The Palisades, Aug 2-4

So I have been slacking on the blog, but I am pretty sure that the reason for that is all the adventures I have been having this summer. I left off with my first two 14ers of the summer, Tyndall and Williamson. So I will pick up the story from there.

At the beginning of August I had a few days blocked off for a mountain trip and I was unsure of which mountains I should go climb. I had picked out a loop of 25 miles and 5 peaks, leaving out of the Onion Valley trailhead. However, I was also being drawn back to the Palisades region and the five 14,000' summits lying on the ridge around the Palisade Glacier. I went back and forth between these two options and eventually decided that heading to the Palisades as soon as possible would be my best bet for good snow conditions in the various couliors I would be using to attain the crest of the ridge line.

The Palisade ridge is rather long and complex, and in the area around the Palisade Glacier it creates a semi circular amphitheater rising above the snow and ice of the glacier. Along this arc of the ridge there are five summits that are included on the California 14er list, Mount Sill, Mount Polemonium, North Palisade, Starlight Peak and Thunderbolt Peak. By technical definitions only two of these are true "peaks", (Sill and North Pal), while the other three do not have enough prominence to classify as independent peaks. I am not sure why these three "non-peaks" make it on to the list of 14ers, but they are almost always included and they are all fun to climb.

My initial plan for the trip was to drive up, get my permit, and hike in to the glacier on day one. Day two climb Sill and Polemonium and day three climb Starlight and Thunderbolt then hike out and drive home. This plan evolved somewhat based on my energy and the conditions I found on the routes, and in the process became more awesome.



Once again my alarm went off early, and I lurched to the bathroom in an attempt to get out the door and on the road by 5am. I managed to arrive at the ranger station in Lone Pine shortly after the doors opened and in short order I had myself a permit for the North Fork of Big Pine Creek.

I reached the trailhead around 9:30 and took a few minutes to get myself and my gear in order. I did have a fair amount of gear since I knew I would be doing some snow climbing and I figured that camping at the glacier warranted bring my warmer sleeping bag. By 9:45 I was on my way.

I have taken to listening to audiobooks while doing long solo approaches in the mountains; it helps to pass the time while slogging up the more unattractive sections of trail. And at times it is a welcome distraction from thinking about pain and fatigue and how much damn trail is left before your destination. The first few miles of the hike up to the Palisade Glacier is one of those trails that can't be over fast enough for me. You slog uphill across the slopes of a valley that has no shade and steep enough sides to block out any sort of view. Fortunately, I was in good shape and had plenty of energy so I blasted through this section at a reasonably fast clip.

My fast pace fell of abruptly as I passed through a narrow stretch of the canyon and entered into the best Sierra wildflower bloom I have ever seen. I was still moving quickly, when I was moving, but I was stopping about every ten feet to take more pictures. There was a volume and variety of flowers along the trail that was literally jaw dropping. Tiger lilies, monkshood, paintbrush, delphinium and more. For an inveterate wildflower lover it was quite literally awesome.

Eventually I tore myself away, threaded through the trees and lakes, and continued up towards Sam Mack Meadow. Sam Mack is a beautiful grass-filled little valley, walled in by steep talus slopes on three sides. It would be a great place to camp, but I wanted to be as close to the base of my routes as I could manage. I crossed the little creek that flows through Sam Mack Meadow and headed up onto the slopes of the moraine. The trail across and up the moraine is somewhat loosely defined in sections, but relatively easy to follow, and by 3:15 I found myself at a lovely bivy cave on the north eastern edge of the glacier just below Mount Gayley.

Having accomplished my goals for the day, I sat down and ate some food. As I was eating Sill seemed so close and inviting and I had plenty of energy and daylight left so I figured that before it got dark, I could at least make it up to the top and back to within a distance from camp easily navigable by headlamp. So I packed up my ice axe and crampons and head out on to the glacier to climb Mount Sill.

The snow on the glacier was soft and heavily sun-cupped so the going was slow and some what tedious, still I did make pretty good time across the glacier and up on to the L shaped snow field. The L-shaped coulior is pretty low angle and despite the sloppy conditions I ascended to the bare rock at the top quite quickly.

