We arrive at Campsite 44 at Whitney Portal. Scott and Laurel were the first on the site. While pondering where to place our tents, Dave and Jane pull up.
Upon setting up camp, we walked along the upper portion of the Whitney Portal National Recreation Trail to the Portal Store to feast on the burger and fries.
After dinner, we walked in the civil twilight down the road to our campsite. After some drinks and casual conversation around the campfire, we hunkered down for the night.
July 26, 2010:
The Master ChefsBefore our hike up to Lone Pine Lake for some quick acclimatization and some flyfishing, we all pitched in to help prepare breakfast. Dave and Jane provided the Brunton stove to prepare our campside cuisine.
Bruin break in attempt.I went back to our truck and noticed two pawprints on the shell. One on each handle. I mistakenly left the tackle box in the shell. Fortunately, the bear did no damage. We did find bear scat near our campsite.
We hike up to Lone Pine Lake and I flyfished for the very first time. Dave showed me the proper techniques and then I showed my wife what I learned. Landed two rainbow and released them back into the lake.
After returning to camp, my wife and I headed down to Lone Pine to grab a shower at the Whitney Hostel.
On the drive down, there was a lot of smoke. At first, I thought it was just from the campfires. Once in Lone Pine and looking west, the smoke was coming from a wildfire to the south and to the north. We had no idea where the fires were located.
We arrive at the hostel and went to the counter to pay for the showers. The shower costs $5.00 per person and includes a private stall, soap, towels, and plenty of hot water.
All of us later hook up at the Pizza Factory for a carbo dinner and then head back to our campsite.
July 27, 2010:
This day was set aside especially for the infamous breakfast at the Whitney Portal Store. My wife and I waited for two years for this moment!
Before the feast...
Jane and Mt. Pancake.
The "Breakf(e)ast."My wife and I ordered the "KSO" (Kitchen Sink Order) of pancake, three patty sausages, three eggs, hashbrowns, and coffee. Do note the packages of syrup on the table. Caveat: you can go through a lot of syrup with these pancakes.
After the feast...Show us the way back to our campsite. Note: There was still a lot of pancake left over.
After having breakfast with our friends, we decided to head north to continue on with our vacation. Upon reaching Independence, CA, my wife call to check on the status of Uncle H., who was gravely ill before our vacation start.
We decided to turn around and drive down to Escondido.
July 28, 2010:
We head towards Lee Vining from Escondido. As we pass through Lone Pine, our thoughts turned to our friends wondering where they were on the trail. There were some cumulus cloud formations, but were of no major concern.
l to r: Scott, Laurel, Jane, Dave. Scott and Laurel hiked to the top for the first time!The following is an excerpt of Dave's trip report of July 28, 2010:
... boots to trail at 2:40 a.m., summitted just after 11:00 a.m., departed the top at noon, and arrived at the Store around 6:30 p.m. (we all took a 45 minute break/nap at Trail Camp on the way down).
Laurel and Scott really enjoyed the cool and breezy pre-dawn portion of the hike. Introduced them to Lawrence Murphy Rock. The almost-full moon shepherded us up the trail until it set just after sunrise. Tried to keep the BruinDave trail blather to a minimum -- but did succeed in getting a "bee-double-eee-double-arrrr-you-enn, BEER RUN!" into the mix a few times. Laurel and Scott were even singing it together on the way down.
I've decided that if/when I do this hike as an overnighter up the MT sometime, I'd like to camp at one of the 5-6 pads located above Mirror Lake (i.e., just before "The Last Tree"). Water is nearby, you're somewhat away from foot traffic, arguably high enough to be above the bugs, and within easy striking distance for a summit push.
On the way up, it was very cold and windy from just above Mirror Lake all the way to our food/rest break at Trail Camp. Stevie Ray Vaughn and I had a wonderful time on the switchers, where it also warmed up again. Then, at Trail Crest, very cold again with yet another clothing adjustment. Left thumb and right index finger went numb despite trying to keep them constantly moving with the trekking poles. The spring at #23 was flowing very well. Had a beautifully chubby marmot serve as the welcome wagon at Trail Crest, as he was fearlessly peering out from the wall on the righthand side as we approached mere feet from his "go ahead ... try me" face. Jane took some very close photos, which did not require a zoom at all.
It turns out that I didn't eat right on the way up, as I bonked just past the final Needle. Completely outta gas. After a couple packets of HoneyStingers and a healthy swig of the Cytomax, I was good to go in a matter of minutes. Felt stupid not monitoring my fuel needs better, though. The summit was full as usual, with a couple of large guided groups of 8-9 hikers. The weather was good with a few high clouds. Nothing like the weather you, Pam and I had two years ago. In the afternoon dark clouds appeared and sailed by without a single rumble of thunder.
Plenty of photos to follow.
The "Danuuuuuu!!" bellow on this hike occurred above the Portal on the way down, as it was my call to Jane to let her know we were all fine and only +/- 15 minutes from finishing the last loooong switchback and walking through the Portal gates. As usual, Jane descended much quicker than the rest of us, and I was sweeping from the back ... also, as was the case on our first summit together, I had a TeamBruin "wagga" on my back, so I wanted to keep everyone at a safe distance and upwind. Jane got nice photos of Scott and Laurel coming through the gates. Much-appreciated burgers and beers afterwards.
