High Sierra Loop Trail #5, Merced Lake to Sunrise

I woke early on our 4th day to enjoy a hot shower before breakfast, hoping to at least start the day feeling clean. Breakfast was as good as always. Seriously, the food at these camps is like being on a cruise ship.

Before leaving camp we had our song to do for the camp workers. I wrote words to the song from Sound of Music, you know, the scene at the party where the children are going to bed? "So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, good bye. We liked your food, but now it's time to hike" We even did the little dance in between verses.

Our hike that day was to be over 10 miles, gaining back all of the elevation we had lost hiking down from Vogelsang. We started out past Merced Lake, absolutely still in the morning calm and reflecting the granite face beyond it like a mirror. The first mile of that hike was downhill on trail similar to the Stairway to Hell, and I was worried about Marion, but the rest had helped and she used better technique and negotiated this portion of the trail with no problems. After hiking across the most beautiful meadow you've ever seen, a solid purple blanket of lupins blowing gently in the breeze as far as you could see, we came at last to the climb.











Maybe we were in better condition after 3 days of hiking. Maybe we felt better in the thicker air at 7,500 feet (compared to the rare air at 10,000.) Whatever it was, we were a happy group as we climbed, moving steadily up the steep switchbacks without even seeming to breath hard. Graeme and Sharon stopped with Marion and I at an open spot where we could look back across the miles we had covered that morning and took some nice pictures as our group continued on ahead. It was not uncommon for our group to be spread out over half a mile or more, but Lisa always stopped at any trail split until the group had reunited.

After smiling for the camera we started off climbing again. The four of us made a good group together and we all found a nice even rhythm with me in the lead. We were surprised that we weren't catching up with the group at our pace, but unconcerned and just happy to be hiking. After about a mile and a half or so, we came to a trail split and were surprised to not find our group waiting for us. Oh, well, no worries, we knew the way well enough and we were just starting to move on again when from behind us we heard a faint yell. Paying it little heed, because our group, we knew, was ahead of us, not behind us, we started to move on.

But wait, as the yell came again from behind us, louder this time, we looked back to see Ranger Lisa, without her pack and running for all she was worth up that steep trail after us. Apparently, shortly after we stopped to take our picture, Lisa had led the group off the main trail to an overlook to teach us about the local Native American tribes of the area. After dropping their packs she sent Jim back out to the trail to wave us in, but we had already passed. Poor Lisa had to run almost a mile uphill to catch up with us, and then another mile back down to collect the rest of the group who had an extended rest while all this was happening. Lisa told us to continue on and she would meet us at the second river bridge crossing for lunch.

Our group of four got right back into our rhythm and continued to climb happily as we entered Echo Valley. The lunch spot was easy to find, with wide, shaded slabs of granite dipping into the cool stream that ran past. Our group got our extended rest while we waited for the rest to catch up, about half an hour later. After lunch, Lisa gave her talk on Native Americans that we had missed at the overlook. The overlook was a great spot for this talk because it was a spot where Indians had sat and worked flint into tools, and you could still find small flint shavings in the dirt there. Oh, well. Our loss.

After lunch the group started off together again. We had climbed to almost 9,000 feet, but the pass we would go over was over 10,000, so we still had a lot of climbing to do. Lisa considered taking us on a short-cut through Jayne Mansfield pass, a matched pair of granite domes that certainly put you in mind of the buxom pinup girl of the 50s, but we couldn't find any rock cairns marking the turnoff from the main trail to the cleavage of the pass, so we continued on the main trail, at this point very exposed to the high-altitude sun.

The last few miles of climbing were not so happy as the first few had been. The switchbacks were incredibly steep, sometimes having you lever yourself up steps 15 or 20 inches high. Both Graeme and Jim had portable GPS devices which reported not just your postion, but your elevation as well. It was frustrating as they announced we were at 9,800 feet, only a little more to go. My mind expected to see the summit at every turn in the trail, and it was disheartening to see it continue upwards yet again. Finally, a loud "Woo Hoo!" from Lisa announced the summit, and we started downhill for the last 2 miles to Sunrise, our last camp. Marion by this point had figured out the best technique for herself to walk downhill and was doing much better.

After walking a mile across another beautiful meadow, it was a cruel surprise to find that we had to climb 4 flights of stairs to Sunrise Camp, perched in the rocks over the meadow. (You wouldn't want to sleep in the meadow for all the mosquitos there.) Talking about mosquitos, you remember those head nets we drove down to Lee Vining to buy the day before our trip? Never used them. It turns out that by the beginning of August the mosquito problem goes away and they're not nearly the problem that they are earlier in the season. We stopped using Deet after our second day, and I think Marion and I each got 2 or 3 bites the whole trip. I'm not complaining, mind you.

Some more lemonade to welcome us to Sunrise, and we got settled in to our home for the night. Marion and I shared a tent with a couple we had passed several times on the trail that day. Apparently they had only been dating for a short time, and they were very affectionate. We walked into the cabin to find them lying in the same bed but in opposite directions, massaging each other's feet. We gave them their privacy.

We had time for another hot shower at Sunrise before dinner, which that night was the best flat-iron steak I've ever had! Smothered with sauteed onions, peppers and mushrooms, I haven't had a better steak at any restaurant.

After dinner Lisa had our group meet at a beautiful spot overlooking the meadow to watch the sunset. High Sierra sunsets aren't about the pink sky and watching the sun set under the horizon, but about the alpenglow. As the sun sets behind the mountains to the west, they start to cast a shadow on the mountains away to the East, leaving the mountain tops alone to reflect the changing colors of the setting sun, melting from golden yellow to rosy pink, and at last to a rich deep lavender. From that spot at Sunrise we looked across the meadow to see far off Vogelsang peak where we had spent our first night, about 10 miles away as the crow flies, although our trail had taken us much further.

This being our last night, Lisa thanked us for honoring her request not to discuss our occupations, but now the time had come to reveal them. We did it as a guessing game, with everyone taking their best shot before each revealed the truth. It was almost anti-climatic, as by this point we knew each other pretty well as people, and what we each did to earn money was of little consequence.

As it got dark, Lisa ran off to do her last campfire, which is expected of a ranger when they are staying at a camp. It was a very short little campfire where we sang a few funny campfire songs before adjourning. It being another clear night, Lisa wanted to use the opportunity to give her astronomy presentation again for those who had missed it the first night. As Marion and I walked back to our tent from the bathroom, the night sky was alive with the green glow of Lisa's laser.