Mount Agassiz

Mt. Agassiz, Pond - Sierra Nevada  2007

A looming presence over the Bishop Pass trail, 13,899 feet elevation.

I've climbed Mt Agassiz twice, both times in 1974. First time was with the Sierra Club, just after I had taken their mountaineering class. Later that year my brother Joe and I repeated the trip. I remember us reaching Bishop Pass, then cutting over to the left among the boulders and picking a chute at random. Once up at the top I managed to get a nice heroic photo of Joe, but somehow there's no photo of me.

Mt. Agassiz, Pond - Sierra Nevada  1974

Joe, Mt. Agassiz Summit - Sierra Nevada  1974

The Hike Out 1 - 2007

Sunrise (Dusy Basin) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Lichen, Granite (Bishop Pass) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Ominous. You know what they say: "Red skies at dawn, sailors mow their lawn." OK, maybe they don't say that.

Slightly overcast, for a change.

From the notes:

5:45 AM—Get up. 49º. Overcast. Using my head lamp to pack up sleeping bag and Thermarest inside tent. Two grouse in tree during the night.

6:20—Nice sunrise.

Low battery warning on camera.

Moonrise, Dusy Basin - 2007

Moonrise (Dusy Basin) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Campsite (Dusy Basin) - Sierra Nevada  2007

As I said, lots of other backpackers in the vicinity. You can see some in the top photo.

Dusy Basin Lakes - 2007

Pond (Dusy Basin) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Lake (Dusy Basin) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Afternoon light, postcard views.

Rock Art - 2007

Rocks (Dusy Basin) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Granite (Dusy Basin) - Sierra Nevada  2007

High altitude Sierra details. Taken while wandering around my Dusy Basin campsite with an Olympus E-510 DSLR.

Monday Deer Blogging

Deer - Sierra Nevada  2014

OK, so this isn't a 2007 shot. My deer photo from that trip was shot at 1/8th second and alas, it's somewhat blurry.

So this deer shot is from a 2014 backpack up near Minaret Lake, taken as I was boiling water for my freeze-dried meal.

Hike Up to Dusy Basin - 2007

Backpack - Sierra Nevada  2007

Mike, Dusy  Basin Summit - Sierra Nevada  2007

from the notes:

8/25/07—Saturday

5:45 AM—Up early. 50º.

7:25—Leave camp.

7:45—JMT/Bishop Pass trail junction. Put on sunscreen.

8:15—Sunrise.

9:30—Breakfast.

10:00—10,000’ sign.

10:45—Bridge, cascade. Change sox, replenish water etc.

12:20—Top of canyon, beginning of Dusy Basin.

12:45—Campsite, overlooking Lake 10742.

5:20—62º. Large clouds in the area. Nice light for rock photos. Sunset will be much later here than in the canyon.

Far too many people camping in this area. Probably because it’s the first stop coming up from the canyon, and the last stop before heading down.

Moonrise, Breakfast (Little Pete Meadow) - 2007

Moonrise - Sierra Nevada  2007

Breakfast, Packing Up (Little Pete Meadow) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Getting ready to enter my tent when the moon came up behind the mountains. Not quite full yet but still very bright!

Next morning: packing up, having some cocoa. Photo of the kitchen area above,

False Hellebore - 2007

False Hellebore, Kings River (Little Pete Meadow) - Sierra Nevada  2007

This is an alternative shot. Final image has been shown before on the blog. To quote from that post:

"Mike had hiked over Bishop Pass, camped overnight in Dusy Basin, and then hiked down, down, down the formidable LeConte Canyon, finally, exhaustingly, arriving at Little Pete Meadow. This is such a great spot! The Kings River rippling by, a late-season Sierra meadow, and the thin dusty track of the John Muir Trail. What he should have done, of course, was to hang out there for a layover day. Instead, he used his free day to do a day hike heading south towards (but not coming remotely close to) Muir Pass.

"By the time he got back to camp the sun was already dangerously close to setting. In fact, by the time he'd wandered down to the river’s edge, the sun had disappeared behind the canyon walls. The false hellebores in the meadow were fading fast: it was the end of the brief Sierra growing season. He took several photos of these photogenic plants (utilized also by Edward Weston); this one is his favorite."

Below, a rather nice-looking false hellebore print:

False Hellebore Print - Marin County  2019

Little Pete Meadow Afternoon - 2007

Kings River (Little Pete Meadow) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Grass (Little Pete Meadow) - Sierra Nevada  2007

After resting up I wandered down towards the river for some photos.

From the notes:

2:45—76º. I must say that in reality, this campsite is great. Location just as I like it, the trail between here and the river (Middle Fork, Kings River). On a rise overlooking Little Pete Meadow and the river.

Enjoyment is somewhat lessened by my too strenuous schedule . . . but on the other hand I don’t think I could have predicted the heat at this altitude.

I’ve complained about this (overscheduling problem) before, I know. But in the past I had “successful” day hikes to compensate. Not this time. Back to the drawing board. 

Mike, Campsite (Little Pete Meadow) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Day Hike - 2007

Granite Peaks - Sierra Nevada  2007

Meadow from Above - Sierra Nevada  2007

I had mapped out in advance a projected dayhike that would take me from Little Pete Meadow to Muir Pass. I had known in advance that the goal was problematic since the distance involved was over 12 miles. But in the end it wasn't the distance that was the issue, it was the heat.

From the notes:

8/24/07—Friday

6:30 AM—Get up. Warm—51º.

8:00—Leave for dayhike after cutting moleskin for toes. Sun not up yet. Heading north on the JMT.

8:40—Sun. Warm!

8:50—Big Pete Meadow.

9:00—Breakfast. Refill hydration unit.

