Maybe We're Crazy

One the road to Paradise

On the road to Paradise

So Jen had last Friday off, so we took advantage of the long weekend and headed down to Mt. Rainier Thursday night.  We had plans to go to the coast, but the weather forecast wasn’t too pretty, so we opted for Mt. Rainier at the last minute.  Well, I didn’t know you could reserve camp sites at Cougar Rock campground, but I’d recommend it, cause we got the last “first come, first served” camping sites in the place.  We drove through the entire campground and not one was available, even though the next morning almost 50% were still unoccupied.  I’m not a big fan of this system, since to most people the fee is so nominal it doesn’t really matter if they go or not.  Also, the first come, first served sites are not even 5% of the 171 sites available.

Enough about my bitch for now and more about the fun.

View from the road to Paradise

Nothing to report on our way down, except that the signs for Mt. Rainier are not that easy to spot, so I’d recommend mapping it out before you leave or use your GPS.

Friday morning we had a nice breakfast and then quickly changed into our riding gear and headed up to Paradise on our road bikes.  Mt. Rainier was our first stop on epic road trip last summer, so we’ve done this ride to Paradise twice before and it’s one of my favorite road rides.  The scenery is just unbelievable and the down hill goes on and on for some 12+ miles.  I’d recommend taking the long route down.  Just go past the main Paradise parking lot to the back side over flow parking, which adds another 4 miles of downhill on a glorious twisty turny road with little traffic and glorious views.  I remember letting out several unintentional hoots as I carved a perfect hairpin turn at 40 mph, but what out for pea gravel.

Oh, I should also mention that you should do this ride on a weekday only, cause weekend drivers are idiots.

It’s usually the idiots who pass me within inches driving like the volcano is going to explode only to get passed by me again 10 minutes later as they park their SUV halfway into the road to take a picture of a chipmunk without even making the effort to get out of their vehicle.  You people suck.

If you’re one of these people who honk at bicyclist only to get passed again 10 minutes later, please punch yourself as hard as you can in the face for me…

Mt. Rainier's 14,410' summit

As usual when you’re having fun the day passed quickly and we had a nice night by the camp fire.
The next morning we were floundering on what to do that day, because the snow level was still at 5,550′ and all the high country would be under several feet of snow.  After talking with a couple rangers we picked Eagle Peak, which we could ride our bikes to the trail head.  And we could see it from our camp site looking pretty much straight up 3,750′ in 3.6 miles.  A hard hike for sure, but I like it when it’s short and sweet.  Plus the views was spectacular.

View from Eagle Peak - can of Rainier photoshopped in as a joke.

The views would have been actually better if we climbed to the actual top of Eagle’s Peak, but it was too exposed for my comfort, but next time I think I’ll try to find a safe route to the top.  This shot above is actually just a beer can shaped snowball that I added the can of Rainier beer in later as a way to illustrate an inside joke to a friend who’s traveling abroad.

Beer Joke

He has been sending photos of himself drinking beer in exotic places, so this is my retort.
I know, I know, but it was funny to me at the time.  And when I’m on a long hard hike I find myself dreaming up silly things like this.  Well, maybe that’s why I like to hike so much.  Anyway, as you can see the West side of Mt. Rainier is cut off by the summit of Eagle Peak, so I was pretty PO’ed that we wimped out, but I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.  I think the next time we’ll have to drop our packs and poles, so we have a good firm grip on the rock face, cause falling a few hundred feet onto the jagged rocks below doesn’t sound like my idea of a good time.  Not to mention my phobia of heights.

More on this trip soon, but I want to post this before I forget what happened or I’ll just start making shit up. =^ )

Cheers,
Jim

Westward view from Eagle Peak

View of Mt. Adams from Eagle Peak - Mt. Rainier

View of Mt. St. Helens from Eagle Peak - Mt. Rainier

Kings Canyon 1st night

Kings Canyon, Rae Lakes Loop is one of the most raw, rugged and awesome displays of pristine nature that I’ve seen in all of my years of hiking back country wilderness.  It doesn’t have the sheer beauty of Yosemite, but it’s untamed, untrampled and unspoiled wildness seems more wild than pretty.  The sheer size and magnitude of the surrounding mountains and rock faces are hard to put into perspective since everything is so enormous.

