Backpacking Mammoth Day 2: The Hike Begins

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 10/15/2019 at 17:46 • Filed to: None

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With my overnight permit in hand, bag fully packed, and my last real meal consumed, I set off on the trail on Saturday. The goal of the day was to hike approximately 4.25 miles with 1800 feet of elevation gain to Duck Lake via the Duck Pass Trail and achieve this before dinner time. Since I wasnt able to pick up my permit until the office opened at 0830, I managed to get on the trail around 1000. This still gave me plenty of time though since even at an estimated slowest possible 0.5 miles per hour average, I should reach my destination by 1800 the latest. But a more realistic 1mph average plus an hour of stoppage time (lunch and rest breaks) would get me there by 1500. Along the way I would just see what I see and eat when I get hungry and hope that I am able to keep on schedule and that the 38 pounds of gear wouldnt get too heavy. Last minute additions of more warm clothes added on some weight versus when I weighed it at home.

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Eventually, I reached the top of Duck Pass! It was a triumphant victory to make it there after the grueling climb up from Barney Lake. It would have been a moderately difficult day hike at sea level but the weight of my pack and the altitude all being above 10,000 feet at this point made for a tough venture. Making it to the top of the pass meant it was just a downhill stroll over a half mile and 300 feet down to my final destination for the night where I could set up camp, refill water, make dinner, and get some rest. I made it to my camp site at just after 1500 so I was right on time with my original time estimate.

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After setting up camp and planning out my next day with the map, I set out to make my dinner. Unfortunately I then ran into a MAJOR problem, my camp stove simply would not light. I recalled at this point that the last time I had used the stove, I had issues lighting it in the morning due to cold. Of course I had forgotten about this issue and it was ONLY going to be cold this whole trip. So I had to swallow my pride and go ask some nearby campers for matches or a lighter. Thankfully the group just down the hill close to the lake graciously gave me a lighter and let me keep it since they were heading home in the morning. I had enough food to survive off uncooked rations and just be hungry the last day but the lighter meant I would be far more comfortable. I contemplated constructing my own fire by rubbing sticks together (I had rope which would have made it a bit easier) but that would have been against fire regulations anyways. I also thought about shorting a battery in my headlamp to make a spark but thankfully I didnt have to do something dumb like that either.

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After the sun had fully set, it started getting VERY cold so I just hopped in my sleeping bag for the rest of the night. It was only about 1930 though so I still had a couple hours to kill. So I watched an episode of Animal Kingdom that I downloaded from Amazon to my phone and also spent a lot of time figuring out my damn sleeping bag. With the liner and all of my clothing layers, it was difficult to get everything situated. And then every time I had to get up to pee, it was time to repeat the arduous process. I went to sleep around 2130 but still got up 3 times during the night, it being colder each time. Overall I slept decently enough though and felt well rested the following morning. It got down to about 20F as a low so I felt confident enough in my sleeping setup to make it another night.

In the next installment I will begin the next day of the adventure so stay tuned...

Sneak preview of the following day

VincentMalamute-Kim > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/15/2019 at 18:03

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Tougher than me. Or I’ve gotten old enough that I want to be comfortable.

How do you keep your phone charged?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > VincentMalamute-Kim 10/15/2019 at 18:19

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During the day it was actually nice weather. I was layered up anyways but the mid 40s through the morning after the sun was up into the 50s in the afternoon was absolutely perfect for hiking. And before midnight it was still hovering just below 30 which was plenty fine in the sleeping bag tucked away. Once my hand warmers died out (around 3am) and the weather was continuing to plunge toward 20, it definitely got a bit cold. But only my feet were cold and I dont have great circulation. So it was better than simply “I lived” and was actually mostly comfortable. The hard ground bothered me more than the cold did.

And I have an Anker 20,000 mAh battery pack that will charge my phone at least 4 or 5 times on a full charge. I made zero attempt at conserving the battery on either device due to the overabundance of charge available and ended the trip with ~50% charge left on the pack. With proper care to save battery on both the phone and charger, I can probably make it more than a week away from a wall outlet.

CompactLuxuryFan > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/15/2019 at 18:41

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Looks super fun! The altitude/views/seclusion equation seems a little off to me at that spot (I wouldn’t expect to see anybody that high up/I would just stay lower down in that case), but maybe I’ve just been lucky . Gorgeous regardless!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > CompactLuxuryFan 10/15/2019 at 18:53

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This is a SUPER popular spot in the summer time. There is a limitation of overnight permits per day to only 30 people because of this (which I assume is 30 per day plus 30 from the previous day since there is no time requirement on what is “day”). There were plenty of day hikers abound too throughout the day. The altitude definitely tired me out a bit but thankfully the hostel I was at the night before is above 8000 feet in town at least so it prepared me a little bit. And thankfully it was an easier hike than I had done the previous weekend so it was almost like I had prepped for this hike.

BeaterGT > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/15/2019 at 19:16

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Hope I didn’t jinx you by asking about your stove setup! Good thing for fellow campers. Getting up to pee in cold weather camping is the worst, I’m thinking about keeping an empty bottle in my tent...

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BeaterGT 10/15/2019 at 19:32

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Hah I guess you did then! Not really though since it was my fault for not checking it out ahead of time (would have been easy to test it out in town the night prior in the 30 degree weather). And bringing a backup of lighter or matches would have been good to plan for. I took the “get rid of everything I dont need” concept too far in this case. Im just happy the stove worked at all but its definitely on the immediately replace list now.

And yes I already had an empty bottle in the tent, no way in hell was I going out to go pee. Except I still had to empty said bottle for the second time (damn staying well hydrated!). I honestly have contemplated figuring out a catheter setup of some sort for the future lol. When its warmer normally I can just hold it and sleep through it. But in this kind of cold, any disturbance is bound to wake me up and keep me up.

