This spring my hiking compadre Karl extended an invitation to join him on his annual early season hike on the PCT. I am used to snow in the High Sierra, and I usually bring snowshoes and serious winter gear. . . but Karl assured me that in the early spring we could go without the usual winter setup and hike on the snow with trail runners. I watched the forecast and snow level indicators online, and it looked like we lucked out and would be enjoying a rare week-long window of sunny skies and plenty of hard packed snow!
Marion Lake and Cirque Crest on the Sierra High Route.
The Sierra High Route is a cross-country hiking route, 195 miles long, through the Sierra Nevada. It was scouted by Steve Roper and described by him in his book Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country.
In the morning the storm from yesterday was long gone and the view back toward Upper Basin and Mather Pass was crystal clear.
Upper Basin and Mather Pass from camp.
It was a clear morning and soon I was at the top of Pinchot Pass. The views to the north of Marjorie Lake were amazing. Like the views from many of the passes on the JMT, the vast scale of the area is hard to express or capture in photos.
Looking north from Pinchot Pass.
To the south of Pinchot Pass is a beautiful alpine area with meandering streams and wide open views of the red colored mountain peaks to the west. The view from below the pass of the gigantic southwest face of Mt. Wynne highlights the stripes of light colored granite. The trail is easy and I made good time to the Sawmill Pass trail junction.
The view of Mt. Wynne and Pinchot Pass (on the left) from the south side of Pinchot Pass.
The trail on the south side of Pinchot Pass.
The section of trail from Sawmill Pass to Woods Creek suspension bridge was probably my least favorite part of the JMT. It follows mainly granite stairs up and down along the creek for almost 4 miles. It may be that not eating enough was starting to tap my energy with some lagging at this point in the day. Sometimes I just didn't want to stop and eat, but by the time I reached the bridge I forced myself to stop for lunch. Feeling a little better I crossed the Woods Creek bridge. The suspension bridge was a big landmark for me. After reading so many trip reports about the bridge I was excited to see it in person.
Woods Creek Bridge.
I took a video while crossing the bridge. There are many camp sites on the opposite side, but as usual the entire area was vacant this late in the season. I saw one couple that looked like they were having a disagreement which made me extra stoked to be solo on the JMT. Just me and nature. Sweet!
Crossing the Woods Creek bridge.
The trail up to Rae Lakes from Woods Creek is steeper than I had anticipated and I just kept my slow and steady pace up the switchbacks and rocky trail. It started to rain lightly as I passed through some of the forested area. I passed a good large camp site littered with downed trees about half way up to the lakes. Later a small group would ask if there was a good camp for them nearby and I recommended the area.
Soon I reached the Dollar Lake and missed the classic photo opportunity of the lake with Fin Dome in the background. More time for photos later.
For the first time on the entire JMT I started to see large groups of people camping along the trail. At Arrowhead Lake there were a few groups of people wearing full rain gear taking photos along the lake. Full size free standing double wall tents, guys standing around in boots and warm jackets talking about the 'real world'. It all seemed so strange. I was warm as long as I kept moving along in shorts, t-shirt and trail runners. The light rain was keeping me at a nice comfortable temperature and I was hitting my late afternoon second wind. It felt like all of the less picturesque parts of the trail earlier in the day were a small price to pay to enjoy these late afternoons.
First view of Glen Pass under cloudy skies.
I could hear a group of people hanging out at the ranger station as I passed by but I just kept moving. After being on the trail solo for so long I wasn't anxious to break the mesmerizing feeling of being 'with' nature. The view of the first Rae Lake was beautiful and the storm clouds still hadn't produced much rain. I picked up the pace and started looking for good camp sites. I remember seeing a trip report where someone had camped right above the southern Rae Lake with good views of the Painted Lady. I just kept going and figured at worst I would find something just below Glen Pass.
Finally I reached the last Rae Lake and the views matched the pictures I had seen before. I hiked up a bluff up to a plateau and found several flat camp sites with great views of the lake and Painted Lady. After setting up camp I was a little startled by a man who came out of nowhere to say hi. He was camping nearby at the lakes outlet and was in the middle of a week long stay. After chatting for a while I made dinner (in the dark) and got to be early. The plan was to get up early and make it over Glenn Pass and Forester Pass to set up for the final stretch toward Whitney.
Camp on bluff overlooking Rae Lake and the Painted Lady.
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.
