I headed down to Independence with my two coworkers last weekend for a 3 night trip over Kearsarge Pass towards Center Basin. We camped at Onion Valley the night before the hike. When we picked up our permit in Lone Pine the Ranger told us Onion Valley campground was closed. We headed up there anyways to find somewhere to camp and to our surprise the campground gates were open. The water spigots hadn't been turned on yet but that was fine by us.
We hit the trail around 8:45am. We made it over the pass and down to Kearsarge Lakes where we stayed for the night. We were really eager to do some fishing during our trip. That coupled with the fact that I'm pretty out of shape from the long winter made it a perfect excuse for a short day on the trail. We caught a bunch of fish and relaxed under the stars. There were a couple bears around the lake checking out all the campsites. Looked like an adult and a yearling. The skeeters weren't too bad. They came out at dawn and dusk but were manageable with a little DEET.
- Kearsarge Lake from our campsite
- Blurry shot of the yearling below our campsite
The next day we headed to Center Basin. Skeeters were bad between the Charlette Lake junction down to Vidette Meadow along the JMT. We mistakenly walked past the rock cairn that marked the old trail to Center Basin. I looked at my "Topo Maps" app (which actually shows the old trail) and realized we only past it by a half mile, so we just motored cross country up the hill for a very short distance until we intersected the trail. Center Basin was really pretty. Golden bear lake was a nice place to camp. Didn't do too much fishing. Just sight seeing and more relaxing. Center Basin was pretty buggy. The skeeters were buzzing around during the day and got pretty bad at night but the awesome scenery made it worth it.
- Panorama featuring Center Peak
- Really cool thin strip of Meadow that extends out into Gloden Bear Lake
We hiked back towards Kearsarge Pass on the third day and stayed another night at Kearsarge Lakes. More fishing, more relaxing. All and all, it was a great way to spend an extended weekend.
- Panorama of Bullfrog Lake
Also, The skeeters seem like they are just about to spike around 10-11k. Can't wait to get back out in September for my Circle of Solitude adventure!