I lucked out and once again I had fabulous conditions on top of a Sierra 14er just before sunset. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera and I only have the few pictures that I took with my phone. I enjoyed a wonderful 30-40 minutes on top of Mt Sill in calm winds and warm sunshine.

My down climb was uneventful from a personal stand point, but I did witness a big rockfall off of Mount Gayley that dumped some large boulders onto the glacier across the route I had taken from my campsite to Mount Sill. On my way back to camp it was kind of spooky to cross the big fresh gouges the rocks left in the glacier. With out a stove to melt snow I had to make a bit of a field trip down to the lake at the toe of the glacier to fill up on water for the next day. The lake was only partially melted and the water tasted a bit silty, but it was the only option. I witnessed a spectacular sunset from the edge of the glacier and turned in for the night.

Somehow I slept in the next day and didn't get started on my day until 7am. I guess I had worn myself out pretty good the previous day. I packed up my climbing shoes, helmet, ice axe and crampons and headed out across the glacier towards the Underhill Coulior. My plan for the day was to climb the Right Underhill Coulior which meets the Palisade Ridge at a notch between Thunderbolt and Starlight peaks, then summit both peaks from there and descend the coulior back to the glacier.

Crossing the glacier proved to be substantially easier with the hard morning snow, and I made good time to the base of the Right Underhill Coulior. It looked intimidatingly steep all the way up until I was in the coulior itself. But in the end it was not so bad. I was able to kick steps in the snow in order to climb up to just below the chockstone that impedes progress at about the 2/3 mark of the coulior. I took off my crampons and awkwardly scrambled around the left side of the chockstone. The rest of the coulior had sparse and rotten snow in the bottom so I stuck to the rock on the side.

Soon I reached the top of the coulior, and was faced with the next step of my climb and the real meat of my day. From the notch I was faced with some wonderfully solid low angle rock up to the summit of Thunderbolt Peak. I chose to take the 5.6 variation straight up to the summit blocks and had a fun and easy time of it.

Once on the summit I was faced with the final challenge, the 5.9 summit block of Thunderbolt must be climbed to truly summit the peak, since the top of the block is the only part of the mountain that pokes above 14k feet. I spent a few minutes looking at the different sides of the block trying to figure out which would hold the easiest way up, and eventually I talked myself into putting on my shoes and climbing up the thing. It is relatively easy and short but I manged to terrify myself by nearly ripping off a tiny flake that I was attempting to use as a hold. All alone on top of a 14k foot peak is no time to fall 10 feet on to jumbled blocks of rock. I found instead that there was a great hold another foot to the left and once I committed to that I was on top in no time.

In theory, this was the most difficult part of my day from a technical standpoint, but there was plenty of fun climbing left to do and I had a decision to make. When I returned to the notch at the top of the coulior, there were two options ahead of me. I could stick with my original plan and summit Starlight Peak, retreat back to the coulior and descend it back to the glacier. Alternatively, I could summit Starlight, and then continue to traverse the ridge over North Palisade Peak, to Polemonium Peak, and then descend back to the glacier via the U-Notch. This second plan would avoid going back down the Underhill coulior and I was in favor of that. I had already been up and down the U-Notch and I found the idea of descending that coulior to be preferable. And on top of this, the traverse of the ridge all the way from Thunderbolt to Polemonium sounded like tons of fun.

So I decided to go for it, I had plenty of time and energy and utterly, astoundingly fantastic weather. The traverse from the notch to Starlight was a bit confusing but I managed it without too much trouble and soon found myself staring somewhat apprehensively up at "The Milk Bottle." The summit block of Starlight Peak is a rather unique feature it is about 20' high and sticks up noticeably from the surrounding rock on the summit of Starlight. Like the summit block of Thunderbolt, the Milk Bottle must be climbed in order to truly summit Starlight Peak; it is very clearly the high point of the peak. Well, I once again put on my climbing shoes and despite some heavy breathing, I sat atop the Milk Bottle in short order. Many people have photos of themselves standing on top of the 2 sq ft summit of the block but I couldn't do it. In my defense, many of them are tied in to rope when they are up there, but I think I am just a wimp when it comes to standing on summits like that.

