High Sierra Topix

The impetus for this trip was c/o an HST friend who like me tends to avoid crowds, but “makes exceptions for exceptional places”. He claimed this beginning section of the High Sierra Trail was worth it, and if I could make a loop back via Lion Lake, Lonely Lake and Tablelands it could be great route. The idea was for summer. However, being super antsy to get back into thin air, I had a permit booked for June 5th – then things changed.

I was watching the weather and low snow reports like many of us.
I started seeing PCT videos of first hikers getting over the high passes and into Mammoth in early May.
Lots of rocks visible and considerable snow free trails.
Creek crossings were looking very low key v. “normal” and similar to last year.
After reading a TR with fledgling mosquitoes supposedly at lower elevations it got my attention.
Then some legal paperwork needed me here in early June.
I've wanted some low key snow experience for a while so decided I had better just go and get it.
Avalanche danger seemed to be very scant.
Hence my decision to leave 3 weeks earlier than planned.
I figured I could play it by ear once I got up there.

My starting pack weight came in at 35 pounds - with more winter warmth stuff, more gas, 1 ½ pounds of carry water (thank goodness) and trekking poles. This was my first time with poles and I figured they may be on my pack sometime so included them in the weight. Food in the bearcan was good for 8 or even 9 days as my appetite goes through the floor.

Needless to say my trip did not go quite as planned. For starters there were some “equipment failures” – with the biggest one being ME!

I will be 72 in a few months and I can no longer deny the facts. The Ooooomph is just not there like it was. At the hint of an ascending grade I got severe “uphill-itis”. I was pooped in no time. (Ian, how on earth did I manage Tunemah with those 5 X-country passes just last summer???). This despite my daily workouts all winter, etc., etc.
OK, the near 400 mile drive to the TH then hiking in (and reverse on way out) takes a lot out of me but I used to recover in a day or so. Sigh.

On the first night I “popped” a pole join on my BA Copper Spur tent. Human error. I was too tired and did not double check the couplings. It must have been half seated and split the seam when I bent it downwards. Some careful jiggling and lots of tape seemed to fix it.

On the first try of my “new & refurbished” Sawyer Squeeze filter it failed to operate AGAIN! Just like its maiden trip last year. One drip per second from gravity when attached to my Platypus bag. I was pissed, as it took 3 hours to fill my water bottle.
And yes, I had complained to Sawyer a year ago and had to sent it to them (at my expense) for “rectification” via anti hydrophobic wash or something. I wanted a new replacement, but they assured me it was fixed. Harrrumph.
And yes, I tried it at home and it worked OK but not fantastically like their videos.
Any yes, I soaked it 48 hours before the trip and kept it damp.
And no, after life-changing (not for the good) chronic Giardia 25 years ago that trashed my gut permanently I was not going to just drink pure ‘natural’ water up there.
So, the lack of readily available water crimped my trip somewhat.

OK, that gets the introductory preamble out of the way. Now I can get on with the actual trip report…

Day one, with quota free permit, I camped at the no name creek just before (west of) Buck Creek. It was nothing to write home about. A place to collapse in peace as I was the only one there.
A few tame mosquitoes at dusk and dawn. Daytime temperatures had been warm to hot on the trail. Overnight low was 47 degrees.







Day two had me confronting more of the “uphill issue” and I did a short day up to Hamilton Lake giving myself much of the afternoon to rest and hang out in that gorgeous setting.





There were about 8 people at the lake by evening but were thankfully quiet. Asking around a bit 3 guys had gone up to Precipice Lake and one to the Kaweah Gap, but said there was too much snow up there, etc. so came back. Mmmmmmm.
The night was 48 degrees and was not at all cold in the morning. A few misc. mosquitoes but very off their game doing flight trials.

I left for the Gap at 7:45 am as even with my near zero snow experience I knew I needed to be on it before it got slushy. From then on I saw no-one for the next 3 days.
The trail had some interesting bits and I lost it to snow around 9,500 ft. The intuitive route was up more of the exposed rock to the north-east and avoiding the snow bowls at the two lakes. Plus I did not look at the map closely and see where the hidden trail actually went. Hence I ended up a bit higher than needed but it was an easy snow hike over to the Kaweah Gap itself.





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By this time I was getting more very basic snow experience and also use of my new trekking poles in these ‘mixed’ conditions. With ‘mixed’ opinions! However I will leave that sacrilegious subject for another post! In short, I found poles to be about 50/50 useful on the white stuff be it ice or soft snow. Good indeed though for snow probing.



Once over the pass there was no evidence anyone was up there or had been in a while. The snow was easy travelling at the right times (as you snow fundis know well) and I quickly learned what angles, slopes, sun aspects, etc. did what to it. I only post-holed a couple of times later that afternoon wandering around, but it made me fatigued enough to avoid with a flair. There were plenty or rock areas to flip onto as well if the snow got too soft.
I base camped for two nights in the Nine Lakes Basin, and managed to make the tent work and had the filter on drip all the time to give me enough water.




