Elizabeth Pass

Elizabeth Pass or Bust

Another great backpacking trip with Jamie has come to a close.  This trip took us from Lodgepole in Sequoia National Park around Twin lakes, Ranger Lake, Seville Lake,Roaring River, up Deadman Canyon and down Elizabeth Pass.  That’s where despite the “heavenly” environment the hell can be. 

     
Let me start by stating that the journey began for Jamie from Kansas to California and  she had one problem after another with flights.  The great worry was whether her backpack would even make it to Fresno with her switched upgraded seats, delays and canceled flights were only the beginning of drama.  She finally arrived about 16-17 hours later with her bag, thank god.

I had booked shuttle transit from the airport to Kings Canyon via the Big Trees Transit where according to the website, “Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks — two of the world’s most breathtaking outdoor destinations — right in our own backyard. So why don’t you visit more often? Big Trees Transit is now here to make your next adventure much more convenient. For just $15 round-trip, we’ll take you directly to Grant Grove Village inside Kings Canyon National Park. The fare includes your entry fee to the parks and unlimited internal shuttle service to a number of awe-inspiring destinations.”

I highlighted the phrase “two of the world’s most breathtaking outdoor destinations" and Parks in red for a reason.  Pay attention here.  Parks is not Park’s its parks as in plural as was the use of the word two.  Last time I checked two means more than one and parks is plural, meaning more than one.

The oddity of this journey begins here.

If one goes to the FAQ section of their site it also answers the question about internal shuttle within the park and that it’s available free.  Just to be sure, I contacted the office and spoke with the supervisor who also indicated that we could get from Kings Canyon to Sequoia. 

THIS IS NOT THE CASE AT ALL.  Do not take the Big Trees transit if you have any intentions of trying to get to Sequoia. Despite that the parks (plural) share a border and share an intersection on the highway, they do not share or allow for any kind of transfer to the other side.  Sequoia must be accessed by riding the Sequoia Shuttle.  This shuttle runs out of Visalia and Three Rivers only.  It’s very disappointing that despite both of these shuttles entering the same gate to the parks (plural) they do not stop there and allow for transfer to the other system.  We painfully found out this is symbolic of the rest of our government, divided.

We arrived at Grant Grove visitor center around 9:30-10 and found out there was no connection to the other park. Complete with backpacks and heat we started walking/hitchhiking towards our destination.  Concrete backpacking was not what we had in mind.  We marched on for about 6 miles before a very nice German couple gave us a lift.  I am forever grateful to them. They were true trail angels.

      Due to the lateness of our arrival to pick up our permit at Lodgepole in Sequoia we chose to spend the night in the campground and head out early in the morning.  One day of backcountry hiking lost.

We passed on camping at Twin Lakes due to the crowds.  I had heard from a father/son pair making their way out as we were going up that they had a loud group of five who camped right in their campsite with them and kept them up all evening.  I guess the group didn’t know they had left Lodgepole campground. It was either that or they were scared and wanted the closeness of others.  We opted for one of the lakes further on the trail,Ranger Lake,  and found peace and quiet.

My Steripen finally met its 7600 uses lifespan and died the first night. Usually I carry a few backup tablets for water sterilization, however, this one trip decided not to take them since the bottle has never been needed. I love the Steripen, it has never failed me until now.  Thank god Jamie had Aquamir and plenty of it. 

On the second night of our trip, at Seville Lake,  the zipper on my Big Agnes tent decided it had enough life span also and there was no way to keep mosquitos and bees other than keeping the fly zipped up.  I think all my gear is trying to tell me it’s time for retirement, like me.  Most of it is 5-7 yrs. old and has been a thousand miles or more.  I start dreaming of what I will replace them with.  Can my gear get lighter?  

The trail from our chosen lake to the Roaring River Ranger Station was easy and we made great time despite the mileage.  We followed bear and large cat prints most of the way and passed great campsites some with bear boxes. The views in this area are not photogenic but it’s a very nice wooded trail with subtle variations in elevation.  It made for a very nice day.  

  
There are three bear boxes there according to the camp map at the ranger station and after the storm subsided we set about finding the other two.

One of the boxes is on a bluff on the opposite side of the foot bridge and sits far above the water and away from the ranger station past the Historic cabin. It appears to be used primarily for pack crews and was not ideal in any way for backpackers.  The other box was found in the opposite direction about the same distance from the ranger station on the same side of the river as we were camped and was occupied by what appeared to be trail crew.  If this isn’t occupied it would make a fantastic campsite for the evening.

If you do not need a bear box for food storage, there are some small areas for camping along the river however, due to the rocky nature of the area those spots are scattered and far between.

I can safely say nothing broke down here and nothing was “lost”.  It was only shortly after this camp that things take yet another turn.

The next morning we hiked up Deadman Canyon to a ranger camp a few miles past the grave of Alfred Moniere, a sheepherder who died in 1887 from either illness or according to some accounts murder. 

