Last week, after escaping the Rim Fire smoke, we headed south with chick-on to complete another segment, starting from North Lake/Piute Pass and exiting at Pine Creek via Lake Italy/Italy Pass. After saying our good-byes to tomdisco and burro dude, we headed towards Mammoth to grab a room--and shower--for the night. After a bit of a hectic evening re-stocking our food for the next five days, we went to sleep.
Day 1: North Lake to Humphreys Basin
We didn't have any permits reserved for the second trip (all reservations had been sold out), but despite a bit of a late start due to some last-minute technology snags copying TV shows between OS X and Android devices at the local McDonalds, we were able to secure our North Lake/Piute Pass permits at the Mammoth ranger station. After leaving the chick-on-mobile at the Pine Creek trailhead, we continued down to North Lake, where only a few parking spots remained. After a bit of a road walk through the campground and nearing mid-day, we finally hit the trail.
The Piute Pass trail is generally well-graded, with ample evidence of heavy backpacker--and especially stock--use. Early on, we were treated to views of the colorful Piute Crags.
Eventually we reached the chain of lakes east of the pass, where the gradient of the trail eased a bit.
A cool breeze had been with us since the start, but the clouds forming didn't appear too threatening. Also, there was no hint of smoke in the air.
Eventually we reached the pass, with its views to the east...
...and west.
We stopped for the obligatory "summit" pictures, but the wind was not inviting.
Compared to the east side, the Piute Creek headwaters and Humphreys Basin were broad, flat, and desolate.
To the south, the steep cliffs of the Glacier Divide loomed high over us.
Mt. Humphreys itself stood tall and solitary to our south.
We had met a few other hikers near the pass, but they were headed down Piute Creek; once we left on the unsigned Desolation Lake spur trail, we were on our own. After awhile we passed north of Lower Desolation Lake, one of the first landmarks on the High Route north of Piute Creek.
Not long thereafter we reached large--and desolate--Desolation Lake, where we fumbled for a bit trying to find a flat, wind protected campsite.
Unfortunately, all the good smooth granite had been installed at an incline, but we eventually found a spot where we could pitch our shelters against the wind.
The wind mostly died down and the skies cleared at night, and the nighttime temperatures were actually warmer than what we'd experienced in Yosemite.
Nighttime visibility was excellent: 2.5 million light years.
Day 2: Humphreys Basin to Merriam Lake via Puppet Pass and French Canyon
The next morning, we packed and headed towards the "crux" of the second day: Puppet Pass. Along the way we passed Mesa Lake, at which point we were "officially" on the High Route.
Unfortunately, the High Route has become popular, and a use trail has developed up the inlet valley that the route recommends on the way to Puppet Pass. This is perhaps one of the few cases where Roper is overly-specific; the granite ridge to the west of Mesa Lake provided both a more durable surface and superior views. After a momentary brain fade as to which low "pass" was Puppet Pass, we turned to the subtle, low gap to the west.
It ends up that Puppet Pass has an alternate name, which the Secor book prefers.
The west side of the pass, unlike the east, was quite steep, but offered great views of several French-themed lakes, the impressive Royce Creek cascade and, in the distance, our destination: Merriam Lake.
The first few hundred feet descending off Puppet Pass was typical Sierra blocky talus; fortunately, the talus soon ended as we approached the bench with Puppet, Roget, Alsace, and other lakes.
We chose to drop to the next level of lakes--L, Moon, and Elba--closer to Moon than Elba, both to see more lakes and to avoid some steep cliffs near Elba, so we traversed high around the east end of Puppet. (Another alternative--ascended a few years ago--would have been to use a nice gully that descends north from Alsace Lake...)
Moon Lake was nice...
but we continued towards Elba for our lunch break and mid-afternoon nap.
After resting a bit, we resumed the high route, heading in the general direction of the large Royce Creek cascade, one of the more impressive cascades in the High Sierra.
The descent was gentle and mostly through open forest, and soon we were on the Pine Creek trail.
