At some point last year, I decided that I wanted to tackle Mt. Whitney as a day hike. I applied for permits in February, got one, and assembled a crew of crazy folks: David Wherry of Hiker Adventures & Christopher Sunnen the Last Adventurer.
Miss out on #HellHikeAndRaft Day One? Click here.
Tuesday morning, I woke up to the sound of Russ’ snoring and to the sound of coffee being made. There was ice on our tent from condensation. It was cold and windy; the fog was being swirled around on Shelf Lake. And it was beautiful.
Today, we were planning on hiking up to Dry Diggins Lookout for a glimpse of Hells Canyon, and then off to Hibbs Cow Camp where we would be staying that night. We ate some delicious omelettes made in Ziploc baggies, and munched on leftover peach cobbler.
We hiked past Basin Lake and the series of Bernard Lakes, complete with floating lily pads. We stopped at the junction to Hibbs Cow Camp and dropped our packs to continue up and up to Dry Diggins Lookout. The view from Dry Diggins was incredible. We waved to Hells Canyon and the Snake River. Snapped some photos, or maybe a lot. Poked around inside the lookout, which was only staffed during fires until it was abandoned after the Baldy Fire, and then we were on the way down again.
Hibbs Cow Camp was located under the trees next to a babbling spring. Appetizers were smoked salmon, jalapeno jelly, cream cheese and crackers. Fish People Seafood and beer bread followed as the main course, and we finished off with peanut butter brownies for dessert. Also, we played a lot of fetch with Tubbs, the fetch dog.
The night was cold, but I still slept pretty well.
Total mileage for the day was approximately 6.6 with 2,280′ of elevation gain.
If you missed out on #HellHikeAndRaft Day One, click here. Stay tuned for the other four days, and don’t forget to check out everyone else’s content!
I’ve been dreading the writeup of these #HellHikeAndRaft posts. It means it’s really over! And I don’t want it to be over. Without getting too sentimental, this was one of the most fun trips I’ve ever been on with some of the coolest people I’ve ever met. Thanks Tara, Russ, Scott, Val, Trevor, Shannon, Jes, Annie, Wendy, Adam, Jeff, and Becky & Parker at America’s Rafting Company!
Now for the nitty gritty… Monday morning, we woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Our guide, Marshall, picked us up from the Meadows Valley Motel in New Meadows and carted us off to Windy Saddle in the Seven Devils Wilderness. We met up with Rick, our other guide, and John and the horse team and into the wilderness we went.
We quickly began ascending up the Goat Pass trail until we hit the ridge. We were rewarded with views of the Tower of Babel and Mirror Lake. We paused and snapped some photos. From there, we traversed across and began our descent to our lunch destination. The trail was steep and slippery with a bit of scree skiing at certain points. Sheep Lake was the reward, and we stopped to refuel.
Post-lunch, we hiked around Sheep Lake, marveling at its cool, clear waters until we reached the junction to head up to He Devil or head to camp. Tara, Jes, Annie, Russ, Rick, and I decided to tackle He Devil; the rest decided to mosey off to camp.
Our adventurous group began the ascent up, but quickly realized that there was no real trail. Up and up, we went, but as we reached the ridge to reach the summit, we decided to stop. It was late in the day, clouds were rolling in. All signs pointed to safety rather than summiting, and we began our descent and headed to camp.
Shelf Lake was our home for the night! Coming into camp was like arriving at an oasis! A kitchen was set up, a fire was burning, the lake was pristine and clear. I set up camp and started to drink wine. Little did I know, guacamole, chips, and salsa awaited, and there were fajitas to be had.
I slept very well that night.
Total mileage for the day was 4.39 miles with about 1,657′ of elevation gain. This does not include He Devil.
Stay tuned for the other five days, and don’t forget to check out everyone else’s content!
If you’re on your way in or out of Yosemite, take a break and cool off at Rainbow Pools off Highway 120 in Stanislaus National Forest. This is a little oasis with a picturesque waterfall, an inviting rock, and refreshingly cool water. The water level was a tad lower than the last time I was there, but still swimmable and jumpable. I thought it would have been engulfed in flames from last year’s Rim Fire, but things are still lush and green!
During hot summer and fall days, it gets pretty packed with people swimming and jumping off the rocks. At night it’s a little more quiet, save for the sound of bats swooping around above the water.
This is a destination you can’t miss if you’re in the area, even if you’re only stopping for a little while.