Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
SIERRA BACKPACK — COTTONWOOD LAKES AREA / 1.0
August 1-3, 2008
Participants: Mark Bair, Doug Buckmaster, Matt Smart, and Marvin Sosna
Friday, 8/1 — Expecting to be picked up at 12:45, my alarm sounded at 12:20, so I was dressed when I went to the front door to turn on the porchlight. I was met by a powerful flashlight, held by Mark. We loaded my gear in Marvin’s 1997 Honda Prelude. His and Mark’s packs and gear were jammed into the “trunk”. Mark curled up in the back seat with my pack frame, I sat in the passenger seat, and we took off at 12:45 a.m., odometer reading 30.0. (Yes that was 45 minutes past midnight. Great way to see month’s end.)
Marvin encountered deer on Cambria’s streets in both directions.
Saturday, 8/2 — Back on Hwy 1, we headed south to Hwy 46 in moonless darkness and almost no traffic.
Mark tried to sleep as Marvin and I got more acquainted, discovering he knew my father-in-law, Vern Gilbert, when both worked at the Ventura County Star-Free-Press, Marvin as Editor; Vern, in the pressroom, in 1964. We reminisced about the county in the Fifties and Sixties. Our first stop this morning was 2:30 a.m. at a huge gas station in Lost Hills where premium gas was $4.45 (4.524 gal and 27.4 mpg. – Marvin had been driving a little like Mario Andretti). He turned the driving over to Mark, assuming the “sleeping” position in the back seat in deference to my long legs. It was very warm in Lost Hills.
We continued east on Hwy 46, then south on Hwy 99 to Bakersfield, and east again on Hwy 58 to Tehachapi.
We met very few cars, but a lot of 18-wheelers. The next stop was east of Tehachapi when I needed a pit stop and took over the driving from Mark. We bypassed Mojave, merged with Hwy 14, then 50 miles or so later, merged with Hwy 395. We stopped at Coso Hot Springs (it used to be called Oasis) at the rest stop, then drove on to Lone Pine.
We reached the Sierra Visitor Center at 7:00 AM, about five minutes after Matt arrived from his 3:00 a.m. departure in El Segundo. Marvin picked up his reservation from the locked box. It covered him and Mark. Matt and I had to take a chance on a permit from the first come, first served category, but that had to wait for the Center to open at 8:00. We decided to drive into Lone Pine to find a place to eat. None of the restaurants is an all-nighter, so we drove into Jack in the Box or Carl’s Jr. (Does it make a difference?)
We got a breakfast burrito or breakfast croissant and a beverage. Back to the Visitor Center, we had to wait only 15 minutes for the gates to open. A ranger announced to the 25 or 30 people there that he would hold a lottery. He needed a driver’s license from each selected hiking leader.
Matt told me to draw a number. I drew #10 out of 25. That was scary because so many people were there and so few permits available. It turned out there was no #3, 5, 7, or 9, so #10 was not too bad. Matt and I got a permit. The next party in line was turned away.
We took both cars back down the highway to Lubken Rd, parallel to the entrance to Owens Dry Lake. (It is now being re-watered by the L.A.’s Dept. of Water and Power (DWP) by court order in order to reduce the windblown toxic dust caused by DWP’s taking all the water out of the lake since the early 1900s.)
We went up Lubken Rd., past Tuttle Creek Rd., to a frontage road from the Alabama Hills. We turned left and began climbing the prominent switchbacks leading to the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead, 9,580 feet; odometer 369.3. We hoped the relatively high start would make the hiking easier. (It didn’t.) We gathered our gear and started up the trail at 9:50 in an area of a lot of sand, rock steps, and scattered pine trees. Our initial choice for a destination perhaps was Cirque Lake. Marvin took the lead on a dry and dusty trail which was used by hikers, pack animals, and horses as the morning was starting to heat up.
Doug Buckmaster
OutsideAllDay Contributor
on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 8:41 pm:
a few buddies and i are putting together a trek, maybe on the kings canyon side of things… we are on our initial research but plan on doing a 3 day hike first week of sept. i would be interesting in knowing the in’s n out’s because this would be my first time.
on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 pm:
HI, BMO –
1. Get a guide book (Southern Sierra) and choose a hike that fits your abilities and needs. Then contact the Ranger Station (Google Kings Canyon, etc.) by phone, find out what the permit situation is for the trail you want. You may have to change trails if the quota is full.
2.Once you have that set, equipment and food are next. There’s a lot to learn but not much to lose if you don’t do it perfectly. You can rent just about all the equipment you need at Sports Ltd. or A16. Food is up to your taste; you can probably find all you need in a supermarket, or there’s freeze-dried food at Sports Ltd. and A16. It’spricey, but the more it costs, the lighter the weight you’ll carry. BE SURE TO GET A WATER FILTER AND USE IT.
3. Extras: a notepad and pen; mini-flashlight, camera. But: Every Ounce Counts, so don’t overload.
I wrote a book, “Brandon’s Trail” (Amazon.com) that tells it all in detail, but since you’re about to head north, this will get you there.
Kings Canyon is monumental. Enjoy it.
Marvin Sosna
on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 12:23 pm:
Thanks a bunch Marvin, very insightful, we are headed to Rae’s Lake Loop. i am sure you know is a 6 day loop, however we are only doing 3 days.
I also found this site useful for rentals http://www.lowergear.com
on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 1:44 pm:
Hi, BOM — How many will there be in the group? And are they/you fit for it? We’ve seen tubbies who make it without a sweat, and skinnies who crash after a mile.
Rae Lakes is great — lots of company, so it has a one-night-only camping permit. I’m not sure how your timing coincides with the moon, but if it’s new, the stars should be splendid. Please post how it went after you return. — Marvin
on Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 7:05 pm:
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