R03/R01 TR: August 2013 Solo Hike to the Whaleback (and Back)

[Mike M.]

Better late then never! Here's a trail report for a leisurely 14 day solo hike I did in August 2013. The primary objective of this hike was to take digital photos of The Whaleback from Glacier Lake, at the head of Cloud Canyon, which offers an unusual and very beautiful perspective looking down at the undulating spine of the Sierra's own Moby Dick. I'd been there several times before, but never with a digital camera.

The trip started at the Kearsarge Pass trailhead in Onion Valley on August 13th. I spent the night before at the Onion Valley campground, where the friendly campground host showed me the last available walk-in camp, hidden from view up above the other camps. A very nice spot.

That evening, after the last of the day hikers cleared out, I was able to claim a primo parking spot very close to the trailhead, which made it easy to get started on the trail early the next morning.

If you catch the first switchbacks early in the morning, it's an easy hike up to Kearsarge Pass even for this old fart. This is a heavily used trail, with many dayhikers, but the pass offers easy access to the high country and is a favorite for many hikers hooking up with the JMT, either heading north to Rae Lakes or south over Forester Pass. The pass sports one of the longest switchbacks in the Sierra.

But the reward for that unsightly ultra long zig is country that looks like this:

I found a very private campsite in the trees to the the very left of this photo, up the hill a bit from the outlet of the middle lake, with a nice view of the lake.

I've been hiking in the Sierra for over 40 years and this was about as dry as I've ever seen it. The water at the first lake was a little sketchy (I'm always a little leery about water sources in heavily used areas like this and don't carry a water filter), so I ended up getting water from the middle lake. It had been a warm, bright and sunny day. I was treated to a nice sunset.

I cowboy camped that night, which is my preference, and woke up to another perfect day.

This day and the next were easy days, giving me time to acclimate for the big climb over Forester Pass. I walked down to Bullfrog Lake . . .

. . . and continued down to the John Muir Trail junction, then down the Vidette switchbacks and up Bubbs Creek to upper Vidette Meadow, where I was treated to an exquisite sunset. Once again, not a cloud in the sky this day.

. . . to be continued

[Mike M.]

Day 2 continued . . .

Day 3 was like a layover day. I hiked just a few miles up Bubbs Creek to the Center Basin junction. Just a little ways beyond this junction is a bearbox and a collection of campsites on a bluff overlooking a bend in the creek, with a nice view down the canyon. I found a secluded campsite away from the bluff and spent the day reading and taking photos both up and down the creek.

[Wandering Daisy]

I hope there is more! Great photos. I wonder if we crossed paths when I was there same time of year.

[Tom_H]

Thanks for the TR. Really enjoyed the photos.

[Mike M.]

Thank you -- more to come . . .

Mike

[Mike M.]

WD wrote:

I wonder if we crossed paths when I was there same time of year.

Possibly. While in Cloud Canyon, I did run into a couple who were hiking down from Glacier Lake, where they had spent the night after climbing Triple Divide Peak. I was headed up there the next day and we briefly talked about the lone usable camping site at Glacier Lake. Was that you?

Mike

[Mike M.]

TR continued . . .

Day 4 brought clouds and changing weather. I woke up to this view:

Perfect hiking weather for the long, beautiful hike up to Forester Pass.

A trail crew was working on the trail on the south side of the pass, preparing to insert a steel girder under the trail to fortify an unstable area near the east side of the summit chute. The girder had been helicoptered in the day before. I talked briefly with Ranger Dena, the Tyndall Creek backcountry ranger, who had dayhiked up to check things out.

This is wide open, gorgeous country -- Forester has always been one of my favorite passes, and it's a good thing, since I would have to hike over it again later in the hike.

A view back to the pass as I headed down toward Tyndall Creek, a storm brewing:

To be continued . . .

[Jason]

Sweet report! Looking forward to more.

[Mike M.]

Thank you Jason -- it's fun to do these, but a lot of work!

Mike

[iHartMK]

Awesome!..