Moments in Dirt and Ink

Yosemite National Park Sierra National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6  |  DAY 7  |  DAY 8 Yellow line for day 4. Click for interactive map It was noted that we had started at 8:13AM on each camped day so far and maybe we should try to get along a little bit earlier. So we did. Following the rough, then just faint, trail back to the main trail. We arrived at the junction at 8:13AM, which somehow didn't feel like actually getting started earlier. And then we proceeded up, dallying at every little new thing as two of us are apt to do. A look back at the pond and the somehow better hidden, though much larger, Breeze Lake. The rockfringe willowherb is not actually new. And the Shasta knotweed is new even if it does look a bit like beach knotweed. We arrived at the top of Fernandez Pass, the very edge of Yosemite National Park. I had noted a "Mon 133" marked...

Sierra National Forest Kings Canyon National Park Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6  |  DAY 7 Today is a travel day without any mountains to climb. Well, a get down to the trail and then travel day. My plan to get back on trail is to go over the low spot west of the outlet and work my way down tending left to get to less steep areas of the canyon. Just getting to the low spot needs a round-about route as the direct way seems to have a bit of water topped by a wall of snow. The view back up to Pilot Knob from nearby camp. Climbing up and around for a low spot. Heading down among the rocks that make a lovely terraced flower garden requires some rather careful stepping. Halfway down, my stepping is not quite careful enough. Trust in one particular rock is rewarded with it slipping down a chimney it was sitting in the top of for a couple feet. It could be worse, th...

Sierra National Forest Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6  |  DAY 7 Another poor sleep, but that is what it is. Today is a day to grab a peak. First up is getting back down to the main trail. Packed up, I follow the trail I found beside my camp back to the snow field and then make my way downward toward where I know the rest of the trail is. Staying on trail does not last long. As it climbs, I head down, aiming at the outlet of Summit Lake. These lakes often have a rather rocky outlet that can allow for an easy crossing. There is more snow, and then the slushy area of melt water below, to navigate to get there. The rest of Humphreys Basin stretched out below. Today is easy, just cross it and pop up the bump at the end, Pilot Knob, a bit toward the right. I can see the trail just up from some rocks on the other side, so it is not far to go to get there once on the correc...

Inyo National Forest Sierra National Forest Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6  |  DAY 7 A poor sleep, nothing to do with the moment and everything to do with being in a cycle of poor sleep, showed that all my little roof blocked was the very bright moon as it crossed the sky and then the view of the stars. A few clouds played, but mostly it was clear. Home seems to like to cloud up and rain at night, but these mountains like a good afternoon clamber with clearing at night. Still, the late evening activity hinted that there might be a little more to the current weather than just what the mountains generate. Morning is clear and George is shaded by the mountains with plenty of fish jumping. George Lake and a pothole beside it sit in shadows reflecting a morning sky. The trail along the side of the lake has a tree, still green, fallen across where it is difficult to get...

Sierra National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5 There was some smoke in the night, but not much. There still is not much in the air as the morning comes. My procrastination about getting up is interrupted by a double bladed helicopter heading south from Florence Lake somewhere. Twice as loud as the average helicopter. I figure it is something to do with the firefighting effort, but it is actually picking up some of the last Search and Rescue teams after finding their missing hiker battered and hungry, but otherwise in good shape. I thought I would just make my own way last night, but now I want to find the junction. Before starting, there are a couple points it seems prudent to put into the GPS to help navigate. One is for a big bend in the trail and one for the lake itself. Heading downward, there is a blaze and another and behind me another one. Blazes were rare yesterday. I saw about three and one wa...

Kings Canyon National Park Sierra National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5 Sipping a bit of water helped deal with the effects of smoke in the night and the morning is clearer again. I have decided to poll the hikers I meet as to if they are through hiking or not. The two that were already at the site are JMT sobo hikers (John Muir Trail south bound) and the two who came later are the same, but hit the greater smoke to the south and are now bailing out at Muir Ranch. Crossing the bridge over the low South Fork San Joaquin River. The sign at the junction says it is 16 miles down to Florence Lake, probably meaning the trailhead, and that is essentially all downhill. I thought yesterday afternoon was a long time going downhill, this will be longer. The lost elevation is much less. A piece of the trail. It is still a little smoky out, but not so bad. The deer in the park can be very relaxed.

Sierra National Forest Kings Canyon National Park DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5 It is 2 AM and I have woken up not comfortable at all. The smoke is making my nose run which is just enough to dribble down my throat and my stomach is reacting with heart burn. Maybe I should bail. Smoke is not a healthy thing. Pulling out the map, it looks like I could get back to the car in a day. It would be even easier to do so if I get the part I already know done now. I am not sleeping or even feeling sleepy. Packing is easy and quick. Under the moon, I do not even need my head lamp. It is curious how the trail stands out in the low light as a lighter line, even as it passes over the rocks. Very small particles ground out by the passage of many shoes scatter the light a little better? It seems plausible. Whatever it is, it makes the trail easier to follow than it was in the daylight. Of course, knowing where it goes hel...

Sierra National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5 The new day dawns fairly clear of smoke. I had an inflatable mat that would have been more comfortable, but it turned two and decided to develop more pin holes every day. For a night on a basic blue mat embellished by marmot, this was pretty good. A bit of breakfast and gathering up my temporary home making and I am ready for a little more climbing through the trees. It does not take long for these to open up into meadow and then get decidedly wetter. A little meadow through the trees in the morning sunlight. Meadow Brook as a brook through a meadow. An expansive meadow including a large pond and a couple smaller ones further up.

Sierra National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5 I was dithering greatly about where to go backpacking next as it is a brilliant time to be backpacking, especially in the Sierras. I am still looking at Blackcap, but a new variable has come into the equation: the Rough Fire. The Forest Service has closed the area south of Crown Valley, which is just 2.5 miles south of Woodchuck where I would enter for that. I decided to move a little bit north to Maxson and I would go to Hell For Sure. (You know someone named it just so they could say that was where they were going.) I am looking froward to having a trip where the trails are fairly easy to follow. Getting my permit the day before, I was told that Woodchuck was closed for air quality concerns. That is worrying. The air did not look all that good yesterday, but it is better this morning. The lot is practically empty. There are three or four other private cars...

Inyo National Forest (map link) DAY 1  |  DAY 2 It seems like it should be colder than this in October at 10,000 feet. There is not the slightest sign of frost anywhere. Today, we can day hike up the last of the mountain, then grab the rest of our stuff on the way down and coast the rest of the way out. First, we have to get started and it is quite a late start. Ah, but the sun is upon us as we do. The night warmer than expected does not translate into a very warm day. Red and White Mountain with sun long before it gets to us on the other side of Big McGee Lake. Starting out in the still cool, but now sunny, fall air.

It has been too long since I've gone on a proper backpacking trip, meaning something lasting on the order of a week. The last time was in September 2003 when I went on the Y-hike with my fellow Techers. This hike is open to everyone from the pre-frosh just about to start to the graduates about to finish who are collected into four groups of different levels and limited to 6-8 people per group. There's a 12 miles a day, 8 miles a day, 6 miles every other day, and few miles hiking around so I signed up for 8 miles since that's what I've generally considered a good day. We had a plan to go out from North Lake over Piute Pass and then turn north over Pine Creek Pass and take a loop, as shown on the maps above. These are from the USGS 15' series, from the bottom right counterclockwise: Mount Goddard 1957, Mount Tom 1954, Mount Abbot 1953, and Blackcap Mountain 1962. Red dots mark the path and numbered purple dots mark the campsites used. Day 1: We've done all o...