Mono Recesses 2000

The Mono Recesses offer a grand view of some of the most stark and beautiful canyons in the Sierras. My Loop Hike involved a lot of up and down. In short, I went up the First Recess and then over the ridge and down into the Second Recess. At Upper Mills Creek Lake I climbed the ridge and down a small glacier into the Fourth Recess. From Snow Lakes I went over a small ridge depression into the Third Recess. I hiked down and across Mono Creek and up to Lower Hopkins Lake. From there I went over a ridge to Grinnell and Laurel Lakes, and finally down Laurel Creek to Mono Creek and out to Edison lake where I started. The hike was about 32 miles long with a total elevation climb (and descent) of about 11,000 ft. I did the hike in seven leisurely beautiful days. A copy of the TOPO! file can be obtained at the TOPO! Trails site.

I started the trip with a ferry ride from the Vermilion Valley Resort on Edison Lake to the confluence with Mono Creek. I hiked up the Mono Creek trail to the intersection with the First Recess. Crossing Mono Creek was a small hassle with lots of brush. I am sure there is an easier way, but I was in a big rush to get up the recess. So I just plowed across the creek and got about 90 percent of my leg scratches for the trip. I needed my water sandals to cross the creek, so I was glad I had brought them. I had just bought a pair of Laguna sandals that only weighed 5.5 oz each for size 10 (they cost $4.97 plus tax at Walmart). They are great for crossing streams and around camp, but I wouldn't use them to travel down a stream for long distances.

Climbing up the First Recess was straight forward. I stayed westerly of the main stream and sort of looped up to the two First Recess Lakes. There was lots of fresh bear scat along my route, but I didn't see any bears. The view back to Mono Creek and the surrounding peaks is beautiful, with pretty waterfalls along the way. I arrived in late afternoon at the First Recess Lakes where I camped that night at the upper lake. The evening view across Mono Creek was like being on top of the World. I didn't fish these two lakes, because they looked sterile to me.

The next day I contoured around the ridge to the depression that leads into the Second Recess. The terrain slopes down to the falls just below the upper plateau in the Second Recess. After crossing the stream at the bottom coming from Mist Lake I could see back across the canyon to the depression where I crossed over from the First Recess. There were several beautiful falls in the creek leading up to Lower Mills Creek Lake. There were a couple of hikers camped near the outlet of the lake. They were off day hiking (I saw them later from a distance). They had their food hung over a branch with the end of the rope tired to the ground. I am glad there probably weren't any bears that far up the canyon, but I left them one of my "Save the Black Bears" cards under the rock that held their cooking pot down - hoping they will get the hint. I hiked up to the Upper Mills Creek Lake where I camped the second night. Again, I didn't fish this lake because it also looked sterile. However, the lower lake may have fish in it. I spent the rest of the afternoon staring at the ridge that leads to the Fourth Recess. The climb looks really steep from the lake. I kept wondering if I really wanted to try this, knowing that a small glacier waited for me on the other side!

On the third day I set out early to see what was on the other side of the mountain. The path I followed sort of angled left then right as I climbed to the top of the ridge. For me this was serious class 3 hiking - lots of hand work and a few dead ends that I had to retrace. Once on top the view down the Second Recess is breath taking! On the Fourth Recess side I found the glacier and could see the Snow Lakes off to the distance. If you look closely at this photo of the Fourth Recess you can see the crack between the glacier and the rock down the left side. In looking beforehand at the topo map my hope was that somehow I could skirt around the left side of the glacier. As I looked over, I saw that the glacier had separated from the rock for a ways before the wall turned the corner. I decided to go down the crack hoping that it continued around the corner.

Well guess what? When I got to the corner and looked around it the glacier was tight against a shear wall. I didn't want to go back up the crack as I was afraid I would pull loose rocks down on me. The surface of the glacier was nearly as hard as ice, and it was difficult to kick a foothold into the surface. Obviously, if I had campons and a ice axe it would have been a straight forward task to go down the glacier.

But I didn't have campons and an ice axe. So. I took off my then 35 +/- lb pack (Kelty Cloud with nice rounded edges and everything securely protected) and let it slide down the glacier. It slid about 20 yards, hit a bump and became air born and continued the rest of the way rolling and bouncing down the glacier where it stopped about 2/3 the way down when the slope had eased up sufficiently. I then crawled out on the glacier and on my back, with legs forward and slightly spread, I slid down the glacier. I used my feet to navigate around perceived rocks (although I am not sure there were any) and to slow my speed as much as possible (I certainly was in only minor control of the sliding). I came quickly upon my pack and pushed it another 10 to 20 yards ahead of me before we both stopped. I was unhurt, and only later did I find out that somehow my "strike anywhere" matches had ignited inside my pack and burned up half my matches. I got up, put on my pack and walked the rest the way down the glacier. WHEW!!!

