Attendance

Saturday, July 27

Today is a travel day. We met at the Scout House at 9am and loaded up. We left L.A. and traveled up highway 99 and all met at a nice park just north of Pixley for sack lunches. Then on to Kingsburg and north through Sanger to 168 east. We drove past Shaver Lake to Huntington Lake where we met up again. The road from Huntington to Florence starts out good for about 10 miles and then narrows into a twisty one lane mountain road for the last 17 miles. At least it was paved. We caravaned up over Kaiser Pass and stopped at the ranger station which is about 7 miles from the lake. We loaded up on the last potable water and headed for the lake.

We checked out the ferry boat and bought tickets for the next morning. We then went over to the camp ground that is just below the dam's spill way and checked in. The ranger there said we were lucky as they are normally full on Saturday night. Today was an exception as he thought the Olympics were keeping people at home. We set up the tents and started dinner.

Bill Dixon brought the evening meal which was spaghetti with turkey sauce. Yummy! Just as we finished it started to rain. Since today is Ryan's birthday, his mother had sent a pan of brownies and 17 candles. I snuck them in the car without Ryan seeing so after dinner we proceeded to have a mini surprise celebration in the rain. (At least it wasn't raining very hard.) Ryan was pleased and the brownies were good!

Given the rain, we turned in by 8:30. I woke up about midnight and the rain had stopped. I hoe this is the last of the rain, but you never know in the Sierras.

Sunday, July 28

Breakfast in camp was cereal, cantaloupe, etc. Our last "civilized" meal. We broke camp and headed to the lake and the ferry. We arrived about 7:45am, which was plenty early. We checked our packs one last time, parked the cars, and took our group photo. While waiting for the ferry to leave we played with Mike Ryan's GPS receiver. Neat toy but not enough time to get real readings now. Will try later on the trail. The ferry was supposed to leave at 8:30 but was about 10 minutes late. Oh well, what's the hurry?

A 20 minute ride got us to the other end of the lake. The elevation is about 7300'. We hit the trail a little after 9am. Everyone was eager to get going.

We hiked for about 1/2 mile before joining the South Fork of the San Joaquin River. It is quite a torrent. We will be hiking by this river for many miles. Water is NO problem. Just hope we don't have to cross this river.

There is a jeep road paralleling the trail. It leads to the Muir Trail Ranch which is about 4.5 miles upstream. We stopped for lunch and then again at the Ranch to explore the hot springs that are there. The springs are a 1/2 mile excursion and across the river. We dropped our packs, got two volunteers to stay with them, grabbed towels and headed for the springs. After doing the 1/2 mile we could not find a safe way to cross the river. We just dangled our toes in the cold river (but not for long) and then returned to the trail. Oh well, nice try.

Continuing on, we encountered a doe on the trail. It was on a steep hillside so she first tried just walking down the trail away from us. After a couple of hundred of yards she figured it out and headed up the hill. Most everyone saw her. A very nice treat. Thank you Mother Nature.

We continued on past the John Muir Trail cabin. (It was built by the rangers, not by John Muir.) About 4pm it started to rain (spotty) so we covered our packs, suited up, and proceeded on. Not much rain, just enough to keep us honest.

Sometime around 5pm we arrived at the base of Piute Canyon where the Piute River joins into the San Joaquin River. They appear to be about equal in size before joining. We are happy to see the San Joaquin getting smaller as we have to cross a tributary to it later upstream. So far the river is still too wide to safely cross.

We stopped here for the night after 8.3 miles (plus the hot springs excursion). We were at 8000'. The rain stopped just as we found our campsite. Ryan and Matt went for water and one of our three water buckets accidentally slid into the river. The water was so swift we said it would be back at Florence lake within the hour. Glad we took multiple water buckets.

We set up the tents and fixed dinner, which was spaghetti. This time the spaghetti was dehydrated but we had a loaf of fresh bread that I packed in. We had some free time before dark. Some people went fishing, others worked on organizing things, or just relaxed. We turned in for the night about 9pm. There were few stars as there was a full moon. Maybe THIS is the end of the rain.

Monday, July 29

We got up at 5:30am which is about the time it starts getting light. We hit the trail and passed the John Muir rock without seeing his signature which is supposed to be there. We suspect that maybe the trail has been moved and you can no longer see it. We did notice the mosquitoes which are numerous and persistent.

