As with the Trinity-Alps, the Sawtooths are a little known gem.  It is one of the most scenic areas in scenic Idaho.  It is also often overlooked in favor of the bigger parks like Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons, and so forth.  I did two different day hikes, one to Sawtooth Lake, rated by readers of Backpacker Magazine as the best place to take a dip.  I myself wimped out when a small iceberg floated past me.  Beautiful water surrounded by striking mountains make for a nice place to sit back and relax.  The Sawtooths are a place that I hope to return to in the future – particularly to do some cross-country travel to remote lakes and peaks.  Here are a few pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/SawtoothsImogeneLake

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/SawtoothsSawtoothLake

Well not enough time for a proper update, but I figured I would upload a few pictures.  After 3 days of driving I arrived at Glacier National park for some fun in the Rockies.  Highlights – Spending a whole day hiking on snow and actually using crampons, practicing self arrest (stopping yourself with you ice axe when sliding down steep angle snow), watching some big horn sheep, 4th of July fireworks, and (intentionally) experiencing the effects of bear spray and then being “incapacitated” for the next 15 minutes.

Currently in Idaho’s Sawtooth mountains.  Awesome country.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/GlacierHiddenLake

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/GlacierIcebergLake

One last hike in the Sierras – Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 at 14,495.811 feet (that’s what the sign said on top).  I did it as an overnight trip.  Went to the visitor center and grabbed a permit, then headed to Whitney Portal to start the hike.  This is the most popular route so it was a little crowded (which I expected).  The total climb to the top is about 10.5 miles and 6,000 vertical feet.  Despite the height it is actually a fairly easy trail – it is heavily switchbacked and has a nice moderate grade.  I cruised on up to 12,000′ to Trail Camp, the last good camping area before the summit.  It is quite a campsite, surrounded by stark granite cliffs (take a look at the pictures).  In the morning I woke up at 5:30 and watched the sunrise from the warmth of my tent.  The morning light bathed the granite in an orange glow (alpenglow) that interestingly lasted for only 10 minutes.  I munched a few Cheerios and then hit the trail by 5:50.  A nice cool morning.  After many, many switchbacks I reached Trail Crest, the point where the trail finally hits the ridgeline formed by Whitney and nearby peaks.  From here I got my first good view into Sequoia National Park….wow.  Beautiful.  Big.  Impressive.  Wow.  Such deep and expressive thoughts floated through my mind.  From there it was just 2 more miles and 1300′ to the summit of Whitney.  Smoke from all the forest fires limited some of the views but I could still see much of the southern Sierra.  A great way to end my time in the Sierra.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/SierraWhitney

June stats added.

Now back to being mostly a tourist for two weeks in the Pacific Northwest.  On the road again…

Well I wanted to hike some more of the John Muir Trail.  I found out that there is a shuttle service that runs between Yosemite Valley and Mammoth Lakes.  Using this shuttle I could hike the northern section of the JMT.  So I planned out a 52 mile route from Agnew Meadows to the valley.  I also decided to test my limits and only allowed three days for the trip.

It would be a lightweight assault – starting weight of 22 pounds.  I pretty well stripped everything down to the minimum.  Left the stove, fuel, and cookware behind and just ate non-perishables for the trip – beef jerkey, summer sausage, tortillas, tuna fish, Snickers bars, Peanut M&Ms, granola, etc.  Next time I plan to add peanut butter, honey, cheese, pitas.

Day 1

The goal was to travel 23.4 miles over two passes and into Lyell Canyon before camping.  Caught a shuttle to the trailhead and was moving along by 7:40.  Still a lot of smoke from all the forest fires so the views were somewhat obscured but still some nice looks at nearby mountains.  Marched along through increasing mosquito activity before loading on the DEET.  Nothing like bathing in pesticide, but it did keep the little buggers off me.  I charged ahead, further up and further in, rejoicing in the light pack and laughing as the miles fell behind.  The first pass fell behind before I knew it.  Soon after the second pass fell, 14.4 miles in.  Was that 14 miles?  Ha! Another nine to go?  Bring it.  A few threatening clouds and some distant thunder signaled the charge down into Lyell Canyon.  Pounding down…down….down….then before too long the side stream coming in, indicating that the camp had been reached.  I felt surprisingly good for over 23 miles.  I looked around and found a spot to pitch the tent.  I then turned around and looked at the sky……dark and menacing…..then some thunder announced that I would be having a speed trial for setting up the tent.  In the blink of an eye (or several minutes) the tent was up, everything under cover, and had just finished untying the boots as the first raindrops fell.  I hunkered down in the tent, nice and dry, till the storm passed by.  Best of all a good day was followed by a good night of sleep.

