The itinerary was to head over Pine Creek Pass on the second day, and camp by one of the lower lakes on the south side of French Canyon, either L Lake, or Moon, or Elba. We narrowed the many options for entering Bear Basin to the route over Feather Pass from the Mirriam - LaSalle Lakes Basin. We would spend a couple days there fishing and exploring in Bear Basin, and then exit via Dancing Bear and Italy Pass, and return down through Granite Park. That's a sketch of our route; we needed to limit the length since two of our party had to leave and be back home on the 7th day. So the remote area of West Pinnacles Creek was cut out, and so was White Bear Pass, and the nice long walk around Italy Lake. Dancing Bear-Italy Pass is a very straightforward path that I knew we could all make. This is one of the easiest routes in and out of Bear Basin, though cgunderson will make a case for his West Feather, or "Feather Light Pass" in lieu of Feather Pass, and he's right. I considered taking that easier pass, but then decided that the view directly up at the jagged ridge of Feather Peak was worth the trouble. From a camp down by Vee Lake, one gazes up at Feather Peak in the golden afternoon light. It is a beautiful sight, like a Cheyenne Chief's headdress, and so I wanted my friends to see it up close so that later on, the sunset views of it would be more intimate. We all got to see that fine mountain in wonderful light as we passed under it. Here's what it looked like on Feather pass:
Our goal was to take this first trip easy, and instead of the ever more popular, "farther and faster" MO, we would aspire to just go slow. With three avid ornithologists, and 3 simple bird-lovers, nearly every feathery creature was stopped for. Amazing to Lizzie and me, that the slightest note was immediately identified by species, and then whether it was a song, or call, or distress signal, or whether the bird wanted a beer. Lizzie is a fast study on bird calls and songs, but I need to work on it. Certain favorites stick in my mind, and ones with catchy mnemonics, like the Olive-sided flycatcher's: "Quick three beers!" Lizzie and I at least do our part in locating the feathery friends, and by adding our own small expertise in the green and rocky things. Our friends are equally interested in all animals, insects, plant life, and the rocks too, so all we could manage was a bit over 5 miles per day, though we spent 8-9 hours on or off the trail. There was also a lot of swimming-- both people and dogs. It was a very pleasant trip for a bunch of aging naturalists.
Let's return to the beginning of our trip, from the Pine Creek TH.
The first few miles of this trail are by far the hardest. You walk a steep old converted mining road, and much of the surface is composed of maddeningly unstable, egg to fist-sized loose rock. Going up slow is okay, but racing back down toward pizza and beer proved disastrous for me. Upon our return, I developed bursitis in one hip and am currently reduced to curses, crutches and drugs.
Right out of the gate we saw amazing birds: Green-tailed towhees and Western tanagers, and later we also met Mountain bluebirds in the lovely lower canyon of Pine Creek. Also, some of our favorite flowers were in full bloom-- Mariposa lily, Columbine, Larkspur, Leopard Lily, Pink paintbrush, and even Opuntia cactus was blooming:
