High Sierra Topix

Overview:

For my earliest backpacking trip ever, I decided to head back to an old haunt. Northern Yosemite opens much earlier than the high country, is spectacularly beautiful in its own unique way, is lower in elevation and thus easier for an out-of-shape hiker, and closer to home with a west side entrance. Furthermore, the road to the trailhead at Shingle Springs had been repaired after a two year closure, making the approach considerably easier.

During the trip the weather was spectacular. The nights got down to the low 40s which was cold enough to make me appreciate my set of warm clothing, and the days got into the mid 60s which was pleasant without being hot. I timed the trip well and slipped into the wilderness before the mosquito bloom--there were almost none to be found--just a few on my last day.

The trails were not crowded and I largely had the wilderness to myself, save for a few groups of intrepid kayakers hauling their boats up Kibbie Ridge so they could put in at Lord Meadow and run the spring runoff to Cherry Lake. Every time I make this spring trip I encounter kayakers, and am utterly amazed at their ability to haul such heavy boats and equipment up that trail, crawling over countless deadfall. Apparently the ride out is worth it!

I did encounter one group of hikers at Boundary Lake, but they did not take the trail. They walked up the canyon from Cherry Lake. They said it was an annual pilgrimage for them, and they looked to have different hiking abilities, so I guess that might be a more interesting option than the Kibbie Ridge trail.

The trip was also taken during a severe drought, and this is reflected in the photography. It was a bit too early for flowers, there was little snow left, and thus the landscape was less picturesque than it has been for me on other trips.

Day 1

Having gotten my permit during Covid by email, I drove straight to the trailhead at Shingle Springs, marveling at the high quality of the road, which usually has been very rough. Setting out up the familiar trail it was not long before I noticed a few differences. There was still plenty of dead fall across the trail that had not yet been removed. Drought and fire had thinned out the forest and left the landscape a little more stark and barren in places. But I had no problems getting to the Kibbie Lake intersection and turning left to head up Kibbie Ridge.

I passed the usual watering spots--an intermittent stream at about 6600, but the best and most consistent spot is the outlet stream below the pond at 7268. I was already tiring--this was my first effort to get in shape, and I was not going to push it. I continued to amble down the trail, got a few peeks through opening off the ridge to the south, before I reached Sachse Springs. There I stopped to camp for the night and to acclimate.

The camping area and cabin at Sachse is not visible from the trail, and the old access trail has been completely obliterated by deadfall. But it is not hard to find--the hardest thing is picking your way through the deadfall to get over to the cabin. Once there, some views open up, the shallow stream/spring affords water, and there are ample excellent places to place a tent. This is somewhat better than a purely utilitarian wayside stop. A nearly full moon rose between the trees. That night I snuggled into my brand new Western Mountaineering bag, set up my high/low thermometer, and enjoyed my first night in the wilderness for the season. Day 2

I was not quite sure where I was going this day. At one point I wanted to walk up the south side of Cherry Creek Canyon, perhaps as far as Emigrant Lake. But as I crested Styx Pass and saw the familiar panorama of Lord Meadow, I felt a calling to return to Boundary Lake. So I bypassed Lord Meadow and headed up the use path to Boundary. Having camped at the SW end of Boundary before, opposite the cliffs, I decided to try something different, and hiked out to a large island/peninsula on the northern end of the lake. Whether it was an island or a peninsula probably depend on the time of year. It became my home base for the next two days.

For the rest of the afternoon I enjoyed strolling up and down the easy west side of the lake, occasionally reading a light paperback in the shade of one tree or another. Little did I know when I set up camp what the prime disadvantage would be--that evening a cacophony of frogs erupted, which was a fascinating natural phenomenon at first, but rapidly became a major annoyance and sleep preventor.

Day 3
This day I circumnavigated Boundary and Little Bear Lake. Both lakes were familiar to me--in earlier trip reports you can follow my other meanderings through this territory. But I had never walked around the east side of Boundary Lake. It proved to be something of a challenge for me.

Getting around the northern end of the lake was not difficult--although it becomes obvious that you can't take a shore-side bootpath due to cliffs at the NE corner. But it is fairly simply to walk up the ridgeline to the NE and emerge behind the cliff in a relatively open area. Then it is a matter of picking your way south. Every so often the way is broken by a low cliff line, and it is necessary to explore N and/or S to find a break in it you can scramble up. But with those minor diversions behind me, I was soon able to find my way to point 7816 and get a spectacular view of the lake. Getting from 7816 down to Little Bear Lake, however, proved to be the toughest puzzle to solve that day. I took several different chutes down, and while in each case I could see the bottom, in the first couple of cases I cliffed out without being able to get all the way down. That led to long climbs back up only to repeat the try over again a notch or two over. Ultimately I got within about 10 feet of the bottom and slid down a slab the rest of the way in what was a one-way trip. There must be a better way, but somehow I did not find it.