For my part I just day hiked (slowly) and lazed around…except for Thursday night.
It was one of those where the wind picked up and the tent became a flapping banshee trying to take off. All night. Unfortunately I have lots of experience with no sleep and I know for sure I got none that night.
Like an idiot (fatigue makes for poor decision making) when the wind first picked up I remembered to clip the Velcro pole tabs under the fly and pull out the guy lines (never used before)…on the SW windward side only. Why on earth I did not do the opposite side I have no clue. So yep, the wind got way stronger and started flipping around and coming from the opposite NE direction by early morning.
I spent the night holding the poles from bending in on the inside. I was too afraid that if I got out of the tent the aerodynamics of it would change the moment I unzipped a door and it would take off. Also without my weight inside holding it down.
There were still gusts in the morning so I finally did a proper job of it then lay down to rest in peace. Somehow the taped pole fix held which was a miracle.



I knew my site was exposed, but there was not too much option up there. I knew Thursday might get a bit windy further north c/o the forecast before leaving home, but that night was an ‘original’ for me. Lessons learned.
I also figured that the Kaweah Gap itself acts as a kind of wind tunnel as when I got closer to it later doing day hikes the wind seemed to increase.

With no sleep and the water issue my plans to go over to Lion Lake did not materialize. Also when Iooked at the two Lion Rock Passes, I just got exhausted. Doable from what I could see, but I just did not have the juice. I would need some speed for the snow time window and sureness of footing. I had neither. Too unsafe and passed on that idea.



The next night was calm but colder, with a minimum temperature of 27 degrees. The snow was really icy but with all the “prickles” very easy to walk on (with no poles).
My options for the day were to head down the Big Arroyo and maybe to the Little Five Lakes area, though those lakes would likely be just as frozen as those here. Hence with the water hassle and my still punky legs for any slopes I decided to head back. This time via the Precipice Lake side of the Gap. Needless to say, the late morning light was intense but I had to try my shot at that ultra-photographed rock face.




I hung out for an hour down at Hamilton Lake. Filtered some water with a borrowed Sawyer Squeeze and filled my bottles in 2 minutes flat! The guy said it has always worked like that and needs no special tricks. Harrumph.
Watched the slow influx of weekenders and tried to imagine what this place must be like in peak summer! Golly, must be a circus.

For my last night I made it to Mehrten Creek as needed other campers to borrow a filter from. I was pretty darn pooped by the time I reached there at 7:00 pm but did feel like my “hikers legs” were finally kicking in a little bit. Well, until I slipped on pine needles and dunked myself in the stream with the borrowed Katadyn filter! Fatigue and errors. A lockstep relationship.
No mosquitoes for some reason at dusk or dawn despite lower elevation. However, a lot more people as I got on the trail and over Panther Gap to Wolverton.

Some final tidbits:

Stream crossings were not an issue and water levels are clearly well below what should be expected for this time of year.
Daytime temperatures were warm and almost hot in the sun.
I saw quite a lot of wildlife and birds.
Even got howled at by a coyote at midday.
A lot of foreigners are enjoying the parks. Met really nice hikers from Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, France, Germany, and more.
The main parking lot was by no means empty at Wolverton midweek and the Giant Forest Museum area was packed.

I certainly learned more about “snow and ice”.
I lost the small winter fat ring around my gut.
I figured out how to reduce my pack weight by even more next time.
I sated that first need to get into the hills out of my blood.
I sure missed my intrepid hiking buddy daughter.

Heading home on crammed freeways at 80 mph (except when they jam up and go to a crawl) is rather jarring after a few days in thin air. Thank goodness one can still get away from it all though!

Best ~ Michaelzim

I enjoyed this report, put a smile on my face

Thanks for the TR! I am looking at doing the complete HST starting June 5th--the snow monitors show Precipice/Kaweah Gap/Big Arroyo as holding the most snow. So it looks like it could be doable? How long until Precipice melts out? Any guesses from the more experienced?

Hamilton Lake and Nine Lakes Basin are great early season trips, although in normal years "early" is late June or to early July. I had thought of going down there before the quotas too effect, but for me it is a long drive, and the price of gas was an issue. The trail from Crescent Meadow to Hamilton Lake is like a roller coaster! I think there is about 3000 feet gain. As for trekking poles, their real advantage for me is taking weight off my knees when going downhill. They also take stress of legs going uphill, if used properly. I encourage you to continue to use them; I resisted for years, but finally saw the light.

Did you see any evidence of last year's fires?

Michael -
Looks like you had a nice adventure in a beautiful “classroom” for sharpening your snow skills. Did you manage to do a bit of star-gazing on your non-windy night in NLB ? I did this trip with a friend as part of a loop over Blackrock Pass in Aug 2017; we experienced snow, but not as much as what is shown in your photos. Thank you for your report !

Nice report! Sounds like you had a great "learning experience" in addition to enjoying the mountains. I'm shocked by how little snow you encountered in May. This really is a dry year.

You are right that Hamilton Lakes is crowded in mid-summer. I was there mid-week in July 2018 and it seems like every possible spot had a tent. However, it is a spectacular setting.

Did you spend any time in the Giant Sequoia groves? One of things I really liked about my Hamilton Lakes trip was leaving the HST about a mile before the trailhead on the way back and looping around through the Giant Forest to admire those really amazing trees.

-Phil

Gorgeous! The flower is known as "five spot" - Nemophila maculata. That King snake is spectacular. Thanks for the good info, I can't wait to get out there.

How were the mosquitoes? I'll be at Tamarack this weekend.

I love that area, I love your writing and your pictures. You are an inspiration! Now I will feel truly ashamed when I, only 63, get "uphill-itus."