I left the paradise of King’s Canyon, camped right outside the park, and planned a day of travel to get back to the Eastside of the range. Without AC, crossing the central valley was a challenge. I tried to get a permit for the Eastside on my phone, but I couldn’t enter all 21 campsites in time and the permit timed out. I found a Starbucks to connect to the wifi and get a permit. The Starbucks, a library to get the permit, two grocery stores to resupply, a stop for lunch. I was making every excuse possible to take a break from the hot car.
It wasn’t until the mid-afternoon that I wound my way along the Kern River towards Walker Pass. It had been my first “zero day” after eight days of hard hiking, but I felt totally drained by the central valley heat. I had entertained the ideas of various permits, but I ultimately decided on getting a permit for Cottonwood. A storm was approaching, and I would only have a few days of clear weather. I planned a three day trip, and drove up to Cottonwood Lakes.
I slept soundly in the cool alpine air. I decided to give myself a proper rest and not wake up super early. I planned for attempting eight peaks. I climbed over New Army Pass since I had only been over Old Army. It was around 1pm by the time I got to the base of Joe Devel. The plan was to hike four peaks that day, and maybe even tag on Mt. Guyot. Alarm bells went off in my head. Starting a peak this late, let alone four? Back to the drawing board. I devised a new plan. I would attempt Leconte and Corcoran today, five more peaks tomorrow, and four the last day. Somehow I bailed on these four peaks, but added three more to my total. I checked the math in my head. How had I not thought of this before?
I got to the base of Leconte and Corcoran around 3. Still, I felt a little uneasy, two high peaks this late in the day? I went for it anyway. The route finding was not very straightforward. There were a ton of different chutes, not looking at all like the one Secor described. I headed up a chute that looked good enough, and sure enough it went. Near the top, there is a complex series of directions to go in and out of chutes and traverse the two peaks. I felt better once I got on this route, and could see some cairns.
I climbed Corcoran first and then traversed to Leconte. The route finding was a little tricky, but I mostly followed the path of least resistance and the occasional cairn. From Leconte, I could see my next few peaks. I retreated down the mountain to Iridescent Lake where I camped for the night.
Again, for some reason I did not get up super early. I believe I didn’t get going until 6:30 or 7. I guess I underestimated the day a bit. Five peaks and tons of up and down. The most SPS peaks I have ever done in a day. A few thousand feet up Mallory. Down a thousand feet, up a thousand feet on Irvine. Down a thousand feet up a thousand feet on McAdie. Way down to Crabtree, and then up another thousand feet to Hitchcock. I was moving through the mountains like a machine. Down down down now to Crabtree meadows. A few miles on trail. Guyot, which I kept telling myself was just a little hump, looked quite formidable now rising nearly 2,000 feet above me.
I dug deep, leaving my pack at the saddle on the PCT, and bounding up the mountain. 30 minutes till sunset. 30 minutes to the top. The cloud shone brilliant reds and pink. I could see all the way across to the Kaweahs, which I had climbed the week prior. I headed down, half in the dusk, half by headlamp, and slept soundly at the saddle. 14 hours, and five peaks I was beat.
I could not afford another late start. The storm was coming, and I still had four more peaks to do on the last day. I was moving by 5am, sore from the previous day, but chugging along. I made good time going up Chamberlin. The clouds were already coming in pretty thick though. It was a long descent to avoid some cliffs. I found myself still having to climb over a thousand feet to the summit. As I reached the summit of Newcomb, it started to drizzle. Somehow I could sense that it wouldn’t rain much though so I continued on.
This next section was the crux of the traverse. I had to circumvent many steep cliffs. Again, I had Secor’s vague beta to go off of, but between that and some educated guesses, it did the trick. I made it to Pickering, and luckily the storm had not gained in intensity. I continued on to Joe Devel. My whole body was sore, especially my knees. The ten peaks in the last 48 hours had done a number on my body. I pushed on, and reached my 11th peak of the trip: Joe Devel.
It was a long descent back down to earth. I felt sore but strong. Finally, I reached the same creek where I had changed my plans two days prior, and was relieved to be back on trail. I made my way back to the PCT, and over to Cottonwood Pass. Nearing last light, I arrived back at my car. Gliding down the trail in the beautiful soft light. Another 14+ hour day, but I was feeling good. 11 more SPS peaks.
