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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Return to Monache Meadows

Disclaimer: After posting our trip to Monache Meadows last year I was asked by several people to let them know when we were planning to return. Originally we were headed east of Long Valley to the Glass Mountain area but I was ill and this delayed our departure by a day.  Monache was a last minute decision.
 Early October and it seemed like a good time to return to Monache Meadows in the Sierra Nevada. We visited the same weekend last year.
 Crossing the bridge over Snake Creek. Back in 1993, when some extreme groups were trying to close the road into Monache, they testified that there was no bridge on the road. We cleared up quite a bit of trash around the campsite near the bridge.
 Kern River and Olancha Peak.
 We spent two nights at our favorite camp. The night time temperatures were warmer than the year before. First night a low of 31ยบ, the second night the temperature never dropped below 40 degrees.
 Looking south at Jackass Peak and Granite Knob. Climbed them both back in 2004. Jackass Peak has anchors for a Tyrolean traverse from the summit to a secondary peak about 50 feet away.
 On the morning of our third day we had the pleasure of meeting Tony and his son Erik, from Bakersfield. We met them last year while fueling up in Personville. This year we met them closer to our camp. They were hunting deer and usually spend an entire week camping in the area. I neglected to take a photo.
 Driving the winding road back to pavement. Just for curiosity we drove back in 2WD. There were two sections where the tires broke loose for a second but the weight of the FWC provided for excellent traction.