Sept 14-17
Well, this trip turned out to be a lot of fun. It didn't exactly happen how I planned, but that made it interesting. Originally I planned to go up the miter basin and around to guitar lake.
Day 1 Horseshoe Meadows to Long Lake
I drove up to Lone Pine and hid my car in a residential area of Lone Pine. Unfortunately the Chamber of Commerce lot was getting a face lift. Took a shuttle up to Horseshoe Meadows and started for Long Lake around noon. This would be my first solo trip. The hike to Long Lake went pretty quick. Three years ago I was doing the same trip, only hauling about 50 lbs!!! This trip I was down to about 34 lbs and about 7 lbs was camera equipment. I had plenty of time to relax, eat dinner, and watch the sunset.
Day 2 Long Lake to ?????
For day 2, I planned to climb New Army Pass and head over to Sky Blue Lake via Lower Soldier Lake. By the time I got to the switchbacks I was wishing I had camped at High Lake. From 3 years ago I didn't remember there being very many good spots to set down there which is why I went to Long Lake, but I saw a couple that would have worked just fine. I followed a father and son day hiker all the way up the pass. I don't know why but I always enjoy climbing New Army Pass. I'm weird.
Once up top New Army pass I took a break and took some pictures for a nice couple that were behind me. They informed me that there had been two reports of a mountain lion stalking groups going through the miter basin. Yikes! I didn't like the sound of that. I'm a small guy at 5'5" going solo and could easily be kitty lunch. So, to play it safe I changed things up. I decided to summit Langley with my new friends and then head down to Lower Soldier Lake for the night.
Langley was pretty tough. I dropped my bear can near some rocks a little ways past Army Pass, but it still felt heavy going up to the summit. The rock climbing portion was fun. We took a good break up at the summit and then headed down. I picked up my bear can and parted ways with my friends.
About 15 minutes before reaching Soldier Lake I tripped on something and landed face first in the dirt! Turns out the toe part of my trail runner was coming apart and I tripped on it. I ended up with a pretty good cut on my knee, but I was able to clean it up well and applied a good amount of super glue to stop the bleeding. I had planned to fish, but I was beat. I set up camp at an overlook of the meadow by Soldier Lake. I took pictures of the stars that night with my tripod set up in the meadow. The star trails turned out decent. Not bad for my first try.
Day 3 Soldier Lake to Crabtree Meadow
I decided to go down to Rock Creek and over Guyot Pass rather than going through the Miter Basin by myself and risk becoming lunch. It took a lot to let the wife let me go solo and I'd be in trouble if I came home in pieces. I loved the hike over to Rock Creek crossing. There were some nice fish in the creek and I didn't see anyone all the way there.
I HATE the hike from Rock Creek crossing to Crabtree Meadow. I don't know why, but this is always the hardest part of the trip for me. I took a nice break and had lunch near Guyot creek. I didn't see another soul until I got down to Lower Crabtree Meadow. I decided to head up to Upper Crabtree and set up there for the night.
Day 4 Crabtree Meadow to Whitney Portal
What started out as a short day, ended up being a longer one. The plan was to go to Guitar Lake and fish and relax for the hike up Whitney the next day. Before I headed out, I made a pit stop at the pit toilet. Saved me from using a wag bag! The trek up to Guitar Lake from Crabtree Meadows was tougher than I remembered it being. I always enjoy visiting Timberline Lake on the way there.
I ended up at Guitar Lake around 10:30. I found a nice place to set up. I was the only person there. After sitting around for a while I decided to go all the way to the Portal. I was worried that my wife was having a difficult time with our two little kids and decided to cut the trip a day short for her. I have to say, I did not enjoy the hike up to trail crest during the middle of the day. Last time I went up early in the morning and it was A LOT more enjoyable!
On this trip I skipped the summit and just headed down to the Portal. I've been up to the summit a few times and didn't really feel a desire to go up. I made it down to the Portal by 6 PM, hitch hiked down to Lone Pine and drove home to Socal.
