TR: Kearsarge to Cottonwood July 30-August 8 2018
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 12:45 pm
Introduction:
This trip was planned with the help of board members and the intention was to include two exciting cross country sections—Kaweah Basin and Crabtree Pass—but those plans got nuked on the second day when it became clear that I re tore my right meniscus. Instead, I continued forward and kept to main trails except when dayhiking, which along with ibuprofen eased the pain in the knee. I did not have quite the experience I had planned, but it was nonetheless a magnificent trip that had little solitude but much sociability with good people—especially as I summited Whitney with the many who were finishing the JMT and the HST. With my HST topix patch on the front of my hat I provoked many conversations and proselytized for this website, and met three of our members along the way—among them Tomba coming down Kearsarge, Saltydog at Tyndall Creek, and Scouter as I came out near Cottonwood Lakes. It was also my first extensive trip with the Inreach, allowing me to get and receive texts from my wife and brother. This also changed the character of the trip a bit. All in all, I saw spectacular scenery, met many fine people, enjoyed myself immensely, but seldom had a sense of solitude. As such, this was akin to my North Lake to South Lake loop or the Agnew Meadows to Tuolumne hike with spectacular scenery and many people. One way or the other, I still need to find a way to return to Kaweah Basin.
Prior to Day One, I drove to Lone Pine, avoiding my usual route through Yosemite and going south through Bakersfield to avoid the smoke. That evening I drove out to the Alabama Hills at sunset for a little photography. Day One
On the morning of Day One I drove up to Cottonwood Lakes trailhead and waited for my shuttle. Paul, owner of Eastside Sierra Shuttle, picked me up and we had an interesting conversation on the way to Onion Valley, which was my entrance point. Being a political scientist these days just about guarantees an interesting conversation! Actually, one of the reasons I relished this trip was to wipe those thoughts from my mind for a week—they are otherwise inescapable for me either at work or at home. Paul was earnest in his curiosity and opinions, though, and I enjoyed even the political aspects of our conversation. He is retired and lives in Independence and operates his shuttle service as a labor of love. I learned he is involved in several non profits, and has worked on archaeological digs at Manzanar. I visited Manzanar nearly a decade ago, but I understand it has expanded significantly and I will make a point to visit again. We picked up some other backpackers in Independence and got to the trailhead at Onion Valley by 1030.
I had been training for two months to get ready for this trip—several short backpacks in June and lots of work at the Y on cardio and leg machines. But nothing can quite prepare you for elevation. Starting at 9200 and heading for the pass at 11800 is always a rude start. Still, I chugged steadily but slowly uphill with my full pack and sea level lungs. Along the way I met HST member Tomba who coming down from the pass with his delightful family. Then I found myself starting out with a young man from Philly who was going to meet his wife and hike with her as she finished the JMT. I would bump into them repeatedly during the trip, including while summiting Whitney on their last day. Really nice people.
I rested near the Matlock Lake sign, where the trail comes close to the stream, had lunch, replenished water, and continued up. As I neared Heart Lake and took the turn up towards Big Pothole, the skies began to threaten. In the long switchbacks near the pass it began to rain—something it would do every afternoon for the next four days. This day, however, there was no thunder or lightning to speak of, and I arrived at the pass only a little damp. The rain eased, there was a party in the pass of mostly young people who were using Kearsarge as a resupply point for the JMT. One of them from Australia kindly snapped my picture. The view over the Kearsarge Lakes basin was as spectacular as I remembered from 25 years ago—but the grey skies put a bit of a crimp on the photography. On my last visit to this area, a generation ago, we bypassed Kearsarge Lakes and went to Charlotte. I have always regretted not camping at those lakes, and I descended to them and found the expected crowded conditions. The bear lockers have all been sealed shut there since they were being misused for resupply operations, apparently, but this did not discourage multiple parties from camping there. The skies partially cleared and I enjoyed a few shots of the Kearsarge Pinnacles before sunset.
This trip was planned with the help of board members and the intention was to include two exciting cross country sections—Kaweah Basin and Crabtree Pass—but those plans got nuked on the second day when it became clear that I re tore my right meniscus. Instead, I continued forward and kept to main trails except when dayhiking, which along with ibuprofen eased the pain in the knee. I did not have quite the experience I had planned, but it was nonetheless a magnificent trip that had little solitude but much sociability with good people—especially as I summited Whitney with the many who were finishing the JMT and the HST. With my HST topix patch on the front of my hat I provoked many conversations and proselytized for this website, and met three of our members along the way—among them Tomba coming down Kearsarge, Saltydog at Tyndall Creek, and Scouter as I came out near Cottonwood Lakes. It was also my first extensive trip with the Inreach, allowing me to get and receive texts from my wife and brother. This also changed the character of the trip a bit. All in all, I saw spectacular scenery, met many fine people, enjoyed myself immensely, but seldom had a sense of solitude. As such, this was akin to my North Lake to South Lake loop or the Agnew Meadows to Tuolumne hike with spectacular scenery and many people. One way or the other, I still need to find a way to return to Kaweah Basin.
Prior to Day One, I drove to Lone Pine, avoiding my usual route through Yosemite and going south through Bakersfield to avoid the smoke. That evening I drove out to the Alabama Hills at sunset for a little photography. Day One
On the morning of Day One I drove up to Cottonwood Lakes trailhead and waited for my shuttle. Paul, owner of Eastside Sierra Shuttle, picked me up and we had an interesting conversation on the way to Onion Valley, which was my entrance point. Being a political scientist these days just about guarantees an interesting conversation! Actually, one of the reasons I relished this trip was to wipe those thoughts from my mind for a week—they are otherwise inescapable for me either at work or at home. Paul was earnest in his curiosity and opinions, though, and I enjoyed even the political aspects of our conversation. He is retired and lives in Independence and operates his shuttle service as a labor of love. I learned he is involved in several non profits, and has worked on archaeological digs at Manzanar. I visited Manzanar nearly a decade ago, but I understand it has expanded significantly and I will make a point to visit again. We picked up some other backpackers in Independence and got to the trailhead at Onion Valley by 1030.
I had been training for two months to get ready for this trip—several short backpacks in June and lots of work at the Y on cardio and leg machines. But nothing can quite prepare you for elevation. Starting at 9200 and heading for the pass at 11800 is always a rude start. Still, I chugged steadily but slowly uphill with my full pack and sea level lungs. Along the way I met HST member Tomba who coming down from the pass with his delightful family. Then I found myself starting out with a young man from Philly who was going to meet his wife and hike with her as she finished the JMT. I would bump into them repeatedly during the trip, including while summiting Whitney on their last day. Really nice people.
I rested near the Matlock Lake sign, where the trail comes close to the stream, had lunch, replenished water, and continued up. As I neared Heart Lake and took the turn up towards Big Pothole, the skies began to threaten. In the long switchbacks near the pass it began to rain—something it would do every afternoon for the next four days. This day, however, there was no thunder or lightning to speak of, and I arrived at the pass only a little damp. The rain eased, there was a party in the pass of mostly young people who were using Kearsarge as a resupply point for the JMT. One of them from Australia kindly snapped my picture. The view over the Kearsarge Lakes basin was as spectacular as I remembered from 25 years ago—but the grey skies put a bit of a crimp on the photography. On my last visit to this area, a generation ago, we bypassed Kearsarge Lakes and went to Charlotte. I have always regretted not camping at those lakes, and I descended to them and found the expected crowded conditions. The bear lockers have all been sealed shut there since they were being misused for resupply operations, apparently, but this did not discourage multiple parties from camping there. The skies partially cleared and I enjoyed a few shots of the Kearsarge Pinnacles before sunset.