Boy Scout Sierra Trek, Lake Sabrina

Hungry Packer Lake

It's been way too long since I updated my blog. Too many adventures, too little time it seems. I realized I've done numerous Sierra Treks with the scouts, Death Valley and Mohave adventures, mountain biking on Catalina, Bryce/Zion/Escalante as well as picking off a few more fourteeners and none of it has made it here to be shared. I promise to do better and what better way to start than share an incredible adventure to a new area of the Sierra's for me, the Lake Sabrina basin.

We had many great ideas for this years trek, options in Yosemite and summiting Halfdome on a 5 day trek included, the long lasting snow pack and availability to get permits dictated our selection more than we ever knew it could! At the end of the day, we could get permits for the Lake Sabrina trailhead for a larger group and went with that, my friend and co-leader Thomas and I would figure out the details later and put together a trip.

Upon looking over the topo maps for this area, I was pleased to see numerous lakes to be explored, some on trail, some off trail. I came up with a route that would potentially get us to 15 different lakes in all if we could get to some of the higher ones that might be obscured by snow.

Our group of 8 boys plus me in the back.

With a group of 8 boys plus my co-leader and I we were 10 people for the adventure. We headed up to Bishop to camp out in the Buttermilks before starting our trek the following day. As our first day was only about 7 miles or so on the trail and about 1,000 ft. of climbing, it was going to be relatively easy so we didn't have to get up too early to begin which was very nice. In fact, we didn't have to get up early at all on the trip, it was great!

My view for 3 days near Topsy Turvey.

After about 4 1/2 miles of hiking we came to Blue Lake. It was a very nice lake and of substantial size but as it's the first lake you come to it was a bit crowded. Our destination was Topsy Turvey Lake a few more miles in. Along the way we passed the Emerald Lakes (ponds) and Dingleberry Lake with a fair collection of people camped there as well. We did some off trail
exploration and made our way up to Topsy Turvey. We had been warned about the terrible mosquitoes in the area and chose to camp right at about treeline and a little away from the lake and other water and on a rocky outcropping to hopefully get a little breeze to keep the pests away. That thinking was sound and while we had fewer than we discovered at other areas, we still had a fair number of them and I used insect repellent for the first time in about 10 years during the morning and evening hours when they were at their worst.

Along the way to Hungry Packer Lake

Moonlight Lake and the lagoon in the foreground.

The following morning we were off to explore Hungry Packer, Moonlight and Sailor Lakes as well as a few other possibles. The boys had a nice time on the trail with light packs and we had made a base camp at Topsy Turvey for 3 of our 4 nights on the trail. We made quick time getting to Hungry Packer, a lake I have seen many pictures of and wanted to get to for some time. One of our champion swim team boys decided to swim across a large section of the lake, he found out that swimming in water not much warmer than the snow filling it can be challenging but he completed his 100 yard swim none the less. Most of the other boys enjoyed sledding on a nearby snow bank and throwing snowballs, in mid August no less! We found a nice meadow and enjoyed lunch and a swim before moving on.

Our next destination was Moonlight Lake. Upon our arrival we found it to be a wonderful turquoise color from the glacial melt feeding it. We explored a bit and found a little section of the lake that was connected to the main water body but had large rocks almost making a protected lagoon. We opted to swim again and this time the boys did some relay races while others of us tested our diving and cannon ball techniques. It was around this point in time that my friend Thomas came up with a great incentive/plan. For every lake you swam you earned a point. Those with 6 points qualified for a free slice of pie back at the the Lake Sabrina store/cafe! As I had jumped in back at Blue Lake the day prior (I was the only one) and two more this day, I was already at 3! Our distance swimmer was awarded a bonus point for his long swim so he and I were tied. We dried off and hiked past the Sailor Lakes, not really deep enough to swim and headed back to camp for an enjoyable evening, despite the flying vampires biting at our exposed skin.

