Interesting. I was up at Onion Valley on Saturday afternoon and spoke with 2 ultra runner/climbers out of Ridgecrest. I asked them about their run and they said that they just completed a Dragon Peak to Mt Gould traverse, run/climb. This conversation took place around 6pm.
Obviously before this event.
paul
I was part of a 2-man Inyo SAR search team on Dragon Peak/Pass during a dry year. It looked totally different then; lots of loose rock and route options. From the pass the view is terrific. On the descent to Onion Valley, we walked through one of the largest Iris meadows we'd ever seen. I'm tempted to return just to experience that meadow.
You won't see many Mt. Whitney addicts on Dragon Peak, which is part of it's charm for me.
It's possible the two guys you saw are on the China Lake SAR team.
Oooh, noted! I have yet to hike out of Onion Valley - maybe later this year it is time!
Great SAR post - photos are amazing! How did that guy even get on that ledge?
Hey Bob, I did see a truck pull into the parking lot around 11pm and then subsequently lights on the trail, moving fast.
The next morning as I hiked up to Kearsarge Pass, I passed the truck that I saw that night, and on the door was "Inyo Search and Rescue", or something like that.
The guys who I spoke with earlier were definitely runners. They were out of Ridgecrest and do this type of run/climb freuently.
paul
Someone said: "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
Last August on my OV to Whitney Portal backpack trip we encountered a trail runner doing that same route (from Whitney Portal to OV) as a daytrip.