We crossed the river twice on two wonderful bridges. They were both steel truss spans with new wood planks. Thanks Forest Service. So far we have seen a few single people and a few pairs of people on the trail. No big groups. About 4 miles into it we came to the junction with Evolution Creek and hence Evolution Valley. Evolution Valley is actually about 700' above the San Joaquin River so we climbed 24 switch backs to get to it. Phew. We took time for a hard earned lunch before continuing up the valley. We were now following the Evolution Creek and will continue to do so for the rest of the hike.

We came to a bridgeless river crossing in a meadow and studied various crossing spots. After selecting one, we took off our boots, changed into shorts, put on water shoes, and braced ourselves for the knee deep swift cold water. Everyone make it across without slipping but the crossing consumed a full hour. The mosquitoes are becoming pests in this valley.

A little while later a strap on Ryan's pack broke and Dick sewed it back on. Another 20 minutes shot and the rain played with us again.

We stopped after 5.4 miles and 1700' of elevation gain. We were at about 9500'. We set up our tents, fixed stroganoff for dinner and got some light rain afterwards. It stopped after an hour or so. This was getting to be habit forming.

There were plenty of trees but none suitable in our area for bear bagging with any confidence. Dick decided that it was a bear watch night. The scouts will be paired off and the adults will stand solo watches. This gives nine watch teams. We only need eight watches (9pm to 5am) so Dick made up slips of paper with watch times on them. One extra piece of paper had an X on it. Whoever drew it didn't have to stand a watch. The scouts drew first and then the adults. The X hadn't been drawn when it was my turn to draw. I was the last adult to draw. Dick was to get the remaining piece of paper. I figured it was 50-50 that I have to stand watch. I drew and got the midnight to 1am watch. Dick was off free. I was disappointed. Everyone got on Dick for calling the bear watch and then not having to stand one! There was no way he could have rigged it but it was great fun kidding him. (Or was there a way?)

Tuesday, July 30

We got up again at 5:30. After breakfast we were off and continued up Evolution Valley. The mosquitoes were tapering off a bit. One more set of switch backs which we broke up with lunch part way up. We emerged at Evolution Lake at about 10,800' and said goodbye to the trees. About 10 varieties of wildflowers were plentiful back in the meadows and just above the tree line where they can get good sunshine. We walked around the lake and across the inlet at the far end. Someone had put stones every couple of feet across the inlet so we could hop across it. It was about 70' wide but less than a foot deep. Everyone made it ok. Great fun.

One more small up, and we arrived at Sapphire Lake, our final destination. There was more "green" around than I expected. I was expecting all rocks at this elevation. People were camping at the near and far ends of the lake. Really full. The California Conservation Corp (CCC) even had a base camp at the far end of the lake. Mike Vahey found a level spot about 100' off of the trail so we claimed it and set up shop for the next two days. First order was the tents (as usual) which required temporarily relocating some small rocks to get a decent place to sleep. (We got it down to bare gravel and it was amazingly comfortable sleeping.)

This place had a rock about 6' in diameter with an absolutely flat top about 4' off of the ground. We make it the kitchen and did all of the cooking there. Nature provides. Super!

We were now above the "bear line" so changed to marmot bagging by using the rocks to suspend our food. Much easier.

Dinner tonight was Spam. We started cooking dinner at 5pm. Top Ramen was cooking as the daily rain came down. This time it was hail big enough to be felt. It looked like mini-snow balls when it landed. We kept on cooking as it came down and piled up. It didn't last long and soon melted. Wish I had a picture, oh well. Next came the fried Spam, mashed potatoes and gravy. This is always a long meal, and we didn't finish until about 8. A totally delicious and nourishing meal. Everyone got full.

Wednesday, July 31

Today was our day to climb Goddard. It's rated F which is the hardest rating a peak can get. Most of us (the crazy ones) got up at 5:30am, ate a quick breakfast, and were on the trail by 6:25am. We continued up the trail past the end of the Sapphire Lake, up and past another unnamed lake at 11,300', and finally to Wanda Lake at 11,400'. There was a lot of trail construction in this area thanks to the CCC. They do good work. This leg was about 2 miles which we made in an hour or so. We could now see Goddard and also the glacier on its north side. There were snow fields all around on the north side where we were. We're hoping the south side is snow free.