I gazed over at the top of North Palisade and tried to pick out the route I would take to get there. Once I decided on my path, it was fabulously easy and fun climbing and in no time at all I was sitting atop the Palisade Range. I hung out for a bit but soon I was pulled onwards to Polemonium and the completion of my mini Palisades traverse. Between the summit of North Pal and Polemonium lies the U-Notch and the last 200 feet of the descent to the U-Notch from North Pal is a steep chimney that has been rated anywhere from class 4 to 5.6 in difficulty. This is the section of climbing I was most nervous about soloing and as I approached it I was glad to have the ridge climbing of the previous few hours bolstering my confidence in my ability to be cool and safe while climbing solo. In fact I was so calm and even excited about the chimney that when I found it I didn't stop to put my climbing shoes on I just move into the chimney and flowed down the rock. It was a fantastic experience, I felt myself to be in total control and the downclimb was over before I knew it. I don't think I was even breathing hard. It was a very nearly transcendent moment.

Since I would be returning to the U-Notch for my descent to the glacier, I left most of my gear at the top of the notch before continuing up to Polemonium. The climb up was quick and sweet, yet more fun. The summit block was rather large and relatively flat, perfect for a little rest and relaxation in the perfect sunny weather that spoiled me rotten for all of my California 14er summits this summer.

After a few minutes I heard whoop of excitement from over on Mt Sill, so I whooped back, and tried to take a picture of the two figures I saw moving around on the summit. After a brief break on the summit I head back down to the U-Notch to begin my climb down to the glacier.

Descending the U-Notch was not fun. The top 1/3 of the coulior was solid ice under a very thin layer of snow, and this meant there was no kicking steps as I had done on previous snow coulior climbs. The method for ice is to kick the point of you crampons into the ice and stand on your toes like a climbing foot hold. I was very unnerved to be doing this, but after a few minutes of descending this way I realized I was only nervous because it was new. The actual climbing was quite easy and felt very secure. The descent took much longer than I had thought it would but soon the ice turned to snow and things sped up. I negotiated the bergschrund without too much trouble and found myself back on the glacier with all of the difficulties of the day behind me.

I headed back to camp, met and chatted with the father son team that had summitted Sill, and they invited me back to their family campsite at Third Lake where they promised there would be cold beer for me. I happily accepted and followed them down the trail once I had packed up. Fortunately for them I found their camera on the ground where they had stopped to fill up water and their good karma in offering me a beer was repaid by my return of their camera.

I spent an enjoyable evening with that lovely and interesting family and after watching the sun rise splashing light across Temple Crag the next morning, I bid them farewell and headed on down the trail to my car.

This trip led me to the top of four more 14k ft summits bringing my total to 11 of the 15 in California.

Two Days, Two Peaks

So, my mission to climb some mountains, and the decision to find inspiration by starting with California's 14ers, led me to target Mount Tyndall (14,018') and Mount Williamson (14,375). These two peaks lie within spitting distance of each other on the Sierra crest just west of Independence, CA and a few miles north of Mount Whitney. Neither of them are very technical, with the most difficult sections being very short and rated Class 3 at most. In fact, many reports list the hike in to the base of the mountains as the crux of the climb. The approach takes the Shepherd Pass trail for 10+ miles and reaches the Sierra Crest at Shepherd Pass (duh) which is just north of Williamson and Tyndall. The trailhead is at about 6200', so with a few ups and down on the trail and two 14ers to climb there is a lot of elevation gain involved in climbing these peaks.





My attempt on the mountains began in my bed in Sherman Oaks at 4:45am on a Monday. I had packed my backpack the night before and was ready to hit the road quickly. I tore my head off the pillow and dragged myself to the bathroom to get ready. Eventually, I was on the road making good time to Lone Pine to get wilderness permit at the ranger station. The ranger station opens at 8am and it takes about 3 hours for me to get there from my apartment. I got my permit quickly, right after 8 and hopped back int he car to see how close I could get to the trailhead. The road to the trailhead has about a two mile section that is listed as high clearance/ 4wheel drive and my honda civic is neither of those. I was expecting to have to park over a mile away and take the stock trail from an even lower elevation. However, I missed the parking for the stock trail and after about 5 mintues of driving along a relatively rough road (which was my no mean the worst I had been on in my car) I realized with some excitement that I was almost at the higher trailhead.