The first part of the hike was very hot, sandy and kinda boring, but within 2 miles we were into a green and lush forest with the raging Kings river running next to us the entire 10 miles to our first camp site at Paradise Valley.  Nothing to note worthy except the glacier polished cliff faces and the unforgiving treacherous roar of King’s river.  The water pouring out of the mountain with such force and volume was frightening at times.  There seem to be a pulse or a rhythm to its sound and flow that if I sat back at watched it for a few minutes I could see it like waves in an ocean.

Baby squirrels running around our site

We met a young kid that kinda looks homeless named Ryan.  I actually met him when I noticed he was trying to get a fire going with just pine cones and needles the night before.  I took pity and offered up some extra wood that we could not possibly go through in one night.  I offered up a few nice pieces and introduced myself.  It wasn’t until I was up close did I realize this could possibly be a big mistake.  He had that sort of crazed look on his face like Charles Manson and he had the long hair and equally long beard to reinforce my stereotype of a crazy person.  This guy had literally nothing with him.  He had a day pack that wasn’t even full and was wearing what looked like old ski pant and extra heavy winter jacket.  I made this initial introduction as brief as possible and said good night.  We sat around the fire for an hour or so more and had another drink before bed.

We had a nice camp site surrounded by giant Ponderosa Pines near the beautiful river and a view of cathedral like peaks in the back ground.  It was nothing outstanding in our experience, but gorgeous none the less.

Kings Canyon, California

Next day after coffee and breakfast of instant oatmeal we set out for another hard day and a couple thousand more feet of elevation gain in the hot sun to Woods Creek.  More high Sierra terrain that I’ve come to really enjoy, which is glacier polished granite, monstrous Ponderosa pines and some Bristle Cone Pines sprinkled in sparingly.  Another thing that I’ve really come to enjoy is that every day is the same; a strictly blue sky, warm sun and no clouds.  Perfect!  I am really starting to fall in love with Northern California.

The Woods creek campground isn’t anything spectacular, but very nice none the less.  We camp next to the suspension bridge, which has a good fire ring and some flat rocks that we use as a dining table.  It’s hot and we’re tired and dirty.  We head down stream for a dip in the freezing cold snow melt river.  It takes my breath away as I submerge myself in the only deep spot available in a very swift pool behind a large boulder.  I go under again just to wash up the privates and get one good rinse through the hair and clothes.  Ahh man oh man that feels good.  I get out and sit on a rock naked to air dry.  Jen get inspired and does the same after a lame attempt at a dunk under earlier.  I don’t blame her, since growing up on Lake Superior I feel that I’ve built up a tolerance to freezing cold water.

Kings Canyon, California - Rae Lakes

We sit there naked by the river side and are dry within minutes.  This is a very new experience coming from Seattle where it’s never this dry or hot.  At least in the mountains it isn’t.  I tend to jump into any water available while camping in the Northwest, but to be warm and dry within minutes is a big surprise to me.  Oh my look at the time.  We’re missing H.H. by 15 minutes, so we get dressed and head back to camp.  We make the first of our 2 drink limit and head down to the river side again to sit by another crystal clear fishing hole under the suspension bridge.  Jen seems to be getting into this nature thing by going Au-natural.  I have a nice view, so life in the back country is good.

We invite our neighbors over to enjoy our small fire.  Luckily this time I get to see them in the day light and have a brief chat before making the same mistake as last night.  Actually we see Ryan come into camp a full 3.5 hours after us wearing the same old ski outfit when it’s at least 85 degrees out.  He isn’t the first person we’ve seen like this either.  It seems like everyone is dressed head to toe in long sleeves, long pants and some sort of sombrero type sun hat.  It’s bizarre, but what do I care.  I found that my method of bathing and washing out my clothes as soon as I get to camp keeps the mosquitoes away.  If that doesn’t work I usually smoke myself out next to the fire and that does the trick.  These people would rather suffer under what seems an unusual amount of clothing in hot sun while climbing thousands of feet in elevation than get bit by one or two bugs.  Have you heard of Deet before?  I mean that bugs are bad, but for crying out loud man get a clue.  Wait, I forgot I’ve stopped trying to figure people out.  It’s a waste of time, but sometimes I  have a good laugh.

