Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports HST: High Sierra Trail and Pants Pass

RadGnar wrote:
> how difficult was it to reserve a permit for the HST? Did you apply as soon as the permit office started taking applications?

I didn't reserve. You have to reserve over 2 weeks in advance, and I was too late. So I figured I'd get a walk-in permit, same as you can on Whitney, or a no-show as last resort. But since I was starting out on Labor Day Monday, (and more people would start on a Friday or Saturday, and more people earlier in the summer), I figured I'd be ok. I drove up to Lodgepole on Sunday to get a walk-in permit, and got there at 3 and was told I had just made it, that they close at 3 PM. (I didn't know that.) Turns out the fellow stayed at the counter until at least 3:30, so I was ok. There were plenty of permits. And I could have picked one up early Monday morning, too. They open at 7 AM. No-shows become available same-day at 11 AM.

The bad part about getting a permit to start at Wolverton, is that you are supposed to stay one night on THAT trail, before joining the HST.

Lynn-a-roo wrote:
> hmmmm your photo is easily worth $192K....both your photos are equally as good as Ansel Adams' and maybe better.
Show me the money!
I was surprised to look up the Ansel Adams picture, and realize his was a closeup of one small part.

Another installment: Days 2 and 3

On day 2, I ate lunch at Kaweah Gap, enjoying the view looking at the Pants Pass area to the northeast, Black Kaweah and the Kaweah Range to the east, and Big Arroyo to the southeast. I cannot believe I didn't take any pictures! The area is expansive wilderness. From that point, I left the High Sierra Trail, and headed northeast. Part way to my destination, rain broke out, so I huddled under my parka for a while. I made it to my campsite, at the outlet of Lake 10725 in Nine Lake Basin. (You can view this map, even zoom in on satellite view, and see the spot where I camped.


Looking back from my camp site toward Kaweah Gap and Eagle Scout Peak.

I had read, from this web report, Trans-Sierra trip, August 2004, where they wrote, "This lake had some nice big trout in it, probably from a hatchery, unfortunately." So I went prepared with some recommended lures and equipment, to try to catch one of those "nice big trout". Unfortunately, I think that lake is completely devoid of fish. The water was crystal clear, and peer as I could into its depths, never did I see a trace of any fish. I walked the banks for several hours casting my line in various places, but not a bite! So much for "hatchery plants". I am thinking the report I read was referring to the next lake below, closer to Kaweah Gap. It was teeming with fish, others were catching them, but they were small.

So part 1 of my fishing fantasy was a bust.

Next day, I wanted to try to climb Black Kaweah. I rose at dawn, packed a day pack along with my SPOT Tracker unit, and headed back toward Kaweah Gap. I had spent lots of time peering at maps, thinking I might climb this peak from the north, even though Secor did not mention it being accessible from that side. After viewing the steep slopes in person, there was no way. So then I followed what I thought was a route that would work. Secor mentioned climbing via the "west ridge". Unfortunately, I hadn't packed a map showing all the valleys coming off BK, and I thought "west ridge" meant the ridge extending to the west from the peak. Baloney! Apparently he really meant the south-extending ridge to the west of the primary southern approach. Here's the map.

Not knowing I was on a futile route, I hiked half a mile down the Big Arroyo section of the HST, then cut diagonally over and up to what I thought was the correct ridge.

I ate my breakfast by the Big Arroyo creek.


I spent hours climbing steep third class rock with lots of loose boulders. By lunch time, I reached my high point, where I could finally see the Black Kaweah summit ...another half mile to the east!!! I had topped out on a false summit.

My view of the peak:


It would have taken hours to try to traverse the treacherous section to get to the correct route. I gave up that idea, enjoyed my lunch, and took pictures.

As I rested there, I could hear, and the could see, two climbers making their way to the actual summit.


At my high point, I found this rock. I thought it was a meteorite at first, because it was extra heavy -- must have had lots of iron and minerals -- but it was not. Meteorites have a rounded outer shape.


Looking down from where I had climbed.


My camp site is by that lake in the center.


A zoomed-in view of Mt Whitney and the needles from my viewpoint.


Back to my camp, for the second night. This is the only time I set up my parka tent, since it was overcast and rain threatened. But it never rained. I had forgotten my tent stakes on this trip.