I started hiking right around 9:15am. The Shepherd Pass trail actually starts out heading up along Symmes Creek to avoid some big cliffs at the bottom of Shepherd Creek Canyon. After about a mile you switchback for a long time up and over a ridge that separates Shepherd Creek and Symmes Creek. Once you leave Symmes creek the terrain gets pretty dry and stays that way for a long time. A long stretch of sandy trail leads up above Shepherd Creek to Anvil Camp (10k ft), which is basically just a nice place to camp under some trees along the creek. It was at Anvil Camp that I managed to get myself off trail. For some reason, I was sure the trail stayed on the north side of the creek and as such I wandered off to the north looking for a trail that (in my head) continued from a turn off that I missed.



So I wandered off trail through some talus and meadows until I rejoined the trail at the Pothole (10,800'), another small camping area. Fortunately this wandering led me to some of the best wildflowers that I saw on the hike. Lots of my favorite, columbine, growing in the talus.

Some time to Climb

So, my work on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" wrapped up in the middle of July and I have decided to take this time between jobs and rectify the mistake that I felt most keenly from last summer. Namely that I did not get out into the mountains enough. I saw pictures of a friend of mine climbing some of the California 14ers (mountains over 14,000' of elevation) as early as May and June in this high snow year, and I decided I had no more excuses.

The thing that most prevented me from getting up into the mountains last summer was a desire to avoid heading up solo. I don't have tons of backcountry partners, and this limited my options. This year I resolved to head out to the peaks regardless, and seeing a friend rapidly knocking off 14ers gave me some inspiration. I decided to do more peak scrambling than just mountain wandering, and not knowing where to start I found a few lists to help me set some goals.

Solo peak scrambling is slightly more dangerous should an accident occur, but having a partner rarely prevents accidents and it would be a rare partner indeed that could move you to a position of safety and go summon help in time to do any good should you be so seriously injured that you could not help yourself. But these types of climbs rarely involve a rope and sometimes loose rock makes your partner even more of a danger than the mountain.

When scrambling solo you can move at your own pace and pick your own path. You have no one to blame or resent should you not make your summit, you can push yourself as hard as you like, rest for as long as you want, change goals, or routes on a whim. You are free. Also you are free of companionship, mental and emotional support, a second set of eyes to find the correct route, and someone to take pictures of you doing something awesome. When you go solo you are alone with all the advantages and disadvantages of that simple state.

From 2011-07-26 Tyndall & Williamson

The first list I used to form some peak scrambling goals is the 14ers. In California, 12 mountains top 14,000 feet, and three other peaks get honorary membership in the club despite not meeting the requirements of being a real independent mountain. Before this summer I had already climbed 5 of those peaks (Langley, Whitney, Muir, Split and North Palisade). My first target peaks for adding check marks to my list were Williamson and Tyndall. These two peaks lie barely a mile apart on the Sierra Crest just west of Independence, CA.

Afterwards, as the weather started to get warmer, I realized that if I were to have a chance at good snow conditions in the Palisade region I needed to get up there as soon as possible. There are 5 14ers located around the Palisade Glacier in the mountains west of Big Pine, CA and my plan was climb to the 4 summits I had not been to before.

My next two posts will be detailed trip reports on my two solo trips to the Sierra to climb 7 of California's 14ers.

A Renewed Period of Writing

Well, it has been nearly three years since last I posted on this blog and I am sure I will have to remind all my loyal followers (mom and dad) of the blog address. but I have been reminded by one of my dear friends that some people liked to read my writing and liked to be able to keep track of me. I have what some people might consider to be an interesting job. I get to travel and meet new people and try new foods. Plus I have new camera (Nikon D7000 - two more zeros than my last rig) so readers of this blog might get to see some pictures (and video) of my adventures as well.