Kings Canyon, California - Rae Lakes and the Painted Lady

Rachele, Rachele and Tim who are from England stop by for socializing and to enjoy our glorious fire.  It’s funny, but when you’re out in the middle of nature you come to really appreciate the little simple pleasures of life in the back country.  For example clean clothes, a cold drink, something sweet, a good fire, good food and friendly conversation with someone new.  These two have been on the trail for 3 weeks doing the John Muir Trail aka JMT.  Within minutes I could tell that had some interesting stories to tell, so I offer them a drink to share.  They tell me they haven’t had a luxury item for 12 days, so they gladly accept.  I make them one of my now famous Lemon Lime and Fruit Punch Gatorade combos with cold freshly pumped water, so it’s cold and strong.  They tell me the next day after we unexpectedly run into them on the trail that they’ve never slept so well in weeks.  Went right to sleep afterward, which 10,000’ + can sometimes be a challenge.  The night is filled with tales of the JMT and a glorious stop off at the JMT Ranch, which offers hot spring and hot meals for a hot price of $150 per person per night.

Next day is the much anticipated Rae Lakes.  It’s another brutalizing hike up in the hot sun and thousands of feet gained, but it’s beautiful as ever.  Glorious crystal clear lakes that are as blue as the skies above only darker.  The mountains look like a 3rd grader drew them with steep vertical lines rising straight out of the lakes and with lots of snow on top.

Once again I spot a camp site from a mile off and tell Jen that “I want to camp there.”  It’s a glorious spot at the tip of a small peninsula that is in the middle of upper Rae Lake.
It comes complete with a high cliff for jumping into the lake, along with a glorious view of the Painted Lady, Fin Dome and other 12,000’ peaks that surround us.  More skinny dipping and happy hour ensues soon afterwards.  The bugs are really bad here and even though we’ve gone in twice they’re still thirty for fresh blood.  We break out the Deet and they’re gone like that.

Kings Canyon, California - Rae Lakes

The next day is the dreaded hike over Glenn’s Pass.  It’s 12,000’ and we’re at 10,000.  From our camp site I have no clue of how we’re going to get over this enormous mountain, but we have to do it.  We pack up camp and get going.  The trail is gorgeous with High Mountain lakes that are mirror smooth reflecting the ginormous peaks that surround us.  It’s another glorious day and the bugs aren’t too bad this morning.  We start to climb.  “Oh it’s not too steep” I say, but then at the top of one ridge we see what we are about to climb.  It’s straight up.  No fucking way in hell can we do this.  We see people a thousand feet above us that look like ants lost in a snow field.  It’s intimidating to say the least, but I am more worried since we do not have any ice axes and there looks like a lot of snow at the top.  We climb and climb switch back after switchback and never seem to be getting any closer.  We finally make it to the top after a few sketchy snow field crossings, but we took it slow and made sure every step was solid.  The view from the top of Glenn’s Pass is truly impressive.  There is only one peak that is keeping us from having a full 360 view, but that only adds to the sense of scale.  We can see for hundreds of miles in almost all directions.  We sit and have lunch of made of Albacore tuna and surprise, surprise mayo and sweet relish from the condiment library along with some Triskets.

Kings Canyon, California - Glenn Pass

Kings Canyon, California - Jim Mercure on Glenn Pass Summit

The hike down is just the same switchback after switchback.  We pass a lake that looks like it’s been plugged in.  It’s so blue it seems to be glowing.  We trudge on up and up after taking the advice of the ranger that the upper trail is worth the elevation gain.  I am cursing that bastard as I can see a nice low trail with little to no elevation gain below us.  Yes, the view is amazing and after a long day I am glad we’ve made it to Kesearge Lakes.  This lake will go down in my memory as one of the best places I’ve ever camped, at least the most scenic.  Again, I spot the place I want to camp from high above and miles away.  This is where we run into our new friends Rochelle and Tim who decided to bail a few days early and have to go over two passes in the same day.  A big feat for those who’ve never done it and at elevation above 10,000’ where there is 70% of the oxygen at sea level.

