napatony13
Member
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2021
- Messages
- 222
Back in late June my son called me and told me he'd found a hike that he thought I'd enjoy. This was a first so I got my schedule covered and made plans to join him the week after July 4th. He lives down in Bishop which is on the eastern side of the Sierra just a bit south of Yosemite and Mammoth Mountain. I didn't get much info,...didn't figure he was out to kill me...just that we would be hiking up past Lamarck Lake, spending a night, then hiking out. I looked it up on the map just to get my bearings and saw that it was up Bishop Creek Canyon. I'd driven up that way a few times checking out fall colors and knew that it was pretty country...steep, lots of granite, but pretty.
View attachment 151245
Bishop sits at 3000' and from there you stare right up at 13,000' peaks just a short distance away.
I drove down and spent Weds. night at my son's place. The next morning he had to work for a couple hours, then gather some gear, and finally coral a couple of his buddies who would be joining us. It was about this time that we learned that every place in town was sold out of bug spray. Since we would be near the water most of the second half of this expedition this was a bit of a worry. Also getting an 11:00am start had me a bit concerned as Bishop was in the middle of a 100 degree heat wave. But we piled in the truck and off we went.
Cascade on Bishop Creek from the road to North Lake.
As we drove up Bishop Creek Canyon I watched the elevation markers click off in rapid succession but didn’t give it too much thought. Eventually we turned up a dirt road towards North Lake and continued climbing towards the trailhead. Once there I saw that there was a pack station, a campground, and a packed-full hikers parking lot. Eventually we found space in the overflow lot. I'm not a big fan of crowds, so this also had me a bit worried. But we threw on our packs, walked up the road a ways, then through the campground, and hit the trail.
At first it was fairly pleasant…warm but not overbearing and the trail started with a gentle incline through shaded forest and wildflower blanketed meadows. It wasn't long until we passed into the John Muir Wilderness, and my worries about crowds waned a bit.
Once we left the trees things changed…steeper, very little shade made if feel warmer, and lots of switchbacks. Looking down at the lakes below us and the valley floor in the distance was very pretty. But I could no longer keep up with my young compatriots and started needing rest stops. While I was unsure of our actual elevation I knew it was an issue for sea-level dwelling me. As someone who has made several trips in and out of the Grand Canyon without being passed, watching an obviously pregnant woman go motoring past me really hit hard. This was the first time being 67 made me feel old!
Looking down from the switchbacks towards the valley below. Grass Lake Resting at Lamarck Lake
I was assured things would get easier once we reached the lake, and after a brief rest stop there we proceeded on and I optimistically figured the worst was over. Oh how wrong I was! The good news was we would not see another person once we left the lake and there would be no more relentless climbing. But the rest of the afternoon we would still be gaining elevation, going up and down, scrambling on all fours up granite slabs, rock hopping across streams and tarns and navigating the mostly trail less wilderness. It was beautiful country, a string of clear glacial ponds separated by lots of waterfalls and wildflowers, but I was having a hard time enjoying it...the heart and lungs were not enjoying things as we continued our upward push!
A nice flat slab next to a waterfall for our lunch break.
Thankfully after a lunch break and lots of short rest stops we reached our destination, a small mountain lake with a towering cascade feeding into it from the steep cliffs that surrounded us. My son took pity on me and offered me his hammock, admitting the hike was much tougher with packs than when they did some of it as a day hike. After a relaxing break in the shade I began to feel like myself again. Dinner time resulted in a lot of laughs, as one of my son's friends failed to take the oxygen absorber packet out of his freeze-dried meal package and then spent considerable time fruitlessly searching for it. The biscuits in his biscuits and gravy meal then ended up being rock hard, and he ended up breaking the middle tines off his plastic fork making it almost useless. It's always enjoyable to have someone else to make fun of!
The lake and falls next to our camp, with a close-up of the cascade in the morning light.
By now the mosquitoes were making their presence known and a cool breeze was blowing, so we decided calling it a night early would be the best decision to make. As they climbed in their tents I began regretting my decision to cowboy camp with my quilt. I was plenty warm and ended up stripping off clothes, but the relentless buzzing had me being vigilant about staying completely covered up. I don't know if it was my paranoia about waking up with my face covered with bites or the altitude, but I don't think I slept at all that night.
Everyone was up early in the morning, and after coffee, a bite to eat, and a few more pictures we packed up our things and headed for home. I was able to enjoy it a lot more on the trip out as it was mostly downhill, temps were cooler, and I had acclimated to the altitude a bit.
A few shots from the way down. The last image is looking over Lamarck Lake. We camped back behind the peak on the right.
