A Walk on the Tablelands

You can just see Lone Pine far below, and the dash of white of the stream. Above Lone Pine can be seen the shoulders of the Angle Wings of Valhalla, another worthy but overly visited destination. Look carefully at the lower half of the picture and you can see the straight line of the trail below.

Lone Pine Drainage

At the bottom of the slope we traversed over to some trees where the outlet of Lonely Lake swam through. When we got to the outlet stream we discovered a beautiful oasis. The trees were ancient and huge, the stream leaped and swirled from pool to pool surrounded by deep green grass and myriad flowers of all colors and shapes. There were clumps of large blooming bushes and many flat sandy places inviting camping. Smooth granite walls towered overhead on one side while the stream cascaded into the abyss below on the other side. You can see the Lonely Lake outlet cascading above out of a notch in a solid granite wall, and to the left the huge stairway to Pterodactyl Pass. The water, as always in the Sierra high places, is cold and crystal clear, like molten glass, sliding over perfect rock gardens and pools of unknown aquatic life. Even the few mosquitoes could not spoil this perfect place.

After tanking up on water and a short rest we reluctantly left that Sierra treasure, and walked out of that park-like garden. Ahead, the last real obstacle of the day, lay a lateral moraine which we were in no mood to climb over. Instead, as we approached it we traversed to the right following game trails over the easiest terrain we could find until we were forced to climb a very short distance upward to the crest of the moraine. Here was a band of bushes we forced our way through to the steep sandy sloping turf on the other side. Game trails and a shallow gully presented itself as a route downward which we followed until I traversed to the left towards where I knew the trail could be found. Sure enough, Dave spotted the trail below, and we clumped downward to meet it. Trail at last and I thought the worst was over, but I soon found out otherwise.

By this time my feet felt like they were trashed. Heck, my broken leg didn't feel this Bad! As a result, I had to severely shorten my stride to save my feet some pain, which really slowed us down. This was not helped by the fact the trail was in very poor condition, worse than when I had been there last, and also very steep. Add to that the fact of the "New Order" in trail maintenance. Imagine a very steep sandy trail now filled by trail crews with round rocks the size of eggs or larger. Imagine ball bearings in a steep driveway. Kind of like that. Very hazardous, and very slow going. Geez, I would rather go cross country!
Well, I kept going, noting how the trail was gone in places, confusing, or just not maintained. I plowed ahead, and the trail just never seemed to end and I needed to get off my feet! Towards the bottom this trail is actually level in places for long stretches, and when you finally get to the switchbacks, it goes back and forth over and over, never seeming to lose any altitude.