October 2007 - Posts
The San Diego wildfires have received national media attention as they have burned hundreds of thousands of acres and thousands of structures over the past few days. The fires have primarily impacted the rural and exurban areas with the more densely populated suburban and urban areas left unaffected. The rural areas are prime locations for devastating forest fires as there are large expanses of open space filled with nothing but dry, highly combustible shrubs, grasses, and bushes. Of course, these open areas really aren't truly open anymore. As Southern California has continued to grow over the last several decades, homes have started to encroach into these areas, making these fires more costly and dangerous.
We live in an part of San Diego known as Pacific Beach, which is an urban coastal neighborhood, so we are safe from the fires. In fact, over the last few days there's been a gentle eastward breeze coming off the ocean, resulting in (fairly) blue skies, very little ash, and only a faint smell of smoke. If you dropped someone in here who was unaware of the fires, they'd likely assume that there was a fire somewhere (due to the smell of smoke), but that it was an isolated wildfire off in the mountains somewhere. While PB and neighboring coastal communities have been spared with this light breeze, areas further north along the coast and further inland are blanketed with ash, smoke, and greenhouse-like temperatures from the blanket of smoke trapping in heat.
I've been following the fire news online, primarily, and the best coverage so far in my opinion goes to KPBS's website. They not only provide information through their own website, but also use Twitter, Flickr, and Google Maps. The latest headlines - updated every few minutes - are available on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kpbsnews. They've setup a group at Flickr to share fire photos, and are making great use of Google Maps with this map showing burn areas, evacuation areas, shelters, and other vital information. The only KPBS coverage shortcoming was that their radio station went offline earlier this morning because their transmission tower was in a mandatory evacuation zone. A local music station (94.9 FM) kindly "signed off" and let KPBS broadcast on their station throughout the day.
I'll close with this video of San Diego News 8's Larry Himmel, reporting on his destroyed home. Bummer.
Day 5 examined our trek from Upper Lyell Canyon to Garnet Lake.
Day 6: Garnet Lake to Reds Meadow Resort [Pictures]
Distance: 13.6 Miles
Elevation Changes: 9,650 - 8,800 - 9,600 - 7,580
Today is scheduled to be a loooong day. We need to hike from our cliff-side campground near Garnet Lake to Reds Meadow, nearly 14 miles away. And while most of the trek is downhill, there are a few steep inclines: a short one to start the morning; another one after Shadow Lake; and then another, shorter one, later in the day. Here's a picture of Garnet Lake and Mt. Banner from the base of our campsite, with the morning sun illuminating the mountain tops. The mountain in the background here is the same one in the picture of 1,000 Island Lake from the Day 5 entry.
To maximize our chances for success, we woke up very early and we on the trail by 6:00 AM. We started ahead of the in-laws and made our way up the steep mountain side up to a pass, where we waited for the rest of our party. Upon their arrival, we made our way down the other side of the pass. The remainder of the morning was a descent to Shadow Lake, at 8,800 ft. On the way down to Shadow Lake we were rewarded with many great glimpses of the Minarets, a series of spiky granite pinnacles that are well-known to mountain climbing enthusiasts.
We reached Shadow Lake around 9:00 AM and stopped for breakfast at the side of the lake. There are a few good rest spots about 10 yards off of the trail that are flat, in the shade, and are buffeted by the lake. We rested, knowing that the most challenging ascent was just a few hundred yards away. After departing Shadow Lake, the trail climbs 800 ft. over 2.5 miles, but most of that incline is in the first mile or so. It's a series of switchbacks up the side of the mountain.
It's easy to get discouraged when facing a long series of switchbacks. It's hard, slow, painful progress. But what's far worse than the physical challenge is the knowledge that switchbacks like the one near Shadow Lake are some of the easiest sets of switchbacks on the entire JMT. The second half of the JMT, which winds through Kings Canyon National Park, has several days that involve, say, a 2,500 ft. ascent in the morning and a 3,000 ft. descent in the afternoon, which, as you can imagine, is dominated by switchbacks. What's more, the average elevation in Kings Canyon is over 10,000 ft.