Can't tell you how much we enjoyed seeing you two and spending a little time together. Not nearly enough time, though. I don't wanna let two years pass between a meet-up again! We'll firm up the details about a quick afternoon stop-by on our way down from our Half Dome hike in October, but the date will be Sunday, October 10th.
Oh, one last thing -- we had yet another bear adventure at #44. Earlier that post-hike evening at the Store, Laurel had reluctantly expressed a wish of, "You know, and maybe I shouldn't be saying this, but the only thing that would make this trip totally complete is if we see a bear!" Well, she got her wish.
Just about 9:00 p.m., as we were sitting (and falling asleep) around our final night's campfire, everyone in neighboring #43 erupted in loud yelling and frantic chasing, with flashlights flying all over the place. Apparently, a small to average-sized 150 lb. sow suddenly appeared from the shadows boldly went up to their open bear box (they were in the process of putting their pre-packed overnight backpacks in the box), grabbed one (a big 40+ lb. backpacking pack, at that!), and ran away with it across the creek. She dropped it on top of the far bank, and stood about 20' away from it. There was a very small (40 lb?) cub also nearby. The #43-ers were strategizing how to cross the creek, grab the pack, and return. Very risky and very dangerous, as this was the Perfect Storm re a possible black bear attack when you have both food and cubs involved. With everyone else on the #43 side of things and shining their lights over, one of their guys did indeed go across, launched the bag back over the creek to #43 (amazing what adrenaline will do), and safely returned. The sow then galloped downstream on the far bank to the lower area of #44, crossed back over to our side of the creek, and bleated/called to her cub for about 3-4 minutes from behind those two huge logs down where our clothesline was. The cub was seen scampering over to her from down around where the hammock was, and was reunited with momma.
But now a pissed-off momma is in #44.
Dammit.
We all immediately did a very fast re-check of our tents to make sure there weren't any scented items at all around, and resecured the premises. We all got ready for bed, and retired. I decided to go to the small bear box to retrieve my whistle from my backpack, just in case, and also put some old gum wrappers and empty HoneyStinger wrappers that were still in my pockets into the trash bag that we had stowed in the large bear box. After opening the bear box and putting the trash into the bag, I closed it up and did a standard sweep of the flashlight -- from straight over the bear box towards the creek and then to the left towards the tables where we did clean up. As the flashlight illuminated the tables I saw the sow mid-stride -- and she was only a few feet on the other side of the table (+/- 6 to 8 feet away). Holy crapoly. Yelled the loudest and angriest "GET OUTTA HERE!!!! HYAAAAAAWWWW!!!!" that I could muster before blowing the whistle as loud as possible -- which I won't again, as my ears were ringing for about 10 minutes afterwards. Anyway, she turned tail and ran back down the hill towards the RocketShip shower.
I can only think she was curious about and intended to get into the two cooler-looking plastic gear boxes that I had stacked between the bear box and pine tree. So, with that, I jammed each and every item of those two gear boxes into the large bear box and then laid to two now-empty plastic gear boxes on their sides down the hill. She could then check them out sometime during the middle of the night to confirm they were empty and food-free.
Despite the excitement, we all slept very well that night.
What a night, what a hike, and what a great trip up there.
We secure Campsite 16 at Moraine Campground. Great location with Lee Vining Creek flowing nearby.
July 29, 2010:
I reel in my very first freshwater fish, a rainbow trout, out of Lee Vining Creek, using a standard Shakespeare rod and Power Bait. My wife catches eight while I "reeled" four (two got away). Ten fish for the day ain't that bad. Two of the biggest were wrapped in aluminum foil with garlic and lemon. It was fun. The flyfishing wasn't successful. Maybe better on an alpine lake somewhere in the Sierra Nevada.
Ten is the limit!
I was just told I had to gut all of them.
It tasted as great as it looked.July 30, 2010:
We break camp and head home.
From l to r: Uncle H, my FIL, Uncle TLater in the day, my wife received a phone call about Uncle H.
Uncle H, my wife's beloved uncle and older brother of my FIL, passed away while surrounded by family, after battling a long illness. He was 78 years "young." He was a gifted musician and artist and had the biggest heart of any person I have ever known. He was also an amateur radio operator. He will be missed by all in the family.
We love you, Uncle H.
Harry Paul, 78, passed away on Friday, July 30, 2010 at his Vista home. Harry was born on February 25, 1932 in Bayside, Long Island, NY. He grew up in New York and moved to Kansas City at the age of 16, before finding his way as a young man to North San Diego County, where he has lived since. Harry served in the Army during the Korean Conflict and also in the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Harry was a self-taught musician who was known throughout San Diego County for playing piano in nightclubs, restaurants, and at weddings and other gatherings. A gifted artist and painter Harry was also a ham radio operator who was a member of the Escondido Amateur Radio Society. He was also a member of the VFW Post #3795, American Legion Post #149 and the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 70. Harry will be remembered as a kind hearted and generous person who possessed a beautiful soul. He enjoyed making people happy and loved to make them laugh. Harry treated and loved everyone the same no matter your place in his life. He is survived by his daughters, Christina and Nikki, both of Vista; grandson, Jaden of Vista; sisters, Dena of Northridge, CA and Sue of Eureka Springs, AR; brothers, Joe and Tommy of Oakhurst, CA; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at Oak Hill Memorial Park in Escondido.
l to r: My FIL and Uncle H in a very old photo.
