Why do we always return to Mineral King? Because....THIS:

The mission for this particular trip was to finish our previous goal: Summit Sawtooth Peak. Yes, we went over the pass (11,730 ft) on our last trip, but we had yet to make it all the way to the peak (12,343 ft). Since we were only weeks away from attempting a Mt Whitney summit, this trip was a defining moment (in my head). 

We headed up to Mineral King Friday after work, planning our usual (car camping) overnight at Cold Springs. This is one of the few places you can car camp and feel like you're not on top of your neighbors. The camping is first come first serve, and only costs $12. Not many people are willing to drive the 25 mile winding one lane half paved road to get there (we've timed it many times, even if you know the road well, it takes an hour and half). We weren't doing any backpacking so we didn't need to pick up a permit (day hikes do not require permits). 

We woke up casually (probably around 6am), and headed out. The trail is steep at first, then splits with the Timber Gap trail (we've done that one plenty of times, love it!). The next 3 miles (or so) are a gentle climb and we were able to get up fairly fast. Looking up before you head into the Monarch Lake area, you can see Sawtooth peeking out:

The trail passes through a forest-like area before you head into the rocky Monarch Lakes area. You can see the trail ahead of us, and how gentle the climb is. Note the little point that is Sawtooth in the upper right:

As always, the deer around here show no fear of humans:

Once you pass by the Beautiful Monarch Lakes, you immediately start to make your way up the sandy slog of Sawtooth toward the pass. I tried to capture how steep it is:

Looking down:

As we climbed higher (stoping every 3 minutes to catch our breathe and give our legs a rest), Upper Monarch Lake becomes visible. This is a great lake to take a swim in btw. 

As we got higher and higher, I couldn't help photograph this mountain peak to the left a million times. The beauty of this place really is incredible (It also gives a feel for the steepness of the mountains around here).

 This is the view looking over to the peak from the Pass:

It's about a mile or so rock scramble from here to there...and we were goin' for it. We had been warned by others and even the rangers that there isn't a clearly marked path, but that it was "easier" than the part from Monarch Lake to the Pass...
This was about halfway to the point...see if you can spot Sam:

Not too long after I took this photo, I sat down for a break. I suddenly felt like I needed to lay down and go to sleep. Oh no...that's not good. The altitude was hitting me hard, and since we were having a hard time following the trail (basically just climbing rocks and aiming for that big pointy thing), we opted to abort the mission. One problem: there is no "trail" to turn around on and head back. Me, being a genius and clearly an outdoor expert (HAH!), said "hey look, lets follow those footsteps, straight down to the lakes..."

 Big Mistake. We resorted to sliding down on our butts, with the occasional slides not knowing when/how they would end, nearly falling off several cliffs, and both thinking "This is how we die....I've always wondered how I would go..." Tears were shed (my tears, Sam is a robot), prayers were said, and we just kept going, keeping those lakes in view. We had lost all direction/trail/common sense. For some reason we just kept going down. Looking back up I tried to take one photo of where we had slid down on our butts:

It looks like a cliff, because it is...and several times we would hit loose sand covering a rock and just keep sliding. We were SO dumb. What seemed like hours passed as we continued down. I'm sure it was closer to one hour in real time...

Spoiler alert: we obviously made it down because I am writing this blog. I wanted to HUG AND KISS Monarch Lake when we reached it..is it possible to hug and kiss water? 

There was another group of day hikers at the lake swimming, and we ran over to the lake and dipped our water bottles in and chugged water...there was also some shedding of clothes as we jumped in for a swim. They were looking at us like aliens. I'm sure I was crying (yeah, I do that a lot).  We finally spoke, and all we said was something to the effect of "That's not the way you're supposed to get down that mountain, and we almost just died," half laughing, half crying. They couldn't tell if we were joking or not. Their biggest concern was us drinking the water straight from the lake. We had to sit there and mentally recover for an hour or so before we could make it all the way back to the car. 

As we headed down, I kept looking back at Sawtooth, seeing where we had come from, and trying to decide if we were friends or not. 

We learned our lesson, Sawtooth, you win. I will never try to stand on top of your stupid pointy peak at 12,434 ft in the air and see 360 degrees all around me ever again....or will I?

"Nice try, rookie," laughs Sawtooth as he shrinks in the background.  