Day 2

No weakness.  Even though I had allowed myself two more days to cover the last 29 miles, I set a goal to cover 22 more miles.  I set the alarm for 7 am and woke up at 8 (I guess alarms don’t phase me).  Standard procedure – wake up, eat food, then put your house on your back and start walking.  Passed by Tuolumne Meadows where there is a great place to get burgers.  An extra 1.2 miles for a burger.  Maybe next time.  The day was mostly spent on flat ground or downhill with only one small climb for a few miles.  Sounds great right?  Wrong.  Downhill and flat is much more painful for the body.  But again I smiled as mile after mile fell behind.  One section of the trail near the Sunrise High Sierra camp has about 2 miles worth of meadow area.  It is also a breeding ground for mosquitos.  I had intended to take a much needed break about this time but ended up ripping through this section, trying to avoid breathing in too many mosquitos.  Finally cleared the meadows and escaped the mosquito mayhem.  Then it was another 5 or 6 miles with 3000 feet of brutal downhill pounding.  Another quick break and then the last 1.8 miles of stumbling to the campsite.  There I met two guys, Don and Stan, who had done almost the same route as me.  It was nice to chat with them for the evening and then we hiked out together the next day.

Day 3

The last 7 miles down to Yosemite Valley.  Most of it was along the trail to Half Dome.  We easily passed 400+ people on the way down.  Tourist mayhem.  Being way cool backpackers, we shared some good laughs watching people suffering their way up the trail.  The shuttle bus that I was planning to take didn’t leave the valley until 5 pm and wouldn’t get back to my car until 9 pm.  As it happens, Don and Stan had set up a shuttle, with Stan’s truck being parked about 10 feet away from my Subaru.  They offered me a lift back which I happily accepted.  We laughed, chatted, and swapped stories the whole way back, then shared some pizza and went out separate ways.  Always some good comraderie with my fellow dirtbags.

Not sure what is next.  A part of me doesn’t want to leave the Sierra yet.  Another part wants to see the Northwest.  Only a month and a half left…

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/SierraMammothToYosemite

So back into the High Sierra.  I put together a 57-mile loop that would get me deep into the Sierra and also let me hike a 25 mile stretch of the John Muir Trail.  I planned to do it in five days.  On the previous trip over Mono Pass I had started with a pack weight of 40 lbs.  The heavy pack gave me a lot of trouble and I suffered through 8-10 mile days.  So this trip I decided to cut the weight down.  Water tablets instead of filter.  Cut a pocket and zipper off the camera case.  Shortened some straps on the pack that were too long.  Even left behind the top pouch of my pack.  Still took a few luxuries like a book and my comfortable sleeping pad, but managed to get my starting pack weight down to 28 lbs.  What a difference your pack weight makes!

Day 1 – North Lake to junction of Paiute Canyon and JMT – 17.5 miles, 2100′

The day started with a 2100′ climb up to Paiute Pass with the standard views of towering granite mountains and alpine lakes.  I have discovered that hiking in the Sierras is rather dangerous.  You spend so much time looking around you that end up tripping on stuff on the trail.  The non-stop view continued as I descended into Paiute Canyon.  The plan was to spend the first night at Hutchinson Meadows, 12 miles in.  However, it was smooth cruising so I continuted on to the JMT junction to round out the day at 17.5 miles.  Like I said, pack weight makes a difference.

Day 2 – JMT junction to Evolution Lake – 12 miles, 2500′

This day would be spent climbing up Evolution Valley toward Muir Pass.  I met quite a few PCTers (thru hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail) throughout the day.  As I got closer to Muir Pass, people started saying “Are you ready for some snow?”  As it turns out there is still a lot of snow up in Muir Pass.  Being that the days are warm, the snow starts to soften and soon you start postholing constantly.  I had been planning to hike up to where I was just a mile or two from Muir Pass, but several people said I should stop at Evolution Lake (before the snow starts) and tackle the pass early in the morning when snow condition would be better.  So I took their advice and set up camp at Evolution Lake.  A beautiful place to spend the night.  Despite being at 10,800′ the lake had quite a few native trout making me wish I had a fishing pole.  I was treated to a nice sunset which was followed by that delightful time of the evening after the sun sets but before it gets dark.  I sat by the lake in the growing darkness, enjoying the silence and watching the trout catch flies.

