High Sierra Topix

Thanks for the report! I appreciated seeing photos of places I've eyed on the map but have not yet been myself.

Major bummer about arriving back at the parking lot and finding that your car had been towed. Glad you were able to find it, but that could have been a delay much longer than an hour had you not flagged down the guy on the construction crew who knew where to look.

Wow, that's a lot more than what most folks think of when they see "Cathedral Range". The Hutchings Creek and Lyell Fork photos provide such beautiful views of remote country.

I'm glad the lost car thing worked out well without too much hassle and stress. If it was me I'd wonder if (1) I'd forgotten where I've parked my car (this happened to me in younger years more than once, so that would probably be the first thing that would come to mind if I didn't see my car where I thought I had parked it. (2) I'd wonder if my car was stolen. In fact this happened once. In the 90s got home to Hayward after a trip to Fresno and Judy asked "where's your car?" (was usually parked in front ot the house). My first thought was "did I forget it at the BART station" (logic gap there--why would I walk home 2+ miles from the BART station?). It took awhile to realize it was stolen. Then there was a time that Judy and I got home to our apartment in Berkeley to find my car gone. In those days they didn't post signs about when they would declare an area no parking for football games. They'd have a fleet of police cars put up "no parking signs" with a fleet of tow trucks behind that would tow the cars as soon as the signs were up. I witnessed this two weeks after my car was towed when we went away for the weekend. Anyhow, the Berkeley folks weren't as nice as Yosemite. I had to pay a parking fine and a bigger fee to get my car out of impoundment at a tow lot.

Anyhow, given my experiences, I would have been pretty stressed out if I couldn't find my car where I thought I'd parked it. I'm glad this proved to be only a minor annoyance and didn't spoil a stellar trip.

Unfortunately, when I get stressed I get a bit nasty. I was not very kind to the NPS employee and was really pissed off as I walked around the Dog Lake parking trying to find my car. Some poor tourist got the brunt of my wrath. Yes, the construction guy was my savior. His concern and kindness really eased my stress.

I punted on the two harder passes. In the end, going over Sluggo Pass saves miles, but I am not sure how much time. And I would glad I could see the upper lakes of both Hutchings and the Lyell Fork day hiking, rather than carrying a pack. Same with going over Parsons Peak. I could have still gone out via Lyell Canyon, taking the trail Evelyn then to Ireland Lake instead of stopping at Townsley. This gets me thinking of "short cuts" via hard passes. I think in my old age a few more miles on trails vs a difficult pass may be the way to go.

This route was a toned down version of a hideously difficult route I did in 2006 which was over 100 miles in 10 days, including dropping to Washburn Lake and going up Red Devil creek and lake, to Harriet Lake, then an in-and-out Blue Lakes and Roper's route to Twin Lakes, a horrible "pass" dropping into the Lyell Fork of the Merced over a gap in the NW arm of Forester Peak, Sluggo Pass, and over Parsons Peak and McClure Lake and out Lyell Canyon. I am not sure if I ever put a trip report of this on HST. Goes to show that as we get older, we can still do nice trips, but have to tone them down a bit.

Nice trip to a place we have never been. I guess you left your dog home to get to Hutchings and Lyell Fork creeks? I appreciate all of your photos, and the clear descriptions of your route. I'm glad you got just the right amount of stormy weather, and no more-- beautiful light in some of those early pictures you took. If this be your last trip, you've still had a stellar summer season. Cheers, Ian.

What a beautiful area that I'll have to visit in my next life.
Thanks for posting.

I have now been up to Hutchins basin three times and had the basin all to myself each time. But I never hit it at peak wildflowers, although in 2010 mid-August (high snow year) the grasses were vibrant. The basin faces west and get some really nice alpenglow. Here is a photo from the 2010 trip. The only positive for photos this time I went was the storm lighting. This trip was not my choice timing- it was what I could get after my permit for upper Kern was cancelled.

Harlen, sorry to say dogs are not allowed on Yosemite trails. And even if they were, our dog is a bit too out of shape for this kind of trip. She is 9 yrs old and has some hip problems so we stick to shorter fishing trips.

Seems like quite a few of us ended up in the same general area in the same general time. This is NOT the prime time for this area; better earlier season when things are green, wildflowers are out, air is clear. The only up side of Fall is that streams are easy to cross. But then the nice waterfalls are not as amazing.

Thanks for the report. I am taking some buddies out on an Emeric, Florence, Townsley lollipop labor day weekend assuming I can snag a permit. I appreciate your details about campsites over the years as I have not had to decide which side of a lake to search or which lake in a string would have better sites thanks to your info . I wish we had more time so we could get back into that Lyell Fork/Hutchins creek area, looks amazing. On a random note, CalTopo's "MapBuilder Topo" layer has Townsley Lake named as "Upper Fletcher Lake". Forest Sanford Townsley was the Chief Park Ranger and suffered a heart attack while out on patrol. I wonder if forces are trying to "cancel" him or why the different layers name the lake differently.