High Sierra Trail - Day 2

Day 2 - Bearpaw to Pinto Lake

July 22, 2017

We woke up slowly, giving a us a late start. We ate the heaviest of the breakfasts (granola + bananas) and had some Starbucks vias for coffee. The first day takes a while to load the packs, and mine was probably slowest because I carried the tent and rain fly. I really couldn't even start packing until both tent pieces were ready. K had the issue of the tent poles causing things to be off center, and M had mostly things that would not decrease at all in weight as we went on.

Hiking through Redwood Meadow

This was the first day of the southern detour, so technically not one iota of this trail is part of the high sierra trail. We descended (mostly) toward Redwood Meadow, a misnomer since it is a grove of giant sequoias. I had hiked to Redwood Meadow before via the Middle Fork trail; however, it was in the Spring and by a  slightly different route. The Middle Fork is a hot trail, which makes it ideal for Spring use, but terrible for summer. We met a few guys coming into Bearpaw who took the Middle Fork trail (and complained of the intense heat) but were able to give us a little information on trail conditions and such. Down we went, with some ups along the way. I was always thinking of how I did not want to descend anymore - the heat was getting to me, and the thought of going back up (in said heat) was disheartening. Still, we pressed on until we came to a rather large creek.

Cliff Creek feeder

This was probably the only creek we would cross that would require a significant amount of scouting to find a way across. There were no rock cairns to be found, but we did find evidence of previous crossings once we made it to the other side. Finally, K (my BFF) and I found a way, and  proceeded to mark our "trail" with sticks. As if something from the movie Elf, it went something like this: "Through the asparagus forest, past the lichen stick, over the fallen logs, past the water boulders..." We hiked as far as we could through pretty dense brush before putting on sandals. M(my daughter) & I were to share a pair of Keens - something that turned out not to be as easy at we had thought. I crossed first. While taking them off on a rather steep bank and finding a place to drop the pack, K would go to the "island" in the creek and wait for me to throw her the sandals. Then she'd toss them to M. The whole thing went well. The creek was wide and not terribly swift where we crossed. Once we all got our boots and packs on, we were then challenged to walk along a steep bank and head back to the trail. The brush was thick, the terrain rocky/slippery, and I managed to scrape and bruise my knee pretty good when a rock gave out.

switchbacks headed up to Pinto

We took inventory once we found the trail, noting the significant time we had lost trying to cross a creek that wasn't even on our radar. Coming into Redwood Meadow, we found the ranger station unoccupied, but had lunch near it in case he/she returned while we were there. We were looking for (but would never find) any intel on black rock pass. We ate the same thing for lunch (wheat things, summer sausage, cheese), but it was harder to eat this day due to the heat. Much of our trail was now uphill. We were counting "creek" crossings, but never quite sure if they were marked or not marked on the map with the record-setting snow season. We met a solo hiker who came out of Mineral King and was originally bound for Black Rock pass. The rangers had advised him it was better than Kaweah Gap due to the ice collapse and the 2.5 mile snowfield. He had injured himself crossing the creek, so he was on the way we had just come from in order to exit. He also indicated the junction was "just around the corner"; this was a milestone we would rest at and decide how much further to press on.

It was NOT just around the corner; in fact, it was probably 1.5 miles before we'd hit that junction. There we met another group of hikers who were familiar with the area. They said we'd be able to make Pinto Lake, but it was gruelling uphill.

Headed up to Pinto Lake (looking back) - sunset looming

Now, for some really dumb reason, we decided NOT to pump water at this junction. We decided we could do the next few miles without water, and resupply at Pinto. We'd already had 4-5 liters each; this seems like more than enough to sustain for the day. The uphill switchbacks to Pinto were intense, but M seemed pretty good and I felt okay. I snacked on almonds; in my mind they have a high water content (for a nut) and I had hoped it would help with the thirst. It did. This would be K's bad day. Trust me, each of us would have one of those days. K struggled up the switchbacks. She was pale, needing water and food. She scoffed at my suggestion of almonds. Darkness threatened us, and eventually overtook us before we made it up. M kept scouting ahead, hoping to find an end to the switchbacks or a water source. M eventually found a small stream and pumped some water for all of us. It was decided we'd leave K's pack and M & I would come back for it if she was unable to make it. She pushed on, and we made it into camp after 9 pm, all packs included.

I apologize now for pitching a tent so close to another set of hikers. I needed K to rest and get food/water ASAP. We pitched camp, pumped water, and ate dinner in the dark. None of us wanted that damned dinner; exhaustion breeds a distaste for food, despite the body needing the calories.
By the way, we never did see Pinto Lake itself until we ascended the next day.

Overall
Miles: 10.1

Elevation start: 7680

Elevation end: 8400
Elevation gain/loss: +2580/-1860
Campsites: many, dirt/rock, fairly level
Water: Cliff (?) Creek very near by
Toilet: N
Bear storage lockers: Y
Privacy: Some

Hashtags for the day:

#asparagusforest

#lichenstick

#nonameriver

#justaroundthecorner

#fuckpintolake