R04 TR: Aidan's epic hot spring loop! Aug 2021

[AidanDawn2000]

Finally pulled off the trip I had been thinking about all summer!
A trip that combined, high altitude rock/lake landscapes with multiple hot springs, a dash of off trail excitement, and all of it in a nice easy loop format package.

Day 1 -- Drive from Santa Cruz to camp at Mono Hot springs
Miles: ~ 220

Our resolve was tested early when a faulty radiator cap resulted in overheating and unfortunately a steady degridation of head gasket integrity.
We where eventually able to limp all that long slow way along Kaiser Road to our first nights camp at Mono and begin acclimating.

(the crew from left to right: Myself, Sydney, Alex, Mitch)

It was the first time to Mono for everyone save myself and despite the car challenges spirits were high, with the general consensus being that this place alone had been worth the drive.

Day 2 -- Packs on, VVR to upper Graveyard Lake
Miles ~8.2, Elv: +2,690 -212

I knew this was going to be maybe the hardest day of the whole trip with a substantial elevation gain, only partially acclimated bodies, and bear cans that felt heavy as dumb bells. A more abrupt introduction to Alex and Mitch's first ever backpacking trip than I would have liked but we got kept pushing and made it to upper Graveyard Lake in around 6 hours. The beginning of Goodale Pass Trail is, at the moment, hard to recommend. Hot and sandy, the trail has painful sections of accent that are poorly built and go straight up the grade, all while passing through the chard ghost of a forrest.

(the final *brutal* push from Goodale trial up to Graveyard)

Day 3 -- XC, Upper Graveyard to Peter Pande
Miles ~2.1, Elv: +480 -730

It was the first time for all of us experiencing a lake this high and we could not stop talking about how impressive the view was and surprise that we had the entire area to ourselves.

the fish it seemed were all small but also very hungry for spinners. Well, we where hungry too

[AidanDawn2000]

I had originally planned to take the saddle to the left of silver fox pass and shoot for Anne Lake but we took too high of a line and boxed ourselves out of that direction.

Strong Verizon LTE at the top of Silver Fox Pass let us FaceTime our parents and reassure them that, despite there expectations we were all still alive.


It was everyone’s first real bit of XC and while I loved getting my mountain goat on and bouncing from rock to rock, the rest were happy only when looking back up after successfully negotiating the wall of talles. Either way, the meadow at the bottom was absolutely beautiful.

(I had my doubts as to the legality of this camp so close to the water but the rest of the group could not resist the setting)


Day 4 -- Morning Fishing and the long decent to Iva Bell
Miles ~11.1, Elv: +1,292 -3,558

No sign of fish at our (outlet) end of Peter Pande so Mitch and I got up before the girls in search of breakfast. Because I had originally planned on camping at Anne Lake I wanted to see that, and since I had read on HST that Olive Lake had some of the best fishing around we hit both.

(Anne lake was definitely a beauty and the fish appeared to be slightly larger than those at upper Graveyard)

(Did not quite expect to find ourselves this high above Olive)

(looking down on Olive)

(Olive lived up to its reputation and Mitch's FIRST EVER FISH was on the hook nearly as soon as it hit the water. The fish were also substantially bigger at Olive than anywhere else on the trip)

(Fresh trout cooked in costco bacon bits and smoky seasoning was mouth watering!)

[AidanDawn2000]

We set a personal record pace of 2.5mph on the long downward grade to Iva bell only slowing to bushwhack our way off trail to cut the corner from Minnow Creek Trail to the upper area of Iva bell so as not to lose any elevation unnecessarily.

(unfortunately a stuck valve pin on one canister and a leak on another left us cooking our mac n cheese the old fashioned way)

Day 5 -- 0 day at Iva Bell
Miles 0, Elv: +0 -0

WOW!! we thought Mono was an amazing place but Iva Bell made us all rethink what the ultimate hot spring experience could be!
I can't believe it took me this long to visit this place and I also can't believe the rest of the global population had better things to do than be there as well.

(Advanced backcountry engineering)

(Come on Big Agnes, please sponsor me!)

Despite it being a Saturday there were very few groups at Iva Bell and with so many widely spread different pools, the soaking experience was nothing less than perfect.

Day 6 -- The Big Push, Iva Bell to Silver Pass Lakes
Miles 11.5, Elv: +3,636 -901

Fresh off of two days of soaking in hot water we were as prepared as we would ever be to tackle our biggest milage and elevation day of the trip so we put the thickening smoke at our backs and headed for higher ground.
Fish Creek surprised us with beautiful waterfalls and slides and we wished we had had more time to spend at them but we were racing daylight and could not stop much.

(oh alpin glow we love you!)

The last 3 miles up the JMT towards Silver Pass were brutal but as the sky and peaks glowed gold we made it to camp at Chief Lake.

[AidanDawn2000]

Chief might just have been our favorite lake of the trip. The fishing was incredibly fast although predictably small considering the 10,600 elevation. We landed 7 fish in 10 casts and kept the 3 best.

(am I right in saying that despite the golden color this is a brookie?)

(Using the last of our reserve gas tank to cook dinner. Notice trout steaks marinating in the small pan)

Day 7 -- Quick jaunt over Silver Pass
Miles 2.5, Elv: +615 -725

Basically a rest day, doing just enough milage to take the edge off the next day. Seeing JMT hikers every 2 minute made a change from the complete isolation we experienced around Graveyard and Minnow Creek.