We left the trail and went overland to the appropriate saddle on the Goddard Divide. We had to walk up a ridge to avoid snow fields. This took us up to 12,500' and our first good look at the south of the divide. More snow fields. Even a frozen lake down below! It must have been one heck of a winter up here. The official climbers manual says stay at this elevation and walk the south side of the divide to the saddle just next to Goddard and then go up. Once we get to that saddle we're home free. In order to get there a decision is made to go high to avoid the major snow fields.

We took off and encountered huge rock and boulder fields. Slow going. Very slow going. After a couple of hours Matt came down sick. He either did not eat enough snacks (which he forgot) or just it is plain old altitude sickness. Either way, Bill Dixon agreed to stay with him as the rest proceeded on. We were to turn back at 2 pm regardless of where we were. After another hour of miserable rock scrambling, we are closer but still have another few hours to get to the final saddle. From there it's another 1000' climb to the top and another hour. Given that it's 12:30 and everyone was tired of these rocks, we admitted defeat and headed back to Bill and Matt.

When we joined up, we ate lunch. Everyone was too tired to eat much. This has been one physically exhausting morning. I managed 6 crackers and a little ham spread. (Lesson: eat before you get exhausted.) I'd been munching peanuts all morning which helped keep the energy up. From here on out it was candy for quick energy. We all took off for the original saddle and decided to try crossing a small snow field. It went well so we took a straight line back to the saddle across the snow fields. I was really dragging and Ryan was totally wiped. We finally arrived back at the saddle.

By this time we'd found out that walking on snow is faster than climbing over rocks. After a rest break we started down. After one small snow field, Ryan got the idea to put his rain pants on and slide down on his butt. Since the snow was getting steeper, he cautiously tried it and found out he could stop even on steep snow. The other boys started to follow suit as Ryan continued down the hill. Within 10 minutes or so he had scooted to the bottom (800' down). Everyone else followed his lead except me. I had left my rain pants at camp (drats!) and didn't want to get my pants wet. I walked down. We all arrived at the same time as the group could only slide a couple at a time. Everyone was in great spirits now, especially Ryan. What a blast! Definitely a highlight of the trip.

We traced the two miles back to camp in fairly short order as it was all downhill and we were stoked after the "butt-slide". When we passed the CCC at the end of the lake, we gave them a loud group cheer. They were a ways off but heard us.

We arrived back in camp at 6:10pm and were treated to dinner. I had Won Ton soup but couldn't eat anything else. Still too tired. Even Ryan had Won Ton soup which he doesn't especially like. Once again it rained just a little bit after dinner. Ok, enough rain.

The younger scouts had stayed in camp today and decided they wanted to climb a peak tomorrow. We were supposed to climb Mt. Fisk which is an E peak. We saw it today and it doesn't look too much easier than Goddard. We revised the plans to climb Mt. Spencer instead. It is not rated and looks a lot easier. I was in bed by 8pm. No trouble falling asleep tonight.

Thursday, August 1

Today was pancake breakfast day so the climbers got up at 5:30 and feasted on all-you-can-eat pancakes. The climbers got out of camp about 7:30. They had until noon to reach the peak or turn around. Matt (who got altitude sickness yesterday), Jon (whose knee was acting up), Dick (with boot problems) and myself (I love lay days) decided to stay in camp. Once the others left we had a leisurely breakfast. Actually, I slept in a bit too.

The boys and I did breakfast dishes. Then I did laundry, cleaned out the tent and repacked for the trip home. The boys spent the morning fishing and swimming. The fish appear to be Golden trout, all about 4-6" long. Someone said last year's storms wiped out the bigger ones. A bath was in order even though I wasn't nearly as dirty as on prior longterms. The boys reported finding a sauna. It was a bowl shaped dent in the rocks near the edge of the lake. It had collected lake water and was warmed by the sun. I took a bath just before noon and it was anything but a sauna. Warmer than the lake but not as good as at home. I should have waited until late afternoon for the sun to warm the water even more.

