I woke watching the colors of the sunrise slowly change from purple to bright red to orange. As I packed up the sun made its way down from the top of the surrounding peaks and lit up the Devils Crags across the canyon. The valley filled with light as I hiked up the Golden Staircase. What an unbelievable way to wake up!
Sunrise from camp overlooking Palisade Creek and Devils Crags.
Golden Staircase.
By the time I made it to Palisade Lake the sun was out and it was another beautiful morning. The lake is an amazing sub alpine body of crystal clear water. I could see to the bottom and there was still a large mass of ice deep inside the lake at the entry.
Palisade Lake
Palisade Lake
Palisade Lake
I was looking forward to Mather Pass and the hike up the granite canyon was a beautiful. The trail is almost invisible from below, but there is a well terraced set of switchbacks up to the pass. The view along the way is amazing. The size and scale of the place are HUGE. I could see coming back here and spending a week just exploring the lakes and peaks across the canyon.
I made it to the pass in good time, although by then I wasn't really paying too much attention to the actual time. Time was like something from the 'real world' that I didn't want to be reminded of. What an amazing escape from everything concrete. I felt alive.
View of Palisade Lake on the way to Mather Pass.
Palisade Peaks from the top of Mather Pass (12,100 feet).
I met a couple of guys on Mather Pass who were hiking a portion of the JMT and had met up earlier that week. One of them hiked in from Taboose Pass and the other from South Lake. There were kicking back and hiking at a leisurely pace back to exit via Taboose Pass. When I made some celebratory coffee using my Caldera Cone they came over and asked about ultralight gear etc. I think they were just into using a beer can as part of a stove. . . and it looked like beer was a large portion of their pack weight.
They commented on how strange it seemed to them that people get up at 6:00 am and hike all day. They preferred to fish and enjoy the wilderness in a different way. When I told them I was one of those guys who hikes most of the day so I could see as much as possible this time, they were cool. I think we all realized that everybody chooses to enjoy the wilderness in a different way, and that it's all equalized by the feeling and surroundings. How could anyone be disagreeable out here at the top of Mather Pass. I liked these guys.
I headed down the well graded but steep switchbacks down into Upper Basin. I love the feeling of being in the low flat alpine areas after doing so much ascent earlier in the morning. I slowly made my way back down into the forest and soon I was at the Taboose Pass/JMT junction.
View facing south from Mather Pass.
View facing south from Mather Pass. Upper Basin and Split Mountain.
View facing south from Mather Pass. Steep switchbacks on the way down.
Video from Mather Pass.
Moonscape along Upper Basin.
The afternoon clouds started to look ominous as I headed up the switchbacks toward the Bench Lake junction. By the time I met up with my buddies from Mather Pass it was starting to rain lightly. They decided to pick up the pace and get to Bench Lake for the night. I just kept on my steady pace toward Pinchot Pass. The plan was to camp just below Pinchot Pass, near Marjorie Lake, to get ready for the next morning. The rain was intermittent so I didn't bother getting out my jacket.
By the time I got within a half mile from Marjorie Lake the winds picked up and the storm really got going. Rain, hail and heavy winds suddenly hit hard. When I heard thunder I knew it was time to take some cover, but the terrain was limited to medium sized boulders and clumps of small trees/large shrubs.
I was in shorts, a t-shirt and running shoes and totally unprepared. There was no time to put on my rain jacket or pants when the lightning show began, and I was almost above timberline so I crouched under some shrubs and took cover. There was almost no time between the lightening and thunder. The sound of the thunder echoing against the huge granite walls was deafening and the hail was ridiculous.
I was pretty sure that I should do something to get to a better place, but I wasn't sure what that might be. Go out into the storm and run down an exposed ridge line to lower elevation? Stay put and risk getting hit by lightning? I put on my rain jacket and hunkered down.
After 30 minutes the storm passed and the flowers all exploded. The new snow and hail that had collected on the mountains was beautiful. The post rain fragrance was amazing. I made some dinner by this lake and slept like a baby under clear skies.
Le Conte Canyon to the base of the Golden Staircase: 12.5 miles.
Sept. 17th, 2011.
Today was a partial rest day. I made coffee, did some laundry and just enjoyed the scenery before hitting the trail. I lucked out last night and found an amazing (and once again vacant) large flat camp site right next to the Kings River. There were three large flat areas and plenty of room for three mid sized groups, but it was just me. I did laundry using a 1 gallon zip lock bag and some camp suds, rinsing everything well away from the river. There was a series of large waterfalls visible just upstream that made for an amazing scene, and frogs. Lots of frogs. While making breakfast and chilling by the river a few very friendly frogs came over and just hung out. They must be used to seeing plenty of people at this prime camp spot, but again I hadn't seen anyone since yesterday late afternoon. I've heard the JMT referred to as a highway, but this late in the season it felt like I had it mostly to myself. I typically would run into two or three other people or groups along the trail each day.
Kings River by campsite on day six.
By around 1:00 pm I headed down toward Big Pete Meadow. I passed the famous rock sculpture and later the sign by the Le Conte Ranger Station warning of bears. Some amazing mountain peaks and waterfalls from a hanging valley far far above came into view on the right. The Citadel (11,738 feet) was over 3,000 feet above me and the waterfalls coming down the canyon walls were mesmerizing. I took a few pictures from Grouse Meadows but the sun wasn't cooperating.
Grouse Meadow
The trail from Big Pete Meadow to the Palisade Creek junction was mostly flat and I made good time along Palisade Creek. There were many comfortable camp sites under the forested Deer Meadows area and I passed a few groups already having dinner, but I was hitting my familiar late afternoon stride and I wanted to keep going. . . as usual I was chasing the late afternoon sun. If I was more of a morning person I would have been making an extra five or ten miles a day, but it was time to find a spot to camp. I could see a large waterfall at the end of the canyon and it looked like there might be a plateau at the top.
I raced the sun up the stone switchbacks that lead to the top of the falls. I was bolting up the granite stairs, sometimes bushwhacking through lush ferns that were fed by the many waterfalls and seeps coming down the canyon walls. I figured that at the worst I would just stealth camp anywhere that was reasonably flat, and just as I was loosing hope of finding a descent place to camp. . . I made it to the plateau by the waterfall.
I could hardly believe my luck when I found two small flat spots just big enough for a small tent or bivy right by the top of the waterfall. The view looking back over the canyon was amazing. On either side were huge granite walls rising almost 4,000 feet from the floor of the canyon to Giraud Peak (12,608 ft.) on the right and Mt. Shakespeare (12,174 ft.) on the left. At the opposite end of the canyon were the mountains and peaks of the Black Divide. The Devils Crags, Wheel Mountain (12,774 ft.), Mt. McDuffie (13,282 ft.) and The Citadel (11,739 ft.). I was at the far west end of the canyon and knew I was set for an amazing sunrise.
Camp just below the Golden Staircase.
Alpenglow.
As I set up my quilt and bivy the sun was making it's way up the canyon walls behind me. I watched the alpenglow too long and ended up making dinner by the waterfall in the dark. Any thought of the 'real world' was long long gone. I was completely taken by the peace of this amazing place. I drifted off to sleep listening to the waterfall and watching the stars come out, framed by the awesome walls of granite on either side.
Camp overlooking Palisade Creek, Deer Meadow and Devils Crags.