From 2011-06-09 Yosemite060711

So far as I can remember, this has been the best June of my life. My birthday is June 7th and this year I spent that day in Yosemite Valley with some fantastic friends, looking at amazing scenery, climbing awesome rock, and marveling at my friends' ability to lead moderately hard trad on (sometimes soaking) wet rock.

From 2011-06-09 Yosemite060711

From 2011-06-09 Yosemite060711

I had 9 days off from work around my birthday and I managed to climb at least a little on the first six of those in a row. Two days at the top of the Palm Springs tramway, one day at the Bat Cave in LA and three days in Yosemite. There was boulders, sport climbing and trad climbing, and it was glorious. I had no great sends but tons and tons of fun.

After my climbing extravaganza, during which I turned 32 years old, I got to have one day to recover at home in LA before taking off again to traipse around in the backcountry of Sequoia National Park with a great friend who is just as excited about as I am about walking 13 miles in 6.5 hours.

From 2011-06-12 RMG Hike 061011

And on top of that, Olga is even more gung ho than I am about humping her way across a log over a raging early season creek. This adventure led to having wine and cheese next to the campfire under a giant sequoia, with bears for neighbors and it totally rocked.

From 2011-06-12 RMG Hike 061011

From 2011-06-12 RMG Hike 061011

Immediately after returning from this awesomeness I departed for another tour of duty on the Best Thing I Ever Ate. This time my trip was cut short as I was pulled back to LA after a mere three days. However during those three days I got to shoot and eat in Minneapolis, Madison and Chicago. I tried butterburgers, fried cheese curds and Filipino food for the first time and all were vastly superior to my expectations.

Hopefully I will keep posting here and the posts will get more exciting and possibly even better written.

The Big Loop: Day 23

DAY 23

From The Big Loop

Now it's just down. I climbed Avalanche Pass in the shadow of the Sphinx Crest and emerged into the sunlight atop my final pass of the trip. Well, actually about 150'below the top, but I think I have earned some poetic license in this case.

From The Big Loop

I slept pretty well and started hiking at 6, getting here at 8:40. I've just had a double breakfast to finish my granola, and now I am ready to go down to Road's end and see if my car is still there. I have 6-9 miles left, 2-4 hours depending on trail conditions...

From The Big Loop

Made It!!! It was 9 miles and not too bad. Got to Road's End just before 12:30 under 6 hours for the 15 miles from Roaring River to Road's End. Car's here and intact. Time for food and river washing, not in that order.

From The Big Loop

Final thoughts to come early next week. Probably...

The Big Loop: Day 22

DAY 22

I guess the wind chimed mules get the last laugh, as it is now 2:30am and they just went by my campsite. watering time maybe...

From The Big Loop

I couldn't sleep, again. But I was not uncomfortable this time. I read a bit, confident that I will finish hiking before I finish my book. But eventually I decided to get up and start walking. My route today takes me down to 8,000'. Which is where I am now at 7:45am. The sun has not yet risen high enough to reach the canyon floor and it is even a bit chilly here, now that I have stopped walking.

From The Big Loop

This spacious grove of immense pine trees at the trail junction probably bakes at noon. But for now it is cool and pleasant. By rough calculations based on my TOPO! mapping of the route, and park signs (neither of which is very reliable) I have 26 miles to go. 8.5 to Colby Pass, which is almost 4,000' of gain, followed by a drop of 4,500' to the Roaring River Ranger Station. Should be about 16 miles to there, and then only 10 over Avalanche Pass and down to Road's End. But 3,500' to Avalanche Pass followed by 5000' down to Road's End, my body won't thank me until I reach the car and stop for good.

From The Big Loop

Jeezum Crow!! What a pass! Colby is both one of the prettiest and one of the roughest Passes I have done. The trail was rubbish. Steep, loose and poorly maintained (editor's note: Turns out it is, in fact, not maintained at all.) at one point, I lost the trail and had an easier time going cross country. In fact many of my cross country passes were easier. But the up is done and soon I will start the descent.

From The Big Loop

From The Big Loop

In fact I finished the ascent a bit faster than I had guessed. Although I though I was being overly conservative at the time. Great views from up here.

