Trip Report: Sequoia NP. Wolverton to Table Meadows

[Harlen]

Wintertime is on us, and I am dead keen to be out there floundering around in the snow again.  I have now recovered from my last ski-touring misadventure, so I'm ready for the next one.  I may choose the more pedestrian ski tour out from Badger Pass, along the snowy road toward the camp I've always dreamed of on top of Sentinel Dome.  While preparing for that, I thought of cobbling together a report about another ski-friendly terrain to the south.  The Sequoia NP trailheads of Wolverton and Lodgepole are usually easy to reach via the good roads CA-180 and 198. When our boys were young, we camped at Lodgepole a few times, and day-skied from there.  Later, we would set out from Wolverton for shorter and longer trips, such as the one I'll highlight here-- 5 days and 4 nights from Wolverton to Table Meadows and back.  
I'll add a few more photos and descriptions of a couple of other nice trips that can be accomplished in the same area.  For instance, you can easily make day tours out to Panther Gap, and ski or snowshoe around the amazing "Giant Forest."  The first also begins at Wolverton, and the latter by parking just by the Giant Forest Museum.  The Crescent Meadow road can be used as a ski trail, and it wends its way through stunning Sequoia forest for about 3 miles, out to the "High Sierra TH."  That trip is on pretty level ground, unless you choose to add in another mile or so up to the brilliant viewpoint of Moro Rock.  My youngest son and I did that one winter, and spent a night out in those giant redwood trees.  No photos of the snowy forest, but it truly is something special.  Below are three shots from a trip up to Panther Gap:

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Looking southeast across the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, with Sawtooth Peak in the center.

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This is the view due south from Panther Gap to Castle Rocks.

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The pretty ridge due west from Panther Gap, has a wonderful slalom course for the more talented among us.  Looking close, you will not find my ski tracks weaving in and out of the boulders.  It's all yours Sam!  


Panther Gap is 2.9 miles one way from Wolverton, and an easy climb of 1,320.'  That makes a 6 miles day tour, with the last 3 miles all downhill.

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This is the first great vantage point on our route to Table Meadows-- it's the view from the top of "The Hump," into the high country of the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River.

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Okay, so this trip from Wolverton to Table Meadows, with Frank and the boys, was more than a decade ago.  We went in from the Wolverton Trailhead, and made it as far as the Table Meadows area.  We skied and snowshoed up to the top of "The Hump" for our first camp, and then made it down to Pear Creek for a couple nights-- day-touring out from a second camp.  Our route to The Hump from Wolverton is a trip of 3.9 mi., and a climb of 2,200.'  I think the Watchtower route is more scenic, and it adds just .3 miles. From The Hump on to Pear Lake Ski Hut is about 2.5 miles farther, and slightly downhill overall.  On our final night we camped again on top of the Hump for the great views eastward.  We chose to do the fun, but hard work to dig out a massive snow cave, large enough for all five of us.  This trip was made great by exciting weather that threatened, but never really nailed us.  The conditions were excellent for skiing, and luckily, we also brought snowshoes, which came in handy for the steep hills, and for when Frank's supposedly all-purpose, can fit any boot, Ramer ski bindings failed miserably.  So you will see many photos of Frank with skis sticking out above his back, snowshoeing along with small snowshoes on his size 14 feet! 
The photos for this trip happen to mostly include people.  I didn't want this TR to appear like a family home slideshow, so I've added some scenic shots from my solo trips in the same area.  I'll try not to drone on about the kids, though for us they were the highlight of the trip. Our eldest son Ryan was 9+ and Nathan was 7 years old, and for many years both had been able to both hike and ski their ages.  Lots of rest breaks, and stops for fun seemed to do the trick.  I was just beginning to experiment with homemade "pulks," and this one served me well till the bamboo poles fractured on the final icy run down to Wolverton.  

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We used snowshoes for some of the steeper uphills.

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The wife and kids ski team. 

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And there's Frank, with the skis he packed all over the place.  He had found some old skis with the amazing Ramer bindings that supposedly will fit any boot, even your hiking boots.... but they didn't.  Frank kept on trying to get them to work, but mostly carried them like this for exercise.  Does anyone, maybe Gogd, bobby49, or wildhiker recall these Ramer bindings, and can they really work?