Later, I wrote my friend Paul Richins and asked for a reality check on what I did. Paul nicely said what I did was not too swift:

"John,

Nice to hear from you. Sounds like you had quite an adventure. What it
sounds like you did was what is called a sitting glissade. Normally this is
done with an ice axe to arrest your speed. One can also do a standing
glissade with ice axe or ski pole or long stick for balance and to check
speed. Depending upon the run-out at the bottom, the firmness of the snow,
the steepness of the snow, etc. I would be very cautious about glissading
without an ice axe to check your speed or for a self-arrest to stop if one
were to gain too much speed and lose control. If the snow is icy, very hard
or steep one should not do what you did without an ice axe. If the snow was
dangerous, and if at all possible I would move out onto the rock and down
climb steep rock where one can have a bit more control.

I have descended steep snow and have used a light rope to control the pack.
I have tied the rope around my waist and then to the pack and climbed down
steep snow slowly. If you let the pack slide down on its own, it could hit
a rock or bump and come apart scattering its contents over the mountainside.
I have seen this occur with a friend in Alaska that let his pack slide down
a steep gully. The pack hit a bump, went air borne, and the contents were
deposited far and wide.

If you are interested in reading up on glissading and other mountaineering
techniques, I would recommend, "Freedom of the Hills". It is an excellent
book and can be purchased from my web site or Amazon.com or from REI.

Paul---"

MY ADVICE TO ANY ONE WHO CROSSES THIS RIDGE IS TO CARRY AN ICE AXE AND PROBABLY USE CRAMPONS!!!

I think this was a case of a bad decision with a good outcome! A view back up toward the top of the ridge and the glacier shows (if you look closely) the path where I slid down. Also, you can see how the glacier wraps around the corner near the top on the right side of the photo. Mount Mills can be seen clearly from the end of the Fourth Recess. R. J. Secor in his book: The High Sierra - Peaks, Passes, and Trails indicates one route to the top starts by climbing onto the glacier that is north of Mt. Mills.

I hiked down to Snow Lakes where I camped in a nice spot between the two lakes. I arrived about noon so I spent the afternoon fishing the lakes. Fishing was slow then, but in the evening I caught a bunch of beautiful Golden Trout. That night some little "mousy" critter stole my scrub pad and hid it under a rock. It took me a while to find the thing the next morning. I guess he just wanted to eat the little bits of food that stuck to the pad.

On the fourth day I climbed up to the ridge that separates the Fourth and Third Recesses. From a post on the Yahoo californiahighsierra web site I expected that this would be an easy traverse. I started to climb from my camp site between the two Snow Lakes and angled up to the top of the depression (i.e., from the right side of the ridge photo). This involved navigating a lot of loose rock on a slippery slope. If I had to do it again I would walk to the south end of the upper Snow Lake and just walk straight up to the depression - steeper, but less messing around with the rocks. Up on top there is a clear view of Red and White Mountain to the north. From the top it is difficult to determine the best way to get down the other side into the Third Recess, because the slope becomes steeper and the view of the side below is hidden. I fussed around for about 15 minutes before I found a chute of broken rocks that lead down the side for about 50 feet. Then moving to the right I found a crack about two feet wide that I could back down. A shot back up the ridge from the Third Recess side shows the slope I had just come down. Once down to the bottom there is a expansive boulder field, but with a little patience it can be navigated with little or no hand work. I reached a ridge that dropped down into the Third Recess Lake. I had to traverse a steep slope to reach the lake, but the smooth surfaces could be carefully walked, which was a nice change from all the rock hopping.

After three nights of camping above 11,000 ft. it was nice to camp in the trees again. I took a bath in the lake and spent the afternoon sun bathing. The fishing for Golden Trout was excellent. I also caught a couple of Rainbows in this lake. I learned of a neat recipe for cooking trout from Ryan Jordan, editor of B ackpackingLight.com (he has a site for great ideas on lightweight backpacking):

"Cooking Trout / Dave's Insanity

Hi John,

My cookpot of choice for fish when really packing light is my regular 
cookpot, an MSR titan kettle (0.84L, base dia 5" or so?). On occasion I may 
opt for the wider-based (6"?) Evernew 0.9L nonstick cookpot, and for short 
hikes, I'll even throw in an Evernew nonstick fry pan (7" base). But for 
now, let's assume its the MSR, since that's the most challenging of the 
three and the one I use most often.

I first clean the trout and cut it into chunks that are about 4" long, along 
the length of the fish, 2-3 of which (the chunks) will fit into the kettle. 
I ration about 1/2 oz oil/fish meal (olive oil containing garlic, a lot of 
lemon pepper, and 2 drop/oz of Dave's Insanity Sauce), and pour it over the 
fish, then use a utensil or stick or hand or leaf to fully coat both the 
outside and inside of the fish with the oil mix.

You can make the choice to cook as is, but careful attention must be paid to 
the heat applied to the kettle (which doesn't contain a nonstick coating) so 
as not to burn the meat to the ti and make cleanup difficult. To make the cooking and cleanup easier (and much quicker), I add about 4-8 oz of water 
to the kettle, cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until the meat is done, 
usually in a matter of minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. This 
essentially "steams/poaches" the meat and cooks it quickly. Then, if you 
like, pour off the water, and sear the meat for a few minutes to give you 
that "fried" flavor.