Kings Canyon, California - The Southside of Glenn Pass

We spend two nights at this glorious little camp site that has just about everything.  It has a great view, it’s on the Eastside of the lake so we get an extra two hours of sunlight and has a glacier polished granite point complete with jumping off spot with a nice exit onto the hot rock to warm back up on.  What is so great about this spot is that alls that anyone would have to do is get their feet just a little wet to get here, but we’ve watched several people attempt this and turn back.  Ha, ha, we have the whole Eastside of the lake to ourselves and it’s just glorious.  We are bathing in the late afternoon sun while I look at people across the lake bundled up in the shade swatting flies.  I jump in to the lake naked again just to show that we’re living large over here with our cocktail and sun.  I feel like a rock star on some tropical island or something.

Kings Canyon, California - Kersearge Lakes

Kings Canyon, California - Kersearge Lakes

Kings Canyon, California - Kersearge Lakes

The next day wasn’t so glorious.  We decide that we’re going to try to make it out in one day which is 20+ miles and 4,500’+ elevation loss.  It’s brutally hot and dry and one of the hardest hikes I’ve done.  As were hiking down a baby bear gets between Jen and I and gets frightened and is running right toward me.  I have no clue because a mouse fart is louder than Jen’s loudest voice.  I miss it and am a little tiffed that she didn’t tell me there was a baby bear just a few feet away, and even more so that I have a camera around my neck.  Oh well that’s the way it goes.  She got a special treat by this encounter and that’s good enough.  A couple miles down the trail I hear the unmistakable sound of a baby bear’s cry.  I tell Jen “That’s a baby bear” and she’s like yeah right.  I tell her that I know for sure that there’s a baby bear just a few yards away in the brush somewhere, but she still doesn’t believe me.  All of a sudden just feet away the ferns start to move and then there we are face to face with big momma bear and baby bear right behind.  She gives me the stare down that gives me goose bumps.  Its fight or flight here.  I start talking, I am not sure what I said, but with all of the literature that we’ve read says that you should talk and fight back with black bears.  I try to get big, but she gives me that look that she’s not gonna take any BS from me.  They mosey on and cross the path just a few feet from us.  We try to sneak by, but I don’t know if she know that we’re just trying to pass since we see her again, but this time she doesn’t have that same look as if no problem, but more of a I gonna eat you for dinner if you take one more step closer.

Kings Canyon, California - Momma and baby bear

Well, we make it back and I have a cold beer in hand as I write this.  It’s hot out, I mean really hot and the beers are going down like they’ve evaporated before it hits my lips, so naturally I drink more, but to little relief of my thirst.  It must be that we need food, so we order up a bacon cheese burger and that does the trick.

If I could offer just a few tips for anyone who might be going on this hike is to do the loop clockwise.  Counter clockwise would just be so brutally hot and steep that it would just suck the fun right out of it.  Another is to go light as possible.  It rarely rains in the summer time, so just pack a large garbage bag in case it does and save the weight of a rain jacket.

We head back to the previous camp site just outside of the park, because after touring the available campsites in the park it just isn’t worth the $20 camping fee which is next to screaming kids, loud generators and probably the high fivin white guys we’ve seen before.  It’s always the price we have to pay coming back into civilization.

Our camp site at Clouds Rest

Wow what a beautiful view.  I’ve been saying that a lot lately, but it is so true.  These National Parks that we have in our own backyard are just gorgeous, but it seems like they’re enjoyed by way more foreigners than Americans, which should be a national embarrassment.  You would think that it would be over run by us traveling near and far across our great country to get to them, but in my 2 month’s experience it’s been a majority of people from other countries that we see and hear on the trail, view point or parking lots that are enjoying them the most.  There is nothing wrong with that, but it seems to me that Americans are either too damn lazy or just don’t appreciate what we have.  It’s kinda of scary when you think just a couple years ago one of the Bush Administration’s many disastrous ideas were to privatize the National Parks, which would have done irreparably damage to these pristine lands.

What a wonderful idea and it is purely an American one at that.  Other countries have copied us and I congratulate them for doing so, but it is in my opinion one of America’s greatest ideas.

