June 30, 2014 - Comanche Meadow to Marvin Pass Trail Head

Title: June 30, 2014 - Comanche Meadow to Marvin Pass Trail Head

Hike Info:

Type:  Backpacking

Destination: Marvin Pass Trail Head

Distance:  5.85 miles

Start Time:  7:28

End Time:   12:36

Travel Time: 5:07 (1.14 mph)

Moving Time: 3:20 (1.76 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,834'

Maximum Elevation: 9,275'

Description:

Speed Team-the Lizards

I did not sleep well last night. Kept waking up and not sure why. May have been thoughts of getting off the trail. Or at least a nice hit shower and something solid to eat. I finally got up at 5:30 with Ray following shortly. We are splitting up into two groups. The speed team, the Lizards, who will go down an get the cars from the Marvin Pass Trailhead and Giant Forest. The Lizards consists of Andrea, Steven and Ray. The slower group, the Tortoises, or as I prefer, the Turtles, will follow and be picked up at Marvin Pass Trailhead.

After an oatmeal breakfast, the Tortoises start out, around 7:30 from Comanche Meadow. We have a 1500' elevation gain this morning. We see signs that the others have already past by this way-footprints and some dirt scratches. We plod along, fitting for tortoises, not too fast, taking many breaks. But we keep moving. 

Dry Trail

Field of Skunk cabbage

The best sights along here are the meadows. Many places the big-leafed skunk cabbage fill the damp ground.  But when we do not pass meadows, there are some tree giving us some shade. But there are many other places where the sun strikes us dead on. Even though it is morning, the sun's rays seem to wilt us when not in the shade. Maybe it is the dustiness of the trail or the dryness of the area, it makes me just want to get through this walk today.

Only a few vistas to the mountains far off. Even then, the view us obstructed by trees.

Trail sign

The top of the grade only brings relief from the ascent. But the reward is only a trip down to Rowell Meadow. At least, it is down, for the most part. When we get to the junction by the Meadow, we only see the green grass from a distance, but we do see the Lizards Team handy work. In case we had doubts about what way to go, they left us direction.

Tortoises

We are off to our final rise of the trip, Marvin Pass. Not really much of a pass. We go up 300' on a mostly level trail. At this point, the feeling is the last of our trip is calling us. We only take a picture to show we were here, then start our final descent to the trailhead. Right after the pass, I start sucking air instead of water out of my bladder-first time this trip. But I can make it down. In a half an hour, we pop out on the unpaved parking lot to wait for our ride. I had told Andrea I thought we would arrive at 12:30 or 1. I was right on with 12:30.

That would be the end or close to the end of most backpacking trips. But one of the things which the Lizard team had to do was to ferry the cars around. So the Tortoises were consigned to wait around in the heat under the shade of a big cedar tree. Every hour or so we would move as the shade moved. Around 2:30, Steven drove up in the Rav4. Pretty nice to have your own chauffeur. Even better when he is bringing gifts from Ray: ice cold water, ice cream bars and potato chips. I never knew that chips and water would taste this good after a hike. Sherri and I went through a whole bag in 15 minutes.

Ray had already left for Sacramento; Andrea decided that she could go straight to Fresno without the pain of a 45 minute drive up to Marvin Pass Trailhead. So Steven was left with driving us home.  We arrived around 4:30. Then we went into the showers, which felt sooo good. To top things off, we went to Casa Quintero's for dinner and things could not get better. I think we must have hit our beds around 9:30 for a good night sleep.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola. Tang.		Casa Quintero	Clif Bar, Jelly Bellies, CytoMax, Propel, GORP, Bank Balls