 |
| Bullfrog Lake from Keasarge Pass Trail |
As planned, we spent the night at Flower Lake, a mere two miles from the trailhead. It was a good way to get the group together after a long drive from SoCal and still get into the forest as a warmup for the longer days to follow. Day 2 was beautiful with blue skies and light winds. By 0930 we were atop Kearsarge Pass at 11,760'. We were in great spirits as we descended into Kings Canyon National Park. The switchbacks led down towards Kearsarge Lakes where we continued west on the fisherman's trail towards Bullfrog Lake. We stopped there for a quick snack and pumped some water. We officially joined the John Muir Trail (JMT) at the outlet from Bullfrog and began the long descent into the Vidette Meadow. We arrived in the meadow at 1pm. This meadow is in a massive valley that leads south and climbs upwards to Forester Pass. From this point, the JMT follows Bubbs Creek up the valley to our Day 2 campsite near the Center Basin trail junction. The clouds were forming by mid afternoon as we walked through the pine forest for the final 3 miles. We reached our campsite at about 3:30pm and a light rain began while we set up our tents. During dinner, the skies had cleared but the weather was still the main topic. The NWS was predicting a storm to move in the next day with a good chance of SNOW. We agreed that the plan was to be trail-ready by 7am and make a decision to continue south over Forester Pass or head back. The night was clear with very little wind. Later, we each admitted to peering at the sky throughout the night wondering what our fate would be for Day 3. By 5am things looked good. We were fed and ready to hike by 7am. But there was an odd thin trace of high altitude clouds moving into view above us. Convective cloud activity is normal in the Sierras but not at 7am. We pooled our collective experience, judgement, and intuition and made the decision ... to retreat. Whitney would have to wait. The 9-11 tribute had good intentions. Despite 6 months of planning, time, money and so many other factors, I knew in my heart and mind that we made the right decision. Forester Pass was a point-of-no-return that would entail 2 days in the Kern Basin and another day to summit Whitney. That was no place to be if the NWS was right. And our hunch was that they were. So Day 3 headed back along the trail we had just hiked. As we trudged up the steep trail back to Bullfrog Lake, I kept glancing south to the blue sky over Forester Pass. I couldn't bear to keep looking. We stopped at Bullfrog for lunch and some water and then noticed dark clouds forming to the south. We decided to catch two fish each and then head back to Kearsarge Pass and down to the car. In no time the weather was on us. We hit the trail as thunder began to echo in the far distance. The only patch of blue sky was over K-Pass. The paradox of the High Sierras is that you want to hurry, you want to run; but you just cannot. The altitude at 11,000' demands a steady pace or it will crush you on a day 3. After bursts of speed followed by long minutes to recover, John established a perfect pace. Slow and steady we finally made it to K-Pass but the blue sky was now gone. Hail was flying sideways pelting our new group of about a dozen grown men. All pulling rain gear from their packs. All knowing that we should not be here. Here on this single high point with thunder booming closer each minute. We should leave. We need to go, now. Yet, in the minutes that we were all there, despite the unspoken false bravado, there was a sense of true camaraderie. The remainder of that final day was a rainy four mile hike back down to the car. That night the first snow of the season would come the the Sierras. A foot and a half actually. For us, we stopped at the Dow Villa Motel with a dinner of pizza and beer. Just as we had planned all along. Go for a hike with your friends and come back safely.
DETAILS:
Team: Kirby L, John P, & Dave W.
Support Crew: Don W
Miles: 45
Sept 7th: Travel to Independence CA. Hike 2 miles to Flower Lake.
- Things to Do:
- Pickup permits in Lone Pine. Call USFS before 10am to hold permits
- Rent a Bear Canister if you arrive without one. Usage is mandatory.
- Position at least one car at Whitney Portal
- Carpool to trail-head at Onion Valley west of Independence, CA
- Final Gear Check in parking lot
- Begin 2 mile staging hike to Flower Lake approx 2pm
- Sunset at 7pm
Sept 9: Hike 9 miles. Cross Forester Pass and then down to just past Tyndall Creek.
Sept 10: Hike 10 miles. Hike to Guitar Lake at the west base of Mt Whitney
Sept 11: Hike 15 miles. 4 miles to Mt Whitney summit then 11 miles down to Whitney Portal.
TOOLKIT- Things to Do / Decide:
- Don W plans to meet the hikers coming into the Portal as they finish. Instead of the Portal Campground, we will all rally at the hotel for dinner and stories. All are welcome.
- Two hotel rooms are reserved at the Dow Villa Motel in Lone Pine, CA
- We will need to carpool out of the Portal and retrieve the car(s) at Onion Valley as needed.
- MAPS of this trail (Printable JPEG format) Added Aug 21.
- GOOGLE EARTH view of Trail Added Aug 6th
- SPOT Locator Page Active as of Sept 5th
- Weather Conditions
- Sept is a transitional weather month. It can be the last hot spell of the season or the first snowfall. Keep an eye on weekly weather patterns especially monsoons from Mexico that can bring a cruel wet snowfall.
- Contacts:
- Sequoia & Kings National Park (SEKI)
- USFS INYO National Forest
- Mono County Sheriff Dispatch (760) 932-7549
- INYO County Sheriff Dispatch (760) 878-0383
Maps are downloaded and I am excited. I may go to LP on 6th.
ReplyDelete