The view from our camp site

Anyway our trip from Sunrise High Sierra Camp to Clouds Rest wasn’t unusually spectacular until we found our last camp site.  We were out of water and since we were so high and still climbing it wasn’t likely that we’d find any without a long hike back down the mountain to a stream about 2.5 miles and 1,000′ below or we could hike up higher and melt some snow.  I was dreading both ideas since I was beat from a long, hot day of hiking.  That’s when I noticed the ravine below us was a little greener than the upper part, so I dropped my pack to investigate.  Sure enough there was a small pure crystal clear spring emerging from the white granite gravel, so we drank our fill and filled our water bottles.  Now to find a camp site.  As we were hiking up I noticed that I could see the land dropping off of the other side of the trail and asked Jen to “trust me” I can guarantee there is a good spot just over this next hill, but she wanted to continue on up the mountain.  I finally convinced her that this would be the last spot before our finally ascent to the summit of Clouds Rest, which is just under 10,000′ and what a spot it was.

Another view of Echo Valley 5,000' below

OMG, it was our best camping site by far.  We had a spectacular view of our previous spot in Echo Valley that dropped off some 5,000′ below and 180 degrees of unobstructed view looking North and South.  It came complete with a nice tent site, camp fire ring and some wood.  Oh boy, the fresh trout I have on snow is going to taste good tonight.

The site even had our little fuzzy buddy neighbor the new born fawn that was just in the camp site next to us.  He was adorable and would not move even though we made a lot of noise before I hopped over the log it was hiding behind.

Here is some info on Clouds Rest copied from the web.

“Clouds Rest, a massive granite formation just northeast of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley, is one of the defining hikes in Yosemite National Park (YNP). For casual visitors, it ranks with Half Dome and North Dome as one of the most recommended hikes in the valley and for viewing the valley. Geographically, Clouds Rest lies in the center of nearly every interesting feature in Yosemite. Great views are to be had of Half Dome, the Clark Range in the south, nearly all of Cathedral Range, and even out to Matterhorn Peak and the Sawtooth Range.

Our fuzzy little buddy neighbor

From Clouds Rest’s airy and cozy summit, the most undeniable natural feature is the Northwest Face, a stunning 5000-foot drop into Tenaya Canyon. This is Yosemite glacial geology at its finest. Imagine virgin Sierra Nevada granite, uplifted from its deep burial place by compressional tectonic forces, canyons eroded rapidly by generous spring runoff, and finally, the odd glacier to smooth the slope. Behold: an endless mid-angle slab climb of truly epic proportions! The views of this face from Olmstead Point and North Dome are simply stunning.”

June 23, 2009
11,000’ to 7,000’

Sorry for the delay in updates, but it’s hard to find wifi when we’re in the middle of nowhere.  The trip has been unexpectedly spectacular so far.  I can only compare it to the Upper Enchantments of Washington State, but on steroids.

On the trail down from Vogelsang

Today we set out for Merced Lake and it’s gonna be a knee crushing 4,000’+ of elevation loss in just over 8 miles.  It’s another glorious bright blue sunny day with temps in the mid 80’s.  The trail is beautiful and follows a river down through the valley and into high meadows, which are still flattened from the recent snow melt.  There are birds constantly singing and if it’s not them it’s the sound of falling water.  It’s a nature lovers dream.

The trail descends switch back after switch back.  I pity the poor fools who are going the other way, which we only encounter one couple.  What is really strange is that they are in long pants and long sleeve shirts even though it’s easily 85 degrees.  Their faces are also covered in white zinc, so they kinda look like deranged Michael Jackson fans.  That is another amazing thing we have only seen a handful of people these past few days and we are really enjoying the solitude of pure nature.  Lucky for us that we’ve taken most of the elevation equation out of the question by taking the bus up 9,000′ and starting at Toulumne Meadows, but we definitely have some butt kicking days ahead.

Lake Fletcher

Well the sparking blue gem of Merced Lake is in sight far off in the distance about 5 miles and another couple thousand feet below our perch above the valley.  I am envisioning a running leap into its crystal clear cold water.  Oh, I cannot wait.  This dream is growing bigger and more elaborate with every switch back and dusty lungful of thin air as we descend and descend down this dusty trail.  Oh how one’s simple dream of a nice cool dip into a lake can be smashed by the sight of a several very obese, pale and shirtless 50 something year old white guys yelling “Cannonball” as they plunge into my forbidden pool of pure mountain water.  So here is this group of High Sierra Campers with their Walmart bought white plastic chair and cans of Coors Light totally polluting my swimming hole with their unsightliness, but more than that it’s all of their yelling “Wahoo”, “Gonna getcha” and “Who’s you’re daddy” that upsets me the most.  We’ve been camping in pure silent solitude for 3 days now and to hear them makes me want to vomit.

