Kearsarge Pass

Posted on June 20, 2012 by reidexplores

Trailhead Elevation: 9,200 ft.

Top Elevation: 12,010 ft.

Total Gain: 2,810 ft.

Distance: 9.5 miles r/t

We drove from White Mountain Peak to the Onion Valley trailhead, getting there around 10pm. It took us a half hour to decide what to do, but we finally decided to throw on our headlamps, and backpack up to Little Pothole Lake, in the dark. I had never started a backpack at night, but it was exhilarating in its own special way. The stars were bright and animals were making their usual noises. After about an hour, we arrived at the lake and set up the tent. Considering we had already hiked 15 miles above 11,000 feet earlier that day, sleep came immediately.

I woke up with the sunrise, as usual when in the mountains. Phil was up soon after and we got up and started getting ready for the day. We planned on hiking up to Kearsarge Pass and then heading back to Los Angeles. After breakfast, we packed up and started to hike to the next lake. After arriving, Phil decided to end his hike there, since he was completely exhausted still from the day before. I still wanted to get to the pass, so we parted ways. There are few things that I enjoy more than hiking to high alpine lakes, above the tree-line, and this was no exception. After a couple tough miles, I arrived at Kearsarge Pass. The view was incredible, looking into Kings Canyon National Park at yet another string of lakes. I found a perfect spot to sit and enjoyed the last of my banana chips and trail mix. Knowing Phil was chillin back at the lake, I grabbed my pack and headed back down, and a couple hours later we were back at the car. Dinner on the mind, we decided to head up to a cafe in Whitney Portal to grab a supposedly awesome burger. With Mt. Whitney looming overhead, it was a perfect way to end a pretty sweet weekend.

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White Mountain Peak

Posted on June 20, 2012 by reidexplores

Trailhead Elevation: 11,675 ft.

Summit Elevation: 14,252 ft.

Total Gain: 3,015 ft.

Distance: 15.5 miles r/t

White Mountain Peak is considered one of the easier “14ers” in CA to summit, and it’s the third highest peak in the state. I figured it would be a great way to see how it feels to be at that altitude, without needing any technical skills. My buddy Phil and I set off from work in Hollywood around 6:30p, for the five hour drive north. The peak is in the White Mountains, just northeast of Bishop, CA. We arrived around midnight at a campground situated nicely at 8,500 ft. Four hours later, we got up and hit the road for the last hour drive to the trailhead.

When all was said and done, we started hiking around 7am. The approach to the actual peak was long, about 8 miles one way along a rough, rocky road. This hike is unique because it starts at 11k+ feet. Two miles into the hike we came across a scientific research station run by UC San Diego. It’s one of the highest research facilities in the country. We cruised past it and continued up at a reasonable pace. Even at 12,000 feet the altitude makes itself very apparent. I had spent the last 8 weekends hiking above 10k, but Phil had never set foot much higher than Los Angeles, about 400 feet above sea level. It felt like all of my training hikes were really paying off. Even though my breathing was much harder than normal, I never felt very fatigued.

Once we reached 13,000 feet, we took a lunch break. The final 2 miles of the hike were definitely the most difficult. Almost all of the elevation gained is in the last 2 miles up to the summit. At this point the road turned into more of a rocky trail, climbing steeply up the side of the peak. There were a few snow fields, but nothing to worry about. We made it to the top around 1pm. Once I relaxed for a few minutes, I felt great. Being at 14,000 feet was a big accomplishment for me, and I was very glad I made it. After taking some good photos and snacking on some trail mix, we decided it would be best to start the long trek back to the car. Going downhill was definitely a welcomed task. It still took a long while though, as we had about 8 miles to cover. The light at this elevation seemed magical, cascading through the clouds onto the barren, grass covered plains.

We made it back to the car about 6pm, quite a bit later than I had originally planned. Phil was on the edge of bonking for the last few hours, so we had to slow our pace down quite a bit. After changing out of our boots and shaking off the dust, we started the two hour drive to our next adventure…

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Mt. Baden-Powell

Posted on May 2, 2012 by reidexplores

Trailhead Elevation: 6,600 ft.

Top Elevation: 9,400 ft.

Total Gain: 2,800 ft.

Distance: 8 miles r/t

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Icehouse Canyon to Timber Mountain

Posted on April 22, 2012 by reidexplores

Trailhead Elevation: 4,900 ft.

Top Elevation: 8,300 ft.

Total Gain: 3,400 ft.

Distance: 9.5 miles r/t

The first of 9 training hikes for my Mt. Shasta climb at the end of June. This was a hike up Icehouse Canyon, near Mt Baldy. It was really hot out but felt great to be up in the mountains!!

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Whiskeylog Camp

Posted on May 17, 2011 by reidexplores

Trailhead Elevation: 3,680 ft

Top Elevation: 5,200 ft.

Total Gain: 1520 ft.

Distance: 9 miles r/t

This was an early season backpack with Clay and Rachel. We got a late start out of Los Angeles, just about normal. We had a crazy drive up a small dirt road into Sequoia National Park, arriving at the trailhead campground around 230am. We settled into our respective tents and hit the hay for a nice 4 hour sleep. Woke up and had bacon, eggs, and instant coffee. it was tasty.

The trail wasn’t too crazy. It had a pretty steady incline with a few switchbacks but overall it was moderate hiking. We stopped several times to admire the river and take in some of the fresh mountain air! After about 4 hours we reached our destination, Whiskeylog Camp along the South fork of the Kaweah river. We setup camp and explored a bit.

We cooked our traditional freeze-dried dinners and enjoyed some whiskey and good laughs. I crawled into my nice warm sleeping bag and had a nice sleep, as always in the mountains!

I woke up in the morning and stared at the roof of my tent. I could see the outline of what appeared to be snow! Sure enough, after gazing out of my door, I realized it had snowed a few inches overnight! It’s a very magical felling to wake up in the mountains with snow around your tent. It definitely made the trip for me! We enjoyed a light breakfast and then broke camp down. The hike back to the car was smooth and relaxing. Another successful trip!!