Attendance

Saturday, August 20

This was a travel day. Two cars left the Scout House at 8:10 am and met up at the usual spot in Pixley Park. (Road 124, just north of Pixley). Since it was too early to eat lunch, we continued on to a nice park in Sangar to eat our sack lunches. (We should have filled up on gas there, too, as it was cheaper than the surrounding areas.) We then proceeded to the ranger station in Prather to pick up our wilderness permit. After we passed Huntington Lake, the roads took a turn for the worse. Two lanes became one, the turns got sharper and blinder, and the pot holes grew bigger. After what seemed like a very long time, we got to the High Sierra Ranger Station. They reported no unusual bear activity in the area and advised us to camp and park at the trailhead (the end of the road).

Despite the fact we were over 20 miles from any civilization, we were surprised to find spotty cell phone coverage in the area. We backtracked about 1/2 mile to the last hot spot and phoned back to L.A. to find out the status of our sixth member. We found out that he would not be joining us. We were all disappointed, but we resolved to press on.

As we proceeded on, I was actually glad to see the lousy pavement end and dirt road begin. It was an improvement. After passing the Vermilion Valley Resort, we hit the end of the road where we found a wonderful campground/trailhead parking lot combination. We arrived at about 4:20 pm. There was no need to move the cars from a campground to the trailhead. (This is a great idea.) There were a number of great sites, and we were the only ones there. We picked one right next to the cars and set up shop.

The first order of business was to repack the food for five people and distribute the sixth person's food packages amongst the rest of us. We then sat down to an excellent trailhead dinner that was planned by Alex. We ate very well that night. (See menu below) After a nice campfire we all retired for an early up.

Trailhead Dinner

Note: There was no cost to stay there but there was a one-night-stay limit there. There were bear boxes everywhere. You can leave your garbage, smellables, etc. in them while you are hiking. There is also a brand new water storage tank and solar powered water purifier.

Sunday, August 21

We were up at 6:00 am and enjoyed another gourmet trailhead meal thanks to Alex. (See menu below) The hike along the north edge of Lake Edison was uneventful except for a Scout's Own service that we had at one view point.

Trailhead Breakfast

When we got near the ferry drop point at the far end of the lake, people were everywhere. It was like a highway until we got past the Silver Pass cutoff, then we saw almost no one. The mosquitoes were plentiful, but not overpowering.

The camping at First Recess was dismal. There is only one small site next to the river. We could have stayed in an undeveloped area but it was a very poor place. We decided to continue on and look for a better spot. It turned out there weren't many camping options until we got to Second Recess. There was one excellent spot there which we quickly grabbed. It was near the river, flat, and had a campfire ring. Prime real estate. (There are lots of camping options in this area, even for large groups.)

We had the traditional Top Ramen, spaghetti and french bread dinner followed by a nice campfire. Overall we accomplished 8 backpack hours of travel Sunday. Due to this progress, we decided to treat ourselves and sleep in until 6:30 am.

Monday, August 22

We were up at 6:30 am and on the trail by 8:00. Hiking up the creek, we found no obvious camping sites at Third Recess. Generally, if you had just one tent, you'd be able to find spots hither and yon. Finding a spot for a group, however, is tough. (Except at Second Recess.)

Just before Fourth Recess, we found an uncharted trail off to the left and up to Pioneer Basin. It followed the creek and appeared to be a shortcut. (The trails must form a triangle here although the map doesn't show it.)

After climbing up into Pioneer Basin we found a nice campsite between the first and second lakes and just to the east. It even had a little "foot soaking" pond behind it.

We looked forward to being in this location for three days. Mosquitoes were not an issue as they were at a minimum. One drawback to this location was that it was in a basin between Mt. Hopkins and Mt. Huntington. Sunrise was very late for us and sunset was also very early (5:30 pm). Given the cool breeze flowing up through the basin, we quickly became motivated to finish dinner by 5:30.

Dinner this evening was Top Ramen, beef stroganoff, and cobbler for dessert.

I was in bed at 7:30 pm. It turns out this would quickly become my personal tradition.

Tuesday, August 23

This was the day to climb Mt. Crocker. (Rated E)

We were up at 6:00 am and on the trail by 7:30. We threaded our way up the basin between the numerous lakes. At each lake there is an existing "fisherman's trail" that goes around it. We loaded up on water at the upper lake (11,200') that is at the base of Mt. Crocker. Proceeding to the right of this lake we headed straight for the notch that is just to the southwest of the peak (between Mt. Crocker and Peak 12,404). Partway up we encountered three vertical snow fields. To the right of center involved the least snow, but the group decided to go to the far right. It turns out that route involved one extra snow crossing, but it was easy and we all make it safely. This climb was basically a large boulder scramble until we got to the base of the notch. At that point it was a rock and scree scramble up to the notch. Once at the notch, we followed the ridge to get to the top - all rocks, but a nice climb. We reached the top at 12:30 and settled in for some great views and lunch.

