HST Day 3
August 17, 2019
Hamilton Lake to Moraine Lake: 14.7 miles
Whew, today was a big day, especially compared to the last two! In anticipation for the huge elevation gain and because of how hot it has been, we started hiking at 6 am. Despite the elevation gain, the climb was pretty enjoyable just because it was cool out and the views were so amazing! The sunrise was beautiful with the moon still glowing bright. The only sad thing was to see all of the smog settled down in the Central Valley. I was thankful to be up in the mountains with lots of fresh air. We read inside some of the Sequoia info centers that SEKI park is the park that is most threatened by air pollution. Now I can see why! At about 8:15, we reached the infamous blowout and two guys who camped near us last night got there right after us, which was great, because one of the guys really took charge and just helped us all over! First he climbed down and over and up with his pack on, then we shuttled the trekking poles over, then the rest of our packs over, then the rest of us downclimbed and scrambled up! It definitely would have been more challenging if it was just me and mom, so we were thankful for the other guys!
The rest of the morning we continued climbing up and up, until we finally got to Precipice Lake, which was still mostly frozen! There was a sketchy snow traverse that I decided we should scramble around in the boulder field. That was really mentally and physically draining, but ultimately safer, I think. Still, we were getting really drained from the constant climbing and then adding an unanticipated scramble, we were tired, and now it was hot. Precipice was so beautiful, and when we finally got above it, we were greeted with a babbling brook, clear pools of snowmelt, and beautiful green and wildflower-filled meadows. We still had some climbing to do, but not much compared to what we had already done. Only another 400 ft or so. Once we got to Kaweah Gap, the views really opened up and they were just so gorgeous. The first lake in nine lakes basin was so blue, the mountains were so big, and the U-shaped glacier valley of Big Arroyo was so grand.
We stood at the top for a while taking pictures, until our bowels let us know we needed to get below treeline so they could be released. So we hustled down and found a really nice spot among pines and junipers for a bathroom and lunch break. After lunch, we continued our climb down, noting the beautiful meadow that our late dog, Bailey would love. We hope she’s in doggy heaven in a meadow like this one! The rest of the descent went quickly, but it was hot and we were both tired. But when we got to the Big Arroyo camp, it was really too early to call it a day, and it was so buggy. So we started the climb up to Chagoopa Plateau. The climb took a really long time. We were both worn out and it was hot. But we knew we had to make it to Moraine Lake in order to keep our itinerary lined up. There would be harder days ahead, and I would rather give those days more time than this day. The views were really pretty as we climbed. The mountains seemed to rise directly out of the plateau across the canyon. I looked at my maps and saw that they belonged to the Little Five Lakes area, a spot I have on my must-hike list.
We eventually finished the climb, I convinced my very tired mom that we needed to make it to Moraine Lake for camp, and we started a 2 mile descent that seemed to take forever. It was nice terrain with beautiful trees, and lookout points at the edge of the plateau every so often, but we were both tired and didn’t appreciate the beauty as much as we could have, just wanting to get to camp. We eventually got there around 7:45 and quickly did camp chores and ate dinner before turning in. Even though we got in late, we’re still getting to bed at a decent hour, thankfully! Now hopefully the large group at the campfire quiets down so we can sleep. Good thing I decided to bring the earplugs.
Some iPhone pics:
