WRIGHT AND RONG
(The title is not a political statement – in case you were wondering – ha ha)
From the first waterfall on Jones Fork Silver Creek, I continued cross country up to Lower Gertrude Lake Falls. I have been to this waterfall before, but the light was horrible, and I was hoping *this time* to arrive in time for good lighting. However, I was 30 minutes late getting to that first waterfall. It was not looking good for the second one either.
The Desolation Wilderness is a very special place. One of the best things about it that makes it so special is the wide open granite terrain that one can hike cross country on. No trails. Beautiful mountain scenery. The fast rushing creek flowing near by. It is spectacular. Please tell me you have done this in the Desolation Wilderness. Of course, you also have that deathly thick manzanita brush but that is a story for another day. I did not have any of that awful stuff in this area. It was beautiful and awesome, and I made good time up to Lower Gertrude Lake Falls, but I still did not make up any of that lost time, and I was 30 minutes late arriving at the falls. The sun was already shining onto the upper section of the falls and down into the canyon, however the lower section was still in shade, so I setup my tripod behind a big tree to block out the sun and took some photos. At least the light was much better than the last time I was here. The creek was also flowing fairly well. Normally, it would be pretty much dry at this time of year, but thanks to all that rain and now some snow melting, voila, we have waterfall.
After this, I made my big mistake. I should have just called it an easy day and hiked back to Wrights Lake from here. Rong! Instead, I decided to hike up to Maud Lake and beyond, having never been up there before, and hoping to perhaps find another waterfall. First, I had to cross the creek again (the 3rd out of 4 crossings on this day), and this time it ended up being tough going, as there was quite a bit of brush to hack through. I eventually made my way up to the Maud Lake trail. From there, the going was easier up to the lake. There was now snow on the ground, though not much, and I was the first one heading up to Maud Lake since last week’s storm, and thus had to break ground for all the others that would be following me on this day (and there were plenty). Maud Lake was pretty, but it was the beyond part that got far too tough for me, and I eventually called it. I was very tired, much more hiking then I had initially intended to do, and I still had to hike all the way back. It was also very warm, and I was not expecting that. It was 26 degrees when I started, now it felt like summer. I even got sunburned on the hike back to the car. Lovely.
Surprisingly, I met quite a few backpackers going up the trail, heading up the pass to Lake Lois and beyond. I got to thinking about this … Backpacking in November, camping in snow, with temperatures at around 20 degrees. I’m really not sure about that extreme cold at night, but if I could handle that somehow, then I think it would be awesome. Especially this year, with the water we had in October. Normally, the waterfalls are not flowing at this time of year, but this year they are, and with not much snow yet, the passes are still open. What an awesome trip these guys would have, but 20 degrees, I just don’t know about that. Brrr!