After the switchbacks there's a tarn that you circumvent (shown below), followed by another incline, although this final incline is far less severe and much shorter than the Shadow Lake climb.
After that climb, there's one more tarn, and then a semi-gradual 2,000 ft. descent to Reds Meadow, our stopping place for the day. The scenery during this descent is rather disappointing as the trail is below tree cover the entire way, and the infrequent mountain vistas are rather ho-hum. The descent leads to the Devil's Postpile National Monument, which is a stretch of reserved land that contains the Devil's Postpile. The postpile is a series of basalt lava columns that were caused by volcanic activities and then exposed via glacial movement. The JMT doesn't pass through the monument, but many people who stop at Reds make a side trip if they haven't been there before.
Our plans were to stay at Reds Meadow for two nights, making Day 7 a rest day. We arrived at Reds Meadow Resort at about 3:00 in the afternoon and, like all JMT hikers, make our first stop the general store, where we get some soda and ice cream. Yum. We inquire about vacancies at the resort, but there are none, so we walk the quarter mile to the campground, secure a site for two nights, pitch our tent, and then walk back to the restaurant (which is right across from the general store) and have a warm, greasy dinner of patty melts and hamburgers.
Red Meadows Resort serves as a resupply point. They allow JMT hikers to mail their supplies in advance (for a fee), and you can pick them up whence you arrive. Jisun was smart enough to not only include essential supplies, but also to send some treats like candy, soap, and shampoo. Why soap and shampoo? In addition to the general store and restaurant, Reds Meadow has a series of natural hot showers. The campsite sits near a natural hot springs. Back in the early part of the 20th century they built a bath house with eight (or so) different stalls and bathtubs, and piped water directly from the spring. We all each enjoyed a shower before retiring for the night. I didn't mind the shower, but they are not built for comfort and are certainly not up to the standards of sanity we routinely enjoy at home. First off, the structure was build probably 80 years ago and I don't think it's been updated since. There is no electricity in the structure, so no lights. If you want to bathe after dark, bring a flashlight or headlamp. There's no temperature or pressure control, either. Sometimes the water comes out at a trickle, at other times it's a steady stream. Sometimes it's scalding hot, other times it just hot, but not to the point of inducing pain. I didn't much mind the conditions. I was happy to stand under warm (hot!) water and use shampoo and soap to get the grime and dirt out from my hair and skin.
With our bodies clean and our bellies full, and the knowledge that tomorrow we would enjoy more general store and restaurant food, we slept wonderfully and didn't rise until 7:00 AM the next morn.
Day 7: Reds Meadow Resort and Devil's Postpile National Monument [Pictures]
Distance: None!!
Elevation Changes: None!!
Rest days are a great way to rest and revive. It's amazing how much just 24 hours of rest will boost your energy levels, spirit, and morale. I started off this morning by taking another hot shower and it was a much more positive experience than last night. The campground attendant had just finished cleaning the showers and the water pressure and temperature were perfect. Shortly after my shower, we all headed over to the restaurant for some breakfast - a heap of eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, and the like, washed down with milk and coffee and orange juice. Following breakfast, we used the public laundry machines to wash our clothe and socks, and then the in-laws took the shuttle to Mammoth, a ski resort town about 15 miles east of the campground. In Mammoth they bought assorted hiking supplies that we either had forgotten or had damaged. I had them pick up some new water shoes for me (Cros, which worked out wonderfully) as well as a new pair of glove liners as mine had dime-sized holes on each finger.
While the in-laws were in Mammoth, Jisun and I walked to Devil's Postpile, which was about a third of a mile over fairly level ground. Jisun had visited Devil's Postpile as a youngster, but this was my first time. The postpile is relatively small - maybe 250 feet across and 150 feet high, small potatoes compared to the mountain scenery over the past six days. But the postpile was uniquely interesting. As the picture below shows, the postpile is made up of a series of basalt lava columns. Many have shattered due to past earthquakes and lie in a pile at the base of the monument. (The lighting for this picture was less than ideal. The picture below was taken a little before noon, and the postpile faces due west. I imagine the best time to take a picture here would be around 3:30 in the afternoon.)