We started down at 1:15. At the notch we checked for echoes from Mt. Stanford. We heard 3-5, depending on whom you ask. We retraced our steps down, except we came down to the right of center (definitely less snow). We were back in camp by 5:00 pm (despite my upset stomach due to drinking warm water).

Along the way we stumbled on another good campsite. It was located just west of the southern tip of the second significant lake (the one shaped like a triangle at 10,840').

It turns out Mt. Crocker was a straight-forward climb from this direction. The route became obvious once got we close. Avoiding the snow was the only challenge.

Tuesday's dinner was Won Ton soup, lasagna, and chocolate peanut butter pie for dessert. Bedtime was 7:30 pm for me. (Aside: never mix Won Ton soup and an upset stomach.)

I woke up in the middle of the night and found a crystal clear sky with the Milky Way very obvious. This was a great spot for star gazing. Moon rise wasn't until about midnight, so from 9:00 - midnight, the viewing was spectacular.

Wednesday, August 24

Today was the day to climb Mt. Stanford. (Rated E)

We were up at 6:00 am. We had noticed coyote growls yesterday morning but thought perhaps they had just made a kill. The growls (not full-fledged howls, but more of a group growl) reoccurred this morning at the exact same time (6:45). It must have something to do with the sun coming up.

Anyway, we were on the trail by 7:30. We threaded our way up the basin once again. This time we aimed at the middle of the ridge between Mt. Crocker and Mt. Stanford. We went diagonally up it to the right so we could intersect the ridge 1/3 of the way between it's low point and the first false peak on Mt. Stanford. This was mostly a rock and scree scramble, similar to climbing Mt. Hopkins.

Once on the ridge it was an easy walk. It was mostly hard sand with scattered rocks. (If I had to do it over, I'd get to the ridge the easiest way possible and then just walk it.) We walked up the ridge to just before the false peak. At this point we left the ridge and traversed to the right, climbing slightly in elevation as we went. It turns out this was a bit of a mistake. There are four vertical rock outcroppings you have to traverse. The routes are easier and faster down lower. On the good side, once we reached the chute that led to the top, we were almost there. It was a quick rock and scree scramble to the upper notch. If we were lower, it would have been more of a scramble. From the top of the notch, the peak was just feet to the right. We arrived at 1:00 pm and settled in for lunch. By this time the wind was so strong we headed for the lee side and ate behind some rocks. We had a great view to the east.

Before starting down we checked for an echo from Mt. Crocker - absolutely nothing. We started down at 2:00 pm and descended partway down the notch. From there we started traversing to the right. Our goal was to avoid the cliffs that were below and to the left and also to get back to the scree on our far right. At every chance we went to the right, descending as needed to just to get below the rock outcroppings. Eventually we broke out into scree and enjoyed the remaining decent. Once back into the basin, the route back was old hat and very fast. We arrived back in camp at 5:00 pm.

It turned out Mt. Stanford was not a straight-forward climb, and the route was not obvious. Tackling it from the western ridge was fine, but I think staying lower and doing a longer ascent up the chute would have been faster.

Tonight's dinner was Top Ramen, beef stew, and smores for dessert. Bedtime was 7:30 for me.

Thursday, August 25

Today was the day to climb Mt. Huntington. (Rated E)

I decided to stay in camp and have a lay day. The rest were up at 6:00 am and on the trail by 7:00.

They first hiked up to the small lake that is at 10,900' and 1 mile due west of the peak. From there they followed the stream up to the next small lake and then went overland and due south to the highest lake at 11,680', passing to the right of the small hill. Then they hiked directly up to the ridge and followed it to the peak. They made it to the top by 11:35 am. The quickness was due to the peak's proximity and relative lack of difficulty. One bad piece of advice was to skirt the false peak to the right. It turned out there was a cliff there. So instead they climbed over the peak. They ate lunch at the top and started back at 12:30. The route back was similar except, when they got to the lake at 11,680', they followed its stream down.

Back in camp, I did laundry, cleaned my tent, aired out my sleeping bag, soaked my feet for a while, and generally relaxed and enjoyed the surroundings. Midafternoon I started prepping for the big Spam feast planned for that night.

Everyone else arrived back in camp at 3:40 pm. They declared this the easiest peak yet. We launched into the traditional Spam, mashed potatoes and gravy feast. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Dessert was an Andes mint.

This was our last night here. We had settled into a routine. The weather was perfect, with only a few fluffy white wisps of clouds in the early afternoon, if that. The breeze was cool and gentle, settling down after dark. The nights were clear, with a bright moon to greet us in the morning.

No need to guess at my bedtime.

Friday, August 26

Today was the day to climb Mt. Hopkins. (Rated E)

I decided to stay in camp as I had already climbed Mt. Hopkins. The rest were up at 6:00 am and on the trail by 7:15.

They were on the top two hours later. We exchanged verbal "hi's" and they started down at 9:45 am. It was fun watching them hit every scree field and having a blast going through them. They stopped partway down for photos and to make a movie so their time to the bottom was no world record. They arrived back in camp at 10:20 am.

