Day 2, Iva Bell Hot Springs

My water was frozen. I sat in my tent glaring at the bottle, full of ice shards making the prospect of drinking utterly unappealing. Our second day on the trail was off to another chilly start.

and where exactly are we heading today?

Our map said Iva Bell Hot Springs was about 7 miles away. We decided on a short relaxing day and headed down the canyon following the beautiful Fish Creek. Passing amazing swimming holes and wishing it was warm enough for actual swimming the whole way.

sad face, just too cold to take advantage

We decided this trip is a perfect ode to fall with all of the changing foliage, hands down my favorite is all the aspen. One huge plus to our lower elevation today.

One last steep climb and we had a whole new view. Not to mention it was finally hot out! I bet it was at least 70. Sure a far cry from our icy start the day before.

Grassy fields with small trails all over, where to even start? We made it to the unsigned junction for the hot springs (at least we were pretty sure that was where we were). As we stared at the network of trails a hiker rounded the corner. She very nicely gave us a rundown of the area. She said there was a lower hot springs that she was camped near and if we followed the steep use trails scattered around the area there were more pools up the hill. With at least one set promising great views. No question there, up the mountain we went.

The lower hot spring

We started off on a use trail and it quickly devolved into straight up the mountain cross country. After finally stopping and taking our packs off Diana and I set off once again. Maybe ten minutes later we found success. 3 cascading pools looking out down the canyon with a lovely campsite tucked into the trees. All complete with a stream for drinking water. Amazing.

 One more reason to appreciate the hot springs, still plenty of ice around...

The hot springs were amazing. Three pools with one epic view. They were warm, not boiling hot, but as the afternoon heat cooled they became perfect. An afternoon of leisure, hot springs, reading and snacks. What could be better?

We saw a total of 5 other hikers today, all excited to be out and all first time visitors to the hot springs. Benefit of the closure, exploring your backyard just a bit better.
Tomorrow it's down the canyon and onward towards Devil's Postpile. We are all well rested and eager, not sure how far we'll get but I'm sure it will be great. Hopefully the rest has staved off the blisters and general achiness my companions are starting to mumble about.

Well that's not Zion, Day 1

From every turn this trip had issues, I should have probably just cut my losses early but I stuck it out and ended up with a pretty sweet adventure in the high sierra.

It all started a few months ago. I decided I wanted to visit Zion while sitting freezing somewhere in the mountains. I had never been and haphazardly sent off a text asking a friend back in Berkeley if she wanted to join. Neither of us had ever been, and it seemed like a good idea to not go alone. We picked October and after asking for the days off I promptly put the trip on the back burner. We exchanged a few emails but I'll admit while planning my trip to Washington Zion seemed ages away. I halfheartedly researched some trips and avoided making decisions. And then it was only two weeks before our start date. I buckled down and started researching in earnest. Two indecisive people a few hundred miles apart do not make the best trip planners. 

Then I got an email asking if a third person could come along. I didn't know her but she was the little sister of an old friend from high school so that counts for something right? 

Neither of them were new to backpacking but how experienced they were was definitely a question mark. When you say you want to hike big mile days with me you better be super specific, 12 miles is a short day for me so I wanted clear expectations from the start. A week before we were set to leave we had a plan. The trans Zion trek (less than 12 miles each day) with a one way shuttle and a day in the narrows. They would drive to Reno and off we would go as soon as I got off work. And then at midnight 2 days before our trip the government shut down. Really? No last minute save guys, I had been counting on that.

What commenced was two days of frantic and overwhelming research from all 3 of us with zero decisions made. Its tricky planning around national parks in a state you've never been to all while sleep deprived and stressed (I know I know poor me struggling with vacation plans but whats life without a little self pity).

The day arrived, my backpack was only half packed and I was simply not ready to leave on a mystery trip. The 8am start quickly disintegrated, the girls wouldn't get there until closer to noon which gave me even longer to grumble and wish the whole stressful thing had just been cancelled. When they did finally arrive it was just as overwhelming. After a few hours of debating we decided to go to REI to get some gear and hope they had a good guidebook on Utah. And then we were sort of saved. Seeing our general distress a nice employee went around asking all his coworkers for ideas and after deciding that Utah wasn't that great of an option for us we sat down with a topo of the June Lakes/Mammoth area and decided to spend the night getting ready for the High Sierra. The weather looked clear but cold, it was only 3 hours away and wasn't anywhere near as foreign as Utah planning wise.
We were very unclear on whether or not we were actually allowed in the forest service but all the info we found said the trails weren't actually closed so we decided to go for it. The Mammoth Tourism Office was supposedly still offering permits so we planned to be there by 8 and hopefully get our questions answered.
A delicious dinner and a whole lot less stress had me feeling much better. I loaned the girls some warmer clothes and we hit the road around 4 am. The trip did not start well for me, the government may be shut down but speed traps are still in full use. One speeding ticket later a very cranky me was back on the road where I was finally able to calm down a bit, enjoy dawn and catch sunrise over Mono Lake. Man was that a cold view point! What exactly had we gotten ourselves into?

