HST Day 2
August 16, 2019
Buck Creek to Hamilton Lake: 5.3 miles
I woke up for the first time before our alarm went off, around 5ish and had a hard time going back to sleep. I got a little more shut eye though before 6 am. We packed up and got ready pretty efficiently despite having to search for a bathroom spot and organizing our food that was in the bear locker.
We got started around 7 am, immediately starting the ~400 ft climb to Bearpaw High Sierra Camp. The climb was not very hard, but my pack weight didn’t decrease at all, so I was feeling the sustained climb. The high Sierra camp did not open this year because of the high and late snow year we had over the winter. The camp looked even more construction zone like than the Yosemite high Sierra camps in 2017. They are also doing construction on a new ranger station there too, which probably contributed to the mess.
We took a little break after Bearpaw where there was a nice sit rock and a gorgeous view of the Great Western Divide. We took a lot of breaks this morning because we knew we were camping at Hamilton Lake no matter what, so why rush the short mileage? Eventually after some nice flat and lush trail, we descended to Lone Pine Creek, which was a super deep ravine with a creek running beneath a footbridge. Looking over the side of the bridge, you can see the remnants of a destroyed steel bridge mangled below.
The ~1000 ft climb to Hamilton Lakes started right after the footbridge. We were racing the fading shade trying to do the switchbacks with some cover, but we were too slow. So the switchbacks were pretty tiring, but manageable. About halfway through the climb we reached a stream crossing above a waterfall! Normally seems very sketchy, and I’m sure it was earlier in the season, but it was wide and shallow since it was running right over the granite, so wasn’t scary. At this crossing, we met and chatted with Dave and Austin from Arkansas, a father/ son duo who do a bigger backpacking trip almost every year. I was pretty surprised that they came all this way for this trail!
The rest of the climb was exposed, but the views kept changing as we entered into the Divide. It was so cool actually walking into the mountains that seemed so far away just yesterday afternoon! Pretty quickly we got a view of the lower Hamilton Lake, and before we knew it, the main lake came into view! We followed the trail down to the lake area, scoping out potential campsites, eventually landing on one that was pretty exposed, but had amazing views of the lake.
We pretty much dropped our things and ran down to the water to jump in! We were so hot. But the water was still so cold! My legs went numb after a minute or so. I climbed out and laid on the hot rocks, just soaking up the views and sun. Life is good! After the first dip, we walked back up to our site and began organizing and setting up our stuff. It was still so early (like noon), and we had all afternoon to hang out. We pretty much just lazed around all day.
We ate lunch, another bean, cheese, and Fritos burrito, and more of our snacks, and wandered over to the pit toilet sign to check out the bathroom. It had a beautiful view, but it was really nasty. Eventually, I got hot again, and went swimming. I stayed in a lot longer this time though! Mom didn’t come in the second time as it was too cold for her. While I was swimming, a ranger came and asked for our permit, mom took care of that while I swam in, interested in chatting with her. Our friends from camp last night had also arrived and wandered over towards us, so we all went over and talked together and with the ranger. The ranger was so nice and was mainly just patrolling to check permits and pick up the trash people leave behind on trail/ in the bear boxes at the campsites. I really wish people could just be good and hike out with everything they bring in. The ranger (or anyone else) shouldn’t have to clean up after lazy people who don’t want to carry the “extra” food they brought. The ranger also said that they were working on the toilet situation.
After chatting with the ranger, we hung out more, reviewed our maps, and talked about our day tomorrow. We discussed our plans for the blowout (a missing chunk of trail above Hamilton Lake that requires climbing into and out of a gap). Everyone we’ve talked to on the trail says we should be fine with two people and just taking your time. That’s why we didn’t want to go any further than Hamilton tonight: we wanted to be well rested for the blowout and have our packs be a little bit lighter so they’re easier to shuttle over to the other side! The father son duo we met earlier decided to continue on, so we also had fun watching their progress up the big climb to Precipice Lake. I did not envy them and were glad we stopped. The trail was right in the sun and it was a really hot day.
After chilling for hours, we set up the rest of camp: sleeping pads and bags, and then ate dinner, had another bathroom break, brushed teeth, situated our smellables into the bear box and got ready for sunset over the lake! It was a beautiful sunset that happened so fast! And all of the color had left the peaks by 7:50 pm. A sad reminder that summer is ending! After sunset we climbed into bed. We’re waking up earlier tomorrow so that we can get through the majority of the switchbacks above the lake while they’re still in the shade. Tomorrow will be our hardest day yet, as we’ll be crossing the Great Western Divide at Kaweah Gap, at 10,700 ft!
Some iPhone pics from the day:
