Banner Peak Trip

(click on any photo to enlarge) After four attempts, I finally summited Banner Peak with my best friend Jeff on Saturday. Thursday afternoon we left Reno and drove South on 395 to Silver Lake. The Rush Creek trailhead lies on the June Lake Loop road, just North of Mammoth. We left the truck at about 3:30pm with hopes of making it the 9 miles to Thousand Island Lake. We had 3000ft of climbing ahead of us and with full packs. After settling into a manageable pace, we started to tick off the miles in the afternoon sun. It started to get dark but we charged on and made it to the Lake at about 8pm. We put our headlamps on and searched for a campsite. We stumbled upon a super sweet site above the Lake tucked in the trees, hidden from the trail. We munched down a ProBar and crashed out. We awoke the next morning to an unbelievable view of Banner from our site. We had planned on Friday being a chill day for some fly fishing and swimming. So we weren't in a major hurry to get out of camp. We had coffee and walked around the Lake. At about 2pm we packed up and headed closer to our climbing route. After an hour or two of hiking we found a spot about half way up North Glacier Pass. Friday evening the wind picked up and we started to worry about our summit bid the next morning. We awoke Saturday at 6am and loaded our summit pack with water and bars. We were at Lake Catherine in a little over an hour. The wind had a bite to it but we both knew it wouldn't stop us from getting to the top. Because we were going light and fast we did not bring crampons or ice axes. This meant we had to skirt the snowfield that lies between Mt Ritter and Banner Peak.Route finding on this climb was more difficult than I anticipated. The route is supposed to be class 2 the whole way. I knew we were off route when the climbing became a little 'scketchy'. Luckily, Jeff and I have good skills and eventually we made it to the Ritter Banner Saddle. From the saddle we had to negotiate talus and scree for about 1000 vertical feet to reach the summit. It was very windy on top. Our summit photos show us just back from the edge of the top because we both thought we were going to get blown into the Owens Valley! I took a couple of photos of the Minarets to the South and of Mt Ritter to the Southwest. Ritter looks much bigger than Banner even though they are very close in elevation. I have aspirations of climbing Ritter soon and did some scouting of the North Routes. I realized I need Gregor to get me to the top of either the Muir route or the Starr route. I might be able to solo the easier Southwest route. That will have to wait until next summer. The descent is always the hard part. Down climbing scree and bowling ball size talus is a recipe for turned ankles. Since there was a cold wind the snow never softened enough for us to walk down it so we stayed high on one side of the chute to avoid sliding 1000ft down into freezing Lake Catherine.We were back in camp by 2pm. We fired up the stove and made Pasta Primavera for lunch. We were going to hike for a few miles and find a campsite out of the wind. As we descended the wind subsided and the temperature rose.We got to talking and hiking and before we knew it we were 4 miles from the truck. We made the decision to just suck it up and and get to the truck. It made for a very long day. We made it to the trailhead at 7:30pm after descending almost 7000ft! It was great to hike with Jeff and to finally summit a peak that we first attempted ten years ago! We were back in Reno at 10:30pm and asleep at 11pm. This will probably be my last climbing trip of 2009. I've had a great summer and look forward to next years climbing adventures. Cheers.

TYT 2009 - Day 10 Middle Velma Lake to Meeks Bay

(click on any photo to enlarge) Wow. Our last day was another great day. We were blessed with great weather and beautiful scenery. It seems as though I have uttered those words every day of this trip. Our route today left the PCT for good and went up and over Phipps Pass. The Pass was very easy as we are all crazy fit. A couple of thousand feet seemed like a little bump. I wish I could feel this good at the beginning of a trip! On the cruise down the North side of the Pass, I managed to get a (poor) photo of a Mountain Grouse.Before we knew it we were cruising along the shores of the Tallant Lakes. These seven jewels are named after the late 1800's Tahoe icon George P. Tallant, guiding light of San Francisco's Crocker Bank and an avid fisherman. The lakes are also unique in that Mackinaw can still be found in them. Which suggests that one day long ago they swam upstream from Lake Tahoe itself. Pretty cool. Although it seemed like an easy day today. we still did almost 18 miles. The hours just seemed to fly by. We passed Lake Genevieve, the last of the seven lakes and left Desolation Wilderness. I was sad to see it go. The last five miles of the day I spent with Funk. He and I talked about the great scenery we saw on this trip. We also talked about Christi and T Funk's toughness (as they were a good mile ahead of us). We averaged 18.5 miles a day for the last 10 days. It was simply a lot of work. Everyone on this trip kicked serious ass. That is the only way that this trip was possible. Pure physical willpower. There are days when you've walked uphill for six hours, you're hurting, you smell like ass, you're hungry and you still have two more hours to go. You wanna stop, but somewhere inside you summon up the strength to continue. You get to camp pretty wasted every night only to get up the next day and do it again. This is truly proof that we do stupid stuff voluntarily. At last we reached Meeks Bay and Lake Tahoe. We walked across the main road and into Meeks Bay Campground. There is a great beach here and I wanted to take a swim to complete my trip. There was a couple on the beach that was kind enough to take a 'Finish' photo for us.What can I say but "WOW"! It was a fantastic trip with no blisters or injuries. What more can you ask for? I'm ready for a couple of beers and some Mexican food!! Cheers.

