11-16, August 2008

Sierra Trip 2008

Monday 11 August 2008 – We met at 7:00am at the Scout Room.  There were 14 of us on the trip but not all were meeting.  Rather, we were in several groups aimed at meeting in Bishop CA before going up into the mountains.  Meeting at the scout room were Clyde, Mike and I, Tim and Edward, Nick, John, and Tim’s friend Dave.  Virgil and his sons Anders and Erik, as well as Greg and Kieran were to meet us in Bishop.  Virgil and sons coming from a weekend in Death Valley, and Greg and Kieran coming down from Oregon.  Tim’s brother Ed filled out the group.  So, Tim drove his van with Edward, John T. and Dave up to LA to pick up his brother, while Clyde, Mike, Nick and I went in Clyde’s truck up to Bishop.  We all ended up meeting at the Ranger Station on the main drag in Bishop at around 1:30pm or so.  We had lunch at Erick Schat’s Bakery on Main Street, a mainstay in the town since the 1930’s.  There was a long line for sandwiches and it was worth the wait.  We sat out front on the patio in the shade in the dry hot air that was pushing 100 degrees in the Owens Valley.

 

 After a few stops for last minute supplies and fishing licenses, we headed west out of town to South Lake to find a campground for the night.  We drove up to the end of the road and saw the lake and got our first view of the mountains we would be hiking through.  We doubled back looking for a campground and found the Willows campground and took the last two open spots.  The campground is just a short distance north of the lake along the South Fork of Bishop Creek and is among the Aspens and Willows.  First come first serve.  We set up tents and the boys did some fishing in the creek and we all pumped water to make our supply, as there wasn’t any other water available.

 

 We had brought sandwiches from the Subway in Bishop and we had dinner as we pleased as the evening wore on.  The sun went down behind the high mountains to the west at an early 6pm although it stayed twilight for a good while

 

 Tuesday 12 August 2008 – Tim walked around among the tents around 6am and got everyone going.  Everyone got up and going pretty well.  We pulled our bear canisters out of the steel bear cabinets provided at each site and packed up, had a little breakfast.  We loaded up the truck and took the four vehicles down to the parking lot at the trailhead and luckily found open parking spaces.  We made some last minute preps and took pictures and then were off and on our way at 7:45am on the trail headed South from South Lake to Bishop Pass.

 

 The trail leaves the South Lake parking lot at 9820ft climbing steadily.  We stopped after a couple of miles and did boot checks and were glad that everyone’s feet seem to be doing well.  We opened onto the beautiful Long Lake where we took lots of pictures.  Absolutely spectacular on a magnificent day.

 

 Everyone was doing well and we made good time up the trail past a series of lakes arriving at the base of the switchbacks going up to Bishop Pass that begin just after Bishop Lake (~11,300ft).  We stopped there for a rest, and pumped water from the lake and ate only lightly at about 11am.  Our goal was to do lunch at the top of the pass at 11,972ft.  The last push was really brutal as we went up some really steep switchbacks.  Most had headaches and were really getting tired after covering nearly 6 miles from the parking lot.  On the way up we passed a man with two Llamas headed down that he had rented!  Very well mannered and carrying big loads.  We were pretty low on energy and the altitude effects were really kicking in.  We crossed a patch of snow prior to reaching the sign at the top of the pass, where we all crashed, finding a place to lay down among the rocks and get some rest, and try to get a little something to eat. 

 

 Around 3pm we saddled up and started down into Dusy Basin to look for a campsite.  We wanted to make as much distance as we could to reduce the amount needed tomorrow.  We got pretty spread out, with some of the boys headed way out in front, while others were slower to move along.  Eventually most of the scouts with a few of the adults went ahead to get camp set up and the rest soon followed up.  Approximately 8 miles today.

 

The scuots cooked up “Pasta Sides” instant noodle dishes.  We set up camp at around (N37 05 40 W118 33 54) at about 5pm or so, with the adults setting up a separate cooking area from the scouts as would be our habit.  The adults had a big pot of broccoli cheese soup with pita bread and hummus.  Everyone was soon feeling much better after dinner and some rest and the scouts spent time fishing and playing in the lake.  We attended to pumping water and getting cleaned up from the day’s hiking and most were in bed by 8pm.

