I needed to do a quick trip to test out some new gear and get out of San Diego. This was also supposed to by my friend’s first Sierra trip, but he got pretty sick a few days before and had to back out. I drove up from San Diego on 7/5 and stayed at the Tuttle Creek CG (pretty nice digs for only $5).
The next day I picked up the permit and was strolling up Kearsarge Pass by 9:30. I picked up the JMT south and then up the use trail to Center Basin.
It started thundering and sprinkling around 2 kept going until about 7.
Obligatory Gear Shot
The only people I saw were on the pass and the JMT. Oh, and a propane tank with stove in Center Basin all by themselves.
Mosquitos were a non-issue. I saw them in the trees and a couple landed on me, but didn’t bite. I maybe got bit once.
Tuesday, I got up early to go up University Pass and then over to University Peak before the weather got nasty. With some new gear and new processes, it took me forever to get out of camp, but I was finally slogging my way up University Pass around 7. For me, the pass lives up to the hype. The sand was deep, loose, and ready to crumble upward while you try to out run the slide. On the south side, I got one good size slide going, luckily there was no one below. There’s a lot of large-ish rocks buried in the sand that like to hide until they slide under foot or into your shin. Also, there's one big boulder blocking the chute that requires some hands and feet to get over.
About 2/3 of the way…
Made it up a little before 9, dropped the pack and made my way over to the peak. I scrambled up what I thought would take me to the peak only to see the real peak quite a bit higher and pretty far away still. Damn. The clouds were getting darker and bigger and closer. I’m not a great judge of the weather and decided to head back. The thoughts of being on the peak in the fog of a cloud, getting zapped, or trying to get down University Pass which probably turns into a river of mud in the rain, all sounded pretty bad. So back I went. There’s a big cairn at the “shortcut” pass in case you're thinking of going down that way.
Around 10, I started down the North side of University Pass. This side is also quite spicy until the boulder field at the bottom. I’m pretty slow and cautious through this stuff, but still had 3 almost-falls and 2 real-falls. No injuries, just my ego and a bruised hip. The boulders were a relief for a while, until the third time I said to myself, “I bet I’ll be able to see Robinson Lake as soon as I get to that little rise…” Nope, more boulders.
Sky Pilots
Hallelujah!
In all, it took me about 4.5 hrs from Center Basin to Robinson Lake, 5.5 if you count the excursion toward University Peak. I was hoping for some thunder and/or rain validation of my peak bagging bail out, but it never came. I didn’t see any one else that day until I got to the packed Onion Valley parking lot.
Good trip to some new places with some new gear. Now to lay down some silicon strips…
