R04/R03 TR: Bear Lakes and more (5/27-6/6) 2021

[cgundersen]

TR Bear Lakes Basin and more (5/27-6/6)

Kudos to the folk who managed wilderness trips in the strange days of 2020; my wife and I were among those stymied by the pandemic and then the fires. This year we narrowed down our list of trips to 3 candidates and ultimately went for Bear Lakes basin with a finishing leg in the East Pinnacles basin. Let’s see how that worked out. I’m going to frame this as a Q and A (where I handle both hats). I’ll then append a bunch of photos to illustrate the text.

Q:You scheduled this trip for late May; isn’t that a bit risky for late storms, high creeks, etc.? A: Well, after getting shafted last year, we wanted to make sure we got into the Sierra. And, we’ve historically enjoyed early season trips. We’re pretty comfortable with snow and this year was a very low snow year as many of the Sierra webcams showed. The real question was whether we’d beat the bug bloom, or whether it would beat us.

Q: So, how were the conditions? A: Spectacular. We had some of the best weather of any backpacking trip we’ve been on (since the early 1970s). The snow was melting fast and runoff was everywhere which makes it easy to camp anywhere. So, whenever we got to a particularly scenic spot, the debate was whether it was time to call it quits. After all, we’d packed food for 11 days and it’s not that hard to get into Bear Lakes basin. Plus, there was no sign of bugs and after seeing 4 climbers and 2 backpackers on day 1, the tally fell to zero for the next 9 days. Talk about tranquility! Just about every night provided an amazing light show topped by a diaphanous rainbow above Feather Peak that accompanied the evening’s alpenglow. Yes, the flower bloom was just beginning, so it will be in synch with the bugs!

Q: You really have not outlined the route; where’d you go? A: The original plan was to head over Pine Creek pass and work our way to Merriam before using Feather Pass to access the Bear Lakes. Instead of Feather, we hopped the ridge to Den Lake a bit south of Feather (directly above La Salle Lake). Vee Lake was high on our list, because we finally figured out that camping on the peninsula yields jaw-dropping views of Seven Gables. Then the idea was to enter East Pinnacles basin via Gemini Pass (which we’d done about 5 years ago and we wanted to return). But for several reasons (mostly that we were post-holing in the snow and the eastern horizon looked sketchy with a storm brewing), we backed off from Gemini and found a great spot to camp above Little Bear Lake. At that point we debated whether to go for White Bear pass, Granite Bear pass or back toward our entry route via Feather. In the end we chose to get back to Pine Creek pass via Feather and then Roy-Mer col. Two guys were climbing Merriam Peak while we were getting over Roy-Mer, but we only heard them: no visuals. Our last night was spent on the vast Royce plateau above Pine Creek pass with dramatic lighting on Mt. Humphries.

Q. You mentioned the rainbow; were there other highlights? A: Um, after a year of covid-19, the whole experience was a highlight. But there were other beguiling elements. For instance, for reasons we could not fathom, it had been more than 2 decades since we’d been to Merriam. It’s both gorgeous and carpeted with excellent campsites, so it’s wonderful that it shows little sign of disturbance beyond the well-worn lakeside path. Also, the frog population was going bonkers in the ponds dotting the approach to Merriam. And, returning to Vee was as rewarding as we’d expected, because the looming wings of Seven Gables look on the verge of swooping down to greet you. But by far the most memorable segment was a bizarre manifestation on our first night at Merriam. It was warmer than expected (I sleep out, while my wife gets the tent) and I was having trouble getting to sleep. So, while looking for shooting stars, I got a bonanza instead. For several minutes I watched as a stream of orbs (maybe twice the brightness of the brightest stars) emanated from a point very close to the “pouring” star of the Big Dipper. These orbs propagated due south until they reached a point where they vanished from sight. I tried waking my wife, but she was out cold and I did not want to disturb her. But, since she carries the camera, we did not record the event. Instead I watched as maybe 40, 50, 60 orbs formed a silent, linear procession across the night sky before blinking out. For the next several days we pondered explanations (no, we had no hallucinogens; these were not retinal after-images, etc), and settled on two possibilities: the US Space Force is up to some monkey business; or it was a deployment of low-Earth orbit satellites. I’m leaning toward the later, but I still have not gotten the smoking gun proof. Regardless, it was a stunning display. Beyond that, the whole Bear Lakes basin remains a delightful area and we banged around there for several days before making our way back to “civilization”.

