When the Scouts of Troop 21 set out to plan the annual sojourn into the High Sierra it seemed appropriate to choose a location that celebrates the spirit of one of the visionaries of preserving wilderness: John Muir. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act creating the National Wilderness Preservation System 50 years ago in 1964.
Two truckloads of Scouts departed Healdsburg in the predawn darkness in the last week of July to cross through the fruit bowl of the central valley and continue through Yosemite’s Tuolumne Meadows. Standing Wave Lenticular clouds (precursors of high winds aloft) were over the eastern escarpment of Mount Conness and Tioga Peak.
Picking up the Wilderness permit at the ranger station in Bishop we had our last formal weather forecast and it had a solid chance of rain in two days followed by the typical afternoon thundershowers. Standing in downtown Bishop with the thermometer bumping the 100 degree mark it was a stretch to imagine what was looming on our horizon. Base camp was set at the trailhead of North Lake and we had a welcome afternoon of setting up camp, pack checks, and our last fresh food for a week, a little Frisbee and relaxing around the fire finished the evening then it was off to sleeping bags under a canopy of constellations.
Under the best of situations rallying a group of teenagers at an early hour can be a daunting task, but the Scouts were up and raring to go. With a fortifying breakfast, and a photo they took off in a cloud of trail dust into the John Muir Wilderness area.
The early morning hiking through the aspen-lined canyon saw the boys with the confidence of their combined previous treks into the wilderness burning up the miles. Not until five and half miles later at the top of Piute Pass did the Troop reform (us old guys caught up), only to have the first of many thunderstorms quickly envelop the views of Mt. Humphreys and the North Fork of Bishop Creek. With the mountains echoing with clapping thunder and a display of electrical energy we beat a hasty retreat from our lunchtime elevation of 11, 423 feet into the Humphreys Basin.
Descending through the clouds and rain with frequent bolts of lightning quickening our pace led us to the lake strewn Humphreys Basin. We followed Piute creek past the Upper and Lower Golden Trout lakes and camped by a cascade near the Honeymoon Lake junction. The Scouts braved the frigid snowmelt and commenced an “Insanity Wash” a tradition of Troop 21 to take a daily rinse in either cascading creeks or crystalline lakes to erode off some of the daily trail grit and grime.
Day two we continued our descent down Piute Creek beneath Turret Peak and Pavilion Dome while ominous clouds began building and enveloping their summits. Reaching the junction confluence of Piute Creek and the South Fork of the San Joaquin River at the John Muir Trail, the heavens parted just as we finished with our lunch and that rain proceeded to stalk us up the trail until we reached our evenings camping spot in the Evolution Meadow. A quick bivouac was set in the driest spot we could find. We heated up some water for dinner, a quick twiggy fire (a small “leave no trace fire”) to dry out and warm up then it was off to a damp night’s sleep.
Day three broke cloudy with a few holes of sunshine so the tents and bags were thrown out upon the granite to dry out which delayed the departure. Continuing up the Evolution Creek we stopped at the McClure Meadows back country ranger station to get our service project from the park service ranger. After a informative discussion about the weather and forecast from Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park Ranger Dario gave us the task of checking campsites along the trail and sweeping them clear of micro trash which to our pleasure we had been doing all along the route as demonstrated by our already gleaned collection of bits of garbage picked from the previous campsites and trails.
The weather was compliant for the rest of the day’s hiking as we ascended from the Evolution Valley to the Evolution Basin, where we found a campsite alongside Evolution Lake with a panorama of Mount Huxley, Darwin, Spencer and Mendel. After an afternoon thunderstorm and brief hailstorm we were treated to a cloud of smoke from the Yosemite fires that heightens the last rays of the setting sun radiating the peaks and clouds with Cimarron and golden light.
On day four, the Scouts scrapped the plans to laze about on a layover day because of the insistent rains that seemed to be following us and get an early start to clear Muir Pass and get us into LeConte Canyon. In what seemed to be a constant for us the rain started again this time in the late morning as we hiked along the shores of Wanda Lake and followed the Troop up to Muir Pass at 11,955 feet where we huddled together in the Muir Hut with fellow hikers hiding from the rain and wind and had lunch.
Lightening started up again so another rapid escape from the high ground was in order as we descended past Helen Lake and into the LeConte Canyon stopping at a small grove of Jeffery Pines called Star Camp that provided a soft and dry campsite.
The Troop took the “Insanity Wash” in the LeConte creek, observing that the creek was lined with the Sierra Nevada Yellow Legged Frog now listed as Endangered. The prolific presence of these frogs caused us pause and we wondered if the Troop having passed through the Evolution Basin past Mount Darwin all the while being assaulted daily by various forms of rain that perhaps we too were evolving into the amphibious creatures that had the Scouts hopping from rock to rock. That night we celebrated with a pot of backpackers cheesecake, a birthday and the fact that it didn’t rain during the entire time we had at Star Camp.
Day five had us up early repairing a delaminating boot and a couple of blisters before hitting the trail to continue descending granite aprons past the cascading LeConte Creek beneath the Black Giant, Langille and Sentille Peaks. Turning East at the confluence of Dusy Creek marked our beginning a long 3,000-foot ascent to Bishop Peak. After over 77 switchbacks, we cleared the 10,000 foot contour above tree line. Making camp at Lower Dusy Lake it looked as though we made it just in time to duck into our tents and shelters before the most powerful and intense electrical storm of the trip decided to settle in for the afternoon. After the hail ceased and the bolts of lightning moved nature once again graced the Troop with an incredible palate of colors, beams of light and snow frosted peaks to gaze upon as we ate our meal that evening.
Day six broke clear and as the alpenglow lit the massive cirque above, awakening the summits of North Palisade, Mt. Winchell and Mt Agassiz giving us hope that we could dry out again and get a early start to the day. With the highest pass in front of us we made good time up to the upper Dusy Lake where the Troop did a litter sweep of the camping sites around the entire lake picking up a variety of litter and cleaning up illegal campfire sites. A nice steady ramp led us up to the top of Bishop Pass where with only another 18 feet of climbing was required to get the Troop to 12,000 feet and view into the Inconsolable Range and its chain of lakes. The trail from Bishop Pass down to the night’s camp at Saddlerock Lake was a vertical drop off, carved into the mountain side with numerous switchbacks and blasted sections. A pleasant camp above Saddlerock Lake provided the Troop with lofty views of Mt. Goode and Aperture Peak as well as another frigid swimming opportunity. The Scouts in awe of the fact that it hadn’t rained the entire day elected to sleep out under the canopy of the sliver moon and Milky Way. An amazing fact is that when Boy Scouts know that a hamburger with french fries is only hours away, they can be up at dawn with packs ready then tear down a trail and close to a full trot! With five miles left it was less than two hours and we were posing for the finish line photo, the Troop had another week in the wilderness behind them, the memories, the experience, the companionship, the challenges of the passes, the weather and stewardship to the environment all fresh in their minds but lost for the thought of a cheeseburger.
BSA Troop 21 is a Scout run Troop, they planned the route and logistics of the hike, the Troop meets every Wednesday night at Clarey Hall 437 First St. Healdsburg.