We followed this trail for about a mile until we found--barely--the unsigned, faint spur trail to Merriam Lake.
This "trail" was more of a game path that people occasionally use than a real trail, and it didn't waste any distance on switchbacks as it climbed several hundred feet to the meadows below Merriam Lake.
After our slow, steep ascent, we reached these broad, flat meadows, which had excellent views of Pilot Knob and the Glacier Divide in the distance. Some stashed gear near a campsite indicated that others had been here and would return.
We had considered camping in this meadow, but instead decided to push on towards the lake. Another party was already camped at the lake, but we found a decent campsite a respectful distance from them.
The fabled Swedish Bikini Team was sunning on the beach of Merriam Lake:
Unfortunately, they had left for their remote camp before we could get the pink bird's attention.
After a quick bath and dinner, we retied to our beds, either to sleep or play Candy Crush.
Day 3: Merriam Lake to Bear Country and Beyond
The previous night had been warm, and our sleeping bags were free of ice and dew in the morning. The pink one was already up (still searching for the elusive Swedish Bikini Team?) when we started breakfast and packing away our gear.
The High Route follows the inlet creek above Merriam, and the advance party radioed to us that there was a use trail up it. Again, Roper appears to have over-specified the route, as there were many easy and durable ways to ascend to the valley above Merriam, which provided a bit of relief--and lots of nice easy strolling over open granite--towards LaSalle Lake .
LaSalle was an exemplar High Sierra Lake with clear, deep blue waters.
Its headwall provided the final minor obstacle towards Feather Pass, a rocky gully up its headwall.
As is often the case, it looked worse than it ended up being, and soon we were walking up the final slabs towards Feather Pass.
From Feather Pass we could see Merriam Lake behind us, and the Bear Lakes basin (specifically Bearpaw and Usra) below us. The west-side drop did not appear as rough as Puppet Pass had been.
In fact, the talus had a healthy amount of sand--something that reminded me of the "miracle" trail above Jumble Lake we had followed years ago, and that we'd be following again soon.
The edge-on exfoliating slabs of granite on Feather Peak and the peak to its northwest had an interesting "feathered" look, like pages from some thick book that were both disintegrating and timeless.
We soon reached the level valley containing the various ursine lakes, where a use trail led along the northeast side through open meadow and sand towards our next High Route obstacle: the climb to White Bear Pass.
At Ursa Lake, we saw the grass "ramp" that would lead us to the Black and White bears; a rocky arrow left by a previous party (seriously? did they not read the "leave no trace" request in the book?) pointed the way for "M".
From Black Bear Lake and its nearby tarns we had excellent views of Seven Gables, although in our counting we always came up a few gables short.
After navigating a bit of convoluted country, we reached White Bear Lake, perched almost at the saddle of its namesake pass. The granite surrounding this lake, with its rounded corners and steep cliffs, would not be out of place surrounding a lake in the Emigrant Wilderness at half the elevation, but seemed to me to be a bit alien in the more rugged (or "angry" as OD might say) High Sierra, near almost 12,000'.
Unlike its east side, a miniscule climb from the lake, the west side of the pass was a massive drop and talus slog.
The guidebook informed that we should head to our right, northwest, and avoid heading left; the willow-covered ledges and obvious signs of other travelers made it obvious which way to head down.
The going was slow and tedious--the granite was sandy, the willows concealed rocks beneath, and the large talus near the bottom offered no easy passage. It was the hardest pass of the trip, but we took our time and dropped to lake level safely. Looking back, the pass was a vertical wall, one we would not have believed was climbable without prior knowledge.
The book had suggested we ponder why Brown and Teddy Bear lakes have ursine names yet are in a different drainage... until we realized that all these lakes fed into Bear Creek. Misnamed or not, being close to their clear, blue waters, and Mt. Hilgard behind them, indicated that we were almost at our destination. (Now, as for Bear Creek Spire...)
