High Sierra Topix

Last year in mid-June, a few days after Tioga Road opened, I made a nine-day trip to Harriet Bench from Tuolumne Meadows.

Spring trips require careful planning. Too high or too early – too much snow. Too low or too late – too many mosquitoes. My past spring trips were shorter, usually four days. On longer trips, it is harder to stay at the ideal elevation range. Snow coverage visible on high-resolution Sentinel satellite images (considering some expected melting) suggested that this route might work well. The weather forecast looked good.

An even more important issue on spring trips can be high water in creeks. On this route, I didn’t know if it would be possible to safely cross the Lyell Fork of the Merced River at the trail crossing. A backup plan was to hike in the valleys north of that river.

Day 1

On the Rafferty Creek Trail, I put on a head net. Closer to Tuolumne Pass, mosquitoes disappeared. A ranger asked to see my permit. Thin sheets of snowmelt water cascaded over flat granite slabs before Vogelsang Lake.



As expected, I got a headache. Altitude sickness on the first day of the first trip of the year. Usually, my first spring trips start earlier and lower.

Snow before Vogelsang Pass was easy to bypass or cross. Soft in the late afternoon.

Vogelsang Lake, Fletcher Peak, and Vogelsang Pass (to enlarge, click, then click again and scroll horizontally):
Looking over the great view of Bernice and Gallison Lakes I saw that my planned route back over the pass to Ireland Lake was feasible as it had almost no snow on the steeper southwest side.

View from near Vogelsang Pass to Gallison Lake and Bernice Lake:
I crossed Lewis Creek without wading by going upstream. The detour was not worth it. At Bernice Lake creek, after a brief search for a dry crossing, I removed my shoes and waded.

As the sun was setting, I found some outcrops with access to water. Camping as low as possible to minimize altitude sickness.

The view from Vogelsang pass, looking toward Gallison Lake, is one of my favorites in the Sierra. Thanks for the memories.

Day 2


I slept poorly. Got up late. Headache.

Waded Florence Creek. After a break at some cascades, I climbed the switchbacks. There were mosquitoes along Lewis Creek, on the switchbacks, and at the next three creek crossings.

I felt very tired. Why? I stopped at a vista point with a tiny creek and ate. After that, I felt much better. I guess I needed some food. Poor sleep and altitude didn’t help.

At the trail crossing, Lyell Fork was too fast and too deep to cross. I went downstream, searching for a crossing, maybe a log. Just above the magnificent cascades, the creek got almost narrow enough to jump across. I didn’t dare, of course.

Cascading Lyell Fork:


I found a spot for my tent with a good view. No mosquitoes, even with no wind. Camping not too high again, as intended.

Day 3

The headache was mostly gone. In the morning, the water level was not noticeably lower. I found a great crossing way upstream. I was very happy about that.

Trail crossing:


Too deep to cross:


Slippery and steep log bridge:


Flat rocks crossing:


For more information see viewtopic.php?p=184210#p184210

I climbed the low ridge west of Harriet Lake. Good views. Unfortunately, Harriet Lake was in a snow bowl, even on the southerly aspects. The ridge was a nice mix of bare granite, snowfields, ponds, and rivulets. I found a place to camp near the top. A good thing about spring camping is that snowmelt water is everywhere, even on ridges. No mosquitoes at all. Yay!

Foerster Creek in a meadow:


On the ridge:
Harriet Lake on the left, Clark Range in the middle, my stuff on the far right:

this is a great idea for an early season trip!

did you consider heading up to 10,217 instead of harriet?
that would avoid crossing lyell fork at all. (on sentinel web, the lake looks snowed in on 6/9/24 and totally thawed out by 6/19.)

Yes. That was an option if I couldn't cross the creek.

Day 4

In the morning, the temperature was in the upper 20s. The water filter was safe from freezing in my tent, under some clothes. After I got up, I was wearing everything, including my quilt. Puddles had a thin layer of ice. Sunshine reached me as I was eating breakfast.

I wandered among the lakes and ridges in the area. The ridges were particularly nice. The lakes varied. One was very good, some were forested, one was snowy (skipped it), and some were nice.

Spring:

'


After the lake labeled WL10217T on the USGS topo map, I had to rush to get to the two nice lakes west of Isberg Peak, one of them WL10005T, and then back to a great camp spot on a ridge I found on the way. The area near those lakes turned out to be very soggy, not enjoyable at snowmelt time.

Soggy:
On the way back, I used the trail most of the way.


I camped near the largest seasonal pond on the ridge at ~10200’. I climbed the nearby rise to watch the sunset and eat my “supper”.

Day 5


Another cold morning. After wandering around the ridge, I descended to the outlet of the mostly frozen lake southwest of the hill labeled 10449T. I saw avalanche debris of trees spilling onto the white lake surface.

Avalanche debris (click to zoom in):
I climbed the ridge southwest of Harriet Lake, followed the top, and descended toward the outlet. I crossed the outlet barefoot. I didn’t look for a dry crossing because, farther downstream, the creek was covered in snow bridges that I didn’t want to cross. There was an endless plateau of suncups north of the lake.