TYT 2009 - Day 9 Tamarack Lake to Middle Velma Lake

(click any photo to enlarge) I woke to a beautiful day and an awesome view from our tarptent. Today Christi and I walked in our backyard. We consider Desolation Wilderness to be our 'home'. The route today took us past Lakes Aloha, Heather, Susie, Gilmore, Dick's, and Fontanellis. All of this area we have hiked many times. Anytime we take friends backpacking for the first time, we take them to this area. We have a 3 day, 40 mile loop that we call the 'Golden Loop'. It incorporates most of the hike today. From Tamarack Lake we climbed gradually up to Lake Aloha. This lake is the crown jewel of the area. When people think of Desolation Wilderness, they think of this lake. Surrounded by granite on all sides, Aloha has a very 'High Sierra' feel to it. When the lake is full, the North shore is a combination of grass and flat granite. One could hang out there for weeks if the mosquitoes weren't eating you alive. Just past Aloha we descended to Heather Lake and then to Susie, the latter being heavily fished as it lies 5 miles from the Glen Alpine Trailhead. Since we arrived early there were very few hikers around. From Susie we started the climb up to Lake Gilmore. Just before we reached the lake, we saw a snake crossing the trail. It must've just eaten as it was very lethargic and slow. I think it was a Rubber Boa.It was slow enough for me to take a couple of close up photos. We stopped for breakfast at Gilmore. I took a quick swim as Christi was preparing muesli and blueberries. Sitting in the sun on our little sheet of Tyvek with no mosquitoes was heaven. I wanted to linger but my wife, well........ So onward we went. Up Dick's Pass and over to Dick's Lake. We were here last September to climb Dick's Peak.As we walked around Fontanellis Lake, we showed the Funks where our secret camp spot was on the East shore and moved on toward our destination for the day, Middle Velma Lake. We found a spot on the Northwest Shore away from the trail. We had the spot to ourselves. I can't believe that this is our last night! Just before bed I was able to coax one more photo out of my camera.Another great day. I'm sorry that this is our last night. Just as you get in the groove , you have to return to normal life. Bummer!