(I love how the grass grows in these rings)

(Syd combining fishing and bathing into a single highly efficient morning activity)

(Top of Silver Pass)

Day 8 -- Back to the car and VVR
Miles 11.4, Elv: +847 -3,407

(Unfortunately the poor little Mazda continued to take a beating on this trip and had been backed into...thanks for leaving your number J!, no hard feelings!)

(VVR amazed us with an awesome vibe and facilities which clearly had been perfectly adapted to fit long distance hikers every desire. After talking awestruck with a woman who had recently run the entire JMT in 5.5 days we tucked into delicious and massive plates of dinner...I can not recommend the pork and caramelized apples highly enough)


Thanks again to this board for helping enormously in planning this trip and thanks to my dad for rescuing us from Shaver Lake (as far as we made it home before having to abandon the mazda at a tow service there)
I am doing my best to follow best practices but if we in any way violated those or other regulations please let me know for the future!

[Lumbergh21]

Thanks for the trip report, and sorry about the rough trip to and from the trail. Big thumbs up for not allowing it to ruin the hike itself. That area is beautiful, and your trip was pretty epic.

As far as LNT, I think you already know that the spot at the end of Day 3 was way to close to the lake. It also looked like you may have set up your tents on grass a couple of times. You should always look for a flat, durable surface so you do as little damage as possible to the fragile alpine plants (plus a flat surface, even a slab of granite, is more comfortable than a lumpy one). It looks like you made some illegal fires, but for a good reason not just entertainment. You needed them for cooking, and I think that's fine so long as you put them out properly. I found a smoldering fire earlier this year and have found many in the past. Seeing all of the wild fires the past few years, it really boils my blood when I find a fire still smoldering in an empty camp. You need to drown it in water, stir it, and feel just to make sure there's no heat coming off it from any still active embers (I'm pretty sure this is covered in the video you watch before getting your fire permit).

I hope things go even better for your next epic trip.

p.s. I'm planning to start a hike on Wednesday that is going to include a stop at VVR. Glad to hear that the food is still good like it has been in the past

[Wandering Daisy]

The concept of LNT is that when you leave your campsite, it looks like (and has the impact of) nobody had been there. I disagree that camping on grass is always bad. Early season or when grass is fresh, yes. Late season camping on hardy stiff grass by on person, on night leaves little impact; similar to a deer bedding down at night. The impact is from constant walking to and from the tent in hiking shoes. There are ways to mitigate this. Do a little "landscaping" to get the site back to natural, such as replace all rocks you moved to their original place. As for close to lakeshores, yes, sometimes I do this if that is all that is available. When doing this, do all activity that could create pollution runoff farther from shore. Just saying the LNT concept is more valid than specific "rules". Large groups that camp in one area more than one night need to be much more careful. I am not big on "rules". Once you really understand your impact, you can use good judgement in each different situation. Established dirt surface campsites can also become environmental sores when overused. I am really big on avoiding water pollution. DO NOT use soap! And double rinse your backpack clothing at home when washing so residual soap on the clothing does not get into streams if you rinse an item. Be aware of surfaces that directly drain into streams and lakes (such as do not spit toothpaste where the next rain will wash it into the lake). Anyway, you get the idea.

It is always nice to see a trip where young folks are having fun. My solo trips do get a bit lonely. Looks like you all had a wonderful time.

[Shawn]

Wow, this sure gets a triple A rating -

Awesome trip, Awesome report, Awesome photos !

Oh, that Mazda deserves a rest.

[giantbrookie]

What a great combination of joys of the backcountry from hot springs to comforts of camp to fishing. And with some off trail backpacking built in, too. Very nice.

[Harlen]

Wandering Daisy wrote:

The concept of LNT is that when you leave your campsite, it looks like (and has the impact of) nobody had been there. I disagree that camping on grass is always bad. Early season or when grass is fresh, yes. Late season camping on hardy stiff grass by on person, on night leaves little impact; similar to a deer bedding down at night. The impact is from constant walking to and from the tent in hiking shoes. There are ways to mitigate this. Do a little "landscaping" to get the site back to natural, such as replace all rocks you moved to their original place. As for close to lakeshores, yes, sometimes I do this if that is all that is available. When doing this, do all activity that could create pollution runoff farther from shore. Just saying the LNT concept is more valid than specific "rules". Large groups that camp in one area more than one night need to be much more careful. I am not big on "rules". Once you really understand your impact, you can use good judgement in each different situation. Established dirt surface campsites can also become environmental sores when overused. I am really big on avoiding water pollution. DO NOT use soap! And double rinse your backpack clothing at home when washing so residual soap on the clothing does not get into streams if you rinse an item. Be aware of surfaces that directly drain into streams and lakes (such as do not spit toothpaste where the next rain will wash it into the lake). Anyway, you get the idea.

I'll just X2 all she said Aidan. We only differ in the need to clean and wash oneself and clothes. I submit to the bare minimum, ie., feet and socks, while WD is in the water daily bathing and washing things, and otherwise misusing time one could spend fishing, wandering, or gazing about. I'm kidding of course, but winter travels have proven to me that the body can self clean, and this works especially well when no one else is anywhere near you.

It is always nice to see a trip where young folks are having fun

I too think it is heartening to see young folks like you-all getting out there, having a blast, and showing concern about inevitable impacts. Most of us old folk have memories of hideous blunders in the wilderness-- first that comes to mind will send Nancy (WD) around the bend, it was a couple in a hot spring, shampooing their hair, and entire bodies-- Oh well.

Congratulations on another fine trip-- where next Aidan?

[tahoefoothills]

This trip report made me smile. It looks like everyone enjoyed it from start to finish. It looks like the only downer was the damage to the car.