JK's trip to Sierra Mountains 5-16-2-15 to 5-27-15

Sat. 5-16-2015. Ruins of Palmetto Mine along Route 168 W of Lida, NV, on the way from Las Vegas to Big Pine, CA. (Just W of here is Deep Springs valley, home of the tiny Deep Springs College where students help run the ranch.) Later that day I stopped at the UFS White Mountain ranger station to pick up my wilderness permit for Little Lakes area and a bear-proof food container. Also picked up some food and fuel at the Vons store in Bishop.
Tom's Place Resort where I stayed for 3 nights (Sat, Sun., and Mon). I ate several meals in the cafe, where the waitresses always ask when you're ready to leave, if you want coffee to go. Seems their patrons at this time of the year are fishermen on Crowley Lake.
The Lodge building across the road from the cafe ($79/night). The lodge had a single bed and bath, but no TV, wifi, telephone, or daily linen service. Traffic noise was minimal even though it is only 1/4 mi or so S of the Route 396 four-lane. Sat evening hiked up the road a bit, then struck off on a faint road up the hillside.  According to the "Posted" sign, it was "Los Angeles Water District" land. This area is the N terminus of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
Crowley Lake and the Owens River dam that forms it. Note the 20' drop in water level. The Owens River enters a deep gorge right at this point. The rock formation is a volcanic type rock which covers several sq mile region near the dam.
Sun. 5-17-15. Patricia Lake. Started at the Hilton Lakes trailhead at 9873' several miles up Rock Creek Rd, S of Toms Place, CA. Hiked up the trail a mile or so, then headed SW toward Patricia Lake, which involved boulder hopping along a faint trail. The former high water mark is up near the trees on the far right; now the lake level is down about 6'. Started snowing then headed back down using my GPS to find may way back down.
Patricia Lake, viewing E.
View back up Hilton Lakes Tr on the way back to the car.
Mon. 5-18-15. Hike to Mono Pass (almost). Parked at Mosquito Flats trailhead (10,235') and took the Little Lakes trail a ways, then took the Mono Pass trail at the junction (0.5 m). Started snowing, and snow on the ground got deeper as I climbed. Finally after rounding the corner heading N to the pass (11800') the snow got too deep to continue.
Looking back up the Mono Pass trail, headed back (~11,600'). I am using my big pack because I was carrying snowshoes! But the trail was so rocky and uneven, that these would never work so they were not deployed.
(Left the iphone in car Tuesday - too much hassle. Camped at Chickenfoot Lake, and hiked to Morgan Pass that afternoon. Wed. explored the route from Gem Lakes to Treasure Lakes, and found a climbers trail that was pretty easy to follow. The Treasure Lakes were frozen. Then explored the route on the W. side of upper Treasure Lake which one would take to get to Ruby Pass, the Hourglass snow gully and Dade Peak. Found the climbers trail there too, but it was pretty tenuous in places. The other (E) side of the lake is impossible: a cliff that goes straight into the water. Thurs. started at 4:30 AM to retrace the above route to the Hourglass gully area, and started up. However, the snow was still very soft and I retreated after several hundred ft of post-holing. Started snowing and snowed all night. 6-8" by early Fri. morning, so about 5 AM I packed up and hiked back to the car. Had to use the GPS in places to stay on the trail. iphone was dead when I got back to the car, so no pics of that either.) Hah! The snow was so deep in the parking lot that I dug out the wrong white SUV before I found mine! I only figured this out when I noticed that "the damn key won't work!" in the first vehicle.
Fri. 5-22-15. Had arranged to stay Fri and Sat night at Rock Creek Lodge in a "rustic cabin" ($100/night which was a discount because the running water was not yet turned on). Barely able to get there in 8-10" of snow; turns out the Chevy Trax rental SUV had FWD, not 4WD (!). Went shopping at the Mammoth Lakes Vons grocery. Later dried boots by wood stove.
Sat. 5-23-15. Went into Bishop to wash clothes, and get the 2nd wilderness permit. Today was "Mule Days" in Bishop complete with parade featuring tiny riders on donkeys and much more.
Sun. 5-24-15. Drove down to Independence, CA, then up to the trailhead of the Kearsarge Pass trail. Route 365 along Owens Valley takes you past several extinct volcanoes and ancient lava flows. In Hawai'i they call this chunky type of lava a'a. Looking down at Owens Valley center-pivot irrigated fields. According to the USGS the water table in the valley is stable despite recent additional pumping for local irrigation and to augment water flow in the Owens Valley-Los Angeles Aqueduct.
Kearsarge Pass trailhead is about 9200'. Shouldered my 40-lb. pack and hiked up to Matlock Lake (10,560'). Again, I did not take my iPhone - so here is a jpeg purloined from the web. The peak on skyline is University Peak (13,379').
Mon. 5-25-15. Hiked to Kearsarge Pass. This is the Google Earth view from 16,500'. You can see the switchbacks going up to the pass. Jpeg from Wikipedia. Kearsarge Pass is about 8000' above Owens Valley. Then I climbed Mt. Gould (13,005') which is on the ridge to the N (right) of the pass. Some step kicking in soft snow, some scree and loose talus, and 20' of fifth class moves on the summit block. Rode the scree back to the pass, and got back to camp about 3 PM. Took a nap, had a snack, then packed up and hiked out.
Stayed at the Courthouse Motel ($79/night), which is a haven for hikers, especially those taking a break from through-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Ate dinner at Still Life Cafe. Salmonburger, sweet potato fries, salad, and chocolate cheesecake. Nice little place with jazz playing on an Internet station.
Tues. 5-26-15. Drove back up to Big Pine, Ca and into Big Pine Canyon. Parked at trailhead and hiked into South Fork trail, which, if you take it all the way in, goes close to Palisade Glacier. The trail switchbacks through brush and trees, follows that snowpatch a ways, then ends up on skyline to the right of the cliff. Once over the ridge, you drop down a few hundred ft into a valley with a nice view of the Palisades and higher peaks. Saw some nice flowers along the way (not many were out still at this time of the year). More.
Wed. 5-27-15. Got up early to make sure I had enough time to get to McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, return the car, and get on 3 PM flight. Drove through Lone Pine, CA, then E through Panamint Valley and Death Valley. Saw some more interesting plants in the high pass (5000') leading to PV: some kind of cactus that looks like Joshua Tree, and Stanleya pinnata (desert princesplume) family Brassicaceae.