Friday, July 5th, 2024, 0630-1430
Akamina campground to Lone Lake, mm 28.8
14.2 miles, Gain: 4314′, Loss: 3660′, elevation 6670′
I woke early to the 5 am light and a floppy wet tent. The color of my new Zpacks tent (burnt orange) amplified the light, making it feel like an operating room. It was good cheery light for hanging out inside the tent but not great for trying to sleep when it was light out. As for the shape, some of my stakes had pulled loose in the wind but there was something else I was doing wrong. Finally I realized that the peak wasn’t high enough. I had to use a pole extender with this new tent but had still set the pole at an angle, like I was used to with my old tents. The pole had to be straight up and down, otherwise the walls were too flat and low to the ground at the corners. The other trick was to not have the 4 corners staked out tight before inserting the pole. I got up to make these adjustments and bingo! Unfortunately my head and footbox were already covered in condensation, but at least I’d do better going forward. I already knew burn areas were prone to bad condensation but it couldn’t be avoided at this site.
I used the long drop and decided to start packing since I saw Vince, Georgie and Woody all up too. We hadn’t established any kind of schedule yet, just seeing how we would fall into a groove over the next few weeks. We were all still pretty independent hikers, as demonstrated by the day before. But there were some more snow patches reported this day, some a little sketchy. The snow patches had been around but easier the day before. It couldn’t hurt to team up this morning. The other 3 slept in while the 4 of us hit the trail early.
We retraced the mile back to the highway into Cameron Lake, then did a 2 mile road walk down to the next trailhead. These were our give-me miles for the day. Very few cars went past, since we were so early, thus it was a very enjoyable road walk. Then it was a beautiful hike up to a meadow on immaculate trail and through a lovely forest. We took a break in the meadow, soaking in the views of the rock walls above and the lushness of the meadow in its full summer glory. The weather was forecasted to be great all day and it sure was. I donned all my sun gear to go over the exposed Lineham pass.
The pass was 1700′ up in 2 miles. We could see the trail stretching across the basin, crossing several snow fields. The extended traverse was a long way up, so we began with a very steep climb to gain the upper benches of the basin. I was surprised by how quickly I pulled away from my companions, especially since I had a hard time keeping up with them on the day hike to the border. I guess now that we all had loaded packs, my lower weight advantage kicked in… it’s all about physics. I soared up the climb and across all the snow patches. The last one had a long and steep run-out, so I refrained from looking down. I’d never taken a bad fall on a snow traverse and wanted to keep my record going. Once safely across, I sat down to watch the others, making sure they made it ok. We still had over 700′ to go up. I took it a bit slower, taking in all the views. This was our highest point on the segment, at 8270′.
At the pass, we sat for a bit and Vince picked out 3 bighorn sheep that were laying on the ground in-between 2 of the switchbacks. We also saw a bald eagle riding thermals as we descended from the ridge. It sure seemed to have an easier time going over the pass.
We entered a large burn area once again in the next valley, which unfortunately continued for miles. I had to put my jacket on at the pass because of the cold wind but now I felt really hot in the sweltering heat. The others stopped for a lunch break in the last remaining trees but I pressed on. I just wanted to get through the burn. A final climb up a saddle was hot but thankfully returned me to the trees, plus some snow patches. I marched through the snow down to the lake, our destination for the night. It was only 2:30 pm.
I had some extra dinners so I made one for lunch. Then I went for a dip in the lake and set up camp. The others rolled in slowly through the afternoon while I continued to lounge. In the late afternoon I explored the area around the ranger cabin and used my foam roller on the porch. Apparently this was when I was missing all the action. Woody spotted a black bear and grizzly wrestling in the meadow below our tents and even got a video of it. I still hadn’t ever seen a grizzly, but in retrospect it was pretty scary that I was all alone by the cabin with all these bears around. The black bear was as big as the grizzly! To my credit, I did take my bear spray with me.
I went to bed early but heard when a solo guy arrived around 9 pm. He took the last tentsite and shortly after I heard a loud crash in the woods. I didn’t yet know about the fighting bears nearby so I didn’t think much of it. But Woody actually called out, asking if everyone was ok. It was comforting to be in close proximity to everyone.