Woke up around 5:15 and started breaking camp. Was glad I started when I did because I was rolling down the road a little after 6:00. Slept okay but had to deal in the middle of the night with a collapsed air mattress. I had time to brush my teeth but not to eat. Drank some soda on the drive up, that helped perk me up a little bit, although I wasn't tired. Beautiful drive past Mono Lake and through Lee Vining, then through the Walker River gorge to just before Topaz Lake, where I turned west onto the 89. This road slowed me down, lots of elevation gain and sharp curves but quite scenic. I drove through Markleyville and stayed on the 89, driving by another river gorge (Carson River). Eventually got to US 50, where I turned again and drove up to the Echo Lake turnoff. Narrow winding road up to a parking lot where I parked the car (got there around 9:05) and started loading my gear into the backpack. That ended up taking most of an hour. Charlie showed up around 9:40 or so, followed by his buddy James (Jambo). I finished packing, think I brought everything I intended, although it was close for the last couple of items. The three of us were on the road by 10:05, drove over to the Eagle Falls parking lot, which was jammed. One of the ladies had talked to a guy who was leaving, and he was kind enough to wait until we showed up so we could have his parking space. Otherwise, it would have been a nightmare to find a place to park. Not too long there, and we were on the trail right around 11:00. People in the party: Charlie, Leslie, Blake, Christina, Jambo, Lisa, Ray, and me. Lisa was a little uncomfortable around us at the start, but she pretty much settled down. It was quite steep for the first 3 km, and we stopped frequently. Ray's backpack wasn't loaded properly, and he's not a backpacker, so he was slower. At times Leslie stopped to lew her heartrate slow down. So we averaged maybe a mile an hour for this part of the hike. I was feeling okay, backpack was probably too heavy, and I could feel it most in my shoulders. We stopped fairly late for lunch and ended up getting to Upper Velma Lake around 4:00.
Avg pace = 25:28/mi
Total distance = 5.54 mi
Elapsed moving time = 2:21:07
Total elevation gain = 2080'
Set up my campsite fairly quickly and then changed to go swimming. I was surprised at the water temperature, much warmer than expected. I was able to get used to it, and I swam to the other side of the lake before swimming back. Should have brought my goggles. Jambo is an excellent swimmer, very powerful, and he swam around most of the lake. Warming up after getting out took some time. We gathered for dinner on a rock outcropping near our sites. I had burritos, which were much better with the added spice, onions, and garlic. It was very relaxed. There was a water cascade down a rock incline into the lake, and we found running water there to filter and replenish out supplies. My water filter worked just fine. Everybody was pretty worn out by the hike. I got ready for sleep, which involved loaded stuff into the bear canister, then I was in my tent by about 8:00 and probably asleep by 8:30.
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.