BeaterGT > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/15/2019 at 19:45

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I’ve been facing the same problem up in Northern VT. Haha, a catheter system might be a little too far though (and too much weight)!

I suggest a pack of mini bics that you can just stuff in random pockets/bags. The little backpacking stove I have has a built in igniter which is definitely nice. Although I haven't tested it below freezing. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BeaterGT 10/15/2019 at 20:04

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I will no longer trust the built in igniters EVER AGAIN. I already knew that igniter was unreliable, I have lit it many times with matches. I had removed them just because of the no fires thing. But it was the same case last time I went backpacking and I had just forgotten to remove the matches. Now I will just double check that stuff before leaving home. I am always a fan of matches over lighters since they work in the cold and dont get explodey if you drop/crush them. I could use a set of waterproof matches but I usually just keep a dozen cheapo matchbooks in plastic bags. 

SiennaMan > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/15/2019 at 20:43

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 It's amazing how good the newer batteries are if you want to keep a phone charged for days out away from it all.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/15/2019 at 20:59

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What an excellent location.

Thanks for sharing the story.

So about 1970 my family s pe nt a fair part of the summer in Mammoth and I hiked up fro m town to T win L akes to fish and we went to L ake Mary and Convict Lake a number of times to f ish. Then for most of the late 70's through the late 80's I skied several times a year at Mammoth. Then in 1991 I moved to Georgia and I haven’t been back since. Although I did hike up Whitney with My Dad in 1997. I miss Mammoth. That part of the Sierras a very special area .

So after reading this it brought up a few memories and I went to Google maps for a look . When we had enough people and eno ugh logistics support when skiing we skied hole in the wall, which at the time was “ above top secret” . After you skied it you had to cross twin lakes so it was always a bit eventful, totally out of bounds, and in hindsight rather reckless. So while at Google maps I sought out hole in the wall. Lo and behold the once super secret location is clearly marked for any old google maps user . Just hunting down the mythical place and skiing through it was such an adventure. Now I expect much of the adventure is lost. I am disappointed for current and future generations missing out .

Go find some new discoveries.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > John Norris (AngryDrifter) 10/15/2019 at 22:40

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I've skied at mammoth a ton and love exploring secret places like that. Definitely on my list to check that out at some point. I love the stuff off of cloud 9 lift, those woods are excellent. I've never really explored the area without snow so it was nice to see what else is out there! I planned on doing some of that when I was there skiing in July. Except for my buddy I was there with broke a vertebrae and ended that trip.. 

Future Heap Owner > VincentMalamute-Kim 10/16/2019 at 02:07

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If you turn all the radios off (i.e. keep it in airplane mode), most phones will last a few days easy without needing a charge.

Future Heap Owner > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/16/2019 at 02:11

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Gorgeous pics and great writeup! Thanks for sharing.

Glad you were able to find a lighter up there; not having hot food in that weather woulda sucked. Once my ex and I took a car camping & stargazing trip out to Eastern Oregon in the fall, when it got down to a very window low 40s at night, and we totally forgot to bring any lighters or matches at all! Whups. For backpacking trips, now I buy a pack of mini bic lighters, give one to every person on the trip, and stash an extra in my pack (along with some matches in a tiny tupperware container in a plastic bag), but nobody has ever accused me of being a light backp acker.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Future Heap Owner 10/16/2019 at 03:29

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I was surprised he was watching videos on his phone suggesting he wasn’t worried about recharging .

VincentMalamute-Kim > SiennaMan 10/16/2019 at 03:29

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I was surprised he was watching videos on his phone suggesting he wasn’t worried about recharging.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/16/2019 at 10:10

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Beautiful.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Future Heap Owner 10/16/2019 at 11:25

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This phone has pretty subpar battery life in general. Its fast and has great features but it definitely suffers from the modern runs fast, dies fast, charges fast thing. But yeah I can still make it through the day with moderate use. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > VincentMalamute-Kim 10/16/2019 at 11:26

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Exactly, I planned on recharging every day for photos anyways so I might as well use it as a nice screen to watch some stuff too. Sure I should “disconnect” in nature but it was too damn cold at night for much else anyways lol. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Future Heap Owner 10/16/2019 at 11:28

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You would think with my 38 pounds of gear not having something would be the least of my worries lol. But its hard to cut pack weight without cutting essentials. I had in mind to add some matches back to my pack after removing my fire supplies but I guess I just forgot. I need to make it a habit to run through my stuff before setting off on the trail. Either way I would have had fun, just slightly less comfortably with no warm food. 

VincentMalamute-Kim > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/16/2019 at 11:31

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I’m not a big smartphone person so it’s easy for me to ‘disconnect’ in nature. I’m mainly concerned about battery life to keep GPS and maps available. Then photos.

Although if I’m out in wilderness, I’m planning to have backup paper maps and magnetic compass.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > VincentMalamute-Kim 10/16/2019 at 13:05

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Its funny to me to think of the paper map as anything other than a novelty. My trip was essentially ruined if I couldnt take any photos anyways so keeping my phone alive was a high priority in general. Meaning that as long as I had a phone then I had GPS and a reliable map as well. I really really liked that map that I bought but it was more for entertainment value in having something to read and look at other trails around the area for future trips. A compass would be nice but the trails in that area are well marked and there is plenty of stuff to orient around there. 

VincentMalamute-Kim > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/16/2019 at 13:15

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I’m thinking o nly for emergency backup in really unexpected situations; not expected to be used . I figure minimal weight and space for a couple of pieces of paper and a compass.