High Sierra Solo~ Part 1 of 3: Mono Pass Trailhead to Alger Lakes

 When planning my trip home to see the family, (always eager for a summer backpacking trip in the Sierra) I had also obtained a few hard to come by permits for the southern section of the John Muir Trail, (Kearsarge pass to Mt Whitney) hoping I could get a few friends to go along. I had hiked the JMT in it's entirety back in 2003, and I had intermittent dreams of returning to hike the last section of it. Unfortunately, the timing didn't work out with friend's schedules, and being my original permits were over a particularly rugged section of trail, (and knowing that I was now going Solo,) I gave them up in lieu of a shorter solo trip beginning a bit farther north in Yosemite.

I decided on an approx 35-36 mile loop hike beginning near Mono Pass in the Yosemite High country, traveling into the Ansel Adams Wilderness & back out via Tuolumne Meadows. I had attempted this same trip several times many years ago. I was shut down on 3 separate occasions, so I though what the heck, I'll give it another go. My first shutdown was a good 13 or so years ago on my first solo backpacking trip, when I had a ridiculously heavy pack (thinking I suppose, that more weight... ie, stuff= more security... which of course just made for a ridiculously hard hike in which I bailed out on a side trail @ Gem Lake after 3 days of short mileage.) The second time, with a couple of friends, we tried this trail in reverse, starting out in Tuolumne Meadows~ also bailing out around Gem Lake due to snowfall obscuring the trail during a late September hike. The third time, a couple of years ago, with my nephew... on our first night out we had thick smoke, as well as ash falling on our tent... the fire was far away, but we had no idea of knowing this at the time, so we bailed out that time, too. Thinking that if the 3rd time was not the charm, the 4th must certainly be... off I went!

Lupine near Creek

The beginning of my hike took me through Dana Meadows, lovely & lush...

Bambi :)

 through the forest and gradually higher to expansive views.

Me & my pack... carrying everything I'd need for the next 4 days & 3 nights... and then some. While my pack weight hovered around 40 pounds which is not at all bad, I realized I could have gone without a few items, thus shedding a few more pounds, which really does make a difference when putting in decent mileage & hiking over high passes.

Trail stretching out into the distance towards Parker Pass....

and looking back over the miles I had covered.

 At 11,100 feet, Parker Pass would be the the first high pass I'd hike over, but although it seems high, the hike started at 9,700 feet, and climbed gently over several miles, making it feel almost easy. (Though coming from NM & living at 7,000 ft may have had an influence!)

Just after the pass, I left Yosemite & entered the Ansel Adams Wilderness....

hiking onward, my next big Pass loomed in the distance. Just above the lingering snow pack to the right is the actual pass (it sits between Parker & Koip Peaks) though the trail climbs through scree/talus on the left flank of the mountain. When you first look at this pass, it seems insurmountable, but as it often is with climbing mountains, it is not until you get closer, and then closer still, the way appears.

My eagle eyes (ha!) spotted these two guys coming down the trail from Parker & Koip Peaks... click to enlarge to make the two small dots in the center of the frame become actual people.

:)

The view from about 1/3 of the way up the hill... looking back into the valley from which I had just come.

The view above was probably taken somewhere around the halfway point. Note the zig zag pattern on the slope in the distance- that's the trail!

Views from the trail down towards Mono & Grant Lakes.

Aaahhhh... after some time, I reach the top of the Pass... I had not seen another soul since talking to the 2 guys coming down the other side. That's Parker Peak in the distance... but I don't climb it as a side hike... I still have miles to go!

Trail up to the Pass- Mono Lake in the Distance

I stop for a snack break & to take in the marvelous views & breathe the fresh, clean air. The wind was gusty on the way up, but for now, all I hear is silence... and it is glorious. Far above tree line, (elevation close to 12,200 ft) I take in the otherworldly landscape. 

Trail over the Pass- soon to descend to Alger Lakes

But I don't linger long... I must still descend at least 1,500 feet & a few miles to get to my first camp.

My first view of Alger Lakes from the Pass...

and a closer view as I make my way down. If you look closely, you can see the trail in the bottom left corner. 

Trail far below the pass & approaching the lakes. Time & time again I was blown away by the beauty & detail in the landscape. My photography simply just does not do it justice.

After roughly 10 miles of hiking & with a few thousand feet elevation gain & loss, I am tired! I do camp chores, secure my bear canister and set up camp without a soul in sight.

In complete solitude I take in last bit of sunlight as it illuminates Alger Lake.

:)

More Sky Awesomeness... & A Little Blog Hiatus

Somehow the days & weeks have flown by! Hard to believe a month has gone by since my last post. In between work, a little hiking/busy life stuff & trying to get my pots finished before the last class I have not had time at all for blogging. I did get all my pots finished & fired from my last class about a week ago, but did not have time to photograph them properly before leaving for California for a family visit. (I'll try to post them when I get back... I had some pretty cool results!) Anyhow, the skies were so cool here tonight, I thought I'd share a few pics.

Cool Skies near Alpine, California

Click to Enlarge & check out the plane for scale!

The sky put on quite a show this evening. These were all taken within a 30 minute period... so fun to watch the colors & formations change. Much more amazing in person than what I was able to capture w/ my camera... but I suppose you get the gist of it.