There's a short path that leads to the top of the postpile where you can see the tops of the columns.
After touring Devil's Postpile, we walked back to the campsite and rested some more. I brewed some pine needle tea using the sun. Just fill up a Nalgene with water, fill it to the brim with pine needle trimmings, add sugar, and then set the Nalgene out in the direct sunlight. Three or four hours later, remove the pine needles and drink at your leisure. (I had also made this simple tea earlier on the trip by boiling water and then seeping with pine needles.)
Later than night we enjoyed dinner at the restaurant yet again, as well as some fresh fruit that the in-laws had purchased while in Mammoth. I took another shower that night before heading into bed.
The following day started with another fine breakfast at the restaurant before heading off toward Duck Lake. I'll cover Day 8 in a future post. Until then...
UPDATE [2007-11-01]: Read about Day 8.
Day 4 covered our trip from Tuolumne Meadows to Upper Lyell Canyon.
Day 5: Upper Lyell Canyon to Garnet Lake [Pictures]
Distance: 11.9 Miles
Elevation Changes: 9,600 - 11,056 - 9,580 - 10,200 - 9,650
We initially planned to hike from Upper Lyell Canyon to 1,000 Island Lake today for a total of 9.3 miles. The impetus for a shorter day today was due to the fact that today's hike would prove to be difficult, as it started with a 2.5 mile, 1,500 foot ascent over Donahue Pass, followed by a rapid descent back down to ~9,600 and then up another pass to 10,200 (Island Pass) before descending gradually to 1,000 Island Lake (at 9,800 ft). However, we needed to get to Reds Meadow by the following day, which is almost 16 miles from 1,000 Island Lake! Seeing as we were becoming exhausted hiking 11 miles, the prospect of hiking 16 miles in one day seemed daunting. Consequently, we decided to try to push on to Garnet Lake today, which is about 2.6 miles past 1,000 Island Lake, thereby cutting the miles tomorrow to about 13.5.
Both 1,000 Island Lake and Garnet Lake are tremendously scenic venues - large lakes enveloped within high mountain peaks, with many small islands dotting the lake surface - but both make less than ideal camping spots for the long distance backpacker. For starters, the Forest Service has prohibited camping in much of the area around the lake. At 1,000 Island Lake you need to hike about a half mile off trail to reach the campspots, and the really scenic ones are even further back and uphill! Moreover, the lake is a popular campsite since it is accessible from Reds Meadow Resort. It's a frequently-used campground, and travelers coming north on the trail warned us that there was a lot of refuse and toilet paper blowing around the campsite. Over at Garnet Lake there is only one legal campsite large enough to hold more than one tent, so if your party reaches Garnet Lake and that site is taken, you're hard pressed to find another (legal) site nearby. We were aware of this because my in-laws had hiked from Reds Meadow to 1,000 Island Lake this summer to help prepare for the JMT trip.
Despite the potential pitfall of the lone camping site at Garnet Lake being taken, we decided in the morning to try our best to push on to Garnet Lake.
The hike from Upper Lyell Canyon starts with a serious climb to Donahue Pass, the first 11,000+ pass on the JMT (when traveling from Yosemite), and the only 11,000+ ft. pass in the first half of the trail. (There are four 11,000+ ft. passes in the southern half of the JMT.) Getting above 10,000 feet is where the Sierra Nevada starts to shine. There are giant slabs of granite, steep mountain sides, streams, and boulders. There are far fewer hikers and much less wildlife. Oftentimes the only sound you hear is the crunching of rocks underneath your feet. And, being above the tree line, there's nothing obstructing your view. Just mountain peaks, rock, and snow all around. The following picture shows us rising above the tree line on our way up to Donahue Pass.
