HST: Day 2

High Sierra Trail: Day 2

7/11/2021

Buck Creek - Hamilton Lake - Precipice Lake

Miles hiked: 8.3 mi

Elevation gained: 4,052 ft (7,212 - 8,238 - 10,494)

Animals seen: marmots, leinie geckos, mule deer, chipmunk, mountain chinchilla

Elevation chart created on AllTrails.com

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I slept like crap. Mega congestion with intermittent nausea mixed with an awkward temperature where my sleeping bag was too warm but without it I was too cold. The guys agreed that the night was rough for sleeping. Our alarm never went off (operator error). Jake is a weird morning person so he was up by 5:05am anyway and started coffee and brek while I packed up Yoda. (Peanut butter and chocolate oatmeal with instant coffee and carnation instant brek mix).

Target was dragging, mornings are rough for him. Jake had to filter more water from the creek. I was ready to go at 6:30am and hike slower (a lot slower) on ups than the guys so I started ahead and they would catch up.

En route to Bearpaw Meadow

I will give credit, where credit due. Every trail guide, journal entry, and article I read about the HST said that the climb to Bearpaw Meadow was a slog. They were correct. It was gravelly sand that you took two steps up and slid one step back. But I was motivated. Rumors abound of the high sierra camp at Bearpaw Meadow that sold brownies and beer to desperate backpackers. Call me what you like, but I would not be dissuaded from a morning brewski and brownie. I made that climb in great time and was rewarded with a glorious sight. A backcountry outhouse!

Bearpaw backcountry outhouse

I walked-ran (real running is impossible with Yoda strapped on the back) while doing a potty dance to the outhouse. Flung Yoda to a rock and tore open that door and almost fell into the pile when the seat went flying off the the stand as it was not apparently attached. I was not to be deterred and replaced the seat and parked myself in a single motion that would have Olympic athletes in awe. Upon exiting I gathered Yoda once more and wandered over to the skeletal remains of the high sierra camp.

What remains of Bearpaw Meadow’s High Sierra Camp

I found out that a heavy snow year (175% more than average) destroyed the camp and it has been closed since 2019. So, no morning brewski, no morning brownie. I had to settle for trail mix and beef jerky (hot and sour flavor) while watching some fat marmot on a ledge enjoying the view of the valley.

Fat little marmot

While waiting for my guys to arrive, Brian and Charlotte arrived and took a break as well. Brian went over their schedule today (I don’t recall the exact time table, but this was probably pretty close); pass by Hamilton Lake by 10:30am, up and over Kaweah Pass by noon and to Big Arroyo Junction to camp tonight by 4pm. I was impressed, with our slow hiking speed, the three of us would be lucky to reach Hamilton Lake before noon. (Spoiler - we didn’t get there until 1pm).

Jake and Target arrived and took a short rest (one hit die of recovery) and we continued on. And we went downhill to our surprise. According to our map and trail guide, we were supposed to be heading up to Hamilton Lake just before the pass. Nope, down and down we went. We were cruising down hill. The views are indescribably amazing.

Looking back at the ridgeline trail.

We crossed over Lone Pine Creek where the old bridge can be seen below.

Old bridge taken out by an avalanche and Lone Pine Creek way below it.

Jake & Target checking out the old bridge below

We also missed the fact that the water source was just passed the bridge at a junction that lead to Elizabeth Pass. Oops. Jake backtracked to get water while I stayed with the packs. In our defense, it stated on no sign, map, trail guide that we needed to follow the junction trail to get to said water source.

There is a natural law in backpacking: where there is down, there will also be up. Oh, were there ups. Ups with switchbacks over scree and talus. Scree and talus made from the granite boulders that bordered us on one side while the other was a steep drop off to certain painful death. Granite boulders that reflected the heat from the sun. It was >100 degrees on those rocks in the sun. I think I melted half my beer belly off in this stretch alone. I have up to this point, never truly sweated before. At least I can not recall any point in my memory where I had sweat to such a degree as on those switchbacks.

We gained some respite at this incredible waterfall over the granite shelves.

Target jumped in, clothes and all, while Jake and I recovered in a small shady spot. Target’s idea was better as we soon found out continuing the last mile climb with 600 feet to go to reach Hamilton Lake for our lunch break. He cruised on ahead with his soaking wet clothes while Jake and I shade jumped the rest of the way.

Shade skipping

Hamilton Lake is picturesque. It holds the popularity contest in the Sequoia alpine lake contest. Granite walls surrounding the lake, reflecting the mirror image off its motionless surface while the crystal clear water allows you to see clear down to the bottom of the lake.