The flat area to the north of Little Bear was familiar territory--I had previously circumnavigated that lake from the connecting stream. Getting across the woodsy/marshy area to the east of Little Bear is a little tedious, but you soon emerge on open, broken granite that lies between Little Bear and Spotted Fawn. This area is easy to wander, and I took a short diversion to look down at Spotted Fawn before continuing to the outlet of Little Bear--a previous campsite of mine. I was pleased to find the outlet running despite the drought, and Little Bear remains one of my favorite lakes in the region. Heading back to camp at Boundary I went north on the west side of Little Bear. Here again you must head up into the granite and search for a fairly well marked duck route through, since the cliffs go into the water in the NW corner. The route is probably 2 or 3 contours up from the lake, and then it descends to the lovely peninsulas on the western shore of Boundary.

From there it was a pleasant stroll along the lake back to my island hideaway, where I read, cooked, ate, stargazed, and slept..

Day 4

This day I broke camp and headed back down the Kibbie Ridge trail. My plan was to reverse something I had done on a prior trip and cut downhill from the trail to Kibbie Lake, leaving to the east of the ridgetop pond at 7270 and heading SE to the NW corner of Kibbie, right along the NW inlet stream. Well, the plan worked insofar as I "made it." However, since my uphill cross country through this area a few years ago the brush has grown considerably, and the bushwhacking was much, much worse. It was a constant struggle, unpleasant and always in danger of a twisted ankle or an unseen log. In my effort to avoid the worst of the brush I found myself diverted into piles of jackstraw, among the worst I have ever tried to cross. In short, I would not try this cross country route again.

Having made it through, however, I arrived at Kibbie on a glorious sunny, cool afternoon in time to set up in a spectacular camp and enjoy a final night in the wilderness. Kibbie really is one of the prettiest lakes for its elevation and accessibility one is apt to find, and I took full advantage of it. As usual, I was entertained at Kibbie by birds diving and swimming under the water, then popping up after their submarine adventures. Day 5

The hike out from Kibbie is less interesting than ever, sadly, in the wake of the fires that have frequented the region. There was one bend in the trail which jackstraw and brush had obliterated, and which took me a half hour to thrash around. My guess is that the trail was cleared later in the season, but there had been no trail crews through in May! Then back to the car and the drive home, where my mind alternated between thoughts of Little Bear Lake and of hot showers.

That's a lovely area--Boundary Lake is the photo on the home page of our website. Rarely do you see people--perhaps because the lakes have no fish. But the scenery and solitude are memorable. Thanks for posting this.

Glad you had a good trip. It is amazing in brushy terrain, how quickly it can change and get overgrown in a few years. I have done a lot of exploring between Boundary-Spotted Fawn and Inferno Lakes and the route finding is very tricky.

Earplugs work to cancel the frog and people noise. I never go without earplugs (for noise) and a sleep mask (for full moon nights). At first it is a bit concerning with earplugs because of worry about not hearing animals near the tent at night, but then I soon realized I really did not care; a better nights sleep was more important.

Hey Peter, thanks for sharing some wonderful new places with us. We've not explored much of that Yosemite - Cherry Creek boundary, and the lakes look really nice. There must be fish in some of them, we hope. Otherwise how do you eat? Did you have to carry food in your pack?

The photo of your last camp is a great shot, as are the ones of Boundary Lake. That looks like a fine backpacking trip, except for the bushwhacking parts. Cheers, Ian and Lizzie.

Oh, and the moon through the trees shot is another great image!

Harlen wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 4:58 pm There must be fish in some of them, we hope. Otherwise how do you eat? Did you have to carry food in your pack?

These lakes were all cleared of fish about ten years ago to protect the frogs.

balzacom wrote:

These lakes were all cleared of fish about ten years ago to protect the frogs.

Well and good; I can carry food if I have to. Peter, did you lose a lot of weight on this fishless trip? I've heard that in survival situations, you can gnaw the bark off pine trees and eat the cambium.

Harlen, unfortunately you do have to carry real food in your pack since not only are there no fish, dogs are not allowed in the Boundary Lake area. Although low in calories, great scenery fills your soul. You could rappel down to Edyth Lake to pick up a few fish or knock off a few rodents, dig for grubs or eat flowers. But then, just go where dogs are allowed; you then only need dog food- no muss no fuss. I knew a few fellows who ate dog food regularly when I was a poor college student.

Wandering Daisy writes:

Harlen, unfortunately you do have to carry real food in your pack since not only are there no fish, dogs are not allowed in the Boundary Lake area.... or just go where dogs are allowed; you then only need dog food...

and this, you must mean:

Me and Bearzy will survive.

That's some pretty country. Thanks for sharing it with us.