As we progressed higher, we were rewarded with stunning vistas of Lyell Canyon and the surrounding mountains. The small green splotch in the middle of this picture is Lyell Canyon, the stretch we hiked through yesterday; the blue line is Lyell River, winding through the canyon. It's amazing how far and high we had come in such a short time.
We reached the top of Donahue Pass at about 8:45 AM and were greeted with another great mountainous view: a cascade of boulders down the mountain side and an impressive view of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain continuing down the horizon. We stopped for about a half hour here, resting and cooking breakfast.
When resting it's important to do it right, to really rest. That means taking your backpack, boots, and socks off. That means setting your socks out on a sun-drenched rock to dry. That means sitting (or lying) down and resting. Taking my shoes and socks off is something that I sometimes have to force myself to do. If it's early in the day, my feet aren't sore or that sweaty. And taking off the shoes is a time consuming process, and you have to put them back on, and while they're off it's not as convenient to get around, and so on. But despite the excuses, I found it invaluable to always force myself to take off the boots and socks.
Of course, removing your boots and socks leaves you bare footed. To account for this, most backpackers bring some sort of "water shoe," which is used when removing one's boots. Common water shoes are Tevas and Crocs. Taking off your boots is useful when resting, at night after you've setup camp, and when crossing streams that are deeper than the height of your boot. Prior to our seven-day Sierra Nevada hike in 2006 I had purchased a pair of water shoes from REI that were a poor choice. They were tight on my feet and uncomfortable, and I learned this during our seven-day excursion. I should have picked out a new pair before our JMT trip, but I foolishly did not. My water shoes were so uncomfortable that I resigned myself to either going around barefoot or leaving my boots on when resting, when in camp, and so on. Since this year was so dry, there was not a concern regarding water crossings. In fact, when we reached Tuolumne Meadows, I actually disposed of my water shoes. (Fortunately, I did end up procuring a great pair of water shoes later on in the trip, but that story will have to wait until Day 7...)
Long story short, part of the reason I didn't like removing my boots and socks was because then I was barefooted, which greatly limited my motion and maneuverability. Yet I still often forced myself to remove my boots and socks and, in the end, was glad that I did. "Letting the dogs out," as some hikers say, is essential to reducing blisters and prolonging how long you can go before your feet get so sore as to force you to stop.
After dining atop Donahue Pass, we started our descent. We traveled for several more hours and back down to the 9,600 foot range before stopping for lunch at the Rush Creek campsite. We then resumed our uphill march to Island Pass. After Island Pass, there's a 1.5 mile, gradual decline to 1,000 Island Lake. 1,000 Island Lake (and Garnet Lake, to a lesser extent) is probably one of the most scenic spots on the northern half of the JMT. It's a large lake with several small islands. At its south end stands the impressive Mt. Banner.
We reached the shores of 1,000 Island Lake at 4:15 and had a small break. We contemplated stopping at 1,000 Island Lake as we were all very pooped, but decided we needed to push on. From 1,000 Island Lake it is another 2.7 miles to Garnet Lake, which includes a small elevation gain of about 100 feet and then a descent of about 250 feet. We arrived at the shores of Garnet Lake a little after 6:00 and, as luck would have it, another party had already taken the single large campsite area. My father-in-law approached them to see if they would be amenable to sharing the site with us, but they were a little icy and seemed to want the spot to themselves. It was probably for the best as they appeared to be weekenders - they had camp chairs, fresh food, and liquor - and likely wanted to stay up past sundown and not get up until 7:00 or 8:00 AM. We, on the other hand, were beat and were ready for bed now and would likely rise at 4:30 or 5:00 AM.
In any event, we continued on to the other side of the lake and found a spot up on the steep hillside. It wasn't really an ideal spot (and later that night, after having setup camp, we saw a small sign noting that camping was prohibited in this area), but it made due. After pitching our tents, we were so tired that we all skipped dinner and were all asleep by 8:00 PM.