We made it down in less than half the time it had taken to get there. l have since learned the trailhead was at 9200’ and we ended up at over 11,000’. The highest I had previously been was a day hike that topped out at 9700'. So at least I can tell myself my suffering was due to the elevation and not on being old. And despite the pain it was worth it to see such a beautiful place and enjoy time with my son.
View attachment 151245
Bishop sits at 3000' and from there you stare right up at 13,000' peaks just a short distance away.
I drove down and spent Weds. night at my son's place. The next morning he had to work for a couple hours, then gather some gear, and finally coral a couple of his buddies who would be joining us. It was about this time that we learned that every place in town was sold out of bug spray. Since we would be near the water most of the second half of this expedition this was a bit of a worry. Also getting an 11:00am start had me a bit concerned as Bishop was in the middle of a 100 degree heat wave. But we piled in the truck and off we went.
Cascade on Bishop Creek from the road to North Lake.
As we drove up Bishop Creek Canyon I watched the elevation markers click off in rapid succession but didn’t give it too much thought. Eventually we turned up a dirt road towards North Lake and continued climbing towards the trailhead. Once there I saw that there was a pack station, a campground, and a packed-full hikers parking lot. Eventually we found space in the overflow lot. I'm not a big fan of crowds, so this also had me a bit worried. But we threw on our packs, walked up the road a ways, then through the campground, and hit the trail.
At first it was fairly pleasant…warm but not overbearing and the trail started with a gentle incline through shaded forest and wildflower blanketed meadows. It wasn't long until we passed into the John Muir Wilderness, and my worries about crowds waned a bit.
Once we left the trees things changed…steeper, very little shade made if feel warmer, and lots of switchbacks. Looking down at the lakes below us and the valley floor in the distance was very pretty. But I could no longer keep up with my young compatriots and started needing rest stops. While I was unsure of our actual elevation I knew it was an issue for sea-level dwelling me. As someone who has made several trips in and out of the Grand Canyon without being passed, watching an obviously pregnant woman go motoring past me really hit hard. This was the first time being 67 made me feel old!
Looking down from the switchbacks towards the valley below. Grass Lake Resting at Lamarck Lake
I was assured things would get easier once we reached the lake, and after a brief rest stop there we proceeded on and I optimistically figured the worst was over. Oh how wrong I was! The good news was we would not see another person once we left the lake and there would be no more relentless climbing. But the rest of the afternoon we would still be gaining elevation, going up and down, scrambling on all fours up granite slabs, rock hopping across streams and tarns and navigating the mostly trail less wilderness. It was beautiful country, a string of clear glacial ponds separated by lots of waterfalls and wildflowers, but I was having a hard time enjoying it...the heart and lungs were not enjoying things as we continued our upward push!
A nice flat slab next to a waterfall for our lunch break.
Thankfully after a lunch break and lots of short rest stops we reached our destination, a small mountain lake with a towering cascade feeding into it from the steep cliffs that surrounded us. My son took pity on me and offered me his hammock, admitting the hike was much tougher with packs than when they did some of it as a day hike. After a relaxing break in the shade I began to feel like myself again. Dinner time resulted in a lot of laughs, as one of my son's friends failed to take the oxygen absorber packet out of his freeze-dried meal package and then spent considerable time fruitlessly searching for it. The biscuits in his biscuits and gravy meal then ended up being rock hard, and he ended up breaking the middle tines off his plastic fork making it almost useless. It's always enjoyable to have someone else to make fun of!
The lake and falls next to our camp, with a close-up of the cascade in the morning light.
By now the mosquitoes were making their presence known and a cool breeze was blowing, so we decided calling it a night early would be the best decision to make. As they climbed in their tents I began regretting my decision to cowboy camp with my quilt. I was plenty warm and ended up stripping off clothes, but the relentless buzzing had me being vigilant about staying completely covered up. I don't know if it was my paranoia about waking up with my face covered with bites or the altitude, but I don't think I slept at all that night.
Everyone was up early in the morning, and after coffee, a bite to eat, and a few more pictures we packed up our things and headed for home. I was able to enjoy it a lot more on the trip out as it was mostly downhill, temps were cooler, and I had acclimated to the altitude a bit.
A few shots from the way down. The last image is looking over Lamarck Lake. We camped back behind the peak on the right.
We made it down in less than half the time it had taken to get there. l have since learned the trailhead was at 9200’ and we ended up at over 11,000’. The highest I had previously been was a day hike that topped out at 9700'. So at least I can tell myself my suffering was due to the elevation and not on being old. And despite the pain it was worth it to see such a beautiful place and enjoy time with my son.