The camp was nicely situated off the trail in some trees and near the river.  We watched a group of about 20 march on up the canyon just in time for another rainstorm.  This was the only camp we stayed at that didn’t have a Bear Box available, however, there was no difficulty in hanging food appropriately in the trees.

We exited our camp about 5:30 in the AM the next morning trying to beat the heat to the top of the pass. Due to the difference in our hiking speeds, I made it to the crest before Jamie and just in time to meet up with the group of 20 who had spent the evening among the rocks at the base of the pass.  The group was a high school class on an adventure before the school season began.  This group was and their guardians were some of the nicest people I have met on trail. I left them at the top while they were taking break.  It was pleasure encountering them and sharing a bit of the adventure that followed with them.

Elizabeth Pass is a very visible trail up to the top and shortly down the back side if going the direction we were headed.  The problem is that the trail disappeared in the bowl below before the major drop off /switchbacks.  The trail vanishes and the cairns that were in place must have been laid by someone trying to mark the way up for someone in their party to follow because they led me astray completely. 

After spending over 2 hours in the heat zigzagging back and forth in the bowl attempting to locate some sign of a real trail (not just one person’s tracks) I spotted the group of 20 again, completely on the other side of the bowl also trying to find the true trail.  We met near the middle and spent about an hour comparing maps/gps and scouring the edges of where we had each been to find the location of the path.  Feat accomplished.  Afterwords, one of the guardians advised he would go back up and fix the cairn issue and mark the path better. Truly an amazing person. 

Unfortunately due to heat and my waterproof boots, blisters were starting to form in the boots I had to purchase for this trip due to my broken foot.  I had been drafting a raving review in my head the whole trip until this.  The blisters made the next 7 miles horrible despite how beautiful it was. 

To top it off, I lost my glasses somewhere in the bowl and couldn’t read a map/gps without them. Frustrating as it was, it was something I could live without once i reached where the High Sierra Trail meets the Elizabeth Pass Trail. It was familiar from another adventure Jamie and I had.

After passing Bearpaw Meadow,  camp was made at Buck River.  Water is a bit of a distance below the small camp area that only holds about 3-4 small tents and a bear box.  

No sooner than I had put my food in the box and went for a swim to cool off did a mama bear and two very tiny babies come trotting behind me heading up the same river.  It was a second of “Oh #$@*&! In my head before I realized she wasn’t going for the same little swimming hole as I was sitting in. The babies were adorable different colors. They were just bouncing down the pat., I was just thrilled to see them and have an opportunity to watch them march up the river in search of fish. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me.

Jamie came into camp a couple of hours behind me and we commiserated over the condition of the miles we just completed.  She had my glasses.  Apparently one of the kids in the party of 20 had found them and gave them to her. Great kid. Unfortunately, she lost her map somewhere along her route.  Not that she needed it, but it was something we both enjoyed looking over and using it to dream of other routes.

Blisters are horrible when you have an 11 mile day ahead of you.  They were all over my feet and I don’t usually get them at all.  Putting on boots was not something I was looking forward to at all.  It was then I realized my prized possession, my GPS, was missing!  Gone.  I had seen it when I reached 1/4 mile before Buck creek, but it was no longer clipped to my pack and no longer in the side pocket it has always been in.  This has been my history book of sorts. I have been marking important waypoints along our route. There were many other trips logged in there as well as some anomalies I have come across on other journey’s. 

Real frustration set in.  I know I had been suffering from advanced heat stroke when I finally reached camp and that this played a huge part in why I couldn’t read the map and GPS correctly coming out of Elizabeth pass. It’s a valuable lesson.  Dizziness, cramping, nausea and confusion are not good and I know better.  Foolish me.  Now I was without my GPS because I probably didn’t clip it in as I have always done in the past. I gained my glasses and lost my GPS.

Larry, from the Running Warehouse (my favorite shoe store) just happened to camp next to us late that evening and I had hoped he might come up on my device after we left in the AM as he was headed in the opposite direction.  It had to be divine intervention what were the odds of his being right there and being so nice and friendly.  After some pleasant conversation. Jamie exchanged number and we decided to complete our journey a day early and camp once again in Lodgepole campground, a shower sounded really nice.

We made the push to Lodgepole , eating blue berries along the way, sorry mams bear, and arrived in the Crampground (it’s not misspelled), around 1:00, showered, washed clothes and ate pizza and had a fine time watching all the human entertainment. Exiting the campground we came upon a whole pile of discarded new gear left by a dumpster. The find of the century! It made it home with us.  We actually came home with more than we left with.

 It wasn’t until we made it back to my house and we unpacked everything to be cleaned that I discovered my glasses that I once again lost (the night before)and my GPS! Both were in the lining of a gear bag I had. The GPS was still on and glowing and had been in my tent the night before without my noticing it.  Unbelievable! I wasn't sure if I should feel lucky or stupid. Thats how this whole trip went, lost and found, heaven and hell...... I wonder where Jamie’s Map went to?

Jamie exiting Buck Creek