Pat's Excellent Sierra Adventure

Central Texas TrailTamer's volunteer work on the Pacific Crest Trail, Inyo National Forest, Ansel Adams Wilderness, near Mammoth Mountain, CA

It began with a flight into Reno on 9/18/05 and a beautiful 3 hour Sunday drive into the park. The plan was for me, Chris, and Ellie to arrive about 6 PM, which we did. Unfortunately, when we got to the parking lot, our plan fell apart. We thought there would be mules to take our gear up the mpuntain, but they were not there. We could not figure out where in the heck the trailhead was to take us to the camping area. Fortunately, I happened to notice a note on one of the cars. Steve, one of our CTTT volunteers who arrived the previous day, had come all the way back down to leave this note on his car. Fortune, being fickle, became unfortune when we could not figure out which trailhead was which. We packed up all our gear to try hiking up what we thought was the trailhead, but turned out to be a dead end. At this point, we decide to pitch camp in the parking lot. We dined on a few sticks of beef jerky and called it a night.

The parking lot. Steve's car where the note was found is the white one facing us

Camping in the parking lot on the first night

We woke bright and early after a cool night. We packed up all our gear and started thinking about how to find camp.

Waking up, Chris getting ready to hike up to base camp

We ran into Gordon, one of the local volunteers, who knew the way. He was also expecting the mules, which were not forthcoming. We marched uphill all the way and got to camp about an hour and a half later. My feet got sore in my brand new hiking boots, which will become relevant later. It was nice to get there and get some oatmeal in my belly. The forest service people Didi, Carl, and Tom gave us a little talk before work started. They were great to work with.

Morning get acquainted session with Didi, Carl, and Tom

From here on, everything was peas and carrots, as Forest Gump would say. Perfect climate, beautiful scenery, good work, good food, and great people to be with.

Our group got to work re-routing a section of trail. We used a big 2 man cross cut saw to make short work of some big fallen trees. Another group worked on improving a stream crossing near camp, which involved some truly massive rock placement.

Tools in the re-route project

Carl pointing out some details on the re-route

After this, it was great sitting down for lunch at my favorite reasturant

Lunch with Didi and dogs

You can't beat the office window we had for the work we were doing. Beats the heck out of staring at cars on 183 in Austin

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Not bad for an office, eh?

After a hard day on the trail, it sure is nice to sit around the campfire and have a nice meal. I have to tell you that one of the best parts about the trip was the way we all enjoyed one another's company. We had some great times talking and laughing while keeping ourselves warm as darkness and cool night air approached

Gatherin' round the old campfire

My tent showed itself again to be an excellent investment. We had some steady rain one night, and not a single drop got in. For a one-person tent, it is really cozy and packs up very nicely

Dixon manor

For any environmentalists out there, this is a good publicity shot

Libertarian tree-hugger

After the re-route was complete, work consisted mostly of putting in structures to minimize water erosion on the trail. Water bars and breaks were installed in several sections of the trail. This involves digging trenches and dragging massive rocks into them, which will give you quite a workout. Also, there was a lot of pruning to do, as a lot of vegetation had grown up on the sides of the trail.

Ellie working the trail

Pat with his favorite tool, the McLeod

Steve setting rocks in a water bar, with Tom checking it out

Here is more scenery from our office window as Mother Nature gave us a little show

Clouds form a halo around the peaks

As the sun sets, it is nice to look at the results of the day

Trail falling into shadows

Thursday was the last day of work. By now we had done a lot of work work on the trail, and the results were evident. The forest service boss Rick LaBorde came by to take a look, and was impressed with what we had done.

A nice section of Pacific Crest Trail, thanks to volunteer work

We had time when work was done Thursday before dinner to hike up the trail just for looks. It was work the walk. I found Shadow Lake to be such a beautiful setting as the base of the snowy peaks, with a waterfall spilling out of it into the gorge. Wouldn't I love to have a log cabin there?

Shadow Lake, from snowy peaks to water falling into gorge

Worth another look

View from across the meadow

View from the trail

How to wreck a beautiful image with poor subject matter

Remember where I said the first day my feet were sore. It's time to resume that subject. During the week it wasn't really a problem. However, my experience is that feet get sore, they stay that way until you get off them. The plan Friday was that I wanted to hike up to Thousand Island Lake, which I though was just beyond Shadow Lake.

I packed all my big gear into the car at the parking lot and headed out with lunch in my fanny pack and water by my side for the day's adventure.

Along the way, I encountered a bit of wildlife. This doe was taking a drink as I approached a stream, and bolted away, but then stopped and started back to check me out. Her friend was also in the neighborhood

Ms Thirsty Doe

Another friendly critter

I also happened to encounter a marmot and what looked to measure as a 4 foot black garter snake

Well, my feet were killing me. It turned out to be entirely uphill for 10 miles over a lot of rocky terrain. I had to be back to meet Chris and Ellie by 4;30 PM, so there were no breaks until I got to the lake for lunch. It was a lot more than I bargained for. When I got there, it was worth it! You be the judge.

Thousand Island Lake

Another look

I had maybe the best lunch I ever had. The wind really kicked up and it was mighty cool, probably below 60 degrees. However, in the sun and after my trek it felt great. I had a little lay down, and then took my tired and sore feet and stepped into the water. Would you be surprised the water that was snow not too long ago at an elevation of over 10,000 ft would be a bit nippy? I got to tell you, it felt great. I washed up my hands and face, and started back

Reclined view of the lake

A guy with cold feet

I hoofed it back in a hurry, and by the time I got back to the parking lot at 4:30 I was only good for use as a paper weight. We did go to get a warm shower, and then into Mammoth Mountain for dinner. It was predicted to be 34 degrees and felt like it, and the only long clothes I had were the dirty ones I wore all week. I found the Bass store, and got a pretty good deal on some very comfy apparel. We camped at Red's Meadow's. The next morning, we showered and hit the road. Again, I loved the drive through the towns like Carson City up to Reno. I nice way to spend a Saturday and let my sore feet recover

A great trip, and I will be looking forward to another go next year

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