7/30/2016

I was up at 6:00 AM, and took care of packing for the day hike and closing up the tent. It’s nice to pack light! By 7:30 AM, I was up at Kaweah Gap. On the way up, I stopped to look a stag whose antlers were gilded by the morning sun. Tried to take photos, but of course they were out of focus. I was trying not to move much so I wouldn’t scare him away.

It’s a beautiful clear, cloudless day. I saw a flock of birds break from the lodgepole pines in the shade below and then spiral upwards into the sun. They circled and then dispersed around the basin. Two landed on a boulder close by me, and I was able to identify them as juncos. I didn’t know that flocks nested/roosted close together at night. Now I do.

Sitting among the lodgepoles in 9 Lakes Basin, I see a little nuthatch calling and climbing up and down among the boughs.

I saw a tiny hummingbird or a huge bug harvesting nectar from the salvia growing along the trail. About 1.5″ long. The wings didn’t seem large enough in comparison to the body for a hummer. Also, it had two antennae sprouting from its head. A moth? Slight flash of magenta on the wings. The body looks striped. The face looks bird-like. It never sat still so I couldn’t observe better than just a blur. It continued working its way through every blossom, but as some point seemed to become aware of me. It flew around my legs and took off. NOTE: I found out later that it was a white-lined sphinx moth. Wow! The field guide I consulted said it flies during the day (unlike other moths) and acts like a hummingbird. Here’s a link to photos and more information.

I spent hours hiking around 9 Lakes Basin. There are no trails, so I tried to keep to the rocks whenever possible and not tread on the tender plants. I imagined if I went missing, they would hunt for me with dogs. They wouldn’t find any footprints. I wondered if anyone would comment on my careful path. I found myself on a shelf of slick granite, and considered climbing along a very tiny ledge to continue. Thought again and decided on the more prudent path of backtracking and descending along a different plane. After all, I am alone out here. I already slipped once on the granite yesterday. I navigated by sighting on one wind-blasted lodgepole and heading toward it, then finding another and heading toward that one.

I only spent time at two of the nine lakes for which this basin is named. Too cold for even a ceremonial dip (for me, in any case).

After my hours of solitude, I returned to Kaweah Gap, and decided to sit there and enjoy the view until someone came along the trail for me to talk to. In no time at all, a handsome 30-something man appeared and asked, “May we join you?” Of course! This is how I met Tony and his hiking companion, Asenath. She is a gorgeous Kenyan woman who is spending 33 days touring national parks all over the West, from Glacier through Yellowstone, Arches, Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon to Sequoia and on to Yosemite, mostly solo except for this one little stint with Tony. What a great trip! We instantly fell into that camaraderie that sometime happens on the trail, where like minds meet, all overcome with a common sense of awe for our surroundings. They had taken a day hike up from Hamilton, and shortly they headed back down. But not before Asenath took a couple of photos of me against the backdrop of the Gap.

There are so many little chores to do all the time, to keep all my items together and working. But even so, when they are all taken care of–the water is filtered, the tent is up, sleeping pad inflated, sleeping bag ready should I feel a nap coming on, cookware properly stowed, shirt and socks washed out–still, there are hours and hours of daylight left. What to do? Pack up and hike back to Hamilton Lake, where at least there are trees under which to shelter. Too much sun up here. My legs started getting burned, and there’s not a bit a shade. Plus, I will have a shorter hike back to Bearpaw tomorrow (more on that later).

 These little guys are Ranger’s Buttons. A great name for the button-sized blooms.

 

On the trail back down, the golden chinquapin was so thick in places that it scratched my legs at every step. I didn’t remember it being so overgrown on the hike up. So many flowers! The scent of pennyroyal and some sort of sage-y stuff  with clusters of tightly-packed white flowers cleansed my soul.

On the trail back down from Precipice to Hamilton, I met a number of hikers heading up. A boy scout troop was on their way to climb Eagle Scout Peak. I met a lots of hikers of various ethnic origins–-an all-American mix of Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Latino, African and European. So interesting! Everyone is out here, sweating together for the same thing: a chance to feel  wonder and connectedness to our beautiful Earth. Or that’s what I imagine, anyway…

Back down at Hamilton, I lucked out and got a great campsite, overlooking the lake and Tony and Asenath’s campsite. It was good to break up the hike, as my knees started hurting a bit today. I took a long swim in Hamilton, which feels perfect temperature-wise after having experienced the chill of Precipice. Mmmm!

I forgot to mention my mileage for the last couple of days. Yesterday was a light day: 7.48 miles and–WHOA–80 flights of stairs. I guess that is quite a climb from Hamilton to Precipice. Today I climbed 58 flights of stairs and hiked 10.71 miles, but who’s counting? Time to sleep.