Today's hike was hard and long and at the end we were utterly exhausted. Tomorrow's trek would actually be about two miles longer than today's, but was easier because it was mostly downhill and ended at Reds Meadow Resort, which had amenities including hot showers, flush toilets, a general store with beer and soda and candy, and a restaurant with hot food! I'll cover Day 6 in a future post. Until then!
UPDATE [2007-10-22]: Read about Days 6 and 7.
Day 3 detailed our journey from Sunrise High Sierra Camp to Tuolumne Meadows.
Day 4: Tuolumne Meadows to Upper Lyell Canyon [Pictures]
Distance: 11 Miles
Elevation Changes: 8,700 - 9,600
We started today well rested having slept in cots with clean clothes on our back and warm, greasy, calorie-rich food in our bellies from yesterday. Moreover, we knew today was going to be an easy day, possible the easiest on the entire trail. The stretch from Tuolumne Meadows to Upper Lyell Canyon is a long, gently uphill trek through some of the most scenic meadows and mountains in the first half of the JMT. Due to our comfort and easy upcoming schedule, we got a bit of a late start, hitting the trail at 6:45 AM.
The hike started with about an hour's hike through a forested area from Tuolumne Meadow to the north end of Lyell Canyon. Lyell Canyon is a long, narrow canyon that stretches about eight miles. It was formed by the Lyell River. The JMT, more or less, follows the banks of the river. There are times when the trail and river separate and are out of view for a short distance, but most of the time the river was 10-30 feet away. It is an especially scenic river: placid in some parts and rapid in others. The following picture is a good representation of Lyell River's more calm sections. Here, too, you can see the shape of the canyon and how the river originates from the rising mountains in the distance.
Lyell River is a popular fishing spot and is readily accessible seeing as it's a few easy miles from Tuolumne Meadows. We saw many trout swimming through the cool waters as we hiked by. However, we didn't see a single person fishing in the river. In fact, we saw fewer people today than in any of the first three days. It was oddly quiet (by Yosemite standards) for some reason.
After about two and a half hours of hiking, we stopped for breakfast alongside the banks of the river. Certain portions of the river have granite banks, offering an ideal spot to sit and cook. Other areas (like in the picture above) are grassy and muddy and are less inviting. We found a great spot for breakfast and enjoyed a hot meal and a short rest.
The Lyell Canyon stretch is easy, but long. It's up a very gradual incline, making it easy walking. However, the path is oftentimes out in the open, directly under the hot sun. And the canyon keeps going and going and going. Eventually, the mountains at the end of the canyon get closer and start looming, signally the end of the gradual incline.
After getting spoiled with a moderate incline throughout the bulk of the day, today's trek ended with a rather steep incline in the last mile and a half, starting our journey into the mountains. The following picture, taken near the crest of today's ascent, offers a good view of the canyon and the winding river below.
We stopped at the Upper Lyell Canyon campground, exhausted. We contemplated pushing on another mile or so, since it was still pretty early at this time (around 3:30 PM) and we had initially hoped to go further, but most everyone was pretty beat and we decided to call it a day. The campground was particularly inviting. It was large enough to house our three tents; the ground was flat and spacious; there was a campfire ring in the center of the campground; and there was a fast flowing river about 25 yards from our tent.
We settled into our tents around 7:30 PM and were out cold by 8:00. While today's hike wasn't especially difficult, we knew we had a hard day in store for us tomorrow, which would start with a two and a half mile climb from our current elevation (9,600 ft.) over Donahue Pass, which stands at over 11,000 ft.
Today's hike was the most scenic of the trip, although because of the dry season, the views we saw were less than stellar. The brown grass, low flowing river, and reduced snow on the distant peaks diminished the scenery, which is unfortunate because this is supposedly one of the most scenic stretches of the north half of the JMT. Despite the dry conditions, the scenery was still enjoyable. Tomorrow's scenery, however, gave us our first real foray into the mountains, and I, personally, prefer mountain scenery over meadow scenery. Not surprisingly, I found tomorrow's scenery even more beautiful than today's.... but the details of Day 5 will have to wait until later!
UPDATE [2007-10-17]: Read about Day 5.
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