Day 3 Climbing Again
- Samuel Emigrant
- Jul 31, 2017
- 3 min read
The Rubicon was loud all night but thankfully I was right about the river level dropping overnight as the snow melt slowed. I started the day by repacking based on a specific priority, what absolutely could not get wet was packed in zip locks, what would be a bummer if it got wet but not the end of the world, like my sleeping bag, went up top of my pack, and what could get wet with no loss in functionality went to the bottom. I donned my sandals to start the day and waded across the Rubicon River. Water that has recently melted is freaking cold!! Luckily, it got no higher than the thighs. After crossing the river and getting ready to climb, I set off up the big slab of granite that is the Velma's trail out of Camper Flat. Following the trail is a bit easier thanks to many well placed rocks.
The first climb today is about 800 ft elevation gain over 2 miles to Upper Velma Lake. While eating an early lunch I met a young thru-hiking couple, he from Liverpool, and her from Ohio, both now living in Brooklyn. I commented that was where my son wanted to live and that he was a musician. Turns out he is also a musician and writing music for television and film, exactly the direction my son wants to pursue. What are the odds in the middle of the Sierras in California? Weird day. Did I say it was a bit buggy. Here are pictures of my lunch stop. The wild flowers were out everywhere.
This was to be a 10 mile, 9 hour day with a lot of hiking to do and more climbing (1600 total up and 1600 total down). I set off again climbing out of the Velma's, then out of Desolation Wilderness with Richardson Lake as my destination. On the opposite side of yet another river crossing I put down the pack in a potential early campsite to have a second lunch and to filter more water. There is a nice Doe hiding behind the tree in the middle of picture 3 below. She wandered within 10 feet and I got a nice video shot. I decided to make the next climb and continue toward Richardson Lake.
Leaving Desolation Wilderness was a milestone. Getting there I lost the trail only once. One of my favorite friends was the GPS on my phone, loaded with TOPO maps of the area. The GPS feature of the TOPO map function would pinpoint me within 16 ft on the map relative to the trail. I was able to quickly recapture the trail. I was also able to follow my progress on the day and obtain real time information about the elevation ahead.
I finally topped my last climb and began the descent to Richardson Lake. I started my day about 8:30 a.m. and ended the day about 5:30 p.m. Did I mention my sore knee? After today's 10 miler my knee is swollen, stiff, hard to bend, making crunchy sounds now and locking up. Really not good. Not a bad campsite for the evening but I had a serious decision to make for tomorrow. The good news is I'm a full day ahead of schedule, being at Richardson Lake one day earlier than I originally planned. Stay tuned for Day 4!
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