A High Sierra Expedition [Pic heavy]

[GowerGulch42]

Earlier in August (the 10th thru 14th), some family friends and I backpacked through a portion of the John Muir Wilderness. A total of 3 nights and roughly 32 miles made for a generally comfortable pace. I had not been to Owens Valley or any part of the Eastern Sierra in about 5 years, so this was a great trip to re-familiarize myself with the area. The plan and permit were for a thru-hike of the Pine Creek trailhead over to North Lake (near Lake Sabrina), and the two of us from Oregon stayed at North Lake to hold down the fort for everyone else and to acclimate to the altitude. This gave us an extra day to lounge around the campground after our 11 hour drive, and the opportunity to explore some things I had missed out on previously. Smoke from the numerous fires clouded Owens and Long Valleys, but that didn't hinder our fun too much. 

On our first morning, we stopped by Lake Sabrina on our way to Bishop for shopping. It is about 40 feet low, according to the fishing guru at the little fishing shop there.

DSC_0670 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

Our first order of business was to pick up some sundries in Bishop, and since we were in the area I decided that we should visit the museum in Laws. My previous visit attempts had been stymied by my associates at the time   . It's a great museum, and it seems that they've expanded significantly in the last few years. It took us about three hours to see the whole site! Their collection included relics from all parts of Inyo and Mono Counties, and their information on the Pine Creek Tungsten Mine provided a great prelude to our hike which started near there. The artifact that most excited me was the gasoline-powered railcar which served Ryan from Amaragosa/Death Valley Junction on the former Death Valley Railroad. I cannot recommend the museum highly enough!

Eventually, it was time to begin our hike. I had never been up Pine Creek before this, and if you haven't either then let me assure you it is worth the diversion for the drive alone! The cliffs and canyon walls are stunning in themselves. The Pine Creek Trailhead is notable for its abundance of huge Jefferey Pines which tower above the parking lot and accentuate the steep climb to come. The first day's hike was destined to end at Honeymoon Lake, some 3,200 feet above the parking lot in only 5.5 miles. About 3,000 of that altitude gain takes place in the first three miles.


DSC_0714 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

You gain altitude quickly, and views of the canyon, mine, and smoke were worth every moment of steep, sun-baked climb. My pack was about 45 pounds on the first day.


IMG_9463 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


DSC_0756 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


DSC_0777 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

Eventually the switchback mining road gave way to our favorite thing, irregular granite stairs. This particular set was the nicest we saw on the whole trip!


DSC_0808 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


DSC_0814 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

One of my favorite things from this day was the abundance of glacial rock polish. I had not seen any this beautiful outside of my geology textbooks until this day!


DSC_0833 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

After the initial climb, this unnamed striped mountain loomed over the trail. It is an ancient mass of gabbro, the intrusive version of basalt, criss-crossed by dikes and sills of Sierran granites.


DSC_0845 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


DSC_0852 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

Afternoon thunderstorms are common in the Sierra, and while we didn't see any rain nor thunder this day it certainly aided the drama of the mountains.


IMG_9468 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

Finally we reached Honeymoon Lake, well tuckered out from a seriously tough day.


IMG_9477 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

We slept well that night and enjoyed the tail-end of the Perseids meteor shower once the clouds cleared. The High Sierra do not mess around with the morning reflections on their lakes! I have numerous panoramas I've been working on that I will post a bit later. Once morning broke, we began the climb up to Pine Creek Pass at 11,135 feet. 


DSC_0963 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

Views could have been worse:

DSC_0977 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

This climb was not particularly difficult when compared to the day before, and we made quick work of it. Once we crested the pass, Mt. Humphreys (13,986') came in to view - the 7th tallest peak in California.


DSC_0009 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

There's a small lake at the summit of the pass which made for nice photographing.

DSC_0052 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


DSC_0068 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

Of course what goes up must come down, and so we descended into the upper portions of French Canyon en-route to Moon Lake, our camp for the night.


IMG_9497 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


DSC_0075 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

We reached Moon Lake by lunchtime, and set up camp before exploring that area. The skyline was dominated by this 12,200' pyramid, which one member of our party peaked in about an hour in a half (the guy is a machine!).


IMG_9522 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

Here, the Bear Creek Spire looms over the northern skyline.


DSC_0182 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

I hiked up to the base of the unnamed pyramid, where there's a large lake (Star Lake). The summit of the pyramid is over 800 feet above me at this location, but less than 1600' away in a straight line!


DSC_0199 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

(I haven't edited this one yet)

DSC_0220 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

The incoming afternoon thunderstorms heralded the end of the excursion. We were far enough east to avoid significant rain, but had quite a show of lightning flashes on distant peaks.


DSC_0228 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


DSC_0230 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

The clouds broke, and we explored a huge boulder field just above to the north of Moon Lake.

DSC_0264 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


DSC_0268 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr


IMG_9550 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

I became transfixed by this huge block teetering on the edge of Merriam Peak's scalloped east face:

DSC_0328 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

I was glad I brought my telephoto lens along for the trip.


DSC_0336 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

The alpenglow that evening was stunning.

DSC_0329 by Andrew Dunning, on Flickr

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