packs and had a later lunch. The clouds were seriously building & the Kaweah’s were getting dumped on. So we descended down the pass into pretty Milestone Bowl. The view across to the Kaweah's was magnificent and a perfect setting for the impending storm. Camping was limited to being on some lumpy grass and we settled on it. Not long after setting up we got water and directly after the rain started to fall. Finally, after days of trying to storm we finally got one. The thunder & lightning put on a good show and it rained & hailed for over 2.5 hours. Needless to say we were happy we made camp before the **** got real. After the storm moved out it never really cleared up lending itself to believe we might be in store for some **** that night. Fortunately that never happened, albeit the night was pretty cold.

Climbing up to Milestone Pass was a piece of cake and the looming peak was calling us towards the summit!

The climb up to Milestone was done on a whim and we lucked out in that we found the way easily and without much climbing challenge. This is the backside and the ramp to the top was easy and the climbing fun at the very top.

Getting silly on Milestone's Summit Block. Don't fall... seriously.

Coming off of Milestone Pass after lunch we could see the heavens were in charge that day. The Kaweah's were getting the full might of a summer thunderstorm and soon we would too. Milestone Bowl is directly below and camping was... sparse.

Looking back up to the mighty Milestone Peak and Pass you can see the clouds are ominously building.

Rogue how do you feel about this nonsense?! It's pouring rain and hailing and we need to eat dinner soon! As you can see camping... not so ideal on lumpy grass.

Completely unedited. One of the finest sunset after storm display of colors I've ever witnessed. The heavens never fail to impress. We'd be going over that ridge the following day.

[alpinemike]

Day 53- Milestone Bowl to Nine Lakes Basin
Today was certainly a very real day. We woke to fairly sunny skies but lots of clouds were around, which signified serious weather was likely to come early. We dropped down to the trail quickly & into the Kern-Kaweah Valley. Very beautiful area with stunning views & easy travel. It wasn’t long before we noticed massive plumes rising to the East of the Kaweah’s ridge. Oh yes.. **** would be getting very real today and early. And of course today, we had to cross Pants Pass! Onward we pushed when I saw the first bolt no later than 10:30. So early & already thunderstorms! As we made our way up to the shitty rock the clouds had formed thick all around above us closing us in in their doom. The Kern Ridge was getting heavy rain/hail. We made our way up the pass as quickly as possible to outrun getting soaked. Thunder was booming overhead regularly and I was no doubt a bit worried. We crested the pass at 12:12, a very good pace & the view was surreal looking towards Kaweah Gap & 9 Lakes Basin. I had been looking forward to this view for a long time especially after seeing it in one of sekihiker's reports a long time ago. I was already ready to head to the notch & off the pass when I noticed/heard some buzzing. I thought Oh… **** this is it Rogue is about to get struck by lightning! He was pointing with his trekking pole and his fingers were on the felt section rubbing and creating the buzz. He’s like, Oh, I hear the buzzing & it’s shocking me a little. I immediately started to "bolt" off that spot along the ridgeline to the actual notch of Pants Pass. **** ****, I thought, we could have almost got hit by lightning! The air was so electrically charged there that even a slight rubbing was causing static. I ran across the ridgeline & even I could hear the buzzing I created. I descended the one Class 3 move and started to feel better knowing I was off the ridgeline (the top that is). Rogue soon followed super carefree… Typical of his behavior haha. I asked if he had ever experienced that & nope, it was a first for both of us and I seriously hoped the last. We were now on the “fun” side of Pants Pass where slides abound with lovely loose rock. It was certainly loose as **** but manageable and we seemingly caused nothing major. We took lunch a little ways down. While climbing up the pass we noticed it got very cold and continued to feel colder. Eventually while climbing we thought we noticed some flurries coming down. Well at lunch it was no doubt snowing & something fierce with major wind. A full on **** blizzard on August 22nd; why doesn’t that surprise me. Anyways we continued down Pants without issue amid freezing cold winds to the Upper Lake because we thought we spotted camping. When we got there it had stopped snowing but the wind was fierce and setting up a tent was a real challenge. We obviously did amid a shitty area that had tons of small rock to clear out. At least we could finally take shelter from this cold ass storm. The wind was strong for a while, but no more snow came of it. The view looking towards the Big Arroyo was phenomenal with the Great Western Divide & Black Kaweah super prominent. Black Kaweah had lots of snow on it but it soon melted away. By dinnertime everything was clearing & the wind finally died down. We actually were able to cook outside of our tents unlike the previous day. I had discovered the previous day I had an extra dinner; So I mixed stroganoff & chili & it was epically good. The storm finally ended & we enjoyed a cool evening.

Ah... The Kern-Kaweah River Valley. Such a beautiful and remote and creepy place. I don't know why but it gives me the creeps every time and I've been through it several times now.

Heading up to Pants Pass you get to deal with rock... a lot of it.

Rock salad anyone? The notch is Pants Pass. Notice how ominous and dark the sky is... this is not long before the electrification.

Ah yes the other side of Pants Pass. I had heard all this nastiness. It was loose and it was steep and it was a blizzard but we made it.

Literally snowing when I took this photo. Yeah it's August 22nd and it snows. That's how we do it in the Sierra. But that view though of the Great Western Divide was worth it.

Our lovely freezing ass camp in 9 Lakes Basin. Definitely had to clear away a bunch of rock to make this work. But that view of snow on Black Kaweah is something I'll never forget.

This is known as Piss Your Pants Pass. Damn... I could never guess why...

Looking down into the 9 Lakes Basin and the Big Arroyo from our camp was truly a spectacle. Especially after the harrowing day we had a view like this was well deserved.

[Cross Country]

Almost everyone likes trees, grass, flowers, etc. I would guess it's in our DNA. i always wondered why people like desolate lakes. It seems that most BPers do.