Day 2: Pack Station to Sadler Lake

We awoke early to my phone alarm, and then almost immediately to the howling of several coyotes very close to our camp.  I don't know if my alarm set them off or what, but it was quite a chorus.  I don't know that any of us slept all that well as we were adjusting to tent life and our tent partners (a snorer in each tent!).

We got our packs a bit sorted out and then drove a few short bumpy dirt road miles to the Minaret Pack Station.

(The brown bin is a bear bin, where you place food or anything else with a scent.)

Dad had wanted to do this particular trail trip for several years.  When he was nineteen he spent a whole month in the Yosemite wilderness and a lot of it in the area where we spent last week.  Throughout the week we kidded him about his nineteen year old legs versus his seventy-two year old legs, and the things he still thought possible.  Reality hit all week!

One thing Dad knew was that it would be more difficult to get in such a steep climb in elevation over our first couple of days so he arranged for a packer to help get us in and over the main pass.  This involved mules for three riders (Dad, Mom, Jeff), and two more mules to carry our backpacks (for all 6).  This train was led by the main packer, Owen, and his trainee, Ashley.  They rode as well as had two more mules to carry in their equipment and supplies.  So, in all that makes nine animals!  Jeremy, Jonathan and I would hike on foot carrying a single backpack with minimal emergency supplies.

We met up at the pack station at 7am, but it ended up being about 10am before all was ready to go.

Besides wanting to reminisce about where his nineteen year old legs had been before, Dad had another purpose for this trip.  He has long been a fan of Ansel Adams, doing his graduate thesis on Ansel's work and life.  He has amassed quite a collection of everything AA and is working towards writing a book about AA.  Through Dad's collecting, he met a man named Jeff Nixon.   Jeff is a professional photographer and lived in the Yosemite Valley for several years.  He also worked as an assistant to AA in many different capacities.  In short, Dad wanted to have Jeff join us as we were heading to one of Ansel's, Jeff's, and Dad's favorite places in YNP, the Lyell Fork with an amazing view of Mt. Ansel Adams.  Dad and Jeff will be working on a book with bits about AA and Jeff's photography from our trip.  I'll keep you posted, because I can't wait to see what comes from our week.  Please check out Jeff's website in the meantime for some amazing images!

Here is Jeff checking on his 4x5 view camera while the packers weigh in our packs on the loading dock and get weight distributed evenly onto the mules.

 
Once the mules were ready to go, they had a couple of hours to get to the trail head, so the rest of us piled in one of the vehicles and drove over, saving Dad, Mom, and Jeff from two hours on the dusty trail.  (In the end, we paid the packers to move our two vehicles over to the Yosemite Valley, since we were going out that direction rather than doing a loop.)

So here is our before shot at the trail head.  This was at about 7,000 feet and we were going up to about 9,400 feet.  Jeremy, Jonathan, and I got a head start on foot while Dad, Mom, and Jeff waited for the mule train to meet them.  

It sure was nice just hiking with my poles and not having to carry a pack.  The guys took turns with the pack.  It was probably about 25 pounds with our emergency supplies, food, and water filtration.  Soon we would be thankful for all 25 pounds, as we ended using about every item in the pack.  It was a bit of a strain as we were still adjusting to altitude, we were going on a short night of sleep, and breakfast had been quite a few hours earlier.  But the views were well worth it.  I love the Sierras, the smells, the sights, the uniqueness.

As we stopped for a lunch break, the mule train caught up to us.  Overall, they moved more quickly than we did on foot, but they took longer breaks, so it ended up even at the end of our first day.

Jeremy, was our techie on the trip.  He had a DeLorme tracking device so that our loved ones could track us by satellite.  He could also send texts to update our progress.  We also had a satellite phone as a back up, which ended up being invaluable later.

We made it to our destination near Sadler Lake by supper time.  I only recall seeing a couple of other hikers along the way.  It is lonely country, but that's another thing I love about the high country of the Sierras.  We set up camp and were thankful to see a folding grill that previous backpackers had brought up (obviously by mule).  As we had the mules with us for another day, we asked them to carry it on up to our next destination where we could use it at our next site.

All of our equipment is made specifically for backpacking, so it's all lightweight.  Everything from tents and sleeping bags, to light weight cooking gear and freeze dried food.  It's kind of fun to see a whole kitchen come out of a pack and to have delicious meals from a simple stove.  (More on our meals later!)
 

Jeff is a journaler.  It was sweet to catch him from time to time in a quiet moment of his own.  If you think he has the look of John Muir, you're not the only one.  I think he'd take it as a compliment.  :)

A gorgeous sunset on our first night in the high country.  Though tired, we were excited to have started our journey.  We looked forward to the days to come.  Little did we know that our first day would be the only day without rain, and that there would be harrowing trials to come.