From The Big Loop

However ants seem determined to crawl up my shorts, so I will stop writing and head down. One pass to go.

Songs in My Head: Harlem Globetrotters' Theme, and Rainy Day women came back as my trudging uphill song.

From The Big Loop

Guh. I walked too much today. Made it to Roaring River. 27.2 miles according to signage. I did enjoy the scenery greatly. Colby Pass was a fitting end to the trip, rough and though and beautiful. (Am I looking past Avalanche Pass? You bet I am. Did I learn my lesson on Colby? Nope!) I went over my 10 hour limit to get here, but I did not want tomorrow to be a full day. Probably stupid of me. I have enough food for three meals. 12-15 miles is the word of mouth estimate. Sign says 6.0 to the top of Avalanche Pass from here. 6 mile miles to go up 2600'. And then down 5000'.

It is warm here. And low: 7,400' maybe my lowest night of the trip. I hope ti stays warm. I'd like to get a full night's sleep, although when you go to bed @ 8:30 you don't have to sleep in to get a full night.

I had hummus and tuna burritos for dinner tonight, both brilliant and delicious. I have enough stuff to do it again too. But hopefully I'll be eating a burger or something instead.

The Big Loop: Day 21 & 22

DAY 21

From The Big Loop

Well, I can't sleep anymore. It's not that cold. I am not sure what the problem is, maybe I was spoiled by last night. It looks like 8:30pm-1:30am is all I am going to get. So, my Tyndall alpine start is turning into a Whitney alpine start. It is 2:15am now and I should hit the trail before 3am. The moon came up just a little while ago so I might not burn too much battery time. 13 or 14 miles to the summit, on top by 10?

From The Big Loop

From The Big Loop

From The Big Loop

From The Big Loop

4:00PM UPDATE: Did it. Both summits and food scrounging. I was on top by 8:40 and it seemed like I was first, but then I found 3 Italians in the shelter. I was the first to sign the register at least. I got up Muir Peak too. It was both fun and not too hard. Got some tuna and tortilla from some NJ hikers. Oh yeah, Slim Jims too! Those are gone now. I've had a swim, a nap and a binge since returning to Guitar Lake. I'm now going to eat some more and then trip down hill for a bit. Only 37 more miles to go.

Current Song: Lump - Presidents of the United States of America

I have been measuring my progress by maps, since I don't know any mileages. Making it to a new page is good progress and now there are only 7 left and one will be done before tomorrow. (I think.)

From The Big Loop

I have camped by a stream to the south of Big Sandy Meadow. Not a lot of walking from Guitar, but the Whitney map is done and there are only 6 more to go. Yesterday I felt beat up and hungry and my feet were done, at this time. Today I am still tired but my feet are okay, I am full and I have both a sense of accomplishment and the joyous feeling of heading for home with a sense of fulfillment. I have loved this trip. I has been one of the most amazing things I have ever done. But I am ready to BE done. I am not tired of what I am doing. But it is time to be doing something else nonetheless. I am not wishing for "civilized" things, although they will be nice. And I am not eating my hummus and tortillas thinking, "I am SO OVER this food." Overall, I think my body is ready to slow down a bit and mentally I am psyched to be finishing such a big adventure, safely and in high spirits, and with my love for the Sierra multiplied rather than beaten down. (Gee. Hope I am not jumping the gun here. But on the other hand, 33 miles or so seems pretty close these days) I suppose I could make it out tomorrow with a BIG long day,(editor's note: this turned out to be untrue, or at least it would have been a nearly 24 hour effort) but there is no need to rush. I will just continue to move at my regular, although admittedly fast, pace.

For my last thought of the day I would like to say how freaky it is to be walking through a wilderness area at 4 in the morning, miles from anything and to hear wind chimes... when there is no wind. As I approached the source of the wind chimes I noticed that someone had picketed their mules in a Meadow with some very musical bells on. I hope the ringing bells from me walking by woke them up cause it sure weirded me out for a second or three.

DAY 22

I guess the wind chimed mules get the last laugh, as it is now 2:30am and they just went by my campsite. watering time maybe...


(to be continued...)