Kearsarge Pass, Mt. Gould & Onion Valley Bears Gone Wild

[Lewis]

Got a late start on Friday so NormaR and I met up at the "Ore Bin Inn" off of Mazourka Canyon Road, (truely a "Five Star" Inn) at about 12 midnight.

We ended staying up till about 3AM talking, so come Sat. morning we were naturally ready and willing to hit the trail to Mt. Gould (13,000) with about 4 hours of sleep and fully acclimated to a altitude of 4000 ft.

Come morning we were off to Onion Valley where we were able to score the only open camp spot in the campground.


Heading up the Kearsarge Trail. (actually dragging our asses)


We met some fishermen on the trail looking for Heart Lake, What a great time to pratice map reading and using GPS waypoints. So Norma whipped out her GPS and showed them where we were and how to get to Heart Lake.


A little bit of boulder scambling near the top of Mt. Gould was welcomed after climbing up that loose scree stuff.


Getting near the peak. What the Hell do you mean by "False Peak"?


Hey Norma, I think a thunder storm is rolling in, that's lightning down over Whitney


Mt. Gould Peak, Ok wait a minute ! There aint no way in Hell Your're getting my ass up that ! NO WAY !


So I'm standing there taking off my pack as Norma heads up first.


On Mt. Gould Peak....Dear Diary, I just hiked up Mt. Gould with the hottest stud-muffin guy.......


Hey Norma we better get our butts off this mountian, we are surounded by thunderstorms !


Looks like it's raining back at the campground


Almost back at camp, The fishermen we met earlier on the trail promised to save us some fresh fish for dinner. As we approached camp, Norma sounded like a zombie on the trail repeating "food", "food", "food".

Well when we got back to the campground, we found the fishermen, and they didnt do so well catching fish, so they made us a steak dinner complete with baked potatos and corn on the cobb.
We supplied a couple of bottles of red wine

Come morning Norma told me we had a bear visit our camp site at around 4 in the morning, she said she tried to wake me but I wouldnt get up...........I wonder why?


The next morning we found out that the bears had wild night at the trail head parking lot.









Our plan for Sunday was to hike Kearsarge Peak, but after looking over the cars at the trail head, it started pouring rain, so Kearsarge will have to wait till another time.

~Lewis

[Trekker]

Lewis, great travelogue-quite humorous, in fact! Some nice pics too; I can tell they were lovingly taken! And what's up with the bears there? They didn't get into your wine stash, did they? That would not be a happy ending to a trip.

[Baffman]

So what were they after in the car? Some yummy smelling or looking item?

What the heck is the "Ore Bin Inn"? Did they change the name of a local motel or do I just not get it?!?!

Baffman

[tomcat_rc]

great job getting up to the summit - you may get used to those "airy views" yet

[Snow Nymph]

congratulations on getting up to the summit! With practice it'll come easier. We'll get you up Pyramid.

[CinnamonGirl]

Lewis,
Funny Tee Hee TR! But where are the pictures of you??? Especially the one on the summit!

HE MADE IT!

That was a great day and thanks for the GPS class.

CG

[copeg]

Looks like a fantastic time, thanks for the TR and photos!

[Lucrativ]

Nice post indeed . I dig those sleeves you wear.

[TonyC]

Cool report and pics...I thought of scampering up Gould from Kearsarge Pass, but didn't want to tire myself out too much and didn't know if it was a tricky route. Now that I know it is straightforward, I'll surely try it the next time I'm there.

[madeintahoe]

Lewis...Very beautiful pictures! What is the story about your last picture? The women and the black Tacoma? Why are people leaving food in their cars? the bear activity is worse this year for sure.