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Published: June 29th 2010
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On the way to Independence, CA
With the Sierras rising to the right. Back in Bishop I head to the ranger station to get some beta on the status of Kearsarge Pass to the south, my next conquest. As usual, they don't really have up to date information, and just give you the default "it's snowy above 10000 feet" line. They were very pleased to see the photos of Bishop Pass that I took the day before, which I brought my laptop in to show them. Maybe now they'll have some concrete information to tell people, when they ask about that pass at least.
I head down to the town of Independence, and then up the road to Kearsarge Pass. I figure, if anything, it will have a bit less snow, since it's more southerly. I park for the night at the trailhead parking lot, and set off in the morning. The trail going up to the pass is not that tough, and as usual I pass pretty much everyone on the way up. Not to brag, but I'm pretty conditioned at altitude now. There's only a few snow fields to cover at the last section of the trail, and then I'm at the pass, which is just shy of 12,000 feet. I
From the trail
Taken from the trail up to Kearsarge Pass. talk to a couple at the pass who plan on summiting the nearby Mt Gould, at 13,000 feet. THey point out where it is, just a simple rock scramble away. I figure I'll give it a go as well- why not, it's still early. After a predictable 45 minute or so scramble, I'm at the top of this 13,000 foot mountain. I never realized climbing these high peaks was this easy. Then again, I'm starting from a fairly high elevation already, plus this mountain is not exactly a technical ascent. Either way, the views are just as good as those difficult peaks, and I can see the secluded and sheltered high peaks that are always hidden by the crest from the east and the vast expanse of wilderness to the west, clear across to the lower western parts of the Sierras, where most of the National Park activity is. It feels as though I've finally trully breached the hidden "inner" high sierra backcountry, even though I didn't need to actually hike through it. I can see all of it in one eyeshot, from a top down perspective, and it's satisfying. And in seeing it, a lot of the mystery and
Almost there...
Just fifty yards from the pass. mystique of the high sierras I'd felt since childhood is gone. Not in the sense of it being permanently ruined, but more like I've quenched my thirst for something I've wanted to conquer since I was just a 10 year old boy, poring over maps.
Getting back down, I forgo the rocky downscramble, and opt for the more fun sandy easterly slope of this mountain. It's sufficiently sandy that I truly can nearly run down it, though I must have looked like a madman to the hikers struggling up the trail to the pass. Then rest of the hike back to the truck is without incident. I figure I'd earned something with climbing this mountain, so I go and treat myself to a pizza and a milkshake!
Time to head north again. The Sierras are conquered (for now), and I'm starting to feel as though I've been in this general region for far too long, so I figure I'll head back to the Trinity Alps to hike in those previously inaccessible (due to snow) areas. On the way, I stop in Mammoth Lakes to (finally) visit the now open Minaret Vista and take some photos. Next stop is
Me at the Kearsarge Pass sign
The hat doesn't work with gym shorts. Reno to run errands and work out. I try to hit Bavarian World to get one of their pastries I enjoyed last time (cherry tart), but they're closed on Sundays and Mondays sadly (it's Sunday). I head out of Reno the I-80W way, parking for the night somewhere down an unpaved forest road west of Truckee.
Now the fact that I parked here for the night isn't an interesting enough detail to log in this journal normally, but this night happened to be pretty exciting. Sometime in the middle of the night as I slept in the back of the truck, I heard a loud noise that woke me, kind of like something banging up against the truck. I'm usually pretty accustomed to strange noises in the night, but this one was strange enough that it caused me to stop and listen for anything else to follow. Well, then I heard something or someone unambiguously touching the driver's side window, where it was left cracked open a tad (for fresh air). OK, I'm fully awake now! I sit up and take a closer look to see if I can make out what the hell this is in the darkness.
Scrambling up to the summit of Mt Gould
Scrambling up to the summit of Mt Gould What I see next startles me- a bear paw and bear noise in the cracked open window! Instinctively, I yell. "GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE! GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!" Within an instant, the startled bear books it the hell outta dodge with the quickness- I can hear the galloping steps until they disappear into the distance.
Now that will wake a man up from a nice sleep. But amazingly, I had no problem going back to sleep, and was out like a light within minutes. I suppose if I were in a tent, I'd have been more concerned and have felt less secure. I'm pretty sure the event was most traumatic for the poor bear. Can you imagine what a sudden shock it must have been to come to this dark and silent truck that smells of pizza, start poking around and out of nowhere hear something yelling at the top of it's lungs from inside?
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