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I've dotted in our route in red., and a blue arrow points to our camp by Pear Creek.

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Alta Peak.

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Off we went, into some pretty interesting weather.

[Harlen]

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The boys skiing around Heather Lake, which lies just below The Hump.

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Note the weather taking a turn for the worse.

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This cool scene is by the inlet to Aster Lake.  A half mile above Aster is the beautiful Emerald Lake, with Alta Peak and Tharps Rock above... and an angry looking sky coming on.

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Then came mist, then graupel, and with another turn of the screw-- snowfall.

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We made a camp by Pear Creek, with an eye for available wood.  As you see, we should have dug a lower sitting bench, as fires on the snow become these meltdowns. The boys still remember Frank's funny observation when we were getting cold after the fire had melted about 4 feet down.  He said: "It looks warm down there."

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The ranger cabin/ski hut with no one about-- we were alone the whole trip.

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In parts of the valley Western White Pine is the dominant tree.

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The weather was fine again, and the skiing brilliant!

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Although not for Frank, but we really enjoyed hearing Frank cursing in his Lancashire accent.  

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[Harlen]

The weather continued to scare us a bit, with lots of clouds, and a little snowfall.  I had been caught out here once before in a cloudy whiteout-- returning from Table Meadows to my camp on The Hump, and I sure didn't want that experience for the kids.  Luckily, the dark clouds never swallowed all the mountains, and in the end all they did was to make the trip more beautiful.  

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Note the clouds to the SW.  We had planned to ski far up into Table Meadows, and perhaps on to the Tablelands.

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My favorite picture of the trip.  Seven year old Nathan-- skiing out in front, and having a blast!

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Clear blue sky to the northeast.

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Table Meadows!

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We seemingly had two totally different days--when we faced  northeast we had a perfect one, but it was a stormy day in the SW.  That's The Hump on the skyline, and The Watchtower far right.

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We played it safe, and turned around pretty early while still in The Meadows.  Skiing down was a great fun-run.

[Harlen]

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Back on The Hump for sunset.

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Cold work, but somebody has to do it.  We told Nathan it was fun.

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In the morning we ran across the top of the cave to check its strength, and it wouldn't break till I really stomped on it.  The arched ceiling gives it strength.

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[Harlen]

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Goodbye to the realm of Alta Peak.

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All the ingredients for one of my patented disasters:  The steep, icy slope; the overloaded backpack; a weak, unwieldy pulk; and the skinny skis attached to the lousy skier.  I crashed and broke the bamboo poles-- but not me leg.

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Mind blowing lenticular clouds.

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It was a trip full of fun, and little adventures, and all the expected Sierran beauty. I can't wait to get back out there. Best of Luck!

[Wandering Daisy]

Great photos! So what year was that trip? Ten years ago or so? Just wondering if it was a high snow year or not.

[wildhiker]

What a great adventure into an otherworldly land of snow covered mountains! I've only been into that area in the summer. It looks so magnificent in your snowy photos. I'm especially impressed that you took your young sons and they seemed to be enjoying it!
-Phil

[Harlen]

Hello Phil. I believe you can appreciate that "otherworldly land of snow covered mountains" because you've experienced it many times yourself; and also the fun challenge of getting the kids out there. I reckon you and giantbrookie are the real winners, since you both continue to share the Sierras with your grown children. Thanks for the kind comments, Ian.

Thanks to you too Daisy. Let's see, if Ryan was around 9, that makes me around 50 then...so it might have been spring of 2010 or 11. The snow was deep alright--wasn't 2011 a big snow year?

[maverick]

Thanks for the excellent TR, Harlen. I always enjoy seeing parts of the Sierra I have traveled through with a thick mantle of snow; it looks like a new landscape.

[c9h13no3]

It's all yours Sam! 

With the atmospheric river pointed right at SoCal, I was just refreshing my memory on the options in the Southern part of the state.

Your willingness to snow camp always seems outlandish, but the idea of towing the kids along really blows me away. I always underestimate my son’s hiking abilities due to my own fears of having a tough time myself. Seems you have no such issues ;-)