The next morning, I was going to head up and over Pants Pass.

Great photos. I remember following your Spot track and speculating where you were going next.

Regarding that rock with the lichen on it, it looks like it's origin is volcanic basalt, probably metamorphized to make it denser and harder than average. Hard to imagine now, but all the granite we see exposed today was formed deep beneath the ground under extreme heat and pressure. For most of the High Sierra, the rock above the granite formed by volcanic flow after volcanic flow. Most of the volcanic material became weathered much more easily than granite, and then eroded away as the mountains uplifted and glaciers carved away at it. That's why we see remnants of volcanic rock types in various places, and always on top of the granite (unless there was dramatic folding or faulting in the area). Wherever you see the volcanics up above, you'll probably see more flowers and vegetation on the slopes and in the valley below. You probably know all this already, but someone else might appreciate a little geology primer. I'm not a geologist but this comes up all the time engineering dams in the Sierras.

Thanks, SN. The green on the rock is not lichen, but more a result of copper based minerals. The rock was definitely heavier than others around, and parts of it looked like it was pure iron. The Black Kaweah summit is not granite, but a much darker rock.

I believe a few of the mountains in the Sierra are actually more of a metamorphic origin -- islands of rock different in origin than the massive and predominant Sierra granite. Mt Ritter and Banner Peak are similar with the darker rock.

Can we rule out the rock being ingenious or sentimentary?

(Sorry -- can't resist making these poor puns when anyone talks about rocks.)

Steve -- don't take the wrong route when you get to the Grand Canyon!

Very nice Steve - looks like you had a great solo adventure. A shame you were stymied on Black Kaweah - it looks like you got close. When Bob Burd talks about this being a climb to take seriously, it's probably best to pay attention. A lot of the routes are posted as class 3, but most everything I've read and heard says that's BS: class 4 to some degree on virtually every approach. It's on the bucket list. That bucket list is just getting too big . . .

Hard to tell from your photo, and even from your SPOT, but you may have been even closer on BK than you thought: a check of your photo down to Big Arroyo against the same angle in Google Earth shows you were very close to Secor's West Ridge route.You were probably on the peak just above the notch where the route meets the ridge.

Great adventure: looking forward to the Pants Pass episode, and especially your climb into the clouds on the MR.

Thanks. But no, I was a long way from the peak. See the two pictures above the green rock. The two shown on the summit are on that far point in the picture above them. I would have had to down-climb over really treacherous loose rock, then picked my way for half a mile on third and forth class rotten rock. I am sure I made the wise decision to descend back to camp. THAT was hard enough for me!

Day 4: Over Pants Pass, to Junction Meadow, and the JMT.

Sept 6: This was going to be a long day, so I set my watch alarm to wake up about 4:30. It always takes me almost an hour to break camp, but I was off by 5:15. I decided to just eat a granola bar and hike a few hours before breakfast. It seems to work for me.

Here's a view from my highpoint the day before:


I set off in the early dawn, with just enough light that my headlamp wasn't necessary. I found a bench-like area to use to head up to Pants Pass -- I think it was a geologic "dike" of rock that was a bit softer than the surrounding granite. It was easy walking until the slope steepened and I had to climb the loose talus. That's where the fun began.

Heading up the ramp, with Pants Pass in my sights.


The west side of Pants Pass would be fun to descend. With enough loose rock, some of it small enough, one might be able to plunge-step, or step and slide a bit with each step. Going up was not easy. I was glad my pack was probably about 20 pounds. It was tough finding anything solid enough to stop and rest every few steps. If I stopped on anything in between, it might have started slipping downward. I carefully worked my way up, finally topping out in a notch, two hours from my starting point.

Looking back west from where I'd been, in Nine Lakes Basin. I had started from outlet of the closer lake. Kaweah Gap is the low pass just above the far lake.


My SPOT unit reported Pants Pass at:
GPS coordinates: 36.57432,-118.52812   Caltopo view (Pants pass is 2nd contour north of the 12000 contour--the pass is not the lowest point.)

Looking down the east side of Pants Pass was an "oh crap" moment. The chute was too steep with loose gravel over hardened dirt. I took the blocky rocks to the left.


