[pct-l] Alternate Sctn H route between Silver Pass & Reds Meadow

[cmkudija at earthlink.net (cmkudija@earthlink.net)]

Not having reported back on my Section G-to-H trip from 9/9 to 9/26 (e.g.
Horseshoe Meadows to Reds Meadow, was going to go all the way to Tuolumne
but changed my mind in the spirit of hmoh...) - after seeing substantial
weather warnings in the sky for three days between Muir Trail Ranch and
Silver Pass, such as early a.m. cloud cover and afternoon cirrus clouds, I
decided to take the alternate Cascade Valley-Fish Creek trail instead of the
PCT to Reds Meadow.  The guidebook describes the route as "mostly downhill"
(it is most definitely NOT "mostly" but about half downhill, half uphill,
the last being 1,000' of gain from Fish Creek to Reds Meadow, hardly "mostly
downhill") but what really appealed to me was the overall 2,000' lower
elevation than the PCT route.  I just didn't want to get snowed on.
Besides, Iva Bell Hot Springs is on this route, and a bath before dinner
seemed particularly tempting.

Traveling northbound, I almost missed the trail junction after Silver Pass.
The trail sign is on the left side of the trail, obscured by shrubbery, and
facing north.  Fortunately, I just happened to look back at a wide spot in
the trail after crossing several rivulets that are marked on the map near
the jct and, lo, there it was.  The trail was well-defined and immediately
descended into forested terrain.  I soon found a lovely campsite and enjoyed
a not-too-cold and dry night.

My recollection of the parallel PCT route is lots of up-and-down from Tully
Hole to Purple Lake to Virginia Lake, then tedious contouring into Reds
Meadow.  This trail was substantially different - similar to the descent
along Bear Creek, but more dramatic.  Lots of exposed granite slabs,
cascades (duh - must be called Cascade Valley for a reason), and after about
a 500' climb over a ridge into the Fish Creek drainage, grand views of
greenish (metamorphic?) cliffs.  Finding the man-made soaking basins at Iva
Bell hot springs, if there are no locals around to help out, takes a bit of
effort, but is well worth sloshing through the wet meadow grass.   I
encountered a piano player from Lone Pine who'd been camped there for two
weeks, as well as a nurse practitioner and a physician's assistant from
Mammoth.  They pointed me in the right direction to one of the warmer pools.

The rain came down hard in the middle of the night, and intermittently
through the next day - and there was a substantial dusting of snow in the
higher elevations.  However, the hiking was good and the terrain & views
continued to be outstanding.  There's about a two-mile section on this
13-mile stretch that proceeds along the edge of a granite dome - totally
unlike the volcanics just one valley & ridge over.  The 13 miles between Iva
Bell & Reds Meadow truly melted away - and just before Reds, there's a spur
trail to Rainbow Falls.  I'd never taken the time to hike to them before -
huge tourist attraction by the looks of the wide trail - but I had the falls
all to myself.   When I arrived at Reds Meadow, I found the store & cafe in
the process of shutting down for the season, but fortunately the shuttle
still running.  Apparently
the Forest Service was considering closing the road in anticipation of more
snow, and had already closed off Agnew Meadows.  I congratulated myself on
my decision - I do like being warm - and was able to get a ride to my car at
Tuolumne to drive south & home that evening, fortified by a venti pumpkin
spice latte from the Mammoth Starbucks (I will probably take some heat for
being a latte-addicted degenerate yuppie, but as Mags just posted in "yellow
blazing," confession is good for the soul).

This is too long a post already, but I have to say that the fall colors were
spectacular.  I also had the great fortune to encounter & hike with Gottago
Linda Jeffers and her friend Tina at Evolution Lake, and then Robert
Francisco, PCTA stalwart of "Hike the Hill" fame & husband to PCTA exec
director Liz Bergeron.  Nothing like unexpected conversation between friends
out in the wilderness!

Christine "Ceanothus" Kudija
PCT partially '94

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Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached its top.  Then
you will know how low it was.
                                                                     Dag
Hammarskjold