A proper two-night backpack to Ediza Lake. (14.8/1660/9265) A success!
Began with lots of organizing. Get a backcountry permit and bear cannister at Mammoth Lakes, a large resort area specializing in winter skiing, though summer is busy enough. Actually getting to the trailhead is also tricky. They have an odd little setup here at the Minarets, intended for crowd control. Most visitors are required to park at the ski-resort and take a shuttle bus in. People can drive in before 7:30 AM or something, and people camping at the campgrounds can too. This is what I was doing. An entry gate was charging a $7 entrance fee and my annual pass did not work. I considered summoning up some dudgeon but the woman at the gate was too winning, and there wasn’t really any way around it. The entry fee helps cover the shuttle bus operation; the bus riders have to pay so those taking their cars in do too. Went in, got a campsite, came back and got a parking permit. I camped one night at Agnew Meadows, then parked at the Agnew Meadows Trailhead for my two-night hike. Not supposed to leave food in cars at the Agnes Meadow Trailhead, but there are no bear boxes, so what the heck is someone on the road supposed to do with his food? Seemed the answer is to use lockers at the ski resort at Mammoth, a further logistical complexity I managed to execute. Eesh!
Great hike though. The trail quickly enters Ansel Adams Wilderness, my first real entry not counting the brief visit from Yosemite’s Mono Pass. It proceeds along the Middle Fork San Joaquin River, one of California's greates waterhseds, before heading up to Shadow Lake (8750’) at about 3.5 miles. Real views of Minaretts over this lake. The trail intersects John Muir trail just past the lake and for about a mile the two trails are the same - my only stretch on this legendary trail. It cuts off toward Thousand Island Lakes, another popular destination and actual headwaters for the mighty San Joaquin. Another four miles or so to Lake Ediza, my destination. The total elevation gain was only 1660', but distance was almost 7.5 miles and I was exhausted.
At the lake outlet I saw footprints heading in both directions around the lake. I chose the path to the right and that proved wrongish, as I was soon doing some serious boulder hopping with full pack and wobbly legs. I emerged unscathed but do recommend the trail to the left. I didn’t really know how to pick a site, so I took the first obvious one I saw, on a flat a couple hundred feet from the lake. I felt like I was the only one there but through the course of the day I recognized that most campers were up in the woods or tucked into crannies above the lake. I was a bit more exposed and took a lot of wind as a result.
Tuesday night at Lake Ediza went well enough - long night w/o music and only one book, but I did a lot of sleeping. It clouded up and I put on my rain fly, causing me to miss the red dawn on the Minarets. The morning was cloudy and I was somewhat concerned with rain, but actually I love the overcast. I went for a morning hike up to the base of Banner Peak. The Minaretts look like granite to me but are in fact metamorphosed volcanics, and very old rocks. For a morning hike out of the campsite, its a great one. Back to the tent by noon for oatmeal and a nap.
In the afternoon I set off to find Iceberg Lake, a mere 800-900 yards away over a granite ridge says Arnot, but I never found it. I didn’t really try too hard I guess, as meandering here and there in this landscape suited me fine. Flowing creeks, waterfalls, more running water than I'd seen all summer. An ominous late afternoon sky hastened me back to my tent, but the evening turned out to be superb. Just incredible light.
The next morning was beautiful, with great light and early morning reflections. I packed up and headed out, taking the long counterclockwise way around the lake. I passed by a large group of people camped on meadow grass just a few feet from the lake. One says hi but I snubbed them for their scofflaw destruction of alpine meadow habitat. I bet they suffered badly. The view back over the lake was just grand.
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