A further note on Dave's Insanity sauce: I'm a hot freak, so I like hot 
pepper sauce. However, even for those who only like mild spice in their 
meals, I cannot recommend another sauce/spice more wholeheartedly than one 
from the series of "Dave's Insanity" (http://www.davesgourmet.com/) hot 
pepper sauces. They are entirely consistent with lightweight philosophy in 
that 1 drop (at least of the limited edition Insanity sauce, which is 2x the 
heat of their normally available hottest version, called just "Insanity") 
per pint of chow is plenty to spice it up. 2 will light your fire and make 
you sweat. 3 will make you cry. 4 will send an endorphin rush through your 
body that is better than (insert something here). If you can handle five on 
a regular basis, then you can really swing, man.

Cheers,
Ryan (BigSkyRy)"

When I am below 10,000 ft and can have a fire I use the same fish baste when cooking my fish in aluminum foil. I use willow, alder or aspen wood for the coals (they are almost as good as charcoal). Depending on the size of the fish and amount of coals I cook my fish from 15 to 30 minutes. You can usually tell by the smell when they are done.

From the Third Recess Lake there is a great view across Mono Creek with shots of Mount Hopkins and Mount Stanford with Pioneer Basin in between. On the fifth day I headed down the Third Recess through a beautiful valley with a bubbly stream and green grass. There is a trail off and on, but it is more effort to follow it than to just hike cross-country straight down the valley. However, when the slope steepens and begins to drop into Mono Creek it is best to get on the right (east) side of the creek and follow the well-worn switchbacks the rest of the way to the creek.

I then headed for Lower Hopkins Lake. Rather than follow the Mono Creek trail, I just contoured westerly gaining just a little elevation to meet the trail to Lower Hopkins Lake. I probably save a couple of hundred feet elevation loss by not following the Mono Creek trail to its intersection with the Lower Hopkins Lake trail. Lower Hopkins Lake is a beautiful little gem nestled among the peaks. Unfortunately, if you look closer at the edges of the lake you find massive overuse. The horse packers and theirs clients have really trashed this lake. The campsites are over used and the horses have severely grazed the west side of the lake. I have written to Mr. Mike Dombeck, Chief, USDA Forest Service and the Honorable Anna G. Eshoo, my congresswoman asking for action. If campers are supposed to camp 100 feet from the lake (which I agree with) why shouldn't horses be kept away the same distance? Then there is the problem of shit on the trail. If hikers are supposed to do "their business" 100 feet from the trail why not horses? The trail leading up to Lower Hopkins Lake is pretty ugly with horse droppings. I never did hear anything back from either of them - so much for our government at work!

Anyway, I found a great tree to hang my food bags. The water wasn't too cold so I went for a swim. The fishing for Brook Trout was fair to good at this lake. These trout made a great meal that night using Ryan Jordan's recipe.

On the sixth day I headed west over the ridge to Grinnell and Laurel Lakes. From the topo map it looked like it might be serious class 3, but it turned out to be a "piece of cake." There were lots of footprints heading up the ridge, so it is clear that many people had done this before. Once on top the view of Red and White Mountain and Grinnell Lake and Pass is breath taking! The Grinnell Lake side of the ridge also was not bad. The whole route over this ridge is pretty much class 2, with a few hand holds occasionally. This truly is an expansive area with grand views that flutters your heart.

I caught and released a lot of Brook Trout at the outlet end of Grinnell Lake. I had a nice lunch and enjoyed just basking in the sun. I then crossed the small ridge to Laurel Lake. There I also caught Brook Trout on my fly rod. I then headed down Laurel Creek carrying my rod and fishing every once and a while. There are lots of Brook Trout which are easy to catch. After a while it started to get a little boring - there are really too many fish in Laurel Creek. I could also see across into the Second Recess and visualize the location of the path I took several days earlier when I crossed from the First Recess into the Second Recess. I camped the sixth night by the meadow at the end of Laurel Creek before it drops into Mono Creek below. Guess what I had for dinner?

On the seventh day I caught the trail on the west side of the Laurel Creek just below the meadow and followed the switchbacks down to the Mono Creek trail. I spent the day exploring Mono Creek between the First and Second Recesses. If anyone is still reading this trip report I know you must be tired of hearing about my fishing. BUT!!! Mono Creek was out of sight! I never caught and released so many Golden Trout in my life. It was awesome. I am guessing this must have been an exceptional year for the fish, and probably not the norm.

At the end of the day I raced back to Edison Lake to catch the 4:45p ferry boat back to the Vermilion Lake Resort. I stayed the night there and enjoyed a big steak dinner with a stuffed tomato and piece of berry pie ala mode. The resort really has an excellent cook who prepares your steak just like you want it.

The weather on the trip was perfect - no rain and relatively warm weather. My pack weighed just under 40 pounds at the start, which is a big change for me since I have been carrying 60 to 70 lbs for the past many years. I really am becoming a believer in this lightweight backpacking thing. Also, I saw very few people during the whole trip - maybe 6 or 7 at the most. Every night where I camped I was alone. The spiritual experience of the whole trip was very inspiring - the massive beauty and ruggedness of the Mono Recesses and surrounding country lightened my soul.