Sore feet over Sonora Pass

Another weekend has gone by the wayside but I did not let it go to waste. I probably would have but Jack saved me from myself and invited me to join a group trip into Emigrant Wilderness.

I know, another bad map, what can I say I don't have a mapping program

(I stole the map from here)

The theme of the trip was to go as light as possible, you can see the original thread here at backpacking light. Thanks for organizing it Andrew!

I did make an effort to go lighter, I left out half of my clothing, went stoveless, only took one lens. It is really difficult to go really light as a photographer. Even with only one lens, I still had about 3.5 lbs of camera gear. So with 8 lbs of camping stuff and 3.5 lbs camera stuff, I was around 12 lbs. I won't complain, I did notice the difference, I think I am usually around 14 lbs plus food and water.

I drove down to Davids house on Friday night, the plan was to head to the trailhead that evening. However, Jack and I did not get in until close to Midnight, so we slept on the floor.

DAY 1: ~ 16 miles
Unfortunately, David was not feeling well and had to bail, Jack and I left around 8 and reached the trailhead at 11 am. Everybody else had left at that point but we figured we would catch up with them eventually. The day was sunny, temperatures in the upper 70's, really nice for a walk.

Jack enjoying the view

The trailhead is at 9600 feet and we started to ascend right away. We passed a number of PCT hikers heading north as we went south. The trail goes above treeline and we had incredible views in all directions

We had to cross a few patches of snow

The trail went up, then down, then up then down, then up, well you get the idea. Lots of switchbacks but the grade is pretty reasonable so if you go slow and steady, the miles go by.

Gossamer Gear Gorilla on left and Borah Gear pack on right

We were told that there was a stretch of 10 miles where there was not much water so we started out carrying around 2 liters each. However, there really was an abundance. Once I realized this I only carried 1 liter at a time and would camel up at water sources using my titanium cup and steripen. Ryan Jordan would be proud (sorry you need to be a member to view it, worth the investment though).

Watch out for the curves

We could see Eric, Sandor and Kevin ahead of us on the switchbacks. We eventually caught up with them. We spent the night at High Emigrant Lake, a really stunning place. Wildflowers were blooming everywhere.

Modelling my sleeping pad (review to come shortly) Photo Credit: Eric Lundquist

Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of the rest of the gang that day. It was all business setting up camp and getting food ready before I could think about my camera. I did stay up after sunset to get a few night photos.

Milky Way

DAY 2: ~ 13 miles

Sunrise was awesome, I wandered around for an hour or so taking pictures and enjoying the morning.

Group Shot (headnets were nice in the morning, the mosquitoes came out in force)

The next day we headed out cross country to hook up with the trail towards Kennedy Meadows.

It was a really awesome hike, mostly downhill. But my feet definitely were feeling the mileage and the rocks. We made pretty good time and ended up at Kennedy Meadows trailhead at about 2 pm. After cheeseburgers we got a ride back to Sonora Pass and headed home. Back to the grindstone with sore feet but feeling so good.

Oh Mendocino

I had never been to Mendocino. Lori went a couple of years ago and has been raving about it since. For some reason, it didn't register how awesome this place is. Wendy, Lori, Rakesh and I took a couple of days over the 4th of July holiday to check it out.

On the 4th, it is crazy busy so we stayed out of town and explored the woods and coast. The weather was perfect. If I could choose what weather I would like to experience this was it. Upper 60's, light breeze and I was in heaven. The heat of the valley faded like a bad dream.

Of course I have no pictures of the town itself, but it was really nice. Reminded me of the east coast and much of the architecture is in that style. And, it turns out that Murder She Wrote was filmed here as well, all this time I thought it was filmed in Maine.

We hit up some wineries on the way back as well, have I mentioned how much I love California.

Kebabs for dinner

The sisters are happy

Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Loop

Man, it was a hot week in Davis. When it gets over 105 I start to melt but fortunately I had an escape plan. It was entirely coincidental but I had booked last week off from work a couple months back with the intentions of joining Jack and Brian on a High Sierra trip. But due to the unexpected but entirely welcome visit from Wendy (Lori's sister) I had to bail on that. However, I did have a couple of days to kill before Wendy arrived so I decided to do a 50 mile loop trip going through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne.

Please excuse the crappy map

I have wanted to do this trip for a couple of years so I was excited to see what northern Yosemite had to offer. It didn't hurt that I was leaving just as it started to heat up too.