We considered stopping near one of the lakes, but the promises of smooth granite and protective trees coaxed us to push a bit further, and near Hilgard Branch, we found the promised accommodations.
We soaked, bathed, and fill up our water containers at Hilgard Branch, then returned to the granite slabs to set up camp and prepare dinner.
The weather forecast for the past few days had been hinting at thunderstorms and showers, yet despite some clouds, we had remained dry. The final clouds settled as the sun sat. We were treated to flashes in the sky in the early part of the night, lighting up the eastern horizon. With no sounds, and no real clouds in our area, we realized there was some heavy activity thankfully far away.
The nighttime, as previously, was warm and dry, although some light clouds rolled in during the night...
Day 4: Lake Ugly to the Tungsten Mine
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shr_sandbagger_sroper12
[Lake Italy] is not a particularly interesting lake; indeed, it can be argued that it is fundamentally ugly.
Ugly or not, Lake Italy is a large lake, and we spent a good part of the next day walking to and around it, shielding our eyes from its ugliness. We had camped near the obvious but unmaintained Italy Pass trail, which we followed to and around the lake. On rumors that the SBT was testing out a new beach, the pink one had headed off before us to check out the north shore of Lake Italy, something my wife and I had done years ago en route to Gabbot Pass and Second Recess. Our progress along the south shore was slowed due to chatting with a few couples camped near the outlet.
The building clouds did Lake Ugly no favors, and soon enough we were near its heel, where we started the climb to the "miracle" trail above Jumble Lake.
The route between Jumble and Italy is quite faint compared to most other parts of the trail, although we did get a few helpful pointers from the locals.
Soon we were saying our last good-byes to the lake and the "uninteresting peaks" surrounding it.
From a distance it appears as if the route around Jumble Lake would be a talus slog, but in fact there is a nice, sandy path that cuts through the boulderfield.
Above Jumble Lake, we climbed through alpine (sierran?) meadows and over flat granite slabs towards Italy Pass.
The pink one had gone ahead and had picked up a weather forecast that called for rain and flash flooding, so we decided that we'd hike all the way out that day.
In the distance, we saw Mt. Humphreys surrounded by heavy clouds.
The route down to and through Granite Park was mostly straightforward, progress being slowed mainly due to photo breaks.
We descended by numerous small tarns and through several hanging meadows and valleys as we dropped towards Honeymoon Lake.
Along with the clouds, we noticed--for the first time since leaving Yosemite--the smell of smoke in the air.
We stopped for a snack at Honeymoon Lake, its numerous campsites the upper limit of most Pine Creek hikers.
Past Honeymoon, we passed a few dozen hikers in different groups climbing the trail. It was, after all, the Saturday of a three day weekend. We reached Pine Lake in short order, but decided to press on instead of stopping for a final dip in the water.
We did stop for a snack and rest below the lake, then started the long, but well-graded, descent to the trailhead.
The evening sun, clouds, and smoke cast a warm glow on the rocks--a bit like we'd experienced in Horse Creek Canyon, but with a lot less smoke obscuring the views.
Near the Brownstone Mine we saw a few climbers working a route, and we continued to pass occasional hikers as we followed the trail, then road, then trail again, back towards the car.
We got to the car as the sun sat, packed, and drove back to North Lake to pick up the other car.
We stopped in smoky Mammoth for a, well, mammoth pizza, then drove to also-smoky Lee Vining for a motel room for the night. On the drive to Mammoth, we drove through a short but heavy downpour.
In Yosemite, we had been fortunate to avoid a lot of smoke; along this Sierra High Route segment, we completely avoided getting wet in the backcountry. Beautiful country, excellent company, cooperative weather, and no serious (re)injuries: a completely successful trip! The sad part: we're running out of High Route segments to hike... but I do owe someone a "make good" return to the southern segment...
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I hear this a lot from my hubbie, who is 6' tall. I'm 5'5" and that still seems to be solidly in the "average" height for a woman in the US! But I make do the best I can...
