The hike today was spectacular—above the clouds! It was harder than I thought. I’m exhausted. Even though I’ve done so much hiking in California, this was my first time up this local landmark.
Category: Hiking
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June Lake and Yosemite
This evening, I returned from a long trip away from home. It’s nice to be back.
On Tuesday, I hiked up the trail above June Lake and Gull Lake. Yost Meadow was beautiful. That afternoon, the rest of the group joined me. There was Uncle Ben, Andrew, Lynette, Wing, and Gabriel. I gave devotion on Romans 1.
The next day, we set off for Yosemite via Rafferty Creek. The hike to Emeric Lake was beautiful. We paced it well and had no problems, since the climb up to Tuolumne Pass was very gradual. Emeric Lake was very nice. We had a meaningful devotion, where Uncle Ben shared a message with us—about metaphors drawn from the trip itself.The next day took us to Florence Creek Junction. The boys caught five fish but did not end up eating them.
On Friday, we worked our way up to Vogelsang Pass. This stretch was quite strenuous, but we made good time. Our campsite was on a ledge just past Vogelsang Lake. Our amphitheater-like view of the entire canyon was spectacular, both for sunset and sunrise.
We spent the next day traversing high country to get across the Evelyn Lake basin and down into Lyell Canyon. Dew settled on everything, and I ended up packing up most things while they were still wet.The hike out was nearly six miles, but it was almost completely flat along Lyell Canyon. We saw a coyote this morning.
I’m glad to have made it home safely with only one small blister above my right heel, at the Achilles insertion.
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Mammoth to Thousand Island and Garnet Lakes
On Friday last week, we headed up to Mammoth Lakes. We stayed the first night at the Pine Glen group campsite number 7.
The next morning, we set out from Agnew Meadow. Our group consisted of me, Sean, Sean’s mom and aunt—Nancy and Deborah, Kevin, Ryan, Brad, and Armando. The hike to Thousand Island Lake was beautiful. The lake itself was mostly frozen. We camped at the same spot as we did last year.
The next morning, the lake partially froze over. The golden glow of the sun perfectly illuminated Banner Peak. It was awesome. We spent a very treacherous day hiking and route-finding our way across to Shadow Creek via Garnet Lake and the two mountain passes along the way. This was by far the most technical route-finding I’ve had to do. The ice and snow fields were overwhelming. While skirting Garnet Lake, Nancy almost fell in. Anyhow, we safely made it to the outlet of Ediza Lake. Snow banks surrounded the entire lake. Unable to camp here, we hiked down to find a small trail-side grassy flat, which made a perfect campsite, with a nearby creek and a ready fire pit.
On Monday morning, most of the group hiked out along Shadow Creek drainage. Brad, Armando, and I continued past Rosalie and Gladys Lakes and the Trinity Lakes chain. We settled at Johnson Meadow, which was a very pretty spot with a quiet stream. We made camp right at the trail junction. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes here were vicious. I took a long nap before getting up to make dinner.We got up early on Tuesday and hiked out. We ate breakfast at the Breakfast Club. My spinach feta cheese omelette was amazing. After leaving the town, we arrived in Redlands at 3:00 pm. Brad was determined to drive back to Phoenix to make it there for the Fourth of July fireworks. I think he is still quite upset about the dropped camera that he borrowed from his dad.
Anyways, it’s good to be home.
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Horseshoe Meadow to Whitney Portal
The trip began on September 15. After spying Whitney summit from the Lone Pine Ranger Station, Ryan and I got car shuttled to Horseshoe Meadow. From there, our trip took us to Chicken Spring Lake, Guyot Creek and Pass, Crabtree Meadow, and Guitar Lake. We had the most spectacular sunset at Guitar Lake, and the next morning, the full moon dropped below the Great Western Divide. Then, we approached Trail Crest. From there, we dropped our packs and summitted. After spending the night at Outpost Camp, we headed out to meet our car at Whitney Portal.
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Sawtooth Ridge Loop
A week ago Thursday, we head up to Bridgeport. Although the invitation had gone out to so many people, only Lynette and Jessica managed to RSVP.
At the beginning of the trip, just a few steps into it, Jessica’s backpack strap fell apart. We patched it up with a needle and some dental floss. It held up for the whole trip.
This big loop took us through the northeast corner of Yosemite National Park, traversing Kerrick Meadow to Benson Lake and the Matterhorn Canyon. During the ascent to Burro Pass, we took shelter under the tent’s rainfly during a sleet storm. The next day, at Mule Pass, we had the most spectacular view of the Sawtooth Ridge. The way down passed Slide Mountain was beautiful, and we took a short spur hike to Rock Island Pass.
We completed the loop and exited via Barney Lake and Annette’s Mono Village.
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Four Passes Loop
Last week on Thursday, Sid and I left for Snowmass—for the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) meeting. We had lunch on a rainy day at the Quiznos in downtown Denver. It was funny that Sid remembered that the last time we ate together was also at a Quiznos, the one in Loma Linda.
On Friday, the meeting was great. Sid presented his research well.
The next day, Sabbath morning, we embarked on the Four Passes Loop from Maroon Lake. We did West Maroon and Frigid Air Passes. That was very difficult. We arrived safely to our campsite above Fravert Basin, and it was cold.
The next day across Trail Rider Pass to Snowmass Lake was also tough. The lake was beautiful. That evening, we sat by the lake until after sunset.
On Monday, after summiting Buckskin Pass, the descent was awful. My knees still hurt. At trail’s end, we both felt a moment of true accomplishment. On Tuesday, we returned via with a small detour to Breckenridge and drove through Rocky Mountain National Park.
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Thousand Island Lake
This weekend trip started in Agnew Meadow. The Mammoth shuttle bus system just opened for the season. After camping midway up the River Trail, we made it to a partially frozen Thousand Island Lake. Banner Peak was also snow-covered. A few of us decided to do a polar swim—or do some pushups on floating ice. The most welcome thing afterwards was a warm sleeping bag and a nice campfire.
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Tuolumne Meadows to Happy Isle
This is the trip when Ryan forgot his shoes, but we still made it up to the top of Half Dome.
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Continental Divide – Tonahutu Loop, Rocky Mountain
Epic trip through Rocky Mountain National Park, after the Musculoskeletal Infection Society Meeting in Aspen, Colorado.
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