Where in the world?: The High Sierra Camps 8/31/09

8/31/09

Second day at Merced Lake HSC

Merced Camp was big, we had the tent cabin to ourselves for two nights. After a leisurely breakfast and completing the chores of laundry we pondered our options. There were many places to explore and the lake itself was inviting. We decided to take a walk up the canyon following the headwaters that fill Merced Lake. The name of the trail was Washburn Lake, it was just three short miles, but we had elected to travel only to the ranger station at .8 miles and return. It is like buried treasure in the Sierra's, once you have seen a little you have to see more, there is no going back. Ann said I tricked her, but her resistance was feeble. We enjoyed a very slow stroll up to Washburn Lake, taking in all the sights along the way. The forest floor was covered with pinecones, there were small picture perfect trees amongst the giants, it was perfect. Water falls and colorful mineral outcropping all along the trail. Hungry squirrels waiting for the sound of a green pinecone to hit the ground. When a cone fell as one did on many occasions, it was carved to the core in minutes as the squirrel collected the fresh pine nuts. A sheer ledge cut into the granite guarded the entrance to Washburn Lake. We sat on the leeward shore enjoying the view and the solitude until a chilly breeze that whipped up small wind chop drove us back toward Merced Lake and the sunny confines of camp. We were hungry, the trip in to Washburn had taken about two and a half hours, the trip out took just an hour and a half. We were hungry!

Upon arriving at camp we ate the sack lunches that would have been perfect at Washburn Lake. What we had intended to be a stroll had turned into a day hike. We had taken nothing but our hiking poles. This is perhaps why day hikers are rescued more often then overnighters in the wilderness. The day hiker never plans to spend the night, run out of food, water, or suffer nighttime temperature extremes. What you plan for and what actually happens can quickly become the difference in a one way or a round trip ticket. We were merely inconvenienced. We were lucky.

Ann and I had finished our sack lunches and were hanging around the dinning tent enjoying the afternoon sun. I had just poured my third glass of lemonade when some type of a commotion broke out. I was totally disinterested, but Ann kept calling me over to see the commotion. I followed her to the outside edge of the eastern row of tents just in time to see the cute little bottom of a black bear jump a log and turn to see if his antagonist was still in pursuit. The camp manager was not far behind yelling for him to "get out, go on, get moving". Black bears are common in Yosemite; they are just not seen that often. To see one in the wild was terrific. They will usually always back down to aggression and kill rarely. A bear has never killed a human in Yosemite, but a buck has killed a young boy. The deer’s hove puncturing the boys chest and damaging his heart. Deer are far more dangerous then bear due to their numbers and their frequent contact with humans. All food and toiletries are to be stored in food lockers; anything with a scent the bear may find inviting should be locked up. I was told that backpackers are now asked to keep their packs inside their tents to break the pack/food association that some bears still maintain.

Well needless to say the bear sighting was a great topic at dinner that evening. We had a fine chicken feast, played cards and retired early. Thoughts of our ascent to Vogelsang Pass and maybe a little wondering if our furry buddy would return in search of a midnight snack were the last of the night.