At 90+ degrees on the granite shore, naturally we went swimming. We had joked prior to leaving for this trip about buying and lugging out pool floaties. I have never regretted not bringing such a tedious, extravagant item to the backcountry. The granite shelves where slick and we slid out into the lake with glee akin to a five year old on a slip n’ slide. We swam out and quickly realized how deep this lake really got. It was deceptive with how clear the water was and I was soon treading water.

Target with short legs

We saw the most colorful rainbow trout which made me itch for the fishing pole I had dragged along. Hamilton Lake sits at 8,200 ft and some odd change. In Sequoia National Park, you can only fish with barbless hooks and do catch and release below 9,000ft. So the rod stayed affixed to Yoda and I watched with very hungry eyes.

Brian and Charlotte hiked by while we were swimming. They turned down our invitation to join us in the water and wanted to continue going up and over the pass today. The guys and I ate lunch (starkist chicken creations - chicken salad, spam and electrolyte mix) and dried off on the hot granite boulders. A mule deer doe came up the side of the creek and right through our group, not more than 6 feet from Jake while he snapped pictures. She had no fear and continued on her merry way to the other side of the campsite and chewed on someone’s lost bandana for the next couple hours. A brave chipmunk would run up to our packs and back off quickly when it thought we weren’t looking too closely. These animals are clearly well fed off hikers here and the thought of a fearless bear in camp gave us the goosebumps.

She made quite the entrance

Our afternoon guest making her sweet way to our setup

We waited out the afternoon at Hamilton Lake. We were in desperate desire for a long rest, but also because we needed to wait out any afternoon thunderstorm that the Sierras are known for prior to climbing onto exposed ridgelines. Some suspicious clouds had been creeping up since we had arrived and were making thunder noises so we hunkered down under the trees and continued to hang out.

As it approached 4pm, a few more hikers showed up at Hamilton Lake. The first, Chad, was friendly and hung out near our set up. He has an ambitious schedule to complete the HST in just 4 days! He started this morning and was planning on camping at Precipice Lake. Then Kern Hot Springs tomorrow, Guitar Lake the following, and lastly up and over Whitney to Whitney Portal the last. The other two hikers stayed on the other edge of camp and didn’t socialize. The wind picked up with some serious teen angst and we debated whether to continue on to Precipice or stay at Hamilton. Again, that crippling indecision. We ended up continuing onto Precipice at 4:30pm.

Approaching the site of the old suspension bridge ruins. You can see Hamilton Lake way below in the background.

They blasted a tunnel after the suspension bridge collapsed.

Looking back at the tunnel.

Continuing the climb after the tunnel…

We thought the slog to Bearpaw was rough. That was a walk in the park compared to this climb. 3 miles with over 2,000 ft of elevation gain in complete sun exposure to roast ourselves in. This climb kicked our asses. Nothing in the trail guides, maps, or articles relayed just how hard this grind was. I felt cheated, deceived, and betrayed.

That snowpack was our destination, Precipice Lake.

We ran into two guys heading down to Hamilton who were very concerned for our safety. Either we look like complete newbs, or this trail was very, very understated. Regardless of their concern, we made progress. Slow, gasping for breath, sweating our brains out progress, but progress nonetheless. We were leap-frogging with Chad on the way up. Jake was feeling fine and beat us all up there. Target started feeling the altitude about a quarter mile out and had to stop periodically to dispel the nausea and dizziness. I was just slow. Have I mentioned that ups are not my thing?

I did run into a small rodent that runs on the cute side which I deemed a mountain chinchilla.

Mountain chinchilla looking all cute.

Target and I made it to Precipice Lake just in time for sunset. Worth every step up.

Target and I approaching Precipice Lake.

Precipice Lake.

Amazing sunset from Precipice Lake.

Just as we were rounding the corner we hear from the top of a boulder, “What up trail fam?!” And there was Brian and Charlotte who had decided to stay at Precipice Lake after having arrived only an hour earlier. That climb took us over 4 hours. I can not stress enough how hard that was. We set up camp in the dark with the light of our headlamps. The three of us ate dinner with little talking, mostly from exhaustion. (Garlic Shrimp Risotto and liquid cookie dough - I added too much water, no alcohol tonight since we were over 10,000 ft). Target ate little as he was still nauseous from the altitude and Jake finished his meal for him.

The temp up here at Precipice is hovering around 50-60’s so it should be perfect sleeping weather tonight.

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