For this weeks Show Us Your California contest by @thesocalhive I headed up into the Sierra Nevada mountains for an awesome backpacking trip to...

Piute Pass!!

Me and my buddy Larry (@csusbgeochem1) have birthdays that are just 9 days apart. Mine on 7/20 and his on 7/29. This year we both turned 40. And to celebrate we planned a 3 day backpacking trip together in the eastern Sierra Nevada. And now when I say planned, I mean I made a plan and a backup plan. But nowdays the permit system is totally ridiculous and I wasn't able to get a permit for either plan despite it only being for two people and despite it being midweek. So I had to come up with a third plan which I was able to get a permit for, but once out there the trip still didn't go as planned. Mostly due to weather. But despite all that it was still a pretty awesome trip! Honestly it's hard to have a bad trip in a place as spectacular as the eastern Sierra.

So our trip started at the North Lake trailhead and headed up the Piute pass trail which headed up along the north fork of Bishop creek through a mixed forest of pines and aspens as well as lots of blooming wildflowers. After a couple of creek crossings the trail left the canyon bottom and started climbing up along the northern side of the canyon underneath the highly impressive Piute Crags and then cut back into the upper part of the canyon where we reached our first lake of the trip, Loch Leven, where we stopped to take a snack break. The morning had been beautiful and sunny, but as we hiked the clouds had been building and as we were resting at Loch Leven we got our first bit of weather. A mix of rain and hail which we would have to contend with on and off for the rest of the day. From Loch Leven we continued up the trail passed small nameless lakes and ponds and meadows and beautiful little waterfalls eventually reaching Piute lake. Originally we had planned to hike all the way over the pass on day 1 making camp at Muriel lake. Which would have set us up for our plan to climb the Keyhole Plateau. But with us getting a late start and then going fairly slow due to the steepness of the trail as well as the rough weather, we decided to stop early and make camp at Piute lake instead. Once our tents were setup we hopped in to get out of the rain for a bit, but fairly quickly after that the storm started to clear up and we were able to come out. So I decided to get my fishing pole setup and then headed out around the lake in search of some trout. The shoreline was a bit tough to traverse with lots of granite outcrops as well as some brushy areas, but I traversed the entire north shore of the lake. Unfortunately I was only able to catch one rainbow trout despite getting several bites, but Piute lake is really beautiful and I still really enjoyed my time fishing. After that I headed back to camp and we hung out while the sun went down. Then after dark I made some dinner and then headed off to bed for the night.

The road to the trailhead

Entering the John Muir Wilderness

The first creek crossing

Climbing up by the Piute Crags

Overlooking the north fork of Bishop creek

Arriving at Loch Leven

Hiking up to Piute lake

Arriving at Piute lake

Camp

My rainbow trout

Piute Lake

Watching the sunset on the surrounding peaks

The next morning we woke up to beautiful clear blue skies. We made some breakfast, got camp packed up, and then started up the trail towards the pass. We climbed up above Piute lake getting some nice views overlooking it. We passed a few more lovely little lakes and meadows along the way. And just below the pass there was a big snowfield which we had been eyeing from down lower. Wondering if we might have to climb on the snow. But upon getting there we found there was a gap in the snow that allowed us to pass through without having to get on the snow. Up at the pass it was quite windy but we found a nice little spot just down over the west side where we were able to get out of the wind and have a little snack break. From the pass we took the junction towards Muriel lake. From the trail we got some really nice views looking out across Humphreys basin. After about a mile we arrived at the lake. We started hiking around the lake looking for a spot to camp. And surprisingly to me there were already several people camping there. But eventually we found a really nice spot on the northwest corner of the lake not far from it's outlet creek. Once camp was setup we discussed our original plan of climbing Keyhole Plateau, but we both agreed that it was already getting to late in the day to attempt that adventure. So instead we just relaxed at camp for a bit and then headed out along the shoreline to attempt some fishing.

Morning at Piute lake

Overlooking Piute lake from the trail

Approaching the pass

The pass and the snowfield

Views looking east from the pass

Views looking west from the pass

Views of Mt. Humphreys from the trail

Arriving at Muriel lake

Camp

Fishing at Muriel lake

We fished for awhile with no success. But as I was fishing near the outlet I saw another fisherman hiking by. So I called out and asked if he was having any luck. He came over and talked to me for a bit and essentially he said that he had caught a few in Muriel, but they were few and far between. But he was just coming back from the Wahoo lakes, which are a set of lakes about a mile to the west, and he said he had easily caught at least 40 fish over there! So I went and told this to Larry and, despite the growing clouds and another impending storm, we decided to make the hike over to the Wahoo lakes to check it out. We crossed the outlet creek and then headed up and over the ridge that divides Muriel and Wahoo and then dropped down to the largest of the Wahoo lakes. It was yet another absolutely beautiful lake and upon arriving we quickly realized that it was indeed packed full of trout! We fished for awhile catching tons of trout. There were only a few casts here and there where I didn't catch a trout. Pretty much every cast produced a catch. It was a ton of fun and I totally realized how these lakes got their name as I was saying "Wahoo!" over and over. Unfortunately at some point it started to lightly sprinkle on us, so despite how much fun we were having we decided we should head back to camp before the storm really hit. And luckily it did hold off until after we were back at camp. Once again a mix of rain and hail. Mostly light, but occasionally coming down pretty hard. Larry took shelter in his tent, but I just threw on my rain jacket and stayed out enjoying watching the storm and listening to the booming thunder. As evening was approaching the storm started to wane and the clouds started clearing out just in time to give us a beautiful sunset. As we watched the sunset I noticed that there were some trout hitting the surface on the lake. So I headed back down to the shore to give Muriel another chance. And I was able to catch one! After that I headed back to camp and finished watching the sunset. Then we made some dinner and headed to bed.

Crossing the outlet creek

Dropping down to the Wahoo lake

Catching trout

Wahoo!

Larry catching trout

Leaving Wahoo lakes

Back at Muriel lake in the rain

Our camp

Lower Humphreys basin and Pilot Knob

Mt. Humphreys

Camp

Sunset

The trout from Muriel

The last bit of sunset

The next morning we woke up once again to clear blue skies. We made our breakfast, got camp packed up, and then headed back out the trail to and over Piute pass. We hiked down the canyon passed Piute lake, Loch Leven, and the Piute crags. And eventually we made it back down to the trailhead. It remained sunny for our entire hike out, but behind us we could see yet another storm building. Luckily we got out before it hit. And all in all, although nothing really went as planned, and although I wish I wasn't so damn old, it really was an awesome birthday trip!!