Palisade campsite panorama
Sunday, 07 Aug 12.5 miles, 8:00
LeConte Canyon in the early morning
We got a fairly early start heading further down LeConte Canyon as soft, morning light slowly filled it from the top down. I stopped to admire a graceful and delicate Sierra Lily (Lilium kelleyanum) that stood next to the trail. Somewhat lower down I passed a mixed garden of wildflowers watched over by a vivid fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium). We saw many mule deer in this beautiful canyon, including a doe with two fawns. The fawns were on the shy side and retreated into shadow, making them hard to photograph. Further down we saw another group of deer including a stag with fine velvet antlers. The views back up the canyon were excellent. We stopped in at the ranger station to get trail and weather information (both were good) and discovered that Raniero had bailed out at Bishop Pass. We were sorry to hear that. We met up with R&A at the Middle Fork Trail junction, where we took a short break before heading up the valley. This next section up to the Golden Staircase was damned unpleasant. It had burned over in 2002 and so was a wasteland of downed trees, scrappy new growth, hot sun, and precious little shade. We reached the base of the Golden Staircase at 13:35. We were happy to leave that valley behind us but were not excited for this 1500-foot climb in the heat of the day. The staircase is a marvel of trail engineering but that didn’t stop me from dubbing it the Golden F-ing Staircase. The climb was relentless and wicked hot. Fortunately a good breeze and occasional shade provided relief and the views were ever changing as we wound our way up to the ridge. We were thrilled to finally level out and reach the stunning Lower Palisade Lake and set up camp. I took a very brief dip in its frosty, snow-fed waters. G&L passed by on their way to Upper Palisade Lake and A&R arrived later. Near dusk a second couple arrived and gave Anita and Robert a familiar greeting. I asked them if they were “Honey and Baby”, a couple that A&R had mentioned meeting further back on the trail. They looked confused and said that they were Chris and Rebecca, but actually they were Honey and Baby and just didn’t know it.
