Sierra Rendezvous 2005

“re: the cutthroat saloon - I wonder what they did with all those bras....”
pepperDog
I hope disposing of them was somewhat ceremonial. Its only proper.
All you travelers... God speed. See you on the trail. I'm done with work and home finishing packing and will be on the road tomorrow.”

“now there's an excessive heat warning for the Owen's Valley - 107 in Independence this weekend.

http://newweb.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?zone=caz026&county=cac027&wfo=vef&dgtl=1&lat=36.80278&lon=-118.19917

It looks like in the 70's during the day at higher elevations and then down into the 40's at night - beautiful weather. Not much mention of thunderstorms either.”

“but it's a dry heat :)”

“107 friggin degrees..that is hot!! doesn't matter if it is dry heat or not
last edited: 7/14/05 6:22:14 PM”

“Ewk- there's no crying in backpacking....”

“no cryin, just commenting that 107° is hot. I can think of better ways to get hot”

“Yesterday I stepped on the scale, then again with my pack on. 45 lbs.
Now that's just too much. So I borrowed Snow Nymph's Bearacaide. I took out a dinner and a bunch of snacks, & the tarp. I changed the clothes I'm going to wear the first day to the heavyer ones with boots. The lighter clothes and the tevas went into the pack.
Guess how much my pack weighs now....47 lbs.

How can that be?”

“Spent quite a bit of time today reading reports from hikers. Lots of reports on Whitney, little said about the other trails.

Because of the potential for long days, afternoon thundershowers, and too-soft snow later in the day, looks like we should hit the trail early each day and get to our next camp ASAP.

Forester Pass is my biggest concern now. Not sure how close we can camp to it after we leave Vidette Meadow. I think there is a good chance we won't make it to Wright Lakes Basin after Forester...probably Tyndall.

The 100+ temps down below will not concern us much once on the trail!!! Should be fairly nice where we will be.”

“navi - either you ate too much or your scale is broke!”

“I had to change packs. Mine weighed 39 which was over the limit for my Golite Trek. I also gained 4 lbs by swapping packs so I am up to 43 lbs w/o water :(”

“Obi, take very good care of yourself. I'm so glad you didn't suffer even more damage. I've had a broken wrist from a car accident. Occupational therapy is hard, but worth the effort. Mine works great now. Hang in there.

I'm not sure if I'll weigh my pack...........”

“The jumpers (creek and puddle) were delayed and missed their connection in Dallas so they are coming into Sacto at 11:40 tomorrow morning. We will pick them up at the airport and hit the highway in one fell swoop. We will probably get to camp around 7pm. See y'all then!”

“Navi has been sampling the Navi Ale to much...LOL!”

“So sorry to hear of you accident. Dam- oil on the roads. I hope you have a full recovery and are able to join us on the next adventure. We will think of you on every pass.

Pixie: I will probabably just bring my own hair dryer cause we may not be next to each other in our rooms. But Thanks for the offer. Hey, You can come visit me and Hikerchick in our room though.

Trailtrekker: A swimsuit leaves so much to the imagination. Yeah?

Navi: pack weight goes up after removing items.... stop adding Tequila!!!! LOL

We will most likely have thunderstorms in the afternoons due to the heat in the valley. Pack covers as well as rain gear is highly recomended.”

“For: Mono County-Including the cities of...Bridgeport...Coleville...Lee Vining...Mammoth Lakes
Issued: July 14, 2005 15:04:43 PDT

Tonight: Mostly clear with isolated thunderstorms in the evening. Lows 44 to 54. West winds around 10 mph in the evening becoming light.

Friday: Mostly sunny. Scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs 89 to 99. Light winds becoming south up to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Friday night: Mostly clear. Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Lows 44 to 54. Northwest winds up to 10 mph in the evening becoming light.

Saturday: Mostly sunny with isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs 87 to 97. Light winds becoming south 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday night: Clear. Isolated thunderstorms in the evening. Lows 48 to 58. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph in the evening becoming light.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. Highs 87 to 97.

Sunday night: Mostly clear. Lows 44 to 54.

Monday: Mostly sunny. Highs 85 to 95.

Monday night: Mostly clear. Lows 48 to 58.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Highs 86 to 96.

Tuesday night: Mostly clear. Lows 48 to 58.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs 86 to 96.

Wednesday night: Mostly clear. Lows 48 to 58.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs 84 to 94.”

“OK. I'm leaving my fleece vest at home.”

“any ideas on what the temps will be at night where we are at. I would like to leave my down jacket at home.
last edited: 7/14/05 10:54:25 PM”

“40's”

“it could go down into the 30's but the forecast looks like it'll be mostly 40's at night”

“obi, sorry to hear about your accident. I'll put you in my prayers for a quick recovery.