Day 3 – Evolution Lake to Dusy Basin – 18 miles, 3200′

Woke up with the sun (about 5:45 AM).  A cool breeze was blowing off the lake which encouraged me to pack quickly and start moving.  I was on the trail by 6:20, hoping to cross Muir Pass and clear the snowfields before the snow got too soft.  It was six miles from Evolution Lake to Muir Pass.  As I climbed further up into Evolution Basin the wind died down and I found myself alone amidst a silence broken only by the occasional flowing water and the sound of my footsteps.  For several miles I trudged across the sun-cupped snow enjoying the quiet solitude.  I reached Wanda Lake, a large lake just a little ways below the pass.  The lake was still frozen over and snowcovered.  While walking along the edge of the lake I stopped at one point where there was a just a thin, clear area of ice where I could see bluish water turn to a deep emerald color as the lake got deeper and the bottom disappeared.  A strange feeling struck me…it was as if I was looking through a window into another world, like looking through the door of the wardrobe.  A silent, mysterious world, a world of infinte oneness, frozen in time, if time can even exist in such a place.  In any other place it would have been bizarre but it seemed perfectly at home in the silence of that mountainous landscape.  After looking into the window for a few minutes, I continued my lonesome way up to the pass.  I finally ran into the first person of the day at the top of Muir Pass.  After chatting for a few minutes I continued down the other side of the pass.  Another two miles of snow travel amidst frozen lakes brought me down to the upper end of LeConte canyon.  The snow was just starting to soften as I cleared the last snowfield, postholing several times in the last 20 yards.  It was well worth the early wakeup.  After a short break I continued down LeConte Canyon, an impressive canyon with steep sides climbing up to sharp granite peaks.  Finally I reached the junction with the Bishop Pass trail and decided to end the day with a 3 mile, 2000′ climb up into Dusy Basin.  The extra push would allow me to finish the loop in only 4 days instead of 5.  It was well worth it as Dusy Basin in a beautiful place to spend an evening.

Day 4 – Dusy Basin to South Lake – 9 miles, 1200′

Slept in a little bit and then started the climb up to Bishop Pass.  Because of some nearby forest fires, views were much more limited by a heavy haze.  Still plenty of good views of the nearby peaks though.  From Bishop Pass it was 6 miles of pounding downhill past mosquito infested lakes to the South Lake trailhead.  Oh yeah, I ended at a different trailhead than where I had parked my car, so I had to hitch a ride back to the start point.  Fortunately the first people I asked were glad to give me a lift.  I’m now relaxing in Bishop and trying to figure out what is next.  I suspect there is a pizza in the near future…

oh yeah, I took a lot of pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/SierraNorthLakeToSouthLakeLoop

This week, a ranger for Sierra National Forest came across an abandoned pack deep in the Sierra Nevada mountains.  The hiker is assumed to be missing at this point.  According to the Ranger the pack “looked like it has been ferociously attacked and torn open.”  Most of the food remained in the pack except for a bag of Peanut M&Ms which had been ripped open and all the M&Ms were gone.  The Forest Service has released the following photo, saying that it was the last photo taken by the missing hiker.

It seems the Stevie Bear has struck again.

So I was in Northern California, headed generally north.  Conditions in the Pacific northwest were not looking good….still tons of snow.  Then I talked to several different backpackers who were talking of soon to be adventures in the Sierras.  Naturally I was jealous.  Then I got thinking.  Then I decided it would be worth the extra 1000 miles of driving to head south and see the Sierra.  And what a grand idea it was.

I just completed my first adventure in the High Sierra, a 3-day trip over Mono pass and into Pioneer Basin.

Wow.

Day 1 – grabbed my permit and headed to the trailhead.  The trailhead was at over 10,000′.  Technically below treeline, the “woods” out here are nowhere near as dense as the East coast.  Therefore even below treeline the views are stunning.  I stated the hike up to Mono Pass which is over 12,000′.  Yes, the air is thin up there.  However, the non-stop breathtaking views offered an excuse for me to stop and take pictures on a regular basis.  There is still some snow hanging around in the Sierras (the pass still had snow in it) but otherwise the hiking conditions are very good.  After climbing over Mono Pass I began the descent into the Pioneer Basin area.  I walked with a big smile on my face as more and more of those granite peaks became visible.  The night was spent at Fourth Recess, a beautiful glaciated valley with a wonderful lake.  Perhaps the most impressive part of the day was the solitude and silence.  After leaving the parking lot, I saw one person before Mono Pass (crossing a snowfield on the far side of the valley).  After Mono pass, there was no one.

