It’s kind of crazy, as well as disheartening, that fire season has become such a real and impactful phenomenon in California recently. And so it was that my upcoming fall backpacking trip to the Sierras was in flux. Due to the number and size of wildfires across the state, the National Forests had been closed in order to best utilize the limited number of firefighters and supplies without them being spread too thin, as well as to minimize the chance of another fire erupting. I had spent many hours researching and planning the trip, so even a trip to an alternate destination would be a disappointment. As luck would have it, the National Forests reopened a couple weeks before the trip. I was still concerned about air quality due to drifting smoke from the Sequoia fires and so was closely monitoring the situation. However, during the week leading up to the trip, the air near Mammoth looked clear, and so we were a go.
The trailhead where we would start and end our journey is Agnew Meadows, which is fairly close to Mammoth Lakes. In order to get a decent start on Saturday, we decided to drive several hours Friday night and get a little closer. Rebbie, Vera, and myself convened in Ventura Friday night, loaded up the car, and took off. Recounting memories of our Oregon trip together in 2020, our spirits were high, but we were a little chagrined that there would not be any fire making this time, as campfires were not currently allowed in any of the places we would be camping. After a curvy mountainous detour, then winding our way past hillsides of blinking red lights into the west side of Mojave, we eventually arrived at our motel in Lone Pine.
The next morning, with the Alabama Hills glowing in the early day’s light, we strolled to a nearby cafe and filled up on our last real meal for several days. Two hours later we were at Agnew Meadows and ready to go. The day heated up fairly quickly. After a few miles, the significant inclines began, and the unimpeded sun had moved straight overhead. Following this hot and tiring section, we finally made it to the cools banks of Shadow Lake, where we enjoyed a much deserved lunch break. A little soreness set in as we hoisted our packs after the stop, but we were in good spirits until a little while later we spotted possible smoke in the distance, emerging from behind the mountains to the west. We bumped into another group who had also noticed the smoke and were debating what to do. The smoke could just be drifting up from down in Sequoia, or it could indicate a new, closer fire. We were much closer to our planned campsite for the evening than all the way back at the trailhead, and thus decided to continue.
A few miles later and after a more gradual incline, we arrived at Ediza Lake, reportedly John Muir’s favorite alpine lake in the Sierras. The smoke had unfortunately worsened, which in addition to its negative health/breathing effects as well as raising concern for an approaching fire, also negatively impacted the lake’s beauty. Nonetheless, we were excited to assemble camp and rest our bodies. Shortly after the sun set over the horizon, the temperature plummeted quickly, and the first night proved to be much colder than I’d anticipated, as evidenced by all of our frozen water bottles the next morning.
Overnight the smoke had cleared and the sun began to warm the morning air fairly quickly. We slowly packed back up as we soaked in the beautiful surroundings and shortly after descended along the route we had just climbed the evening before. After a couple easy miles we took a left on the John Muir Trail and immediately began a steady incline. Simultaneously, the smoke seemed to return and progressively worsen as we approached the steepest section of our trip and 10,000 feet of elevation. It was tough, slow going, so after a few hours we took a solid lunch break, and then pressed on again.
After a few more hours of uphill hiking, our heavy packs taking a toll on our shoulders, and our lungs increasingly annoyed by the second hand smoke, we finally crossed the summit and caught a sweet glimpse of Garnet Lake, sparkling in all its blue glory below. Following a relaxing saunter downhill, we eventually landed upon a great little camping perch, not another tent in sight. We had an early dinner by the lake so as to finish up well before the temperatures dropped. Yet again, the smokiness abated and allowed the mountain skies to radiate with hues of orange and yellow.
Unfortunately, the next morning the smoke was back with a vengeance, perhaps the worst it was the entire trip. At this point, we were too far in to turn back and there weren’t any realistic shortcuts, so we pushed on through an initial steep incline. Luckily, it was not as long as the prior day’s climb and after a few more miles of flat terrain we reached 1000 Island Lake. After a little searching, we found our best campsite of the trip and still had several hours of sunlight to explore the area, enjoy our little nook, and have one last freeze-dried feast.
The smoky haze persisted during our hike back out the next day. While the poor air quality and 20 degree nights weren’t what we had hoped for, we’d otherwise been blessed with pleasantly warm temps during the days, a lack of rain or snow, and a few moments of clear skies. All in all, another great adventure – this we all agreed as we left the Sierras behind, speeding south on the 395, eager to reach the clean, coastal air back home.