You guys have fun tomorrow night and I'll see you Sunday sometime on the trail or at Vidette Meadows. That's where we're camping that night, isn't it?

I'm not weighing my pack. I'm just bringing what I want and need.

navi, you're not supposed to eat that dinner and those snacks first then weigh yourself!”

“Geez Obi, I hate reading about motorcycle accidents. Hope you have real quick recovery!”

“You might be able to get the sunset after t-storm photos this time!

Im bringin my
20D
18-55 kit lens
55-200 usm
3 batteries
2 1gig cards
and a tripod.”

“i cant sleep....:), getting in the spa, that will make me sleepy, nice night here.”

“I'm with hikerchick on the weighing pack thing. Shamus and I have been packing frantically and it seems too easy. Makes me think we are forgetting something. Let's see...is the tent there?”

“David

I'm bringin'
the old Rebel...been spending extra dough on glass.
17-40mm "L"
300mm f/4 IS "L"
3 bats
2 gig card
1 gig card
Cokin P filter holder
Singh Ray ND grads
Moose polarizer
remote shutter release
Gitzo Tripod
Sherpa to carry all this camera crap....LOL!

Maybe try for some lightning shots ;)”

“Kristen- sorry you can't make it this time.
Our prayers are with you both.

Obi- Ouch! Take care of yourself...maybe catch you on the next trip?”

“Im having a hard time with you not getting to go Kris. :( love ya girl, hope to see you next year or before. :) You build it I will come.lol

Sir Naviguesser here I come..I'm off to the airport..Hot Dang!!!”

“"o Master weaver of Dreams, teach me to loom a cushioning carpet of Self Realization on which all Thy lovers may tread as they travel to the shrine of eternal wakefulness"
P Yogananda...
jai guru dev~~~~~~~~~
god speed everbuddy”

“huh?”

“Leave today? I thought I had another week..... JKing.”

““i cant sleep....:), getting in the spa, that will make me sleepy, nice night here.”
om
2:35:25 AM
7/15/05

LOL, maybe I need a spa.

Y'all all be safe and have fun!”

“creekjumper and daughter ended up getting on an earlier flight after all so they got in at about 1am. We stayed u[ till all hours packing and are just not thinking about breakfast etc. We will have the obligatory final stop by REI and hit the road. Still running a little later than planned but....I'm on vacation, darn it!”

“HAve a safe trip everybody! Maybe next year...”

“Hey everyone flying out, have a safe flight!


Phil or Phil's son, what time are you planning on getting to the campsite tomorrow?”

“hikerchic - Not sure. May have lunch in Lone Pine, then head for the campground. Will connect by cell phone!

Picked up om at Ontario Airport tonight. Her flight was delayed three hours from Atlanta.

Most everyone is on the road or there by now...I hope!”

“om is the shiznit!

she rocks like no other.”

“that's all good om..............


love you”

“Ha! I made a surprise party crash of the trip, staying over with the gang at Kearsarge Lakes. Made it home safely last night. Will post pics and report in a while (snowy already has a few pics posted). It was hot, mosquitos were plentiful, yet not intolerable, there was already an itinerary change, two sore knees, one altitude sickness case, and some possible skinny-dipping (or nearly so). Stay tuned!!!”

“It will take time to get these up (still working on the SHR trip), but will add to it when I can.

PHOTOS: http://community.webshots.com/album/398061002vPyljY

Also, a 1/4" cut on the ankle, and blisters. . . more to come.

It was really really really hot out there!”

“It was warm at 6 am when I started up the Kearsarge Pass Trail on Saturday - it must have been really hot at the trailhead at 8 or 9 am.”

“Hey Bowlderman or Snowy-
Did either one of you pick up an extra water filter by mistake? When I left late yesterday afternoon, Songbyrd was missing hers.”

“No extra filter here. Of all the luck - she finds a $300 GPS along the trail but loses a filter....


Here's my trip report:

I decided to crash the Rendezvous party just for a night, after Snowy suggested I come join her and Calhiker in doing the same thing. A good chance to meet a bunch of TTers!

Hit the road a little after 11 AM, as planned. Came to a screeching halt about 15 miles later - there was an accident blocking half the lanes - IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. Dang rubberneckers! Other than that, it was a pretty smooth ride through Yosemite, across Tioga Pass, and down 395 to Independence, where it was 105 degrees at 5:30 in the evening. Being the well-prepared hiker I am, I had checked for restaurants in Independence (a pretty tiny town), and found that there was a Subway sandwich shop there. So my plan was to get a sandwich to take up to the trailhead. Minor problem: it was closed for renovations. Fortunately, there was a little market across the street with a deli that made sandwiches - score!