The second day was just some dayhiking around in the valley.  Constant views of steep granite slopes all around.  This day I actually saw a group of 3 off in the distance and a group of four passed me on the trail.

The third day was just a reverse of the first day.  This time I dropped my pack in Mono Pass and scrambled up the side to a point at 12,800′ for rock-your-world views of the surrounding mountains.  Visibility was nearly unlimited (apart from what was hidden by all the huge mountains nearby).

Weather forecast says clear and sunny for the next week.  Time to get back out there.

Oh yeah, I was at a rodeo this morning too.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/SierraMonoPass

Lassen Peak is the southernmost volcano of the Cascade Range.  The volcano last erupted around 1915 (I forgot the exact year).  Lassen Peak is a relatively easy climb that takes you up over 10,000 feet and provides some stunning views of Northern California.  Enjoy a few pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/LassenPeak

Also, figured out how to upload movies:

So, who’s heard of the Trinity-Alps wilderness?  Probably none of you.  In a state full of exceptional mountains, the Trinity-Alps are often forgotten.  They are, however, spectacular.  Named for their likeness to their larger European cousins, the Trinity-Alps provide plenty of open views jagged peaks.  I went for a two night trip into the heart of the wilderness to see Emerald and Sapphire lakes.  And what a treat it was.  It is a long 14 miles to the lakes.  The first night I camped right at the base of Emerald Lake and had the entire place to myself.  The lakes are tucked away amidst a wonderland of bare rock and jagged peaks.  No such thing as a bad view there.  The second day I spent scrambling around Emerald Lake and hiking up a little to Sapphire lake (twice).  Sapphire Lake was still about 80% ice covered.  During the heat of the summer both lakes would be great places to swim…not quite warm enought this time of year.  The second night was spent at Morris Meadows, about 4 miles below Emerald Lake, where there was still wonderful views of some of the ridges.

The peakbagging fever has hit and tomorrow I’m hoping to climb one of the peaks in the wilderness.  There’s still a lot of snow so we’ll see how it goes…

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/TrinityAlpsEmeraldLake

An 80 mile section of coast in Northern California was so rugged that the highway engineers who built Highway 1 decided to detour the coastal highway inland.  What is left is a section of beaches that are now designated as a wilderness area.  The section is now known as The Lost Coast.  I set out on a four day loop that would include both beach hiking and mountain hiking.  Hiking along the beach was interesting.  The beach consisted of soft, loose sand (which is maddening to hike on) or jumbled river rock type stone (which puts your ankles to the test).  A few sections of the Lost Coast are actually impassable at high tide, so you have to plan the trip around when the tide will be in or out.  The first day was an 8.5 mile hike along the beach.  In one area there were a bunch of rocks sticking out of the ocean and each rock had a bunch of what I believe were sea lions (could easily be called blubberballs).  Funny looking animals.  I sat on the beach and watched them for a while and they were quite intent on watch me.  After a while I threw a rock towards them.  When it splashed in the water the nearest blubberball rolled off his rock in great alarm.  Another rock a little further out caused about a dozen of my fat little friends to roll and flop off into the water.  They then circled around with their little heads out of the water and a look of disdain for the loping idiot who had interrupted their afternoon slumber.

The first night was spent at Big Flat, a large sandy point that sticks out into the ocean, where I was treated to a pleasant sunset.  The next day was a long climb to Maple Camp which is a little below the summit of King Crest (highest peak in the area).  The climb was 8 miles with over 4000′ of elevation….during which I counted 122 switchbacks (there were a few more early on before I started counting).  Despite it being the weekend and having seen quite a few people on the trail, I was all alone at Maple Camp.

The third day was a mostly downhill hike to the final campsite where Buck Creek meets the Pacific.  The afternoon/evening involved much laying on the beach and staring at the ocean, dinner with a view, talking to the local ranger who was also staying there, and the exciting conclusion to Pride and Prejudice.  The night was pleasant despite the rather noisy ocean.  The last morning was an early start in order to beat the high tide.  A very nice trip through a variety of terrain.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenmdunbar/TheLostCoast