DAY 1: ~ 10 miles

I left on Saturday morning at 5 am and was on trail with my permit by 9:30. I parked in the last spot at the trailhead at White Wolf and headed into the woods. The first couple of miles is fairly flat and at this time of year there were an abundance of flowers and butterflies.

After those first 2 miles the trail decends rapidly down towards Pate Valley. Elevation drop is about 3600 feet with many switchbacks and nice views. I had a brief look over Hetch Hetchy resevoir (the drinking water for San Francisco) as I made my way down.

Hetch Hetchy, the first backpacking trip Lori and I took in Yosemite was down there back in 2009.

The sun was strong and as I descended the air grew hotter. Still, it was nothing compared to the Central Valley and I really enjoyed the hike. After reaching Pate Valley I walked for another couple of miles to find a campsite. The water was too irresistible and I spent a lovely couple of hours resting in the shade and swimming in the river.

I found a great campsite across from the river and was ready to set up my bivy, I propped my backpack upright with my trekking pole as I walked around the site for a few minutes. When I got back to my pack a rattlesnake had decided to coil up underneath. I dont know who was more startled, me or the snake. I am sure I jumped when I heard that rattle.

After leaving the shade of my pack this one coiled up nearby

I decided I didn't want to share my site with the snake so I moved on to another spot.

No snakes here

DAY 2: ~ 15 miles

The next day was way harder than I expected. I guess I didnt pay attention to the elevation profile but I thought it was going to be fairly flat. I was way wrong, the trail climbs back up about 3600 feet to the Glen Aulin camp and my legs were feeling it. On the way I passed a number of waterfalls, which helped to keep me cool.

 

Despite my protesting legs, it was a nice hike and I enjoyed the day. I arrived at McGee lake in the late afternoon and set up there. The mosquitoes came out in force and I retreated to my bivy sack after a hasty dinner. I didn't leave my sack until morning and the mosquitoes buzzed all night long.

DAY 3: ~ 15 miles

Morning was a mad dash to pack up and get moving as I was swarmed by the hungry mosquitoes. I didn't even stop to eat, within 10 minutes of leaving my bivy sack I hit the trail as fast as I could. As long as I kept moving they had a hard time landing. But there was a cloud of them following me that I could feel everytime my hand swung back. It was miserable and although I wanted to enjoy the lush scenery, I really didn't. I was pushing to gain elevation, I figured they would not be as bad once I got out of the valley.

Trying to bug proof myself

I was really wishing I had a headnet, I didn't so I just kept moving and managed to make pretty good time. After about 6 miles, the trail started to move out of the super wet areas and I was able to break and eat some food in peace. The rest of the day was pretty nice with plenty of small streams to dip my hat into.

There was a brief thunderstorm that came in just as I made it to Ten Lakes. As soon as I had my tarp set up it started to rain but only for 15 minutes. Then the sun came out and it was a lovely afternoon. The mosquitoes were bad again by the lake, it was hard to really relax much but I found they bothered me less when I sat on a rock at the edge of the lake, so I spent a lot of time there.

Dinner was another quick affair and I got into my bivy pretty early.

Day 4: ~ 10 miles

I will admit, the mosquitoes really challenged me, I was definitely ready to get out of the woods after this trip. The last day was through a mix of sub alpine meadow to lush forests. I saw a few deer alongside the trail.

One of the very few mushrooms I saw

Even though it was only a few days, I was really looking forward to getting home and eating well. It was a great trip and although the mosquitoes were bad, the cooler weather and abundance of water was really refreshing. What an amazing place to visit!

Ancient Bristlecones

On our way back from Arizona, Rakesh and I spent a night in the White Mountains of California. These are home to some of the oldest living things on the planet, the Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva).

Found at an altitude between 8000 and 11000 feet, these slow growing pines have survived millennia of wind, snow and sun. Some of these trees were saplings when the Egyptians were building their pyramids.

The wood decays very slowly, this piece is many thousands of years old

The climate is very dry, the primary moisture coming from snow melt in the spring. The soil is made of a rocky limestone which is very alkaline. The Bristlecone Pine has evolved to grow where very few other species can survive.

I have never hugged something that is 4000 years old before

Even the oldest pines continue to produce pollen and seed. There are two colors of cone, the purple being the most common but if you look hard enough, there are green cones as well.

We also found the remains of a mining camp, always fun to explore the history of California.

This mine went on for a long time, I didn't go to the end, it started to get a bit sketchy.

Sunset over the Sierras

Lori Bday

Happy Birthday Lori!