A Walk on the Tablelands

The low point at the very middle of this picture is Elizabeth Pass, and from this point to the pass, it is really just a cross-country hike because there really is no trail.

Lone Pine

On the way down we met two guys going up (at 2PM!) who were going back over the way we came. We wished them luck. Afterwards, Dave spotted some people below perhaps heading for our camp-site. Dave, who obviously was in no pain, dashed ahead to reserve our camp. I was relieved, because I could just go whatever pace I needed to go to get down off that never ending hill, and I could curse that trail in private. Wow, trail crews had really messed up that trail with their rock-filling technique, while ignoring other places in obvious need of repair.

The Tamarack lake and Lone Pine Drainage as seen from the trail descending into Lone Pine.

I got to the stream crossing 15 minutes after Dave, and gratefully took off my boots for the wet crossing. I actually flung my boots across the river there above the falls, and then enjoyed the crossing in the cold water of Lone Pine Creek. The packer camp was a real beat-out affair (with a fire ring and chairs) even this early in the season, but we avoided that part and moved in at the edge of camp. I got a nice spot for my bivy-tent, and nearby was a large slab granite area for our cooking and dining pleasure. We had plenty of company in the form of a family of marmots and a three point buck who insisted on sharing the camp with us. Later he ate my old used foot dressings before I could dispose of them. He bedded down about 10 feet from my bivy-tent.
First order of business seemed to be to wash up and wash out our sweaty clothes in the waterfall. Afterwards, with a clean body and clothes, I nursed my blistered feet and my hurt feelings: one of my goals was to finally get to, take pictures of and camp at the undoubtedly beautiful Tamarack Lake, and once again I had failed to get there. It was only an easy 1.45 miles away and another 1070 feet in elevation gain. I was, and still am, bummed. I will just have to dedicate a 3 day trip to getting to that lake and back, even if it means doing the High Sierra Trail again.
The Lone Pine area is of some interest. There are several impressive waterfalls and cascades tumbling into the bowl that holds the trail junctions, and the trail is clearly visible zigzagging its way downward off the NE wall. The camp itself is on the south bank to the side of an impressive series of large waterfalls and cascades. Upstream you can clearly see other white-water cascades and falls over a large meadow. Everywhere you look you see steep canyon walls, mostly of sheer granite, and just above camp on the north wall is two large turrets that reminded us of what was known as a bullet bra. Up canyon the parade of sheer walls, meadows and cascades continued.
Well, the days travel, pain and disappointment had worn me out, so a short while after dinner rather than endure another hour of swatting pesky mosquitoes I decided to go to my too warm bed and leave Dave to the mercies of the blood-sucking insects. Dave, on the other hand, being bivy bound, got no relief from the insects until about 11PM when it finally got cold enough to get into a hot sack, and too cold for mosquitoes.

MONDAY, June 28:
Well, I am not going to say much about the trip back. We got up at 5AM, packed and crossed the stream. I did a super job of treating and preparing my feet thanks to the fact Dave had an extra Compeed for my major blister. We headed out, and because I was still favoring my feet and going slower than usual, I encouraged him to go ahead. The day started out hot and just got hotter. Both Dave and I ended up too dehydrated, Dave nearly suffering heat stroke. I sweated buckets, but my feet held up pretty good due to the preparation and the ease of the trail. After the last major stream crossing I switched to my camp shoes and my trail speed nearly doubled and my foot pain eased considerably. Never again will I use mountaineering boots for long hikes!
We did the 15 miles in fairly good time, getting to the TH at exactly 3PM, Dave sooner than that. The trail back was actually fairly nice in its cheerful spring flower colors and fresh cascades, despite the heat. A good trip, well worth while, and something I will remember fondly for some time to come.