I got up to the campground, found my walk-in tent site, and set up my tent. Then, off I went to find the TTers. It was pretty easy to find them: just followed the scent of beer. JVZ, Gemini, Songbyrd, and SolitaryHiker (?) were gathered at one of the camping spots. Hodge was there, too, along with Ewker, WindWalker, Naviguesser, and, um, oh god, I'll never remember all these names! When I went to get stuff out of my car, PepperDog, Creekjumper, and Puddlejumper drove in. Somewhere in all of the excitement, Eugene made his appearance. So there was plenty of beer and other stuff to go around. I headed off to bed around 10, although the party reportedly continued until 2 or 3 AM. OK, I made that up - I think some people were up as late as 11 or 12....

I was up at 5:30, having heard that there were some who wanted to head up the trail relatively early to beat the heat, and knowing how notoriously slow I am to pack up. I cranked up my little espresso maker, which, upon filling the little cup, promptly tipped over and spilled all over the place. Fortunately, I had brought some extra coffee, so just made more. Around 7 or so, I drove from the campground over to the hiker parking lot, and observed that there was no Snow Nymph vehicle to be found. I figured either A) She got tired and just pulled off the road to sleep somewhere; B) Something happened and she had to bail (unlikely!); or C) She had a super secret camping spot and just hadn't gotten up yet. Of course, "C" was the answer.

While arranging my pack and straightening up the car, I smacked my head into the raised hatch of the car - ouch! The thing hurt like a mutha, and bled a fair amount. First the espresso spill, now this! I told BowlderSon this morning that a bear reached out and clawed me when I went past a tree, but he didn't believe me. Just as most of the gang was about ready to head up the hill, up drove Snow Nymph and Calhiker. I waited for them to pack up, and we hit the trail at around 9, not long after most of the rest of the bunch did.

It wasn't long before we caught up with JVZ, who was on his way out! His heel was causing him some pretty bad pain, and he realized it just wasn't going to get any better, so decided to bail instead. As you read this, he is supposedly receiving "treatment" for it in the form of the hot tub at the Dow Villa in Lone Pine.

Most of the group congregated at Gilbert Lake for a breather and some group shots. After the break, I followed Gem, Songbyrd, and WarEagle up the trail at a pretty good clip. Each of them stopped at some point for a photo or water break, and I kept trudging on. Pretty soon, I noticed they were back a ways, and I didn't want to lose momentum, so I continued on.

It was great coming up to the view of Heart Lake. Unlike some lakes named after shapes of various kinds, this one really does look like a heart (you know, like the valentine, not like the organ- duh!). I reached the pass at around 12:30 and ate my lunch while watching the others work their way up the switchbacks to the pass. It was an amazingly gorgeous day, with almost no wind (at an 11,760' pass?!) and plenty of sunshine. Big Pothole Lake was still about 1/3 frozen over - no one would take me up on my offer of 5 bucks if they went for a swim in it.

We headed down the other side at around 1:30 and arrived at the Everest Base Camp between 2:30 and 3:30, depending on pace. Well, at least, that's what it looked like once all the tents were set up! The mosquitos were, as I described it, plentiful, yet not intolerable. Indeed, just a bit of my DEET-free OFF sunscreen/repellent was enough to keep them away.

We were camped near the largest of the Kearsarge Lakes. The Kearsarge Pinnacles shoot almost straight up from the far edge of the lake, providing a very cool backdrop. Not long after the last stragglers came in, we all made our dinners and sat around to trade stories and needle each other a bit. After a while several of us went down to the end of the lake to take some photos of University Peak as it turned a nice orange color near sunset. For me, 9:00 came around and my tired body dragged itself up to the tent and crashed for the night.

I woke up seemingly wide awake at 4 AM, thinking it would be a struggle to stay in bed 'till 5:30 or so. Next thing I knew, it was 6:30, so I popped out of my tent into yet another gorgeous day. I made my breakfast and started to break camp. Those of us planning to exit decided against bagging some peak and instead just hung out with the gang and socialized. We spent about 2 hours taking various group shots, or, at least it seemed like it! It was all recorded on Navi's video, though. Or at least someone's boob was (had to be there). The group decided to lay over one more day there to wait for the Sunday group to catch up, reasoning that they wouldn't want to go any further and the next spot would likely have a lot more mosquitos. So people started to filter out to head off to various day hikes, take photos, skinny dip, whatever.....

