A Trip to the Precipice

“The Trip to the Precipice

If you don?t know where Mineral King is, take US 99 north from Bakersfield, when you reach Visalia turn left. It took us 3 hours to traverse this last 50 miles of road. 25 miles of good highway and 25 miles of 1 lane winding twisting curving winding paved dirt paved winding twisting road.

Permits in hand and water bottles full we hit the trail about 11:00 am. 4 miles all uphill with loaded packs. At one rest stop I asked Tom where we were. After about 10 minutes of studying Tom said, ?This can?t be right.? The map shows the trail on the north side of the hill, looking into the Monarch Creek drainage, but we were in fact on the trail looking back into Mineral King to the east. Let me tell you, it is not a great confidence builder to find your USGS map is wrong.

We reached Lower Monarch Lake about 4:00pm. There were about 6 other groups there already and the day hikers were heading out. Exploring the area, we found the butt end of a marmot trying to dig under a rock. He had high centered himself on top of a softball-sized rock and under the big rock. After 10 or 15 minutes of studying the not so cute end of a marmot we moved the softball rock and freed him, only to listen to his angry barks for an hour or 2.

We found that by sitting up in our sleeping bags we could see the city lights of the Central Valley. How disheartening after THAT road and THAT trail to still see civilization. They were pretty though. As we put our heads back down we watched a deer walk across the skyline not 15 feet from us. Picture it, a deer silhouetted by stars. That brought the total to 14 deer spotted today.

Sunday: our day for the assault on Sawtooth. The map shows a trail going up, but in reality, there are a hundred ?Social Trails?. This being my second trip over Sawtooth, I knew not to use the sandy slope but to use the rocky outcropping. We headed toward Glacier Pass and veered to the right looking for a ?trail? that didn?t peter out. A daunting task indeed! We got to a false pass much closer to Sawtooth Peak than we wanted and had to backtrack to the true Pass.
In my years of backpacking I?ve learned to pay attention to descriptive place names. Don?t set up your tent in ?Mosquito Valley?, don?t spend too much time in ?Deadman Canyon?, and don?t try to go over ?Hell-for-Sure Pass?. Sawtooth Peak is one of those descriptive place names; it looks just like a tooth on a saw. It is amazing. And the concave ridge just below it is awesome. The view back the way we came, and the way we are going?. I could see Mt. Whitney on the other side of the Sierra (where I was a mere 3 weeks ago) the Kern Trench, the Big Arroyo, Lost Canyon, Columbine Lake. I need more adjectives!
We proceeded down from the Pass, quickly running into the ?Social Trails? again. This time with ?Ducks?. After being cliffed out 4 times I was using language I hadn?t used since I was in the Navy. People if you don?t know exactly where you are going, don?t build ducks!!!! You would think the National Park ?Service? would do a better job of marking the ?trail?. We did eventually get to the outlet of Columbine Lake and explored a little bit. Views of Spring and Cyclamen Lakes, the trail going up Black Rock Pass (Black Heart Pass). Then it was off to Lost Canyon and our camp for the night.

Our camp in Lost Canyon was just above tree line next to some very large boulders. Thinking that if any more rocks pried themselves loose from the cliffs above then these house sized boulders would protect us.
The ¾+ moon made some interesting shadows on the valley walls. Then around midnight this guy came striding down the trail with a flashlight and a daypack. It took us 2 days to get here and he?s got a daypack? At midnight?

Monday we continued our stroll down Lost Canyon, spotting various camps in the trees. When we reached the trail junction we could hear sounds of the city. ¼ mile up the trail we came upon a trail crew with a BIG jack hammer and pry bars and sledge hammers. Maybe our friend from last night was one of these guys and we really weren?t in the Twilight Zone. We didn?t ask, just thanked them for their efforts on the new trail.

At an un-named lake in an idyllic setting we had lunch, pumped water, and found some deer? tracks that were about 5 inches long. I can?t imagine how big this animal must be, or what it could be other than giant deer.
We reached the first of the Big 5 Lakes around 5:00pm. Had enough time to clean up, set up and enjoy the fact that we had to share this lake with one other lady.

Just before we reached Little 5 Lakes Tom found a pair of binoculars, I paid for this by losing my Swiss Army Knife. Go figure. Looking up at Black Heart Pass from Little 5 Lake, all I could think of is ?This is why I backpack?. We had planned on staying here, but noon is too soon to stop, so on to the Big Arroyo. The 2nd and 3rd Little 5 Lakes were worthy of breaks too.

I had told Tom of the Big Arroyo and what a great place it is to hike. Sorry to say he did not share my opinion trudging through the woods looking for a campsite. A camping place we did find. I don?t want to call it a ?site? because we were the first ones to camp here. Great views, soft grass, and the creek near by. As near as I could tell we had the whole valley to ourselves. I really don?t think I?m being selfish when I feel this is the way it should be. Tom had mosquitoes and bats buzzing around his head as he laid in his sleeping bag. 20 feet away I had none, drat.

