Attendance

Saturday, July 25

Travel day. I drove from Visalia (highway 198) to the Mineral King turnoff. We decided to put notes on the back of the turnoff sign post as we passed. I was the second to go up the hill. From the turnoff it is about 25 miles up highway 375 to Mineral King. The road is so twisted (and unpaved for a few stretches) that the average speed is about 20 mph. Ryan and I arrived at Atwell Mill campground just after lunch. We ate our sack lunch and waited for the others. The boys played 'king-of-the-hill' on an old sequoia tree stump. I called home to tell everyone we had arrived safely. The Roses did not arrive until 7 pm due to radiator hose trouble on the way up the hill. We all had Bill Dixon's homemade sloppy joes for dinner. We were in bed at sunset for an early up.

Sunday, July 26

6 am wakeup. Breakfast was cereal, grapefruit, and orange juice. We packed up and drove up to the ranger station. After signing in the ranger explained the do's and don't. We then drove a short distance to the trail head parking lot and arrived about 10:15. We took 'before' pictures and got underway about 10:30.

After passing the pack station it was easy walking for a while. Then it was then uphill all the way to Franklin Lake. We had a lunch of roast beef sandwiches on a big rock looking back at Mineral King. The total trip to Franklin Lake was 5.4 mi. and 2500' up with 28 switchbacks.

The camp at the bottom of the lake was full so we went to the upper camps. They are 100' above lake level with a great view of the lake.The chipmunks were aggressive and would come within a few feet of you. There was a bear box which we stuffed full. The chipmunks left us alone unless we were actually eating.

At sunset we saw a doe drinking down at the lake. She walked around the other campers down there. I don't think they knew she was there. The fish were also jumping all over the lake at sunset.

There was also an outdoor head. On the way there I saw my first marmot. When he saw me he let out an ear-piercing chirp and disappeared.

Dinner was wonton soup and turkey supreme. The stars came out and the milky way was obvious. Ryan and I both did great today.

Monday, July 27

Ryan's birthday. 6 am wakeup. Breakfast was hot chocolate, oatmeal, granola, and O.J. We packed up and climbed Franklin pass (11760'). The plan was to then climb Florence Peak. It looked to rocky for me so I stayed on the pass and guarded the packs (along with the Petersons). Brian took great delight in bagging a marmot with a marmot rock. The second time he hit the marmot did it- the marmot left us alone. Ryan went up Florence Peak. While they were going up three people came up the pass. One of them had field glasses so I checked the peak a couple of times for green pants. Ryan was going strong. They were all on top at about noon. They looked like ants. It took an hour for them to come down. We all then had lunch of summer sausage and Waverly crackers. From the pass we could see smoke from a forest fire a long way off.

We descended into Rattlesnake Canyon. On the way down we saw a sign warning of a July 17th fire down the canyon beyond were we were headed. Once into Rattlesnake Canyon we stopped for water. There was a 20' rock that was cracked perfectly straight into two pieces. Ryan can't believe Mother Nature did it. Also, one of the boys discovered the mangled remains of a dead horse. There was a lot of speculation as to how and why it was there. We never saw a single snake of any kind.

We climbed up to Forester Lake and arrived about 5 pm. I gave Ryan his birthday letter and present (rod, reel, and tackle). He was delighted. I was on cook crew and fixed Top Ramen, beef stroganoff, and banana pudding. There was a brief rain during dinner. Ponchos came out quickly but were soon not needed. After dinner we put 13 candles on two brownies and sang happy birthday to Ryan. All of the boys enjoyed the brownie bits.

By nightfall the sky was clear and many stars could be seen. This was our first night of real bear bagging. No problems.

Tuesday, July 28

8 am wakeup as this is a lay-day. Breakfast was hot chocolate, pancakes, and apples. Bill Dixon saw a doe who ignored him on the way to the head. Ryan took off fishing. Shortly after that he came back with his first fish which he had gotten with a lure the Hoovers had given him. We fished together for a while. Ryan snagged the lure. Ron swam in and retrieved it. We then proceeded to loose it somewhere on shore. Discouraging. I caught one too. Ryan cooked both fish in aluminum foil on the campfire after lunch. He said they tasted good, too.