TYT 2009 - Day 8 Forestdale Divide to Tamarack Lake

(click on any photo to enlarge) Another epic day! Our campsite last night was very scenic but we were very close to the lake level and consequently our tents were soaked with dew this morning. We packed them up wet hoping to dry them out at our breakfast stop. As we made it further than expected yesterday we had only about 18 miles to Echo Lakes, where Funk's parents were kind enough to meet us for our last food drop. The photo above is looking back at our site on the Forestdale Divide. Our little lake sits directly below the high point to right of center, hidden by the grove of trees. Our first stop today was Carson Pass. We popped out on the road after about an hour of hiking. We were the first visitors of the day. As soon as we arrived, Ranger Craig came out of the Cabin to greet us. The Carson Pass Ranger cabin is very kind to thru hikers and offers fresh water to any hikers coming through. We signed the hikers journal and read through the previous postings to see if there were any section hikers ahead of us. We discovered there was another party of three that were hiking from Yosemite, North, to their home in Weaverville! They are a full day ahead of us so there is no chance of catching them. We loaded up with water and crossed the road to head toward the Meiss Cabin. The Meiss Family owned a big portion of the surrounding area in the late 1800's and the early 1900's and their summer residence is semi-preserved for hikers to view. Its astonishing to think that a family of 6 lived in such a small place!This area is the Funk's hiking backyard, like Christi and I claim Desolation Wilderness is 'our' hiking area. The Bearded One's very first backpacking trip was to Showers Lake which is four miles North of the Meiss Cabin. Both of them were giddy about the hike today. Funk did this section on his solo Tahoe Rim Trail trip. He went from Heavenly Ski Area to Echo Lakes in one day! Thats like 30+ miles! No wonder his knees were wrecked after the trip. We stopped for breakfast at Showers Lake where we dried our TarpTents out and lounged in the sun.We stopped prior to our usual '1/2 before breakfast' mark, so we still had 10 miles to go. Funk seemed to remember that the section from Showers Lake to Echo Lakes was mostly downhill. Out of our last 4 1/2 hours of hiking, 4 hours of it was uphill! Christi and I coined the term 'Funk Downhill' which obviously means hiking uphill. Late in the day Christi turned a corner and saw yet another set of switchbacks leading up, and yelled "Not another effing Funk Downhill!" I fell over laughing. We finally reached the parking lot of the ski area on Echo Summit just before you walk across Highway 50. Funks parents were waiting for us with cold drinks, burritos, cookies, and our food drop. Heaven!! We all piled into their truck and drove the 1 mile to Echo Lakes Resort. We smelled so bad! I felt like we were torturing Funks parents by forcing them to ride in the truck with us. We unloaded all of our gear at the picnic area and pigged out on lunch. Unfortunately we still had hiking to do as there is no camping at Echo Lakes. You must get to Tamarack Lake which is 1 1/2 miles from the water taxi landing. So we traded our full garbage bags for fresh food bags for the last two days of our journey. We said THANK YOU and goodbye to Dave Sr. and Jeannie Funk, jumped on the boat and away we went toward Desolation Wilderness. The water taxi was very cool as there are old (30's-40's) summer residences along the lake shore. They all lease land from the Forest Service and own the building. The cabins are very difficult to acquire and many of them have been handed down for generations. The driver of our boat told us that his great grandfather built his cabin in the late 20's. The four of us were his only passengers as it was late in the day, so we went directly to the far North of the second, smaller lake. We jumped off the boat on to the dock and away he went. Once again we were on trail. Almost immediately we were in Desolation Wilderness, our last Wilderness area of the trip. We walked for a little less than an hour and came to Tamarack Lake, our destination for the evening. We found a great site close to the water and settled in. Believe it or not we had a snack before bed. It really is amazing how many calories you burn over the course of a trip. Our appetites are ravenous. Before bed I managed to coax one photo out of my ailing camera (low batt) of our lake before sundown. Another fantastic day.

TYT 2009 - Day 7 Eagle Creek to Forestdale Divide

(click on any photo to enlarge) Whew! Today was a long day. We did about 23 miles and it seemed like more! We saw a lot of day hikers and equestrians today as we weaved in and out of 'civilization' for most or the day. Everyone we meet on the trail wants to know how we get our packs so small and how we do so much mileage each day. They quiz us about gear, shoes, bears, food, etc. We laugh because as we approach people we can almost quote what they are going to say- "You came from where?" The Blue Lakes area lies south of Kirkwood Ski area and is a popular camping and fishing location. We crossed Blue Lakes Rd. twice today. There are plenty of opportunities for day hikers to enjoy the entire area. From our camp on the creek we started early again today. Walking this morning was pleasant and not too difficult. Within an hour we climbed a small pass and passed Raymond Lake.We then entered the Sunset lakes area which is below Blue Lakes. We passed in succession Wet Meadow Reservoir, Summit Lake, Upper and Lower Sunset Lakes, Lily Pad Lake and finally stopped at Tamarack Lake for breakfast. We knocked out 11 miles by 11am. I thought we were flying! We crossed the paved portion of Blue Lakes Rd. We then started the long climb up the ridge above Upper Blue Lake. We stayed high above the lake which seemed like a shame as I really would've loved to go for a swim and befriend a camper with an ice chest full of beer.I had Lost Lakes as our proposed campsite for the night, which would have been 20 miles even. When we got to Lost Lakes they weren't all that scenic and we all felt we could go a little more to find a better place to stop. Of course the last 3 miles were uphill and it was hot. We finally crested the Forestdale Divide and just on the other side were a couple of small lakes that were very scenic and uninhabited. We found a great spot and fell into our evening routine. The lake was cold but refreshing after a long, hot day. We were all tired but happy. The evening was warm even at our private 9000ft lake. Sleeping good will not be a problem!

