Cameron and Maren's JMT Adventure: The Resupply in LeConte Canyon

On Friday the 13th we all drove to Bishop so Nielsen and David could resupply the girls in LeConte Canyon. We started at the Bishop's Pass trailhead at South Lake early Saturday morning with excitement to see the girls later in the day. The 13-mile hike begins with the trail climbing 3000' through beautiful alpine lakes, both green and blue, and lodgepole forests in the Inyo National Forest. As you approach 10,000', the forests give way to the rocky slopes. The Bishops Pass trail is an engineering marvel, with steep switchbacks carved into the rock, before you reach the very rocky plateau and summit at around 12,000'.

On the other side of the pass, you enter Kings Canyon National Park, the Kings River watershed, and there is a traverse through rocky soils before you overlook the Dusy Basin. This was a place we had not been before and we wanted to spend some time. The Dusy Basin is sub-alpine and has small lakes nestled among the granite and it is completely enclosed on three sides by a rim of high peaks that tower over the basin. After winding through the Dusy Basin with a gradual decline, you begin a steeper descent with a series of switchbacks, eventually making the final steep descent into the LeConte Canyon.

At around 8700' the JMT emerges and we were fortunate to spot the girls' tent near the trailhead. They had arrived at this campsite the night before (after a long 13 mile hike up Muir Pass) and were relaxing and reading around the camp. We all went for a swim in the creek running and cascading along the granite, which was very invigorating after a long hike. We then headed back to camp to have tortellini and a chicken-stuffing prepared by Ingelise. For dessert, we surprised the girls. Andersen had made smurf chocolate (white chocolate colored smurf blue) that we carried in with ice to keep it from melting. We had a wonderful fire and heard all about the girls' adventures over the past week while deer roamed in the lush areas nearby. The girls looked great and they had strong spirits going forward. We heard many stories from the past week on the trail. We finally retired to sleep near the fire.

In the morning, Nielsen and David woke up early, made coffee and hot chocolate for everyone, and then set back on the trail for the 3300' grind out of LeConte Canyon. We said goodbye to the girls and made sure the arrangements were clear to meet Ingelise, Nielsen and Phyllis later in the week for the Kearsage Pass resupply. The cascades falling over the granite were a nice respite to an otherwise steep and arduous climb. We had lunch in a meadow on the far side of Bishops Pass before continuing the descent through the various lakes. As we were hiking along one of the lakes, Ingelise, Andersen and Buddy surprised us as they had hiked out to meet us and were swimming in Long Lake. We ate fresh nectarines and then finished the hike back to the trailhead.