Defend the right to keep and arm bears!

After doubting whether I should go on yesterday, I'm definitely glad I decided to push myself. I ran out of water last night and didn't have enough for dinner and just drained what I had before falling asleep. I finally reached Heather Lake after about a mile and purified some water for breakfast and then filled my hydration pack and water bottles while cooking. I love a breakfast with a few, and having several hundred feet of cliff reflected in the lake while warming in the morning sun is definitely the way to do it. After finally getting in some food to hopefully replace some of the burned energy from the Alta Peak trail,I headed towards Pear Lake after stashing my pack and just keeping my hydration pack, camera, and water filter. The hike down the valley was great as I passed a few hikers (including one couple that looked well into their 70s) that were coming back from their own overnight trip. The walk from camp to Pear Lake was only 2.5 miles with only about 500 feet of lose and gain, but it was an exquisite view! Here there were a lot more snow banks with the side of the mountains and even the waters edge still fairly well covered. I was briefly tempted to take a quick dip, but figured if the snow is still right up to the edge of the lake, then biting cold might just barely describe the feeling. Good for drinking, bad for swimming and surviving.

At both Emerald Lake and Pear Lake there were a bunch of marmots running around. These beaver-looking animals are said to be just as much of a bother concerning food as are the black bears! I found it funny how I was happy hitting a 11K summit a week or so ago and now I'm sitting at the edge of a fair sized lake at 10 feet looking at cliffs rise hundreds of more feet to their peaks. This was a great place for reflection (no pun intended) and I totally lost track of time while sitting on there on the edge of the world. After watching the marmots scurry around for a while trying to figure out of I had food anywhere near or on me I decided to head back. I grabbed my pack again and took the Watchtower Trail instead of the Hump Trail for the return leg. I was again reminded of a few scenes from the 'Lord of the Rings' movie. The trail was quite interesting since for about a half mile it ran along a ledge that was only about three feet wide in some spots with the edge dropping about a sheer 800 feet with the valley floor about 1200 feet down. It was especially fun when a light rain started dropping for 10 minutes or so. The watchtower itself was a large outcropping that jutted off the mountainside that immediately, of course, reminded me of the ring wraith scene on Amon Sûl from the first movie. After see the razor ridge edge and sheer drops on either side, I decided against any foolhardy climbs. One the way back, I caught sight of a doe and her fawn feeding on the trail as I was going over a crest. It was raining a bit, but I was able to get the camera out and keep it fairly protected as I watched them (and wished I carried the telephoto lens). The fawn was quite skittish, but the doe seemed to be fairly unconcerned, though would look up every now and again. After they took off I finished the trail and took the junction back to the car. The total length of the trail, including the 4 mile detour, was about 25 miles over two days. What an awesome hike!

When driving back to the ranger station, I saw a van pulled over to the side of the road with a family looking excitedly into the woods. I parked behind them and saw that the focus of their attention was a tagged (#72) black bear forging around. After carrying that darned heavy bear canister for that trail I just finished, I was expecting to get something for it. I gabbed the camera and was able to get a few shots as it stumbled around. The auto focus was useless because of all the brush in the foreground and background, but I got a few decent shots in. after it went out of sight the family took off, but I waited around for a while hoping it would come out. After about 5 minutes, I saw it come into view as it was looking around and even saw it as it crossed the road. the rain was coming down pretty hard, so I could only get some shots from inside the car. It was interesting to watch it forage around and tear up old tree trunks and shrubs looking for whatever it was wanting. After a while it meandered deep into the woods, so I resumed the trip to the ranger station to turn in the canister and take advantage of the public showers. Though they charged, I think the $2 for the 8 minute shower was money quite well spent. Getting shaved and cleaned up can be a very refreshing feeling and even though I was tired before, I felt a bit energized.

I headed out of the National Park and into the boundaries of the National Forest on the way to the King's Canyon section. I found, via the GPS, a few dirt roads that looped around the forest a bit and took a little bit of time to do some semi-off roading and was surprised as to how well the vehicle handled some of the bumps and gullies. Hmm, maybe I should have definitely gotten the full insurance package! I then headed over to Buck Rock for a while to take in one of the other best viewpoints in the area. This is the site of one of the other active fire lookout towers (like the Needles Lookout) and I was able to make it just under the wire before the public viewing was closed for the evening. I had a nice conversation with the tenant there and just stood around for a while looking at the sweeping landscape as he monitored a few hot spots in the distance. There was a feeder that was being actively used by 2-3 hummingbirds that allowed me to get a chance to take pictures of their hovering and darting around. Even with a fast shutter speed and auto-release I couldn not nearly begin to capture their wing speed.

As dusk was coming in fast, I headed over to Hume Lake to take a look around since it was right on the way to my next destination. There were some nice trails along the lake shore and I enjoyed walking around for a bit as the evening colors set in as the sun began its sleep behind the mountain. After it got dark and the long driving on a very windy road (though I could not see anything outside of headlight range, I head towards King's Canyon and stopped in at the Convict Campground just before getting to the National Park border. There was no one else on the entire property since it really consisted of little more than some tables, an outhouse, and a few paved back-in camping spaces. Cooking was an eerie feeling since it was nearly pitch black. There was no moon nor a single bit of artificial light within view, not even a city glow. The stars, however, were amazing. Since I was cooking with my red light, I was able to lie out and gaze up at the galaxy of stars to such a degree as I do not think I have been able to see since boating in the Dry Tortugas when about 60 miles from shore.

Where will the next adventure be? Second star to the right and straight on until morning!