July 27, 2016 - Ostrander Lake

Title: July 27, 2016 - Ostrander Lake
Hike Info : Description :   Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Lost Bear Meadow

Hike Info:

Type:  Hiking

Trail: Ostrander Lake

Destination: Ostrander Lake

Actual Destination: About a quarter mile before Ostrander Lake

Distance: 12 miles ¹

Start Time:  8:45am

End Time: 5:15pm

Elevation Rise: 1,929' ¹

Maximum Elevation: 8,590' ¹

 ¹For the second day in a row, I forget my GPS. So the statistics  is taken from our backpacking trip to Ostrander a couple of weeks ago.

Description:
We have not been on a meet up hike in a while. So it is good to be going on this hike even though we have just been to Ostrander two weeks ago. Ostrander has always been one of our favorite hikes anyway.  I am not sure if we can get too much of that lake. And then hiking with some of our friends that is an added bonus.

We meet at Eddies Bakery at 6:30. But Sherri and I get off on a late start and so we don't get there until just before the group is about to leave. We find out on our way that Jerry will be meeting the group above Oakhurst. When we get to the Bakery,  the group is mostly organized. So I attempt a few wise and profound words-yeah right-and then we are off. Sherri and I get to have Majda riding with us. It has been awhile since we have seen her and we enjoy getting caught up with her. We travel through Oakhurst and come to Tenaya Lodge, where we stop. We pick up a couple more people, including Sonya whom we will hike the JMT with and Jerry, the hike organizer. They do not ride with us, but it will be good seeing them face to face.

We get up to the trail head around 8:45 o'clock. And then start off. I know I am going to be slow-I am carrying most of my JMT pack on this walk. So I tell Jerry that I will stay around and walk with a couple people who need a little more time to get ready. Both of them I have not met, but Lore has been on several hikes with the meetup group. Ellen is her guest.  Ellen has a concern about dragging everybody down but as I will see throughout the hike that is a ill found worry.

When we start off I realized I have forgotten my GPS, it is on the kitchen table. But that is not an issue with this trail. We have been up it numerous times. I know pretty much every part of the trail and  we do have a map. On something like this, I use the GPS more to gauge how fast were going and to take measurements which I use for this blog. So today will be an estimation.

Meadow on the way up

The first two and a third miles go by pretty quickly. Not sure what Lore and Ellen thought of me, but they seemed to be OK with me babbling about all sorts of stuff, such as the history of James Savage, a few odds and ends of botany-as if I know anything about that, and just some general chit-chat. They seemed to want to know what the trails are like what people are like what's expected of the group and all those kinds of things which somebody which makes the time pass on a trail like this quickly. I must have made some impression as they think I am a tour guide-are they gullible or what? But because of our conversation, the miles go by pretty quickly.

Sherri, the Happy Camper?

Climbing Horizon Ridge

Before you know it we are at the Deer Camp trail junction where we see Sherri. She is doing okay but not as quick as a lot of the other members of the group. We stopped there for a few minute break until the biting flies start driving us away.  We start going up the rest of the trail. Lore and Ellen are faster than we are--of course, our packs are full. The more true declaration is that we are not quite up to our backpacking speed. Even at our best backpacking speed we are among the slowest of the herd. Between going uphill and the weight of the pack, we are feeling it. Did I tell you that it is a hot?  The weather said it was supposed to be a 110 in Fresno so that will make it around 90 degrees here. We are feeling it. Sweat is dripping from my face. I really want to blame it on the heat and caring around 38 pounds and going up a pretty good hill. But in reality I think its because I'm sadly out of shape. But we know what is up ahead of us in little more than a  week.

We have told Jerry that after they have rested and appropriate length of time at Ostrander just to start back when we see them we will come back as well. When we reach the top of Horizon Ridge and startup the spine of it we meet the first group-3 young men-I have hike with one of them. They are zooming down because they need to be back in Fresno by 6 o'clock. But we continue on. We meet more groups coming down. I stop and talked with Sonya about JMT things, until we see Jerry coming down. I say good bye and then work on catching up to Sherri. Lore and Ellen are still at the lake so we continue on.

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There is a snow station up on Horizon Ridge. Sherri stops there and I drop my pack and continue up to Ostrander. I meet Ellen and Lore right at the top of the ridge going into Ostrander. I do not feel like walking down that 100' drop and even less of a desire to walk back up it. So I turn around. Besides I cannot resist playing the tour guide role. Close to this top area is a little use trail which leads out to a vista of the Clark Range, Mt Hoffman, Half Dome, and Clouds Rest. I get the appropriate ooh's and aah's. Then we go down and pick up Sherri.

 Now we start down. Usually Sherri is about as fast going down as she was going up. I do not know if it was the lateness of the hour or being with Lore and Ellen, Sherri is doing a pretty decent job of keeping up. Still this is a ways down and we pick our way down some rocky slopes. I have started up the piffle talk again on the way down which seems to be appreciated.

We briefly stop at the Deer Camp junction and then continue on. Nobody seems to appreciate that we are 2+ miles away from the car. But the good part is that it is mostly of the rolling variety of hills with much of it flat. So we make good time and are able to make it back to the cars around 5:15. Our friends are all gone, with the except of Majda who seemed content with reading a book and napping as she waited for us. Now the big question of the day: where to eat in Oakhurst. Nobody decides, so I dictate it will be El Cid. It is a good place to fill up-the five of us: Majda, Sherri, Ellen, Lore and I all enjoy the eats and company. By the time we get back to our house, it is around 7:45. We are beat but happy.

Flowers and Plants

Snow Plan-but more in a stem

Buckwheat

Sierra Daisy

Twin Berry