This morning there was lots of frost. It was definitely getting colder every morning. Climbing Mt. Hopkins gave the frost time to melt and evaporate before we had to pack up and move on.

Throughout our stay in Pioneer Basin we kept hearing things that sounded like falling rocks. We got our fair share of jets flying over, but this sound was different. Maybe once or twice a day you'd hear one. This morning I heard another one. I'm convinced it was a big rock falling somewhere off in the distance.

We retraced our path back to Second Recess, eating lunch at a stream along the way. We arrived at Second Recess at 4:15 pm. There was no way we could cross Mono Creek and make it up Second Recess far enough to camp tonight so we decide to abandon climbing Gabb. (Rated D)

Unfortunately for us, the prime campsite at Second Recess was taken by a gentlemen named Marion and his grandson Joshua, who were from Menlo Park. They had packed in that morning. They were going to be there for four days and just spend some quality time together.

We found a fire ring up the hill a bit and set up camp around it (not a great spot but it had a fire ring, and the boys were excited about a campfire). It was also a good time to lighten our packs by burning trash.

Dinner was Top Ramen and lasagna again. Instead of dessert we had corn with the main meal. This is definitely a favorite (even without dessert). After dinner we had our campfire and invited the man and his grandson to join us. It turned out he had ridden across America on a bike five years ago. Alex regaled us all with adventures from this year's Jamboree. We all talked and enjoyed the campfire. A good time was had by all.

Unlike previous days, today I made it to 8:30 before hitting the sack.

Saturday, August 27

Today was going to be a relatively easy day, so rather than sleep in, we decided to get up early and enjoy those pancakes we never got to eat earlier in the week. We were up about 6:00 am and the first pancake came off the grill shortly after that. There was a choice of real maple syrup or the conventional store-bought kind. There was one snowman pancake, complete with eyes, nose, buttons, and two arms.We all ate until we couldn't eat anymore. After cleanup, we were on the trail at 9:30 am.

As we approached the edge of the wilderness and the beginning of the lake, Alex complained of a sick stomach. We slowed down and let him recover a bit. Eventually we made it to the ferry landing where we had earlier noticed a campsite. This time it was occupied by a young couple who were, shall we say, getting acquainted. Fortunately Alex was feeling better so we decided to press on.

About 1/4 of the way down the lake there is a designated campsite which was our destination for the night. As we approached it, Alex had a relapse. Luckily that was right by an old abandoned campsite. Before setting up shop, we decided to look around a bit for a better campsite. About 100' further down the trail was a fantastic campsite between the trail and the lake. It was a 5 star campsite that was put in by the USFS Pine Ridge group (http://www.conresourceg.com) and was meant as a boaters campsite. To us it was like a Hilton. It was right on the lake with two small private beaches. It had a dining table with two huge logs as benches. The table was built up with finished lumber to provide a flat eating surface. There was a food cooking table (at just the right height), a food prep table, and a bear box to store food in. There was also a shower stall with a stone floor. (Water not included.) The campfire ring was very large with bench seating on three sides. One bench even had a back rest. There was a large metal grate in case you wanted to BBQ. Firewood was plentiful. They also had provided a sand bucket and a 5 gallon water bucket. Someone had left behind a fire poker and an axe, bent but usable. There was even a one-seat commode directly across the trail.

Dinner was Top Ramen and chicken rice casserole. Since we had a full-fledged table, tonight's dinner was served family style - a nice change.

Unlike last Sunday, today we saw almost no one. Even the mosquitoes were gone. They really hadn't been a concern since last Monday.

Like previous days, I was in the sack at 7:30. Unlike previous days, it was too hot to sleep. The lake really kept things warm. So I should have stayed up later. Oh well.

Sunday, August 28

Today was our last day. We had only a short hike (about 3.5 miles) to reach the trailhead.

We were up at 6:00 am and on the trail by 7:15. Everyone was motivated, and the trail was flat, so we were at the cars by 8:40 am. After packing up, we headed off to the showers.

I stopped by Vermilion Valley Resort to check into the shower situation. They have only two showers so we proceeded on to Mono Hot Springs Resort. Along the way we spotted a car with a blown right front tire - undoubtedly due to the pot holes. Mono Hot Springs Resort has four showers so they went very quickly and everyone was feeling human again.

After enduring that long, winding road one last time, both cars met up at Lake Huntington. From there we decided to meet again at the park in Kingsburg which is right off highway 99. Then we drove to the Sizzler in Visalia and enjoyed the traditional all-you-can-eat feast. Since it was Sunday afternoon, the Sizzler was very crowded, more crowded than anyone had ever seen it. But that didn't stop us from enjoying lots of fresh, real food.

After Sizzler we went to Baskin-Robbins for dessert. We were all very thankful for the safe and fun week we had and for being able to climb all of those E peaks. Even the weather had cooperated, not even threatening to rain. It was a very good longterm.

Everyone was home by 6:30 pm. I made it to 8:30 before hitting the sack.

Submitted by Tom Thorpe

Longterm Journals