Five Passes in Four Days in the High Sierra

Grandpa Ben

My grandfather on my mother's side was a backcountry ranger in King's Canyon in the Sierra. Ben was always ragging on me to do the John Muir trail. Because he was a horseman and "the man" in the mountains (note rifle in scabbard), I always looked up to him. While he was alive, I never did get to that challenge. My wife Kathy and I did about 100 miles of it last summer in two segments. They were Kearsarge Pass to Mt. Whitney and Piute Pass to Bishop Pass. We needed to do another segment this summer, and that was Kearsarge Pass North to Bishop Pass, a 61 mile stretch. Unfortunately, we have been having too much fun this summer and she only had two days leave to spare. On paper, the five passes only required four days if two of the passes could be done in one day.

On Thursday, August 12th, we drove separately up 395 to God's country. Our plan was to caravan to South Lake parking lot, leave one car and then drive back to Onion Valley to begin the hike. Because time was limited, we really needed to get over Kearsarge Pass that day to make the whole plan work. We kept in touch via FRS radios, so we could trade quips on other drivers or other sights along the way. The rest of the narrative is taken more or less from a crude diary that I struggled with each night before sleep.

8/12 Left San Diego at 5 AM with peanut butter sandwiches to be eaten as breakfast along the way. We beat the Norco traffic by a hair and arrived at the Lone Pine ranger station at 10:20, to pick up our wilderness permit. The ranger looked skeptical of our planned itinerary, probably because of my gray hair and impatient attitude. I assumed that we would be hiking by noon, what with our early arrival at Lone Pine. Yes, I thought that we had it sacked, but the car shuttle took longer than expected and we left the car at 1:30.

Onion Valley start

The tree of knowledge

Summited the Kearsarge Pass (11,760 ft elevation) at 5 . We were both pretty shot from the car ride and lack of acclimatization. We didn't have the luxury of sleeping at the trailhead, the way I like to ease into the mountains. Camped just above Charlotte Lake at about dark, after some discussion but no discord. We were too trashed to cook, but I tried to eat half a peanut butter sandwich. Kathy was bleary and had no appetite. As frequently happens at altitude, we were dead tired but wired in kind of perverse way, which made sleep elusive and never deep.

A beautiful day dawned and all was right with the world. Well, not really. To maximize time hiking, we were up on headlamps at 0530 to get organized and on the trail. We had an oatmeal packet and hit the trail at 0640 and arrived at Glen Pass (11,978 ft) at 0800.

Atop Glenn Pass

There is a rhythm to one's breathing that can really help at altitude. The in breath through the nose is metered on one step and the exhalation through pursed lips takes two steps. As with swimming, the important component of the breath cycle is the exhalation, as gravity takes care of most of the work on the in breath. Cardiologists say that the heart rate slightly increases on the inhalation and slows on the exhalation. Watching your breath is important to avoid headaches or worse.

The view of the Rae Lakes was spectacular. Unfortunately, the North side of the pass was very rocky, with big drop off steps being the rule. Also, the Rae Lakes were overrun with people. At our lunch break we realized that we had only covered 7 miles, not good. We ate a mega portion of salami and rye crackers, took a 15 minute nap and got going again. Our mood was a little somber. We were slow and tired, plus this was going to be a big push up a steep section to Pinchot Pass. We hit Woods Creek (the low point at 8547 ft) at 1:40. The worst part of the trip was the next 3.5 miles up to a nice campsite above a rushing creek. We made camp at 5:00, totally wasted. Kathy had a severe backache and my shoulders were trashed. We both were exhausted, but ate a freeze dried dinner and retreated from the mosquitoes at about 6:45. We slept like the dead.

Kathy putting up the tent

Crossing the South Fork of the King's River was a microcosm of being aware in the wilderness. On more difficult crossings, Kathy usually likes to ditch her shoes in favor of crocs and wade on the slick water stones of the creek bottom. I like to keep my shoes on and jump from available things sticking out of the water. I use the ninji toe socks, so it takes a while to get in and out of them. Because of my laziness and being tired, I made a stupid mistake and got my foot wet and still had to change to crocs after all. Little mistakes get magnified in the mountains. Wet socks means higher chance of blisters. Most accidents in the wilderness are not really accidents, just poor judgment.

8/14 We awoke just below the Sawmill Pass turnout, 3.7 miles from Pinchot Pass at 0530 and were on the trail by 0620. The upper area was a gradual incline. The meadows were inhabited by huge rabbits, who ran excitedly away from us. We made the pass at 0900. This was our chance to do two passes, Mather was only 9.5 miles away.

Mr. Rabbit near Pinchot Pass

We went through a beautiful lake filled valley and were making good time on the nearly flat terrain. Crossed the South Fork of the King's River at 1100. The trail gradually gained altitude through beautiful meadows bursting with flowers. At the upper end of the valley Mather Pass could be seen, an imposing wall of rock. Marmonts dominate the upper reaches of this valley of creeks. Made the summit after using amazing switchbacks cut from the rock face. It was 4:00 and we had time to spare to negotiate the poor trail full of rocks and big step downs. We found an excellent remote campsite above the Palisade Lakes on a windy ridge. Freeze dried food never tasted so good. We retreated to the tent after treating Kath's blister and a motrin for her back pain. What a great day over the best pass of the trip.

On Mather Pass looking South

Charger coach Don Coryell related in an interview that he did his best thinking on backpacks in the Sierra. There is something about the physicality of hiking at high altitude which frees the mind of its usual preoccupations. As I get to old age, the responsibilities of parenthood and work recede. All that is left is what I am able to do, how I treat people and whether I can accept what comes down the pike.

View from tent above Palisade Lakes

8/15 We woke up on the Lord's day at 0530 and were on the trail at 0620. Kathy and I were some distance above Palisade Lakes and this day proved to be a long one. The morning was spectacular and the "Golden Staircase" beckoned to us as the sun dawned. We saw a few deer close to the Middle Fork Junction. We had some salami and crackers there at 1130. The next three miles were uphill and Kathy's back began hurting rather badly. She also had a few large blisters. Things were looking bleak for our making Dusy Basin by this evening.

We met a couple of climbers at the Bishop Pass turnoff. One kindly gave Kathy a few Advil, which helped enough for us to make it to the lower Dusy Basin by 5:00. We found a great campsite, which overlooked the spectacular drop off down to the Le Conte Canyon. We spent a delightful half an hour at the sunlit creek, washing up and soaking our feet in the fast moving water. I stayed out in my running shorts until the sun went down, while Kathy rested her sore back in the tent. We are in a good position to make it the 8 miles to the South Lake parking lot before noon. Hoping for a good morning view from Bishop Pass.

Camp at Dusy Basin

Soaking our feet, Looking toward Le Conte Canyon

8/16 Made it to the Bishop Pass by 0900 and took the obligatory pictures by the sign. Had a nice hike down to the parking lot and have to say that it felt pretty good to be on our way home to San Diego after an action packed 3 days and 22 hours. Kathy and I honestly never had a cross word. I think my grandpa would have been proud.