Had I known there was an easier way, I would have used it. I've read afterward that all I needed to do was climb south out of the notch, follow the ridge about 50 yards, and the descent is down much larger blocky rock. I could look up and see once I got down -- it would have been easy.

An hour later I had descended to near the first small lake in the picture above. Finally, a sunny spot to stop and eat breakfast. Here's a picture of the Titanium Esbit Wing stove. I make my own wind screen with aluminum foil. It takes a quarter ounce of fuel to heat my granola the way I like it. The Esbit hexamine tablets worked well on this trip, except on the Mt Whitney summit. Not enough oxygen there, I guess. (Edit: on a subsequent trip, using a new tablet worked great at the summit! Remnant fuel wouldn't burn as hot or fast.)



After my breakfast, I continued down to the lake at the headwaters of the Kern-Kaweah River. Other hikers have take a more east-west route, staying south of the river, on a roughly direct line between Pants Pass and Gallats Lake. Once I finished descending to the headwaters, the walking was as easy as a trail -- flat meadow and shallow stream. It took 4 hours to cross Pants Pass from my camp to the first K-K lake.

The fish in that first lake were abundant and voracious. I stopped and fished a short time, catching and releasing about half a dozen 6-inchers. They hit the lure as soon as it touched the water.


After the fishing, I covered a lot of miles. Down the nearly flat drainage, until I hit the trail coming from Colby Pass. Down the trail past Gallats "Lake". Not really a lake, but a huge meadow with a stream meandering through it.


I stopped for a very late lunch in Junction Meadow.


My original trip plan was to hike to hike to Wallace Lake to fish, then take a cross-country pass to Arctic Lake. After realizing how tough it was to do any climbing that was not described in Secor's book, I figured I'd better scratch that off-trail pass. Turns out that was a very wise decision, as hiking up the Arctic Lake drainage the next day, I could see the pass I'd hoped to cross was at best a 4th class rappel. So... I decided that since I was skipping Wallace Lake, maybe I could spend the last night on Whitney. To do that, I needed to make it to the JMT. So off I trudged... 4.3 miles later:

Last picture of the day.


It had taken 13 hours to cover the distance. I should have taken some pictures at my camp at the Wallace Creek crossing on the JMT. There must have been 30 campers that night. I met a trio who I'd encountered my first day. They had stayed on the trail down to Kern Hot Springs, arriving here the same time. My shortcut over Pants Pass allowed me to spend one day climbing Black Kaweah.

Not sure how I missed this before but great stuff Steve. The HST is on the to-do list one of these days.

Steve,

Great TR! Is it continued elsewhere?

Thanks!

Snacking Bear: I think I ran out of steam on the trip report. Sorry. The last day and a half were not too eventful.

I hiked from the JMT/HST junction at Wallace Creek part way on the JMT southbound, then detoured up the Arctic Lake drainage. I was considering trying to climb the north slope of Whitney, but I couldn't see any route that didn't have extremely steep granite. I think anyone who does it is hiking on snow using crampons, which give much better traction.

So I continued over the Russell-Whitney pass and down to Iceberg Lake. Loaded up on water, and then climbed up to the Whitney summit, and spent the night inside the hut. It took 2 hours from Iceberg to the summit. Wish I could have talked to the hikers camped at Iceberg, but it was late, so I just grabbed water and headed up the Mountaineer's Route. The hike down was so uneventful that I don't recall anything significant from it. It was fun, though, to see all the JMT hikers arrive at dawn from Guitar Lake, to watch the sunrise.

Here nine years later, I've had a TKR (Total Knee Replacement) which is great -- no pain, no weakness, no trouble. It's a great improvement over the knee that went downhill after my big/best hiking years. Now I'm looking ahead to maybe an ankle replacement on the same right leg. Broke it when I was 22, tore the joint wide open in a motorcycle accident. Now the joint is almost bone-on-bone; I have to wear a major brace for hiking, and get a steroid shot to keep it happy. I think the bad ankle may have led to the knee failing, as my other is still really strong and worry-free.

Snacking Bear,
I completed the HST via Pants Pass last summer with a few friends. We had a ton of fun with the cross-country section from Kaweah Gap to Gallats Lake over Pants Pass being the absolute highlight. I’ve been dreaming about coming back and doing it on skis sometime!