10:00—M&M break. Really tough trail . . . don’t want to knock myself  out.

10:15—10,000-foot sign.

10:50—Top of canyon. Meadow, scenic.

11:15—2nd meadow. Will have lunch here and return. 70º in shade.

12:00 PM—Pills and start back. (Change of sox—great!)

12:45—10,000’.

2:10—Back at camp. For not even coming near Muir Pass, a very difficult hike! Sun bouncing off granite, the heat penetrating my boots. Not pleasant.

Le Conte Canyon View - Sierra Nevada  2007

Little Pete Meadow 2 - 2007

Mountains (Afternoon) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Grass, Pond - Sierra Nevada  2007

So, who was this "Pete" who managed to get some nice meadows named after him?  (Just to the north is Big Pete Meadow.) Alas, Google is silent on the issue.

There was enough light left in the day for some exploratory walks around. One benefit of having a camera is that it focuses your attention on elements in your surroundings that you might otherwise miss.

My camp was actually pretty close to the trail. Backpackers passing by didn't really notice me, however.

Backpackers (Little Pete Meadow) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Monday Grouse Blogging

Grouse - Sierra Nevada  2007

Don't remember taking this photo, but here it is.

Little Pete Meadow 1 - 2007

Campsite (Little Pete Meadow) - Sierra Nevada  2019

My plan was to find a campsite as soon as I reached the JMT intersection, but I spent some time looking for a suitable location without any success. Some backpackers who were passing by were nice enough to direct me to a spot just north in Little Pete Meadow, a few minutes away. Nice!

From the notes:

2:20 PM—Finally at camp! Had to do some searching . . . tiring.

Nice site (at Little Pete Meadow) but sunset will be very early: I'm directly under Langille Peak. A difficult ascent yesterday, today a difficult descent. Remains to be seen how much of a dayhike I’ll do.

4:35—Sunset. 71º.

6:00—Dinner. My appetite is much diminished. This is a problem with the 1-serving freeze-dried entrees. 

***

Below, topo map for reference:

Le Conte Canyon Topo Map

Down Le Conte Canyon - 2007

Le Conte Canyon - Sierra Nevada  2007

Stream, Granite - Sierra Nevada  2007

Just as the trail to Bishop Pass had zigged and zagged up, so the trail to Le Conte Canyon zigged and zagged down toward an intersection with the John Muir Trail. A stream splashed through a downsloping granite slab off to the side.

From the notes:

8:15—Leave camp to hike though  Dusy Basin.

9:40—Breakfast at Lake 10742.

10:15—View into Le Conte Canyon: a major drop-off.

11:00—Footbridge, cascades. Stop for moleskin.

11:30—Descend past the 10,000-foot mark. Enter forest cover.

Trail Intersection - Sierra Nevada  2007

Bishop Pass - 2007

Sunrise (Bishop Pass) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Dusy Basin, Black Divide - Sierra Nevada  2007

As I had said, I had been up in this area before. First time was in 1961 (below) with a twin-lens reflex camera.

From the notes:

6:30 AM—Get up. My sleep was very altitude-impaired. Of course: camp site over 11,000 feet. Gasping for air, etc. However, adjusted slightly as the night progressed, so will continue (at one point I was wondering). 41º.

Dusy Basin, Black Divide -  Sierra Nevada  1961

Bishop Pass Campsite - 2007

Bishop Pass Campsite - Sierra Nevada  2007

I had camped here once before in 1961, and somehow remembered throwing my sleeping bag down in an open space in a boulder field. So, I didn't find a boulder field this time, instead hiking for a while past the pass, then finding a "stealth site" just off the trail, above timberline.

From my trip notes:

2:00—Bishop Pass. Somewhat regretting my decision to push this far today: very tough ascent. I had thought that I’d find a place to camp up here, but no . . . far too rocky. Will need to descend to Dusy Basin side.

2:45—Camp site! Jeez . . . ended up going way farther than I planned. A “stealth” site, about 200-300 feet from nearest water source (some frog ponds).

Hike Up to Bishop Pass - 2007

Mike, Bishop Pass - Sierra Nevada  2007

Hikers on Switchbacks - Sierra Nevada  2007

I had hiked up to Bishop Pass a number of times. It's difficult: innumerable switchbacks, with the elevation at the pass almost 12,000 feet. So, very slow going. Very slow.

Bishop Pass Sign - Sierra Nevada  2007

Bishop Pass / Le Conte Canyon Backpack - 2007

Pre-Backpack Car Camp - Sierra Nevada  2007

Bishop Pass Trail Sign - Sierra Nevada  2007

I've been going through some of my earlier digital contact sheets, at one point actually printed by me on Epson matte paper (don't do that anymore). As I was flipping through the pages I came across these photos taken during a solo backpack in 2007 over Bishop Pass. They were taken with an Olympus E-510, a "four-thirds" DSLR. Some of the photos are quite good, if I do say so myself.

This was one in a series of hikes that I was taking that took me over the Sierra crest from Owens Valley into the back country. (Prior to that I had mainly done a number of out and back overnights.) In those days my standard practice was to car camp the night before the start of the hike, thus ensuring an early start. It's interesting . . . I still have, and use, most of the equipment shown in the camp photo (except for the tent and the backpack).

(Actually, as I had mentioned, an April Ohio trip that we had planned had to be called off. I had expected to be posting a number of mid-America photos right about now: urban, rural, Amish . . . But no. So I've had to scramble for some blog photos . . . )

Monday Elephant Seal Blogging

Elephant Seals - Point Reyes  2019

Taken at the Chimney Rock viewpoint. I used an Olympus E-M1II with at 75-300mm zoom lens.