Day three had us exploring a different branch of the basin and our destination was to be Midnight Lake and then some off trail adventure up to Blue Heaven and the Hell Diver Lakes. We got back to Midnight and like all of these lakes surrounded by peaks towering 13,500 ft. above, it was gorgeous! What I did notice however on the far side of the lake is what I had been seeking. It may sound crazy but my ultimate goal was to find a snow bank that we could slide down and go directly into the water of an ice cold Sierra lake! I could see a

My boys and I along the trail.

snow bank that had potential, we just needed to see if was

The snow bank and drop into the lake, brrrr!!!

possible to transition from the snow bank safely into the lake. Upon further examination, it had about a 3 ft. drop from the edge of the snowbank into at least 6 ft. deep water, perfect! My friend Thomas checked it out first with a short slide and into the water he went, and popped up successfully. It then became a challenge as to how much farther up the hill the boys and I would start on the snow to begin the slide and how much velocity we could maintain until the final plunge. I went a couple times it was so fun before drying off on a nice warm rock. Wow! What a treat! It was determined that the snow slide plunge was worth 2 points towards the goal of 6 for free pie so that helped motivate the majority of the crew to give it a shot.

Midnight Lake below and on our way to Hell Diver.

After the ice slide we headed up a talus pile towards Blue Heaven Lake. We were about halfway but found that a couple boys were just not up to the long climb at this elevation and we diverted over to the Hell Diver Lakes. We just went to the lower lake. Only a couple of us went in and we all agreed that while the other lakes were cold, this one was easily 5 to 10 degrees colder! We threw in some large snow/ice chunks and they didn't seem to melt so I guess that gave us the answer on how cold they were.

Nearing completion of the new rock crossing.

We packed up camp in the morning on day 4 and were relocating to Blue Lake for our final night. It was just a few miles there and we would drop our packs and explore some other lakes in the area. We also wanted to do a service project to help our boys earn the Backpacking merit badge as this is one of the requirements. I remembered a river crossing we had to make on the way in that involved removing our shoes to cross as the stones placed across it were mostly submerged. The boys agreed that this would be a great project. We got to the river and proceeded to get to work. We selected larger rocks from within the river to elevate existing ones and firm up some wobbly footholds. A little over an hour of working at it, and testing, and working some more, we had a group of volunteer testers that needed to cross. They all made it across feet dry so it was a success! With our good deed for the day under our belt we moved on to Blue Lake and the boys selected a nice camp area with plenty of space.

Following lunch and camp setup most of us headed up to Donkey Lake. It is a short hike from Blue

The jump point for the front flip.

and Donkey Lake was very nice with large granite slabs and deep water below towering bluffs, just perfect for jumping in! We swam yet again however one of the boys was looking for a 2 point opportunity here. He was able to talk Thomas into offering 2 points for a front flip! From about a 6 ft. high rock and a running start a very nice front flip was executed and 2 more points were in the bag! I had made my quota at this lake and most of the other boys had as well with a few of our guys at 7. We certainly had a clean bunch of Boy Scouts! ;-)

While some boys talked about earning bonus points for a night swim with a headlamp on out to the middle of Blue Lake, Thomas and I didn't hear any splashing that evening and nobody came forward to claim the points for that so apparently the only points at Blue were from a regular dip near camp.

Our final morning came and the boys agreed that they would be packed up and ready to hike out by 8 as I recall. They did and we made our way on out to where we began 5 days earlier. Of course the end of the trail just meant time for pie for those that earned it and for those that didn't was a little negotiation to pool their points to make 6 and then share a slice. I didn't care, I got a piece and enjoyed every last bite!

The arch in the Alabama Hills.

We headed back into Bishop and had lunch in town and talked over the trip with the boys. We had plenty of time to go home that afternoon but we had told the parents we would be back the following day and gave an option to the boys to go home or continue the adventure. It was unanimous, they wanted to keep the party going! We headed to Manzanar, the Japanese internment camp off Hwy 395 for a visit there and then down to Lone Pine and camped in the Alabama Hills, a favorite location of mine and home to many movies filmed out there. We all took a dip in Lone Pine Creek and enjoyed some sausages and onions boiled in beer in my Dutch Oven for dinner before sleeping under the stars for our final night. In the morning we enjoyed a hike to the Mobius Arch and then a trip into town for the movie museum where we spent a little over an hour learning about the local film history. It was finally time to get home. The boys had plenty of stories to share.