Two things happened this morning. I saw a marmot walking along towards our marmot bag area. Guess he was curious. I went over and everything was stowed ok. He never did get anything. The second thing was a helicopter. Just like M*A*S*H but farther away. This big old helicopter came in, made a circle, and landed at the CCC camp. There was some quick loading/unloading and it took right off again. It went straight out. Judging by its direction, it might have gone over the 12,500' saddle we climbed. It had to get up at least that high to get out of the area. We just thought we were three days from civilization. Make that three hours if you know the right people.

Dick and I packed a picnic lunch and headed for a rock outcropping which had shade and a view of the lake. I took a few pictures. Great spot.

The climbers arrived back at 2:38pm. They had made it to the top without any hassle except for a place about 200 yards from the top where there were "guardian". That's Bill's term for an obstacle blocking your passage. It took a while for Bill and Scott to find a way around. Everyone then followed and enjoyed lunch on the peak.

By this time Matt's short pants were real shabby and had a massive rip in the back. Really gross. Ryan took it on himself to sew them up. Surprise, he can sew!

The rest of the afternoon was relaxing except for one brief moment. We heard whistles which are the universal distress signal in the back country. Loosely speaking, a family of 5 was passing by. Mom and Dad were at least a mile behind the kids and were whistling to get the kids to stop. Apparently they had no control over the kids (ages 5-10). The kids would then whistle back. We nominated Dick to go down when the parents passed and explain to them that whistles were a no-no and maybe they should stay in visual contact with the kids. He did but we don't know if the advice stuck. All you can do is try.

Dinner was great and everyone ate well. Today was the first day that it didn't rain!

Friday, August 2

We were up at 5:30 again. Everyone was a bit up in anticipation of going out. We struck camp, put the rocks back that we had moved, and cleaned up the kitchen rock. The place looked remarkably good - not obvious that anyone had been there, let alone a group of 13.

We took off and descended to the Evolution Lake inlet crossing. The water flow was noticeably less in the morning when the sun hasn't had time to melt the snow. We crossed and walked back down the lake and then down the first set of switch backs. For the first three days our rest stops were unusually long as we weren't in a hurry. Going out we decided to have normal rest stops. The miles seem to go more quickly this way.

This time the stream crossing in the meadow went much faster. We knew where to cross and everyone had the boots-off, boots-on routine down. Matt loves cold water and got permission to swim (float) for a while. Burrrr. I snapped a picture of him in the stream. We dried off, got the boots back on and took off. We passed our second night's lodging and then stopped for lunch.

We continued down Evolution Valley and met horses coming up. We pulled well off the trail and the passing went well. Continuing on we descended the second set of switch backs to the San Joaquin River.

The miles, but mostly the switch backs, had taken their toll on the legs as everyone was dragging a bit. Spirits were high and we resolved to make our first campsite before stopping. About a mile later we came to what we were originally hoping to be tonight's camp. It was a near ideal campsite being right on the river with great level shady tent sites. Unfortunately it was occupied. We could either backtrack 5 minutes to another empty campsite that we had just passed or continue on for about 2 hours to our first nights campsite. Dick made the command decision to backtrack. There were many protests as we were on a roll. In retrospect it was a good decision.

There was no rain yesterday or today. Normally the people in front of you each kick up a little trail dust. If you are in the back you can either lay back a while or eat some dust. I hadn't even thought of the dust until now - it is starting to come back.

Saturday, August 3

Another 5:30 call. This time everyone was up on time and we had a quick breakfast. People began packing. Scott organized "tent wreckers anonymous". He, Ryan, and Matt went around and helped people take down and pack their tents - like it or not. Things sped along. Normally it takes 2 hours to eat breakfast, pack, and hit the trail. This morning we set a new troop record by being on the trail by 6:50. (1 hour, 20 minutes) This is a motivated group.

It took us two hours to get from our first night's campsite up to here. It only took 1 hour 20 minutes to retrace our steps. We're cooking! Making the 5pm ferry is no problem at this rate. The 3pm ferry is a real possibility.