Lunch was tuna sandwiches on waverly crackers.

After lunch Ryan practiced casting. He almost caught one using two small weights. Stupid fish! I did some laundry, mostly underwear and socks.

No one was hungry so we decided so swap tonights planned Spam dinner with tomorrows. Dinner tonight was Top Ramen, spaghetti, and lemon pudding. I hit the sack early as I am on breakfast cook crew.

Wednesday, July 29

5:30 am wakeup. Breakfast was hot chocolate, oatmeal, granola, and O.J. Left at 7:40 am and climbed to Little Claire Lake. Then down into Soda Creek and the junction with Lost Canyon. This was the lowest point on our journey. A sign said 10 mi. to Mineral King the way we were going and 14 mi. the way we had just come. Once into Lost Canyon we had lunch of peanut butter, jelly, and Waverlys. We went part way up Lost Canyon and cut off to Big 5 Lakes. It was about 2 miles back in.

Thursday, July 30

We decided to take the morning off and swim in the lake. Well swim isn't exactly accurate. There were many fallen trees floating in the lake, especially near our end. Floating logs + scouts + rope = rafts. Several rafts were quickly fashioned and the fun ensued. The morning passed all too quickly.

After lunch we hit the trail and got most of the way towards Sawtooth pass. We stopped to camp at the last stand of trees. We set up camp late in the afternoon and started cooking dinner at dusk. Sometime during this process, our Scoutmaster 'lost' his stuff sack of food. It vanished from the spot beside his pack. A through search was made but it could not be found. We decided to wait for dawn.

Since the trees were way to small to support bear bagging, we decided to have a bear watch. Firewood was gathered and we all set in for a good round of campfire stories. The wind kicked up a bit which only added to the ambiance when it came time to hear the Windigo story. Everyone retired to bed just a bit scared.

About 11 pm the two scouts on bear watch heard a very loud scream from just down the canyon.

Friday, July 31

The next morning a party was sent down the canyon. They found out that another group had set up camp several hundred yards away. It turns out the 11 pm scream was from one of their party when they looked up and saw a bear staring at them. The bear immediately retreated and was never seen again. We are glad we had set up a bear watch as we were not bothered."

Well almost never bothered. It turns out that same bear snuck into camp as we were setting up and grabbed our Scoutmasters bear bag. We found the remnants scattered about 100 yards from camp. Note: bears love hot chocolate but don't care much for dehydrated food.

We proceeded up Sawtooth pass, stashed our packs, and climbed Sawtooth Peak. The climb was fairly easy as it is a classic rock scramble. The 12000' elevation does slow you down. The view was spectacular and the dropoff was awesome. The far side drops off over 1200' straight down - literally. Everyone snuck a peak and then kept their distance.

Getting back to the pass was a rock scramble again. From the pass down to our campsite at 10000' was a massive scree field. It was a total blast to come down, somewhat like coming down a colossal sand dune. You could even run down it. Falling was no problem - just brush yourself off and proceed on.

We camped at Monarch Lake. It is just above the tree line. The dear come here for water and would just walk right through camp like we weren't there. Awesome.

Saturday, August 1

There was no hot chocolate for breakfast (see Scoutmasters pack). We improvised and set off for the hike out. This mornings hike was one of the prettiest ever. We walked from the tree line down to about 8000' in a gorgeous forest. All of the critters were out getting breakfast so there was a surprise around ever corner. Even the deer froze in place so we wouldn't see them as easily. We played their game and pretended not to see them.

We emerged very close to the trailhead where we went in. After taking an 'after' photo we packed up in the cars and headed out for showers and the traditional feast. A good time was had by all.

Submitted by Tom Thorpe

Longterm Journals