Taboose Pass to Bench Lake
Taboose Pass Trailhead

Taboose Pass to Bench Lake

This year’s long summer Sierra trip was a return to an area I sped through when I hiked the middle stretch of the John Muir Trail in 2006. At that time we came over Pinchot Pass, camped at Lake Marjorie, and then hike through Upper Basin and over Mather Pass the next day. I felt a bit rushed through Upper Basin, mainly because we were trying to outrun a horde of mosquitoes. But it still remained one of my favorite scenic stretches of the JMT and I was looking forward to a day where I could go back and explore.
That day came this summer. Sooz and I planned a nine day outing that would take us over Taboose Pass and down the old John Muir Trail to Cartridge Pass, eventually leading into Lake Basin where we would explore, fish, climb some peaks, and enjoy some Sierra solitude. Depending on the time we spent there we also tried to wedge in a couple of days to do Arrow Peak from Bench Lake and Split Mountain from Upper Basin. With this year’s late snow melt we went in with a flexible itinerary and the ability to change it around depending on how fast we moved and conditions we encountered. It turns out that this was a good plan – snow kept us from getting into Lake Basin and we were able to change plans mid-week.
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A Stormy Sierra Weekend: One Summit, Buckets of Rain, One Fish, and a Mosquito Invasion

A Stormy Sierra Weekend: One Summit, Buckets of Rain, One Fish, and a Mosquito Invasion

Friday night storms
Friday night storms

With our longer Sierra trip coming up soon, we wanted to head out last weekend and get in some hiking and sleeping at altitude. I always feel better when I get some time above 10k before hauling a heavy pack up there. Our intended trip was to head out to Laurel Lakes (just south of Mammoth), climb Laurel and Bloody Mountains, followed by camping and fishing at Laurel Lakes. Sunday would be another ~10k peak with a short hike. It sounded perfect, at least until we looked at the weather forecast.
The thing about the Eastern Sierra is that even if your original plans fall through there is always something else equally fun to do. So we headed out despite the forecast, figuring that we’d find something to do no matter what.
As we drove out on Friday night we watched the enormous storm clouds hovering over the mountains. They were beautiful as the sun set and they glowed bright pink. By the time we made it through the mountains the clouds had cleared and we pulled into a dispersed campsite outside of June Lake where we slept under the stars in the back of the truck.
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Bear Lake: Emigrant Wilderness

Bear Lake: Emigrant Wilderness

We headed up to Emigrant Wilderness for an overnighter last weekend. Conditions are still rapidly changing with snow in the high country causing both difficult travel and dangerous creek crossings.…

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Solitude in Yosemite Valley Hike #1: Turtleback Dome
Turtleback View

Solitude in Yosemite Valley Hike #1: Turtleback Dome

I spent this past weekend in Yosemite Valley, also known as the Disneyland of National Parks. About 4 million people visit Yosemite every year and it often feels like they are all in the Valley at the same time. This is not the way I like to enjoy the outdoors, but the charm and appeal of the Valley rarely keeps me away for long. I love to visit in the fall when the trees are colorful, and I really love to visit in the winter when a fresh snow has blanketed the valley in white. Luckily, my favorite seasons in the valley correspond to a slightly lower tourist density.

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