TYT 2009 - Day 6 Cow Pattie Bluff to Eagle Creek

(click on any photo to enlarge) Up early again to try to tackle as many miles as possible before it gets too hot. We have been blessed with great mild weather for most of the trip so far. As we walked further North we also dropped in altitude. The temperature rose with every mile gained. Our goal these last few days has been to have half of our daily mileage done before 11am. Today was no exception as we had finished 10 miles by our breakfast stop at 11am. I know this sounds a bit late for breakfast. Everyday we start with a cup of joe and a bar (ProBar, Clif Bar, homemade Easty Bar) at about 6:30am. Then after a couple of hours we have another bar. Then at 11-ish we have our breakfast of muesli, dehydrated blueberries and powdered milk with water. Then a few more hours and we have some snacks (turkey jerky, crackers, peanut butter filled pretzels). Walk a few more hours and make camp, clean up, do laundry, cook dinner and crash out. That is pretty much the daily routine.We passed Asa Lake early and met a couple of southbound PCT hikers camped there. We are obviously early risers as we caught them just waking up. We had been walking for an hour and a half already!Another couple of miles and we came to Noble Lake. Just passed Noble Lake we stopped for breakfast on the descent before the climb up to Ebbett's Pass. This is the first sign that we are getting close to home. Ebbett's Pass is one of the five passes that make up the 'Markleeville Death Ride'. I think its actually promoted as the 'Tour of the California Alps' now because people have actually died on the ride and I don't think they want to promote that! Anyway we finished breakfast and climbed slowly with full bellies up to the road crossing.After crossing the road we still had 7 miles left to go before our planned camp at Eagle Creek. After 2 1/2 hours of pretty uneventful walking we found a site right on the creek with good water and plenty of places to clean up. We finally left the free range cattle area so cow patties were a non-issue. We were all asleep by hiker's midnight. Another 20+ mile day. We all must be getting fitter as we were in camp before 4pm. Tomorrow is another really long day as we want to get past Upper Blue Lake and maybe over the Forestdale Divide. We'll see how we do.

TYT 2009 - Day 5 Sonora Pass to Cow Pattie Bluff

(click on any photo to enlarge) This is the scene I woke up to this morning. I got up and made coffee this morning before the sun came up. Today was our first 20 mile day of the trip. Luckily there wasn't a huge amount of vertical. I enjoyed my coffee and broke camp at a leisurely pace. We still got on trail by 7am. From camp we climbed up Sonora Peak, skirted the summit to the East, and descended in to the canyon that contains the East Fork of the Carson River. Free range cattle are allowed in this area so clean water became the objective of the day. With the peaks surrounding us lower than the High Sierra, the views were very expansive. The flora and fauna matched the Tahoe area we hike in at home. Lots of skunk cabbage, sage, manzanita, and mountain tulies. We had just one climb to speak of today which was not too difficult but VERY windy at the top.On the descent we met Dave and Kelly going Southbound. They are two very fit section hikers from SoCal. They had done the desert sections of the PCT earlier in the year. Their daughter works at a pack station out of Virgina Canyon. So they were, with their very cool dog Zack, heading to Yosemite from which we had come. We stopped and talked for a while in the shade. Unfortunately we had mileage to do so we said goodbye and offered licorice treats as a parting gift. Our scheduled stop for the evening was to be Golden Canyon Creek but when we got there at about 5pm there was cow shit everywhere. Evidently the cows like the high altitude backcountry as much as we do. We pushed on and finally found a sight on a little bluff where, most importantly, there was no cow shit. 20 miles was tough but not as bad as we all thought. Thats a good thing as we have another one tomorrow!

TYT 2009 Day 4 - West Walker River to Sonora Pass

(click on any photo to enlarge) What an epic day! Its not often that you get to walk on the actual Sierra crest for very long periods of time. Today we were on it most of the day! We had some amazing views today. Our first objective was Kirkwood Pass out of Kennedy Canyon. Out of camp we started the slow climb up the canyon and were treated to more meadows through the morning. We left camp by 7am because today we meet Kent at Sonora Pass for our first food drop. Yes, we are spoiled hikers and planned to never carry more than 4 days worth of food on this trip. The next four days to Echo Lakes we have to average about 20 miles a day, so I wanted to go as light as possible. Sonora Pass is about 1hr 45mins from our home so we bribed Kent to bring us treats and our food for the next four days. We also get to drop our bear canisters off with Kent. That means that my pack will be 2 lbs lighter! The climb up to Kirkwood Pass was a little harder than expected but we were all rolling well. We then started the long treeless switchbacks that lead one up to the Crest. The PCT follows the Crest for about 8 miles then descends down to Sonora Pass. In the photo above , you can see Christi and T-Funk on the upper switchback and Funk on the lower switchback below me. The lunar landscape was very cool. You could almost see to the ocean to the West! We were to meet Kent at 3:00pm so Christi was on a mission. We stopped for lunch after the one and only snow crossing for the entire trip. Christi HATES snow crossings. I was surprised to see her kicking steps and tackling it like a seasoned mountaineer. I thought T-Funk would have issues also but she walked right through it like 'no big deal'! It was neat to see. After lunch we stayed on the Crest and weaved in and out of windows between rocks and ledges. We stayed above to 11,000ft elevation for most of the day.We then descended 1200ft in 3 miles. At the end of the descent we spat out on Highway 108. This road is also known as Sonora Pass. This is the highest paved road pass in the Sierra.Within an hour Kent drove up with all of our goodies. He seemed so CLEAN! He smelled good and his clothes were clean. Its funny the things you notice when you've been sleeping in the dirt for a few days. So we stuffed our faces on chips and salsa (Thanks Kent!) and packed our packs with four days worth of food. We hung with Kent at the picnic area on Sonora Pass but there is no camping at the picnic area. So with full bellies, we said goodbye to Kent and shouldered our packs to walk the couple of miles into the backcountry. We found, after about an hour, a suitable spot to crash for the night in the trees. All in all a great day. I think I was asleep before the sun went down.