The next day, as soon as we left the trees Tom?s opinion changed to agree with mine of the Big Arroyo. A gentle path and great views of the valley walls and where we were headed complemented by a deep blue sky. I told Tom to go ahead so I could get a picture of him on top of the pass. He questioned my judgement but went on anyway. 10 minutes later he was at the top of Kaweha Gap waving his arms for a good silhouette shot. Kaweha Gap is the easiest pass I?ve ever gone over. The view of the Big Arroyo (we came from there?!?) and Nine Lakes Basin would be worth the whole trip, and we still have the Precipice in front of us! You can see the ledges where most of the lakes are hidden in Nine Lakes Basin and the one you can see is typical of the high Sierra, blue, blue, blue with white rocks and black cliffs and blue, blue sky. The only trees in sight are back down the Big Arroyo, a glacially carved, U-shaped valley, that goes straight for about 7 miles before if curves then drops into the Kern Trench. About ¼ mile on Tom got his first look of Precipice Lake. This small (1 acre?) lake of the deepest sapphire blue edge by turquoise is backed by a gray/black cliff with white snow hanging on it topped by a deep blue sky is the MOST beautiful lake in the high Sierra. Ansel Adams took a photo of this lake, but my photos are better. Who else among us can say that? Imagine yourself standing looking up at the blue blue sky, your eyes dropping down to see the gray/black/white cliff, down to the sapphire lake, turning to the right to look down the precipice, an area the map names Valhalla, a small tarn directly below, to the right you see where they have dynamited the trail out of the side of the cliff, back toward the center the Angel Wings are sticking out from the mountain walls and Hamilton Lake lying at the bottom. How small do you feel? How privileged do you feel to witness this immense beauty? At the very top of the cliff behind is a needle sticking up into the air. This is the same needle we marveled at from the Big Arroyo.
We regretfully tear ourselves away from Precipice Lake to continue our trek occasionally passing starburst fractures in the rock where they dynamited the trail. We come to an avalanche chute, turning right we walk back into the cliff. At the back of this chute we look up at the mountain towering above and turn around to look at the slide below, to continue we must go though a tunnel. As we emerge from the tunnel we realize we are still in the tunnel, it?s just open on one side. A mountain over our heads and a 400-foot drop to Hamilton Lake on our left. Back and forth, back and forth, we just can?t get enough of this place. We are here! We are here! Look how far down! Look how far up! We are here! Look how far down!
Tear ourselves away we must, and soon are on the switchbacks. The trail is so overgrown a machete would be of more use than our walking sticks. Finally we reach Hamilton Lake and our camp for the night.
To stand on the shore of Hamilton Lake and say, ?Oh ? my ? gawd ? we ? were ? up ? there!? fills one with wonder. It was a day filled with years worth of reasons to backpack. But wait! There?s more! As the night progressed I was looking at a triangular shaped peak jutting up from the ridgeline soaring above and it became outlined with a halo effect getting brighter and brighter by the moment, like a hundred spotlights were behind it until the full moon peeked out to illuminated the whole canyon. The Big Arroyo, Kaweha Gap, Precipice Lake, the tunnel, the halo! What a day!!!

We were slow to rise the next morning, but it was time to walk. Up and down, up and down past small waterfalls, huge domes on the other side of the canyon, the creek coming down from Elizabeth Pass, open vistas, small intimate grottos, walk, walk, walk. A well deserved break at Bearpaw Meadow Resort rewarded us with lemonade on the veranda looking back at the Great Western Divide and the canyons ahead.
At each creek crossing there were campsites that beckoned us to stop until in a dark wood we saw the sun lighting Redwood Meadow to a glowing green. Our camp afforded us the rare opportunity to sleep in a grove of Sequoia trees and our first campfire of the trip. I can?t describe the feeling of camping alone in a primeval forest of giant Sequoia trees with deer wandering though and a coyote barking in the distance.

After burning the extra food and the dirty clothes (and making sure the fire was dead out) we started our last day. We walked through another grove of Sequoias, a pine forest, and then oak trees. What variety!
4 miles later when we arrived at Cliff Creek I asked Tom if he was glad the easy part was over. His look told me he didn?t think that had been so easy.
Crossing Cliff Creek we started up Timber Gap (Timber Gasp). 3 miles, 3000 feet up. This is a trail I regret doing a second time. It?s up, up and more up. No convenient place to stop, just up. Did I say this trail goes up? Well it does! UP, up and more up. 3 miles, 3000 feet up in 4 hours I think puts us in the hero category. Then ½ hour to do the last 2 ½ miles downhill to the car. And then the long dreamed of burger and beer. What a great trip!!!”

“Great report- Naviguesser! Sounds like my kinda trip!”

“What a GREAT TRIP indeed! WOW

Someday, "I shall hike by Nav's side again!"
Mozark”

“The company would be more than welcome.”

“Sounds spectacular! I look forward to seeing another one of your patented "panorama" photo albums some day. Nice report!”

“Talk about rapture! You must still be tingling a bit. Thanks for the enthusiastic report.”

“Alright NAV, that's awesome!

I recon that triangle peak was Eagle Scout Peak. On the other side of the lake would be Mt. Stewart.

The junction between the Big Arroyo and Kaweah Gap is notorious for strong winds. Did you face those on your way through?”

“tekapo, I think THAT peak was to the east of Eagle Scout, but anyway...
It was a little windy at the Gap, but no problem. We had great weather the whole trip.
It sounds like you've been in this neck of the woods.”