Ahhh....Mineral King Valley: my personal favorite place to go in the Sequoia's. It's not that I don't like Fourth of July. I just don't understand the whole White-Trash-themed BBQ's and sitting around outside when its blazing suns and getting sunburned and drunk. Does that make me Anti-American? Oh well...we did this instead:

Let me set the scene a little for you so you understand just how difficult this 3 day (roughly 30 miles) backpacking trip was. Sam and I have always been campers, adventurers, and outdoorsy folks. It wasn't until this last year that we discovered I struggle (pretty badly) with altitude sickness. That means that when I go up into high altitudes I get sick: headaches, nausea, inability to sleep well, lack of appetite, etc. The first TWO times it happened (read about it here and here), I hadn't even heard of it, nor was I ready to admit I had this 'thing' that clearly only 'unhealthy people who are uncomfortable outside' have. It wasn't until we went to a seminar in search of tips on how to be a successful Mt Whitney Peakbagger that the dots connected. Actually, I think I was sill in denial then. The man giving the talk started listing the symptoms. In my head I was thinking "check, check, yup, check check..." Out loud I said, "No, remember, it was food poisoning...or nerves...or something."

Fast forward to this last trip in the Mineral King area of the Sequoia's. I had read up on my "sickness" and was coming well prepared. I even got some crazy drugs from the doctor (who warned me of the tingle feeling I would get in my hands and feet and the crappy taste in my mouth I would have when drinking carbonated drinks). We had 2 days to acclimate. We spent one night around 6,000ft at a car camping spot, did a day hike to well over 10,000ft, and the next night at 7,800ft...and then we were off....

...to sit in the car while I cried and tried to force a granola bar down and decide if I wanted to make myself go on this trip. All I could think was how much smaller the world felt at that moment. All the places I wouldn't be able to go, the mountains I wouldn't be able to climb...I thought for sure I had mentally prepared myself to "ignore" my symptoms. I thought I could will myself into being fine. Clearly, I had low will power, or I really did suffer from this 'thing'. The previous times I had gotten these symtoms began to make much more sense...and I think we had resorted to turn around and go home.

But I'm stubborn. And though he would never say it or make me feel bad about it, I didn't want to let Sam down. So, off we went....slowly....

We set out to do a loop we had previously turned around on (because I had food poisoning, remember?! ;). Here's a highlighted Map of the route we chose:

Our first night's destination: Bug Pond...er, I mean, Pinto Lake. Beautiful marshy lake area, infested with mosquitoes and Deer. At least it was so the last time we were here. Probably due to it being a dry year, the mozzies weren't too much of a bother. And guess what, I was feeling ok. Not tip top, but I had made it up over Timber Gap (up 1,500ft) , down (2,5300 ft) into the valley, Crossed Cliff Creek without falling into it, and up (1,700ft) again to Pinto Lake.

Crossing Cliff Creek

Home for the Night at Pinto Lake Campground

Sam, cooking dinner with the ultra lightweight cook system he made 

We hiked over to a little hill to catch the sunset reflecting off what we thought to be Sawtooth Peak

The next morning we had to get over Black Rock Pass (3,000ft), pass through the Big Five Lakes Area, the Little Five lakes area, and get to at least the Lost Creek Trail Junction (sleeping somewhere just below 10,000ft elevation). We had been to the top of Black Rock Pass before, but I was barfing. I was looking forward to a barfless summit. Success. I was even eating real food on the way up. 

Looking back toward Pinto Lake as we get closer to Black Rock Pass

Soon, We'll be far above that waterfall

Here's another view of the same waterfall

As you climb black Rock, multiple lakes and waterfalls become visible. It helps you track your progress. 

At the top of Black Rock Pass, looking down at the Little Five Lakes

Getting closer to the Lakes as we go down

And here....We didn't go for a swim though. They were extremely cold and we were not that hot. 

We camped somewhere along the Lost Canyon Trail with the advice from a Ranger. We suspect it was about a mile after the trail junction. The next day was the bi day we were going to climb over Sawtooth. We woke up pretty early, on got on the trail by about 6 am. That may sound terrible, but really, when you go to bed at 9pm the night before, your eyes just spring open at sunrise sometime around 5 or 5:30am. 

Heading out of Lost Canyon, Sawtooth in front of us

Looking back at Lost Canyon. It sure was beautiful. 

Shadow Selfie in Lost Canyon. 

Columbine Lake, halfway to Sawtooth. The hardest part is coming...

Oh look how much Columbine Lake shrank once we got to the top of Sawtooth!

Looking down into Mineral King Valley from Sawtooth Pass. 

We opted not to make the optional summit from the Pass to the Peak. It was another Mile (unmarked rock scrambling) and another 900-1,000ft or so. I did NOT have it in me. I shed tears of joy on this pass. I felt like crap, I had only eaten some nuts and a fruit bar for the day, and I barely made it to the top. But I felt like I had won a war against the altitude. This whole trip will always be one that stands out in my mind as one of conquest, even if just barely. I wish I had taken more pictures to show how steep Sawtooth was on both sides, but it was the last thing on my mind. 

From Left to Right: Nerd 1 (also known as Sam), Nerd 2 (Also known as Katy, me), and Sawtooth Peak. 

Hey Look, We're almost back to our tarp covered car! 

Mineral King, I hope we share more weekends in the future. 

My Favorite picture from the weekend.  I mean...look at it!!!!