Continuing on we went past the John Muir Trail cabin, and I didn't even see it. Ryan was so pumped up about coming out that he went from scout to scout trying to speed them up. The thought of a good meal at Sizzler can be real motivating! He cajoled, urged, and volunteered to pack things (no one took him up on the offer). He became the unofficial "trail police", threatening to write tickets for loitering. We continued to move along at a good pace but not quite as quick as the beginning. About 10am we figured even the 1pm ferry is possible. Ryan talked it up. Talk even began of coming home today and not staying the night in the Florence Lake campground. The adults are not as enthused about leaving as a quick calculation gives a midnight arrival in L.A.

At 11:30 we decide to put off lunch until we arrive at the ferry. This keeps the 1pm ferry a possibility. People are starting to drag a bit as we've been hiking for nearly 5 hours now. Luckily it is all downhill from here. The lead boys arrive at the ferry at 12:45 only to see it leave. Apparently it was full from the dude ranch and just took off 15 minutes early. We called and they sent a speed boat over to "get those that will fit". While we were waiting we had lunch and a few people dangled their toes in the lake. During lunch a deal was struck amongst the drivers. If we got to the cars by 2pm then going back today was a possibility. Otherwise we'd stay the night and start out early Sunday morning. When the speed boat arrived they said the main ferry would be returning for us. We sent the drivers back on the speed boat and shortly afterward the main ferry arrived. The rest of us loaded up and said goodbye to the trail.

Apparently the drivers got to the cars well before 2pm. The rest of us arrived a few minutes after 2 so that was close enough. The decision was made to come home today.

The next order of business was showers. The ranger said they were available at Mono Hot Springs which is 2 miles off of the road on the way out. It was a twisty one lane road but what is 2 more miles when we've come so far. We drove to the Hot Springs and all took showers. They had 4 showers so we went in 4 shifts. With everyone clean and in uniform our thoughts turned to Sizzler. According to my WEB research, there was one in Fresno and one in Visalia. Another camper heard us talking about Sizzler at the showers and said the one in Fresno was closed. Drats. That left Visalia or maybe Bakersfield. We arranged to meet at the first Chevron station in Sanger (it had the cheapest gas in town) and 3 of the 4 cars took off.

We were going to be the last to leave as Corey was still in the shower. While I was waiting for him, a fellow in the next chair asked where I was from. One thing led to another, and it turned out he was from Visalia. He lived about two blocks from Sizzler. He assured me it was his favorite restaurant, and it was still open. He said the fastest way to get to it was to pass the Visalia exit (highway 198) and take the next exit (Ave 280). It goes right to it. He also gave me directions to Baskin Robbins. What a coincidence, and what a nice person!

We collected Corey and headed out for the Chevron station. On the way we got stuck behind a very cautious slow driver who honked at every corner. For 10 miles all we saw were brake lights and all we heard was beep-beep-beep as there weren't any straight spots in the road. I can report that the beeping had NO noticeable effect on oncoming traffic. It did get to be comical. Eventually we made it to good road and got out of the mountains and back to Sanger.

We joined the rest, and I shared the restaurant info. Dick had called home to start the phone tree. We gassed up and took off for Sizzler. Everyone make it ok and Dick explained the rules about anything you want to eat but you must eat it all. We all lined up at the cash register and ordered. I was one of the last to order. To my surprise the scouts were waiting at the table for the entire group so we could say grace. They were all perfect gentlemen, and dinner tasted great. It makes a scoutmaster proud. It makes a parent proud. I wish all of the boys' parents could have seen them.

We adjourned to Baskin Robbins and carefully selected desert. "Freezes" were the most popular followed by triple scoops and then double scoops. To my dismay they have dropped my favorite flavor - chocolate mousse royal. I did suffer through two scoops of chocolate and Ryan suffered through three scoops of various flavors.

Time to hit the road for the long journey back. Bill Dixon has a tendency to sleep after meals so I took the first driving shift. I was wired and had no trouble staying awake, and he had no trouble napping. The boys chattered continuously the whole time. I drove to the rest stop at the top of the grapevine; I called home to make sure Donna had gotten the word we were out ok. Bill then took over and I snoozed amongst the scouts' chatter. We arrived in Manhattan Beach about 1am and dropped off the boys. I got home about 1:15am. Ryan was already home and Donna had waited up. Good to be home. A long day, but a fun one.

Submitted by Tom Thorpe

Longterm Journals