SIERRA HIKE to KEARSARGE PASS, Guest Post by Marianne Wallace

Keaersarge Pass (elevation 11,760 feet)

My friend and fellow children's book writer/illustrator, Marianne Wallace, and her husband Gary backpacked in the Sierras recently and sent me this report with stunning photos of their trip:
One-night backpacking trip in mid-September--Kearsarge Pass, Onion Valley to Kearsarge Lakes:
The afternoon before the hike, my husband, Gary, and I drove about four hours from Los Angeles to Lone Pine, California, for a good night's sleep before a dawn start. You know you're staying at a hotel that caters to hikers when the hearty complimentary breakfast buffet opens at 5:00 AM (instead of 8:00 AM), early enough to eat and still be on the trail at dawn. (Hikers also stay in Lone Pine before climbing nearby Mt. Whitney.)

Kearsarge Trailhead at Sunrise

From Lone Pine, we drove about 20 minutes to the small town of Independence (elevation about 4,000 ft.) then drove into the mountains for about 13 miles to Onion Valley and the Kearsarge Pass trailhead (elevation about 9,200 ft.). The road to the trailhead is a curving, steep road with few guardrails but the view makes up for the scariness of the drive, especially when you arrive for sunrise over the Inyo Mountains.
There's a large parking area that services Onion Valley campground, the Eastern Sierra Pack Station and hikers heading up the trail. Pack Stations dot several high canyons of the Eastern Sierra but seeing the sign for the "oldest" was pretty cool. I wonder who they serviced back in 1872?
One of my least favorite things on a trail is the smell of horse and mule poop in the hot sun as I try to avoid stepping in it. But I love to see the animals in a pack train. (Do two animals constitute a "train?")
We were glad for our cool, early start because the trail was relentlessly uphill and the sun, pale rocks radiating heat, and general lack of shade made for a potentially brutal hike on a warm day. The trail itself was in great shape. It was comfortably wide and free of most roots and small rocks. Lots of switchbacks meant a very gradual climb, perfect for my slow pace.
Of the total 4.6 miles to Kearsarge Pass (descriptions of trail length vary from 4.2 to 5.5 miles), the first mile or so goes up the east-facing slope. So, on a clear day, your view of the distant mountains and Owens Valley below remain spectacular.

Flower Lake is one of a series of small lakes along the trail east of the Pass. The large rock is easily big enough for six people and a picnic. Maybe another time... You can still see the Inyo Mountains in the distance.
A noteworthy plus on this trail was the lack of trash. When you're hiking in Wilderness (we were in the John Muir Wilderness), few things spoil the experience quite like candy wrappers and plastic drink bottles. And there were no dogs. We wondered about this until we saw the sign at the Pass that forbids dogs past that point. A heads-up to all dog owners who want to hike over Kearsarge Pass.
Our first clear view of the Pass: it's just left of top center in the above photo where the smooth ridge edge meets the beginning of the rock outcroppings. The trail at this point was a narrow shelf on the side of a huge bowl. At the bottom of the bowl just this side of Kearsarge Pass is Pothole Lake which I did not photograph because I was tired and focused on finishing the last 10 minutes to the Pass.
At Kearsarge Pass with a view westward over the crest of the Sierra Nevada and into the Wilderness area of Kings Canyon National Park. On the extreme left (you can just see our son's hand pointing), are the three Kearsarge Lakes. About center is tiny Bullfrog Lake and then Charlotte Lake is in the right distance.
We were hiking at high elevation in mid-September, too late for most wildflowers. The exception was this charming fireweed relative. The flowers were about an inch across and it was growing alongside the trail within 100 yards of Kearsarge Pass.
Towering above the three Kearsarge Lakes are the Kearsarge Pinnacles. It's hard to see but there's another set of pinnacles directly behind these. Reminded me of Minas Morgul and the Mountains of Shadow around Mordor in the Lord of the Rings. We then descended one mile and about 1,000 feet to camp at Kearsarge Lakes.
We did a little rock hopping after dinner and crossed the lakes. The grasses at the edges were beautifully golden, even in the fading daylight and pending rain. We camped among the trees to the left. About four other small groups were camped in the area but we were far enough apart that it was like having the entire place to ourselves.
You can still see Kearsarge Pass albeit from the "other side." It's almost directly above the center of the large white rock in the foreground. And on the slope beneath the pass, where no plants are growing, you can just barely see the diagonal trail heading up, first left and then to the right.
In the morning the sun hit the pinnacles of rock and the water of the middle Kearsarge Lake was glassy smooth, reflecting the rocky wall on the far shore. After scraping ice off the inside of our tent (the low was about 36 degrees F), we packed up and headed out.