My two regular backpacking friends and I have been wanting to do a trip somewhere new for awhile. We live in Kentucky. I have been on a few trips in Colorado and a short family trip in California. They watched a few videos and were convinced we needed to do the JMT. We tried for weeks to get tickets but had no luck. I convinced them I could plan a trip that would be just as good as, maybe better than, a JMT trip. They we skeptical.
We set out in early August for a trip starting out of the North Fork of the Big Pine, near Big Pine, Ca. The walk up Big Pine was pleasant enough, but the fun really started at First Lake. The turquoise waters with Temple Crag looming above really got our spirits up.
We went on to Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Lakes, all beautiful in their own way.
From Seventh, we went off trail. We climbed over a saddle with large and sometimes unstable talus to Thunder and Lightning Lake. This was our first off-trail talus scramble and it was a little intimidating.
We had hoped to get further, but it was getting late. My friend Jeremy had a spill on unstable talus on the way down and was not really in good spirits about it. We slept on the only level ground we could find near Thunder and Lightning Lake.
Day 2, we broke camp in the golden glow.
We scrambled back to a trail that leads to Green Lake. We had some fun scree skiing on the way. Then on to Brown Lake and South Lake, which was very low from the drought. We continued on and camped near a lake just before Saddlerock Lake.
Day 3 we made it up Bishop Pass with great views.
Then dropped into lush Dusy Basin and down onto the JMT. We walked a ways down the JMT and camped near the River.
Day 4, we hoped to make up a little mileage. We had a pleasant walk up Palisade Creek. I walked a little faster than my mates that morning so I got a chance to try out my Tenkara rod at lower Palisade Lake while waiting for them. Several small trout would race to my fly every time I cast.
From there, we followed the JMT up the long climb of Mather Pass and down into Upper Basin and slept near the River.
Day 5 took us past beautiful Lake Marjorie.
I got to do a little fishing there for lunch since I had gotten ahead of my friends in the morning’s walk. The lakes on the way up Pinchot Pass displayed lots of color.
My friend Tim was really starting to enjoy the trip.
I found a shallow Lake to swim in to clean off some funk. We set up camp just beyond the Woods Creek bridge.
Day 6 took us to to Rae Lakes. I got a little more fishing in as well as a swim under Fin Dome.
The views of Painted Lady above the southern Lake were spectacular.
From there, we went over Glenn Pass and down the long stretch to Vidette Meadows for camp.
The next morning was a pleasant walk up Bubbs Creek to Forester Pass. The scenery approaching the Pass felt more isolated.
Soon after descending the steep southern side of Forester Pass, we left the trail and camped near Tyndall Creek, just below Diamond Mesa. We saw several coyotes in the area so we dubbed it Coyote Basin. It was windy and desolate, but a beautiful place to camp.
Day 8 we continued off trail. We climbed over ridge that led to Wright’s Lake Basin. It was an easy open walk that eventually led past some ancient dead trees.
We left Wright’s Creek and went up Wallace Creek. There is an on-and-off trail through the area but we eventually made our way up to Wallace Lake. The wind was howling up there and I got skunked fishing as a result. We camped best as we could to hide from the wind.
We even got a selfie.
Day 9, we headed up to Lake Tulainyo, again off trail. The walk up was really nice high alpine territory.
Tulainyo was spectacular: cold, windy, and harsh. It was such a deep blue.
Jeremy and I got out of the wind in a depression to eat lunch.
The climb out was really fun.
The walk down to Boy Scout Lake was a long slippery mess. But Boy Scout Lake made up for all the sliding. We had plenty of time there to look at maps, fish, and attempt to set up a tarp in swirling winds.
We woke up from a cold windy night for our final climb up the mountaineer’s route of Whitney. Honestly, we woke up at a normal morning hour. The day was perfect. My can was mostly empty now so I packed my gear in the can to get a compact pack for the climb. We got excited seeing Whitney as we scrambled up the approach.
The chute was a fun scramble.
The final few hundred feet were a really fun climb. There was nothing too scary but it was fairly constant ledge climbing.
My friends were happy to see the summit approaching.
The summit was great. The views from Whitney were pretty spectacular.
As nice as the view was, we eventually grew weary of the crowd on top and made the long stroll on the trail down to the portal.
A friendly marmot sent us on our way.
After the long walk down, we had an obligatory huge meal. The bowling alley restaurant in Bishop was the only thing open, but we thought it was great. The Mountain Rambler Brewery provided great beers to wind us down.
This was a great trip for all of us I think. Even though we were hoping to do the JMT, I think we all three enjoyed the off-trail routes the best. We all 3 have become closer and can’t wait for the next summer trip.