Time to let the photos tell the rest of the story……..

[astrogerly]

Stunning photos and it sounds like the perfect trip!! Glad the stars aligned for it all to work out! I have to keep the Vee Lake peninsula camping idea in mind for our next visit.

[sekihiker]

Awesome photos of a great area. Enjoyed the Q/A format, too.

[grampy]

Cameron - this certainly looked like a great trip, and your photos are excellent, especially the one of Feather Peak.
The “string of orbs” was almost certainly a cargo of sixty Starlink satellites, not long after deployment from a Falcon 9 rocket that launched May 26.
Thanks for posting !

[Harlen]

Hey Cameron and Joy, Great trip!

We did overlap with you, and Frank saw those same strange, linear lights. He hoped it was "a flotilla of Extraterrestrials on their way to Washington D.C. to sort us out, tell us to get our Climate changing act together." He researched it when we came out, and found the same as grampy did, that it is this weird "Starlink" thing.

You make us ever more anxious to get in here-- we are headed in the same direction in a week. Can you tell exactly where you found the frogs; we are very keen to see them too. Was this who you saw Cameron, Joy? I met up with these "Tree Frogs, now "Chorus Frogs" in the French Canyon area,? or somewhere around Merriam Lake:

Thanks for another great Trip Report... you two sure get into some interesting places. Cheers, Ian and Lizzie.

[cgundersen]

Hi folks,
Thanks for the heads up re:starlink. My internet research had me leaning in the same direction. It was a celestial delight, even if it was not those hoped-for aliens come to rescue us from wherever we're headed!
As for the frogs, I spent several hours trying to catch sight of them. As soon as I'd approach a pond, their incessant croaking ceased. I could sit still for 20 minutes and a brave soul across the pond might start vocalizing, but as soon as I took one step for a better view, they'd shut up. Maybe this is a more-shy brand or maybe mating season inspires greater caution? Anyway, these frogs were present in every pond in the meadows leading up to Merriam as well as the ponds closer to the lake. They were at the ponds above Merriam, too, and we heard a few in Bear Lake basin, so they are spreading. No sign of eggs and it was certainly early for tadpoles. Good luck catching them out and about!
Cheers, Cameron

[Matthewkphx]

Wonderful trip report. Thank you Cameron!

I think the Q/A format is great!

[sekihiker]

Frogs

Ian -
That first frog photo is a work of art. The frog's personality seems to be expressed by his choice of location. That water/ice is amazing. The frog must have antifreeze for blood.
A print on glossy photo paper looks as good as the image on the computer screen.
Thanks for posting.

[LMBSGV]

Beautiful photos. I also enjoyed the Q&A format. I wondered about “Feather-lite” pass when I did Feather Pass. To me, it looked easier than Feather Pass, but since I usually get into trouble when I don’t follow the more established route, I went over Feather. Merriam Lake really is special. Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip..

[cgundersen]

Hi Laurence,
Your post on Feather pass in the Xc section is wonderful and I'm certain you'd appreciate the economy of Feather-light. Personally, I see no need ever to do Feather again.......well, unless I'm looking for the challenge. And, how often does that happen? OK, last trip excluded.....

BTW, as we were heading off the Feather ridge, there was a cute message in medium-sized rocks "Love Josiah" adorning a big slab of granite. Much more creative than cairns.......
Cameron