sequoia national park Archives

Back over Forester and Kearsarge: Summer Sierra Trip Report part 6

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 9, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

Mt Williamson: We will be back! (also, eep on that route!)

For the final part of this trip report, I’m mostly revisiting terrain we crossed our first and second days. But the views are so great that it’s totally worth it! Unfortunately, our idea to climb Mt Williamson didn’t work out as planned. Feeling a bit spooked about the route after chatting with some other climbers and learning that just getting to the base of the peak was 9 hours round trip, we started considering other options.
The next morning, the intended day of our climb, we woke to gusting winds that nearly blew me off my feet, and waiting it out wasn’t working. The wind was picking up and we were well past the window of time where we should have left for Williamson.
So instead we decided to pack up and make it a long day on the trail, working our way back towards Forester Pass and hopefully making it to Kearsarge Lakes for the night. We estimated it to be about an 18 mile day with about 4000 ft of gain, including a 1500 ft climb to cap thins off right at the end. It wasn’t going to be an easy day. Considering we were already getting a late start due to our attempts to wait out the wind, I wasn’t completely confident we’d make it to Kearsarge Lakes that night. But we hoped to in order to meet up with some friends we thought might be staying there that night.
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Mt Tyndall (14,026′): Summer Sierra Trip Report Part 5

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 8, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:1 Comment

On the morning of Day 5 we got up early and packed up, saying goodbye to Pavla since she was heading in a different direction than us. Her plan was to meet up with some other friends who were heading out via Mt Whitney. Meanwhile, David and I were heading over to Shepherd Pass to set up a base camp for the next couple of nights in order to climb Mt Tyndall and Mt Williamson.
We exited Wright Lakes basin via the simple cross-country Rockwell Pass, a shortcut that would quickly connect us to the trail heading towards Shepherd Pass from the JMT. Rockwell Pass is famous as the location of the highest observed tornado, but I was perfectly happy avoiding such excitement when we visited.
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Mt Barnard (13,990'): Summer Sierra Trip Report Part 4

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 6, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:2 Comments

We woke up the morning of Day 4 in Wright Lakes Basin, a lovely place that we seemingly had all to ourselves. This morning we weren’t packing up camp, rather we were off to climb Mt Barnard, the highest non-14er peak in the Sierra. And at 13,990 ft it’s close enough to 14k that maybe someday it will be measured as a 14er, so it’s nice to get it while it’s flying under the radar!
Although the summit of Barnard was less than 2 miles as the crow flies from camp, I had estimated our round trip route to be close to 10 miles of hiking. The southwest ridge of Barnard is an easy Class 1 slope but we still had some unknown terrain to navigate to even get to the ridge.
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Exploring Wright Lakes Basin: Summer Sierra Trip Report Part 3

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 3, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

Monday morning marked our departure from the John Muir Trail. After a short walk along the well-worn path where it circles south of Tawny Point, we said goodbye to the…

Over Forester Pass to Tyndall Creek : Summer Sierra Trip Report Part 2

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 1, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:0 Comments

Despite being pretty wiped out from a long first day, I woke up feeling pretty refreshed and ready for another haul on Day 2 of our week long trip. This…

Sawtooth Peak from Columbine Lake at Sunset

Mineral King Loop: Timber Gap, Five Lakes Basin, Sawtooth Pass

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 9, 2010
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:28 Comments

The Sierra summer backpacking season is coming to a close which means I am home again and can focus on the thousands of photos taken, hundreds of miles hiked and…

Whitney Hut

High Sierra Trail Day 7: Guitar Lake to Whitney

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 24, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:6 Comments

It’s Whitney Day! My watch alarm woke me at 4 am and remembering last night’s cold temperatures, I maneuvered myself to the door while staying inside my sleeping bag. I wanted to heat my breakfast and coffee water inside my vestibule and get as much packing done as possible while staying all warm and cozy inside my down cocoon. As I started moving around I realized it was warmer than the previous night – a check of the thermometer on my GPS revealed a temperature of 47, warmer than most mornings in the Sierra. I ridiculed myself for being a baby and finally got out of my bag.

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