 

 Wednesday 13 August 2008 –   We got started early and were on the trail shortly after 8am.  Today’s hike was primarily downhill headed west following the drainage of the lake we camped at down into the Le Conte Canyon.  We crossed a bridge across the stream that drains the lakes of Dusy Basin alternating through a few gradual downhill slopes but mostly through switchbacks going down to where our trail met the north-south running Pacific Crest trail at 8750ft.  This is almost 1000 ft lower than the parking lot at the trailhead we left yesterday before climbing up to Bishop Pass at 11,972 ft.  As we stopped for water in a wooded area we came across a campfire still burning where someone had left it and doused it.  Also saw a deer there, only 30 yards away and clearly not afraid of us.  As we continued down we saw water running down the broad and wide sheer face of rock descending into the Canyon.  Looked like it would make for a cool water ride, but you couldn’t see what would befall you hundreds of feet below at the bottom of the Canyon.

 

 Once hitting the PCT we turned North and headed up towards Pete’s Meadow.  We stopped around 11:30am for lunch at a beautiful place under the trees and alongside the stream that drains the Canyon.  Several of us went in for a swim (location about N37 05 57 W118 35 51).  We had ideas earlier in the trip of perhaps making it as far as Muir Pass today, but decided with the condition of all involved to instead stop up at Big Pete Meadow.  A Ranger on foot with a backpack came by and talked with us as we were leaving the lunch site and gave us some information about what to expect.  So by 12:45pm we were headed up the Le Conte Canyon through Little Pete Meadow and arrived at Big Pete Meadow around 2:30pm.  Roughly 4.6 miles of hiking today. There was a spot right along the trail, but after investigating we found a spot further from a fire ring, and since we were below 10,000 feet we were able to start a fire that night. (N37 06 47 W118 36 25).

 

 Everyone set up camp and replenished water in the stream that ran just a few yards west of us down from Mt. Thompson into the meadow.  Nice to hear the stream rushing by as we slept at night.  Around 4:30pm or so the scouts got together and spent some time working on the Orienteering Merit badge, with all of them sitting on their bear canisters for stools.  Following this we had dinner.  The scouts at Zatarain’s beans and rice, and the adults had couscous with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes, with pudding for desert.

 

 Once it got dark the scouts started a fire and we sat around talking until folks started turning in for the night after 9pm.

 

 Thursday 14 August 2008 – We had originally planned for today to be a layover day, but decided to head back up to Dusy Basin and find another good campsite and make tomorrow a layover day.  The lake would be fun to play in, provide some fishing opportunities, and those interested could make a day hike or whatever.

 

 By 8:30am we were on the trail again retracing our steps again, but this time going up.  The team made good progress, stopping for lunch at the waterfall around noon, where we took a good rest and re-filled our water bottles.

 

 Arriving up at Dusy Basin, we passed our Tuesday campsite and ventured about 500 yards further southeast to a nice spot along a lake that looked great for swimming. (N37 05 26 W118 33 35).  This made for a bit over 5 miles hiking today.  There was still a good bit of afternoon left as it was about 4pm once we got set up and several went in swimming at the lake.  Dave and Greg went fishing.

 

 Dinner for the adults was black bean soup with chorizo and tortillas and the boys had mashed potatoes.

 

 With all the water around the bugs were pretty plentiful and we sprayed well.  There was a beautiful sunset as there were many clouds building up at the end of the day.   Looked ok for us today, but looks like we might be in for rain tomorrow.

 

 Friday 15 August 2008 – Layover day.  Slept in the best we could.  No rain overnight.  Good day for the scouts to hang out at the lake.  Around 9:30am, a group of 7 (half) elected to go on a day-hike up to the Northeast and explore the Dusy Basin:  Dan, Tim, Dave, Edward, Kieran, Greg, and John.  Along the way we came across another deer, saw tadpoles and a snake in one of the small ponds, and explored around Isosceles peak and the lakes.  Dave did some fishing and caught a couple of trout.

 

 The other half of the group hung out at the lake and went swimming, exploring, whatever.

 

 The skies were clouding up as the afternoon wore on it looked like rain so everyone made preps, bringing out the tent flys, and covering backpacks with covers.  The scouts working on the Orienteering Merit Badge worked with compass and directions to trace out a course over the ground, pacing off distances and following directions.

 

 As we ate dinner we saw storm clouds gathering around us in all directions and dropping down rain, but only a few drops on us, as evidenced by the circles in the lakes where the drops fell.  The adults had tortellini for dinner and the boys at some freeze-dried meals they had brought along.

 

 We all went to bed with everything battened down for the rains we thought were coming, but they never materialized.  There wasn’t a moon for the first time because of the clouds, but otherwise the night went well.

 

 Saturday 16 August 2008 – We got a good start and were off for the cars before 8am, climbing the trail back up to Bishop’s Pass where we stopped for a snack around 10am.  We pressed on down the trail arriving at the Trailhead around 1:30pm – a distance of 8 miles.

 

 After loading up into the vehicles we ventured down to Bishop and ate at a restaurant for a big lunch before heading on back to San Diego, arriving in town around 9:30pm or so.