Glacial Eratics

It’s not that I am in great physical shape myself and to tell you the truth I don’t even like to see myself in the mirror with my shirt off, so maybe I’m a hypocrite.  To add salt to the wound the tent campers are relegated back behind the High Sierra Camp and next to the horse and mule barn.  The smell of warm stale horse piss has got me in such a state I cannot even look at these people.  I want the blood of the person who designed this setup dripping from the end of a dull and rusty knife.  I am thinking who and the hell can I scream at right now.  I want blood and I want it now.  I realize it makes no sense to get myself all worked up, since I have a feeling that there is even a more glorious spot just around the corner, but there isn’t.  There are no more official camp sites near the lake.  We find one spot at the very end of the lake, but it has a no camping sign and it’s swarming with mosquitoes.  That’s it!  I am going back and it’s not going to be pretty.

Jen and I with Merced Lake and Half Dome in the BG

I calm down enough to focus on  getting up and trudging on.  We are following a deep river gorge down into Echo Valley.  The scene is gorgeous with big huge Ponderosa Pine trees and glacier polished granite cliffs everywhere I look as well as being a perfect summer day.

My rage is quickly extinguished by the fore thought that at some point hopefully many decades from now I might be one of them.  At least they’re out doing it now matter how they got there, how they look, or who is watching.  The big point is that they’re having a blast and that’s all that matters.

The sun is going down, we’re beat and we need to find a new site here soon.  We continue on past glorious water falls and into a lush green valley.  The birds are going nuts and we’re finally on flat land.  We cross a small river and I have a feeling that if I just do a little bush whacking I’ll find where these two rivers meet and discover a perfect camp site on a sandbar.

I ask Jen to take a break and I’m off into the bush.  I do not find where the two rivers meet, but I do find a gorgeous spot on the bend of an amber colored stream with big fields of green grass on both sides.  As I rush back I nearly trample a few small prairie chickens.  They are unfazed by my presence, which seems to be the case with most animals we’ve encountered.  I grab Jen and take her back and to her surprise it’s better than I’ve described.

We set up camp and after a quick dip it’s time for H.H.  Tent is up, fire is started and a cold drink is in hand.  It’s a beautiful place and my snapshots will not do it justice.  I have deep desire to live here like little John Muir Jr. for the rest of my life.  Well two nights will have to do for this year.  We fix a couple of those Tastee Bites Indian boil in a bag with rice and another drink of Fruit flavored Gatorade and Stolie Vodka.

H.H. @ our Riverside Bar and Grill

Even slightly warm its a good drink and especially after sweating a few gallons, which is evident from my white salt stains on my shoulder straps of my backpack.  I feel the Gatorade and Vodka do its work nourishing my body and soul.

It’s clear and star filled sky.  The fire is toasty and the evening colors and sounds are soothing.  We don’t say much except for a comment here or there about how nice this is.

“Wonder what the poor people are doing tonight?”  Well we may not be financially well off, but tonight it sure does feel like we own the place.  The deer stroll past our grass field almost oblivious to our presence.  It’s hard to stay up much past sunset, but we struggle and make until about 10ish.

Mountain Dew

The next morning the dew soak grass is steaming in the morning light.  We get up and it’s automatically ingrained that one of us is on coffee duty.  It really doesn’t matter who, but it gets going before we even take a pee.  After instant oatmeal we head out to explore those glorious waterfalls and get revenge.  No just kidding, but we make a stop back to the Merced High Camp to give it a second chance and much to our surprise it’s deserted.
The river pours down in pulsating torrents into a glorious crystal clear and sandy bottom swimming hole.  It has mountains in the background that look as if a 3^rd grader drew them.  Just straight up and down peaks with snow on top.  We enjoy this place to it’s fullest until we see the pack mules parade down the trail and kick up the dust.  They look as if they’re carrying refrigerators on their backs and it’s funny to see that they contain fresh shrink wrapped blankets for then next set of high fiving High Sierra Campers.

Echo Valley Yosemite National Park