:)

On another note, my blogging Hiatus will continue as I'll be heading out in the morning for a quick camping trip & to see more family. Will be leaving the computer & all social media far behind so I can focus on the places & people I love.

Will try to catch up w/ you all when I return. 

Many blessings for a wonderful summer!

:)

Sky Awesomeness

We get that a lot here- the Sky Awesomeness thing. Just another thing I love so much about living in New Mexico... the breathtaking skies! Our above average temps (mid to high 90's) the past 2 weeks, made this scene even more welcoming, because along with sky gorgeousness comes that wonderful cool evening weather & the sweet scent of freshly fallen rain... it seems our monsoon weather has arrived! As usual, I've been quite busy~ spending the past 2 weeks packing & moving & working & doing a bit of clay work, but I'm hoping to get out & about & do a little more photography now that I'm getting settled into my new place... 

:)

"Wilderness is not a luxury, but a necessity of the human spirit..."

~Edward Abbey

So true! Most of my hiking this summer has consisted of local hikes in & around town... which is great, but I really love going deeper in to the mountain wilderness. Last week, a friend I had the same midweek day off... so off to the mountains we went! Our hike started out at the Santa Fe Ski Basin, around 10,000 feet and had us hiking 11 miles up & over 3 peaks~ Deception, Lake, & Penitente. (12,320, 12,409 & 12,249 ft respectively.)

View from Raven's Ridge looking over the burn area from last years Pacheco Fire~

and up to the peaks we would soon ascend.

Climbing higher, we reach & surpass tree line to the summit of Deception Peak... just to the left in the distance.

I am always amazed that these  tiny, delicate, beautiful flowers grow in such high, rugged, windswept country!

We are rewarded for our climb with amazing views in all directions, and breathe deep the thin, clean air.

View into the valley from Deception Peak.

View from Lake Peak down to Nambe Lake Basin.

View from Lake Peak

The trail crosses one of the last snow banks of the season, ascending to Penitente Peak in distance.

View of Santa Fe Baldy from Penitente Peak. I love the scale & how the trees look so miniature.

Back into the valley, we stroll through one of my favorite meadows. 

The remainder of our hike is an easy stroll after the descending the Peaks, and I take in all the detail & beauty that nature has to offer.

:)

Tales from an Apartment Dwelling Potter

While my clay classes at the College are finished for the Semester, I am not certainly not finished with clay!  I am now back to hand building Micaceous Clay Pots... which is why on any given day off from work, my apartment may look like this~

or this~

Mixing & Wedging Clay

 or this!

That is the nice thing about hand coiling pots, or doing clay sculpture work. While it would be great to have a real studio, if you are determined enough & are willing to deal with the mess & clean up involved, you can make it work in a fairly small space... in my case, it's my kitchen.

But luckily, I have another place to learn & work, because as it turns out, just as my classes were finishing up at the Community College, my  Micaceous Clay instructor was offering a clay class at his studio in Tijeras, NM. I've been spending my Saturdays there, and then trying to put into practice what I'm learning in my little "Kitchen Studio" back at home.

Above, my first pot from class. (In the drying stage. Keep in mind, all these pots are all Raw, needing several stages of scraping, sanding, burnishing/polishing & firing before they are finished!)

For my second pot, I chose to make a casserole. They are pretty challenging for me, so I  was pretty excited about this one!

Until I flipped it over for drying & this happened~ Arrrrggh! I've never had a pot crack this humongously before!

Bummer.

But! A perfect opportunity to test out what I like to call "The Apartment Dwellers Clay Recycle System." 

I had another pot to recycle as well. (During the drying stage, it had developed a very small but critical crack near the bottom of the pot.)

After a bit, it looked like this.

In goes the cracked casserole.

I smashed it into pieces & let it soak in water.

Over the next several days, I stirred it & let it soak... pouring off the excess water at the top.

I then transferred it to an old pillow case, and lined a clay box with a trash bag, so that the excess moisture wouldn't make a huge mess all over the floor. After several days of flipping it, it still was not getting dry enough, so I transferred it to another pillow case- this one split open to increase the surface area to air ratio. 

I put it outside in the dry summer air... keeping an eye on it & turning/mixing it as needed. Is this exciting stuff, or what?!

 Soon enough it was back to the right consistency & I wedged it back up as you see above...

Recycled Clay Pot

and gave it new life in the form of a bean pot.

:)

I also made another casserole to replace the one that didn't make it.

Pics before & after the handle is added.

This time it dried fine except for a crack in the lid where the handle was added, but that can be repaired, which I am working on now.

Another bean pot...

(I cut the rim down significantly from what is shown here.)

and another.

:)

This pot I made w/ the help of my instructor last saturday. It's a fluted casserole dish, and I find the form to be quite lovely. I found it so lovely in fact, that I made another one today! Getting over my attachment to every piece, I also recycled another pot today. It was a little on the thick side, & I decided I wasn't really crazy about the shape, sooooo...

After a few hard thunks on concrete, and a little hammering action... back into the bucket it goes.

It'll be interesting to see what this one turns into after the recycle process!

:)