TYT 2009 - Day 3 Peeler Lake to Walker Meadows

(click on any photo to enlarge) We rose early to a beautiful sunrise and the prospect of a little easier walking for the day. The photo above is our campsite view. We were all tired from the day before but we rallied and got on trail early (6:45am). From Peeler we descended for 30 mins and came to upper Kerrick Meadows.It was early and the entire meadow was dew covered. It was very cool. Our feet were soaked but the scenery made up for it. Today's route had us going over Buckeye Pass within the first 5 miles. After yesterday we could handle anything. The Pass came and went easily and we rolled along making great time and holding a three mile an hour average.Today was the 'meadow route'. We were treated to many small clearings that were full of wildflowers and high grass. What a change from the high mountain journeys I have been doing this year. It really is beautiful.Apparently, bears must have actually inhabited this area at one time. Now all of them live in the Park within walking distance to a campground and dumpsters. Sad. We deviated off of the PCT to enter Matterhorn Canyon and tonights destination is where we re-join the PCT North at the West fork of the Walker River. Today was 18 miles but we weren't near as knackered as we were yesterday. We arrived to camp with enough time to bathe by the river and do our laundry. All in all a good day.

TYT 2009 - Day 2 Miller Pond to Peeler Lake

(click on any photo to enlarge) After a quiet and uneventful night we woke up at about 6:30am and left camp at about 8am. I knew we had a long, tough day ahead of us. In hindsight we should have left earlier. After about 5 minutes on the trail we came upon Miller LAKE. What we thought was the lake, the night before, was really only a feeder pond and the REAL lake was just down the trail. Today's hike was to be the hardest of the trip (we ascended the most vertical but it wasn't the biggest mileage day) We had 18 miles to do leaving the Yosemite National Park for a bit to enter in to the Hoover Wilderness. Christi and I have hiked this section before and enjoyed the terrain and scenery but hated the mosquitoes. The Sawtooth Range has a real High Sierra feel to it. The range is a couple of thousand feet lower than the Palisades, but the peaks tower over everything around so they seem big. We ascended the long southern approach of Matterhorn Canyon culminating with Burro Pass. As you travel up and over the pass, you are treated with a broad Western view of the entire range. Its quite a place.In the four miles between Burro Pass and Mule Pass, you encounter meadows, streams and tufts of grass with the looks of a 'Sound of Music" scene. Beautiful sweeping views with granite spires dominating the skyline behind. I wish my photos could do it justice.Christi and I reached Mule Pass in the late afternoon. We still had 5 miles left to do and were getting tired. Christi has this thing in her that doesn't like to hang about when there is mileage to be done. I'd be fine taking swim and photo breaks all day and getting to camp in the dark. Not my wife. So onward we went. The Funks were taking their time and were a couple of miles behind us. So we left a note at one of the trail intersections with directions and encouragement and scampered up yet a another climb to our destination for the day, Peeler Lake. Last year when Christi and I came to the Hoover Wilderness to climb the Matterhorn, we had one of our worst bloodsucker episodes ever! Between Barney Lake and Mule Pass the mosquitoes were just relentless. We hoped that this year they wouldn't be as bad. We were wrong! They were still everywhere! The only thing good that comes from them is that your hiking speed picks up dramatically . I stopped to take a photo of the emerald pools around Richardson Lakes. For the minute it took me to snap a couple of shots, I received probably 20 bites. Christi was practically running down the trail.We stopped running when we reached the last, steep 1 mile climb up to Peeler Lake. We were both slowed to the end-of-the-day-survival-crawl. Luckily the mosquitoes weren't as bad on the climb. We came up over a rise to finally see the lake. We walked around the Northern shore and found 2 sites right on the West end of the lake. As soon as Christi and I had the TarpTent up, the Funks rolled in as weary as we did. We all cleaned up, ate and crashed out in succession. What a day!