High Sierra Topix

Wandering Daisy wrote:

I assume Van went down the JMT to the Kings River and then on down to Tehipite. Are we going to get a report of HIS adventures!??

Yes, Van's report is on the tumbler site I referenced above: https://wildernessjournals.tumblr.com/

Mike

TR continued: Day 10 . . .


Lake 10,232 is a wonderful, fjord-like paradise that is one of my favorite places in the Sierra. Wild, remote, seldom visited, and the dramatic scenery is world-class.



Since I last saw Van, he had been hiking 12-hour days and was bushed. We decided to take another layover day and just hang out.


To be continued . . .

TR continued -- Day 10 part 2


By noon the wind was picking up and it looked like we might be in for some rain.


But mother nature relented and spared us this peaceful day.


Our original plan was to hike into the Ionian Basin, camp near Scylla and The Three Sirens, then make our way to the base of Black Giant Pass and camp there, then head over Black Giant Pass and exit the high country via either Muir Pass and Lamarck Col, or via Bishop Pass. But because we took the extra layover day, we were short a day, unless we were willing to tackle four really long days of hiking. So we altered our plan and decided to head over Reinstein Pass to Martha Lake. That would spare us a Day 14 death march. Instead, we would hike down to the Piute Pass junction, then head up to Hutchinson Meadow and enjoy a leisurely exit via Piute Pass -- plopping us down right at our car.


To be continued . . .

TR continued . . . Day 11

After a restful day at Lake 10,232, Van and I hiked up to Reinstein Pass. We deviated from our usual route (see map below), which allowed us to see some of the highlands above the north end of Lake 10,232. It was bright and sunny as we started our hike but by mid morning clouds started to build up earlier than normal.


It started to sprinkle as we neared the pass and I stopped and put my poncho on.


to be continued . . .

TR continued . . . Day 11, part 2

The weather looked dicey, so we didn't stay long on the pass. We worked our way down to the shore of Martha Lake, Van moving much quicker than me, as usual. Rather than go around the lake to avoid a field of huge boulders, we elected to go left and pick our way through the boulder field. It looks so easy from a distance, but the going here is painfully slow. Finally, after about an hour of bouldering, we made it to our sheltered campsite above the lake, on sandy ground, near the outlet stream.

Before I could properly settle in and get hydrated, the skies loosened and an an hour-long downpour ensued. Van had the wisdom to set up his tent while I was getting water and preparing to eat lunch, so he retreated to his tent while I sheltered in a copse of stunted pines, poncho on, and attempted to read my Kindle. During a lull in the storm, I attempted to set up my tent, but the winds picked up again and then the rain came again too. I did finally get the tent up and the rainfly on, but the inside of the tent floor got pretty wet in the process. Bad timing. I retreated once again to the copse of trees and read my Kindle. The rain let up and the sun broke through clouds hanging low over Goddard. Then a double rainbow broke out. I hollered over to Van to get out of his tent and take a look. Both of us snapped away with our cameras (my shots are pathetic compared to the real thing).


to be continued . . .

Oh man I would have killed for lighting like that when I was camped in your exact Martha Lake campsite last summer.

I had my tripod and lenses and gear all ready and got nothing.

Great rainbow shots!

@Mike M. I'm loving these episodic posts, and I can hardly await the conclusion. Your photos are incredible. Thanks for sharing!

Limpingcrab, that's a great campsite, isn't it? I stumbled on that site years ago and keep on coming back. We had the whole lake to ourselves.

Flamingo, thank you! I'm having a lot of fun reliving the hike and can't wait for August to roll around again. Be sure to check out Van's photos on Tumbler.

Mike

Mike, this is one of the best trs I've ever read. Hope to be at Martha first week of September this year.

That was a great read!