I went up a gully southeast of Foerster Creek to the bench east of Foerster Peak. Even though it was higher, it had less snow.

Snowy Harriet Lake on the left:
I took a peek at the two lakes below Blue Lake Pass.

Blue Lake Pass:
From the ridge fringing the north side of the bench, I overlooked the Lyell Fork headwaters valley.


I camped near the main creek that drains the bench. It was a warm evening.


In the last couple of days, I saw three seasonal springs.

Day 6


In the morning, I enjoyed wandering around the bench for a few hours.





Late in the morning, mosquitoes started appearing after a few bugless days.

I went west, followed the creek valley south to a lake west of the point marked 502-49, then west to the trail. I found a clearly marked trail between the lake and the official trail. I hiked over a ridge and down to the Lyell Fork.

The creek crossing at the trail was still not passable. I scrambled to the easy crossing I had used before.

Mosquitoes swarmed. I applied picaridin cream to my face, and it worked well. Except, I inhaled mosquitoes into my nose twice over a couple of minutes. That made me put on a headnet.

After the crossing, as I climbed the marvelous slabs east of Hutchings Creek, I felt tired. I picked a few juniper berries. Yum. After a refueling stop at the lake at ~10230’ I felt more energy.



Camouflage:

I approached the largest lake labeled WL10505T, planning to camp there. But the high promontory east of the lake looked inviting, promising good views and likely no mosquitoes. I climbed it and camped near the top with no bugs. Snowmelt water was easy to get.

Views near the camp:

Day 7

Around midnight, I woke up to the wind loosening the tent. I hadn’t anchored it very well. WX2InReach, which used to be pretty accurate, had changed the format of the forecast. Overnight wind information was often missing. I had hoped it meant no wind. Apparently, not so. I went out twice to fix up the pitch until it was secure. With all that and the noise, I slept poorly and got up only after sunrise.

In the morning, mosquitoes appeared and gradually increased. Did the wind blow them in from the valley? When I got going, they subsided.

Earlier, I thought I might explore the main part of Hutchings Basin or even go up to the Lyell Fork headwaters valley. Instead, to avoid bugs, I went up the valley that leads to Russel Pass. Leisurely exploring it.





I reached the small twin lakes at ~11150’ and explored the small area west of them. No mosquitoes.

Snowmelt water was flowing everywhere. I enjoyed the “water park”.



Late in the afternoon, as I was going back down toward the promontory, mosquitoes appeared, so I went back up a bit to camp in a sheltered spot.

Day 8


As soon as I left the camp, mosquitoes appeared. I put picaridin cream on my face. The rest of my body was covered.

I headed to the lake labeled W10372T.


Then, down to the trail. At one point, I fell. A few steps later, I noticed blood on my thumb. A minor cut.

I joined the trail, followed it to the junction at Lewis Creek, and went upstream. I didn’t have time for a side trip to Florence Lake. The hot weather limited my speed.

At the Bernice Trail junction, it became clear to me that I didn’t have time to go over the pass to Ireland Lake and find a camping spot before dark. I would have to retrace my steps to the trailhead instead.

I crossed Lewis Creek on a good log crossing before the confluence with the creek from Bernice Lake and went cross-country to the trail. That way, I avoided the two worse creek crossings I had used earlier.

As I looked up ahead, I saw the saddle that’s above Hanging Basket Lake. I decided to camp there. That perked me up. Maybe even climb Fletcher Peak in the morning?

After climbing the switchbacks, I left the trail and started up along the creek. There were too many dense willows near the creek, so instead, I went right through some pine krummholz.

Closer to the top of the saddle, it became clear that the creek didn’t reach nearly as high as the map showed. The pass was sandy, not holding any water. The permanent snowfield was close, but I was above it, so no water was available. I had to go back down a long way to the creek to get water. I used the snowfield at the saddle to wash my hands before handling food.

View north:
Great views. No mosquitoes away from the creek. I pitched the tent in a small area, partly sheltered from the wind by dwarf pines.

Day 9

The wind picked up at night. The tent was secure, but my sleep suffered.

Bernice Lake on the left:
Sunshine hit the camp right at sunrise, with no nearby mountains blocking the sun.


I ate breakfast in a cozy spot in the trees, well sheltered from the wind. I put the rocks that were holding my tent back in their original places.

I didn’t feel like climbing Fletcher Peak anymore. I followed the ridge down to the trail. Snowfields around Fletcher Lake had shrunk a lot since the week before.


Mosquitoes were present on the way down.

Wrap-Up

Overall, a good trip. Maybe a week earlier would have been better timing. I didn’t see anyone for seven days, and I didn’t meet anyone for eight days.

I wonder if there is another good way to access Harriet Bench in the spring.

What a fantastic trip Tomba! Tomorrow I plan to look at the maps to figure out some of the great places seen in your photos. Did you make a map? This is the sort of long trip that begs for a map, but I think I an find most of your route with your clear descriptions. Congratulations on a fine trip. Harlens.