Snowy, Calhiker, and I said our good-byes and headed out around 11:30 or so. It was already getting kind of hot, but we kind of took our time. I stopped for a snack when I felt like I was bonking and realized I'd packed my snacks in my canister - doh! So I pressed on for the pass so I could unpack most of my pack to get some food in me a little sooner. The other 2 weren't far behind, and we enjoyed some time up there again, this time watching for the Sunday group to make their way up the long switchbacks. Eventually, we headed down the trail and met them: Hikerchick, Phil's Son, Phil, and Om. Phil was the only one who correctly guessed my identity. After giving them directions to the camp, we headed on down. It got hotter and hotter, but we kept a pretty quick pace. We reached the cars at around 4, and I headed out at around 4:30.

Something under the hood was smelling really hot whenever I stopped, but my temp gauge didn't show any increase. I looked under the hood and didn't notice anything, and the car ran and sounded just fine. I just chalked it up to the 105+ temps. I ended up getting home in almost exactly 6½ hours. This morning, I looked under the hood again and saw a bunch of oil splattered on a lower part of the engine - uh-oh. I took it in to the shop this morning - haven't heard the diagnosis just yet. Could be a big ouch.

Anywho, it was a fine trip! Complaints: too hot, and I didn't see one stinkin' mammal on the whole hike, other than human. New gear used: new camera pouch (pretty good, but not perfect); trekking poles (first time using them - I liked it!); wore a wicking t-shirt for the first time (liked it!). It was GREAT meeting all of those TTers, many of whom I've "known" from on-line bantering for a couple of years. It'll take me a while to remember who all to add to my "Who I've Met" list, not to mention getting the right captions on my pics. Speaking of pics, I'll try to get them all uploaded tonight.”

“It's cool you guys were able to crash their hike for the day. I hope to crash their party at the Dow Villa and then climb Mt. Lyell the following days. Gotta carb up on the brewskies!

Oh, I would of identified you too! :) There's only one bowlderman!”

“Hey, did any of you happen to notice if Landscaper/wannabp brought along their ice axes for this hike. I'd like to borrow one for my Lyell climb.

Danke”

“I don't think they were carrying them. It seemed like everyone decided on leaving axes and crampons in the car, if they had them in the first place. But I could be wrong - I didn't really notice what they had.”

“As long as my name was mentioned I may as well chime in. I'm home and working my job. I didn't want to lose vacation time not being in the mountains. I guess the guys I work with have a similar afliction and gave it a name I can't remember. I see my doc on Wed. and apparrently some steroids and maybe cortazone helped my work mates. I'm going back on Fri. nite or early Sat. to help with the shuttle and party anyway. If anybody wants a ride I'll take you to Lone Pine but I need the seating for the Whitney group. Good trip report Bowlderman.”

“Hope you heal up quick, jvz!! And it was nice meeting you. Good thing I wasn't doing the whole trip - imagine how long my trip report would be then!”

“JVZ, I was thinking... I'll follow you through Yosemite and drop my truck off in Touolome meadows. Then I can grab a ride with you to Lone Pine and sit in the pool, drink beer, and yell at children/Navi. When we leave, you drop me back off at my truck in Toulomne and I go climbing. Sound OK?”

“Bowlderman,
Great trip report! I took over 200 pics, so I have to sort thru them in the next few days (and not get too far behind with the previous 6 day trip). It was a FUN trip! I got some pretty good photos, I think. Gemini got me to do one of those "stupid shots". OMG! It took a lot of tries, but the last few were the best, probably because we were laughing so hard! Also got some "skin" shots, but can't post unless I get permission from those involved. Didn't know WarEagle was walking by when . . . Nevermind. There were 3 cameras on me when I went "dipping". Didn't realize my underwear were see thru til songbyrd yelled across the pond and told me. :-O Wish I could have gone with the rest of the group. It was a FUN trip! I guess I said that already. (and BM, hope your car is ok)

Trailtrekker,
We only had my water filter. Hope she found hers. There was a lot of gear spread around.

Rockman,
Calhiker and I were the only ones that brought ice axes. Most of the group left their crampons behind. I think Phil was the only one besides us that carried crampons. After last weeks trip, I thought for sure there would be plenty of snow (especially if we did a peak Sunday). Even the peaks from the Kearsarge area were pretty bare. I can't believe the change from last weekend to this weekend. I'm sure the peaks up north have a lot snow.

JVZ,
Did you get my message?? I sent an e-mail and left a VM msg on your cell.”

“Bowlderman - Great trip report so far! I'm sure feeling sorry for myself in Oregon! I should be hiking, fishing, visiting, drinking, skinny-dipping, etc with the group! (However, my mom is doing much better!)

JVZ - You had to back out? Bummer! Hope your heel heals soon. I remember you mentioning it on the WCT in May. You were probably just missing my harrassing....

Rockman - You aren't on the trail? I would have not had any fun had I gone anyway! Can't imagine a Sierra hike without you and Yukon Jack... Plan something and I'll go!”