SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS, CALIFORNIA
ANSEL ADAMS WILDERNESS
AUGUST, 1986
INTRODUCTION
On this
trip my friend Bob and I decided to try something a little
different. Becoming decidedly lazy, we chose to have horses
take us and our packs into the mountains. I know, I know,
some purists out there are quick to condemn pack animals in
wilderness areas, but the savings in expended energy is
enormous. Besides, I got to have a beer or two while riding
lazily up the trail. Another benefit was that we could take
more fresh food with us, making our meals that much better.
This wilderness area was previously known as the Minarets
Wilderness. It wasn't until after Ansel Adams death in 1984
and the enactment of the California Wilderness Act the same
year that the area was renamed Ansel Adams Wilderness.
Wednesday 8/6, 7:20 a.m.
We're at Sullivan Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness.
Monday morning at 7:30, Bob and I brought our backpacks to
the Frontier Pack Station at Silver Lake in the June Lake
loop. At 8:00 we mounted horses and started the long ride
up to Agnew Lake, Gem Lake, and our destination, Waugh
Lake. Last Thursday, I day hiked to Gem Lake along the same
trail. It was a killer. As I was walking up between Agnew
Lake and Gem Lake I met a packer coming down. It was at
this point that I thought seriously about hiring a packer
to take us to our destination. Riding is a lot easier; a
person could almost fall asleep.
We reached Waugh Lake about 12:30, four and a half hours
and only two or three stops. A first for Bob and I. The
luxury of bringing beer and fresh vegetables is wonderful.
We had lunch, napped for a while, set up camp, explored the
area, and in the late afternoon started fishing for dinner.
About an hour later Bob had two and I had one, enough for
dinner. We had fresh broccoli, freeze dried mashed potatoes
and the three brook trout we caught. We prepared the trout
in butter and various spices, wrapped them in foil and
placed them in a bed of coals in the fire pit. It was one
of the finest meals I've ever had.
Weather has been excellent with temperatures allowing me to
wear shorts until sunset. The campsite at Waugh Lake has
been well used by the pack station. When we rode up, the
guide brought two additional mules loaded with gear for a
party of thirteen fisherman coming up the next day. We
stayed there only one night, moving on the next day to
Sullivan Lake.
After breakfast Tuesday morning, we broke camp and headed
cross-country around the southern perimeter of the lake to
meet up with the trail heading to Sullivan Lake. We left
around 10:15 and arrived here at 2:30, stopping for snacks
and viewing two times. After establishing camp we explored
the area and gathered snow from a sizable field on the
southwest side of the lake for our margaritas (another
first and boy was it good). There was a party of six or
seven people here when we arrived. They had apparently day
hiked here and left shortly after we arrived, leaving the
entire area to us.
After a late lunch and a short nap, we headed to the east
side of the lake to either another small unnamed lake or an
extension of Sullivan Lake which drains via a gorgeous
creek thru some meadows down to Gem Lake. It was very
pretty here. There were plenty of potential campsites, fish
in the creek and many wildflowers. We climbed a ridge to
get a better view and found a break in the rock that formed
a rough pass leading to the Clark Lakes trail. The view
from here was spectacular. To the north one could see the
edge of Mono Lake and Mono Craters. Looking east, Gull
Lake, the town of June Lake and June Lake itself could be
seen, as well as Gem Lake in the immediate foreground. Bob
and I discussed heading this way on our way out, catching
the Clark Lakes trail, spending a night there, and then
heading down via Spooky Meadow and Agnew Lake. On the far
side of Gem Lake we could see a horse and rider stopped
under a tree. On the Clark Lakes trail, a man and his dog
were walking down. Glacial polishing was very evident here.
Following the creek down the draw to our right, we headed
back down towards our camp. There were many deer tracks
here as well as various brightly colored wildflowers. We
hit camp, started fishing and within a short while had our
three fish again, the same as last night. Broccoli again,
miso soup and the fish prepared the same as last night.
Delicious.
I'm sitting on a rock facing the sun, listening to the
water rushing into the lake behind me in the distance. The
water is very still and I can see the fish feeding. Bob and
I plan to day hike over a natural pass on the south side of
the lake in hopes of seeing Thousand Island Lake and the
Ansel Adams. It looks fairly easy. More later.
Wednesday
8/6, 1:40 p.m.
At approximately 10,500 feet elevation overlook having
lunch. From here there are excellent views of Mono Basin,
Mono Lake, June Lake, Agnew Lake, Gem Lake, Clark Lakes,
Agnew Meadows, Mammoth Mountain and a zillion other peaks
in the distance to south. To the west we have an excellent
view of Thousand Island Lake beneath Banner Peak and the
entire Ritter Range. It is absolutely gorgeous up here. The
wind is fairly constant and the sun is very warm.
Thursday
8/7, 5:45 p.m.
At the White Stag Inn in Mammoth Lakes. Yesterday at the
summit where we had lunch, we discussed how we were going
to come out. We decided to cross-country up through the
natural pass we found from Sullivan Lake to the Clark Lakes
trail. We awoke around 7:15 this morning, had breakfast,
packed up and headed out. Cross-country travel was easy,
even going down the rocky slope on the other side of the
pass. We made it to Clark Lakes in one and a half hours
(half hour to the top of the pass). After a half hour break
at Summit Lake, we headed towards Agnew Meadows. It took us
three long hours to come down. The trail was far more
beautiful than I had imagined by looking at the topo map.
There were many little streams flowing, many wildflowers,
and incredible views of the Ritter Range and the San
Joaquin canyon. Many of the lakes feeding the river could
be seen directly across the canyon from us.
Our feet, very tired from the pounding they received, were
glad to ride the shuttle bus out of Agnew Meadows. Once at
Mammoth Mountain Inn where the shuttle stops, Bob was able
to find us a ride in the back of a pickup down to the White
Stag Inn where we parked my truck.