We made it to Mammoth right before 8 and after driving in circles and asking for help we finally gave up on the mysterious mammoth tourism board and decided to screw it and just hit the trail. A few more circles and we made it to Lake Mary, through the closed cold water campground and miraculously to our trail-head parking lot, complete with a few day hikers. At least we wouldn't be alone in our law breaking, if we even were violating any rules. We still weren't actually sure.

Out of the car and into the freezing cold, the wind was whipping and we quickly had almost every item of clothing in our possession on.

And up we went, past Emerald Lake and Skelton Lake. Then a quick snack break at Barney Lake before starting the climb to Duck Pass.

Skelton Lake

looking down towards Barney Lake

Heading up the pass we were getting beaten down by the wind. Huddled in any sunny patch we could find Diana and I waited for Anna to catch up and then put on even more layers to face Duck Lake. Some fellow backpackers heading the other direction had warned us, it was only going to get colder and windier.

Duck lake

Duck luck with Pika Lake peeking through

After Duck lake the trail wound a little down out of the wind and then we turned and headed onto the PCT towards Purple Lake. What a blast from the past. I remember sleeping near the Duck Lake outlet as the wind whipped and pelted us with freezing rain. I apparently have no warm memories of this area, just cold wind, downed trees and long days.

Purple Lake

We had thought to camp at Purple Lake but it was beyond freezing and so very windy, so after 9 or so miles total we decided warmth wise it was worth pushing on. Down and down we went, a few pops of autumn color but mostly just a very long descent finally brought us to a trail intersection and some good spots for camping. Bundled up against the cold the sun quickly set and after a quick warm dinner our cold day was finally over. 12 miles into our mystery trip I really had no clue what the next day had in store, but hot springs were on the map and my hopes were high. 

Wonderland Trail 2.1 Back to Indian Bar

I woke up early, excited for my last day on the trail and a chance to actually see the landscape. My plan was to head up past Summerland to Indian Bar and back. About 20 miles, and then hop in my car and start the drive home. 

sunrise creeping up on me

The trail climbed up the canyon and this time I could actually see the ridges! Cascading water and lots of green, such a nice way to start the morning.

Last time I had been unable to see even one sliver of this mountain, what a treat

The view got even better during the last few switchbacks to Sunrise 

The view from sunrise, the trail heads up to the left

I kept having to turn around just to stare at Rainier

I almost liked it all more in the mist, it felt a little more dramatic and special up there when the blue peeked through and then disappeared so quickly. But its pretty darn spectacular in full sunlight. Even saw some white dots that some hikers with binoculars assured me were mountain goats.

I may have liked the previous section a bit more in the mist but the minute I crested the ridge and saw what spread out before me I was giddy with all the sun and mountains. I simply had no clue. 

Heading down to Indian Bar, this is one of the view points that had been 100% obscured my first visit

I love that little shelter, it sure came at a good time on my trip

looking down from the long trek up to the bathroom 

One last look as I left the valley behind and climbed back towards Summerland

and yes, this is slightly different b/c my legs were more tired and the angle of the sun had changed....

The views were amazing but I was getting tired heading down that mountain. A long day of sun and a week without a break had me looking forward to possibly a motel room not just the back of my car and nice long shower. Maybe two or three miles from the finish I realized I had dropped my sunglasses. I think most people would have just left them, I mean I've had those sunglasses for almost 2 years and all I knew was that I had dropped them somewhere past a bridge maybe 2 miles back. But being tired and not thinking that clearly I very stubbornly turned around and headed back up the mountain. I passed at least 8 people on their way down, none of whom had seen the glasses. I walked for 30 minutes, feeling defeated and beat down I turned around and crossing a creek two minutes later I saw them. Yay for success, boo for an extra 2 miles because I can't keep track of my belongings. I was more than ready for a night off when I got to my car. Snacking the whole way I hit the road with dreams of motel rooms and showers.

stuck in roadwork I got a few more great glimpses before I was out of the park

Being cheap and indecisive does not make finding a place to stay easy. Add to that unfamiliarity with local highways and an interstate in Oregon that closes from 8pm-6am means you get one tired cranky hiker sleeping in a car in a parking lot. Oh well at least what I saw of the drive was pretty. Wonderland trail you were pretty amazing, and Mt Rainier I will definitely be back but unfortunately for me its back to work and the real world for now.