Date: June 23, 2025
Place: John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, Independence, California
Coordinates: 36.771848, -118.365168
Length: 3.7 miles
Level: strenuous
The forth and last night of my June 2025 backpacking trip in the High Sierra wasn't all that great. There was nothing bothering my on the outside, but inside my brain kept me awake with everything I wanted to have a break from when I entered the wilderness five days ago, in the shape of worries and random thoughts. After a long time of tossing and turning I finally fell into a fitful sleep for a few of hours from which I emerged at first light, instantly wide awake.
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| Dawn |
I gave up on trying to get more sleep and went outside into the early morning chill. The first thing I did was to walk to the water and take a look at my surroundings, something that I didn't do last evening when I arrived at this place. The little body near the campsite was part pond part creek and it was so calm that the reflection off its surface was like the perfect mirror. Only at the closest distance I could see that this water was actually flowing, very softly and gently, below the surface. This little creek was part of the headwaters of Independence Creek along which I'd make my way down today.
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| Dawn Reflection |
I made myself some tea and breakfast and ate slowly, watching the line of daylight descending down the slope. When the line eventually reached me I turned around in time to see the sun rising from behind the ridge line.
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| Sunrise over my campsite |
Once the sin was out the temperatures started rising quickly. I broke camp and packed my gear. Meanwhile a solitary nutcracker was moving down on the ground nearby, searching for food below the mat of dry needles.
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| Clark's Nutcracker |
Today's hike was expected to be an easy one: short of four miles and all of it downhill.
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| My hike as captured by my GPS |
The trail was a good one, without expected obstacles or unusual challenges. Even taking it slowly, I expected to be at the Onion Valley parking area before noon.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
A gorgeous, emerald-colored lake became visible after few curves down the trail. It was far below where I was at the time, which meant a steep descend was coming up.
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| Flower Lake |
About 500 ft lower I was level with the lake. There wasn't any trail leading to it and it didn't look like there was a good sitting place by the shore. Besides, I was still too energetic to have a break so early on my hike so I moved on.
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| Flower Lake |
Independence Creek was hidden in the woods for most of my hike along its path, but when I did get a glimpse I could see that it grew into quite a lively water flow sporting a fast, whitewater current.
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| Independence Creek |
My luck with rodents didn't change for the better on my last day of this backpacking trip. There were chipmunks and squirrels all over the place but none of them cooperated with my camera. The best I could do was a golden-mantled ground squirrel on a far away rock.
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| Golden-mantle Ground Squirrel |
As the morning progressed I was getting hotter and soon started sweating. I realized that I was wearing my base layers still. There were already numerous backpackers and day hikers that were going up the trail so I started looking for a place where I could discretely remove this extra layer. I came upon Gilbert Lake which was easily accessible from the trail, and slipped behind a large boulder that blocked me from the trail. I liked the location a lot so I stayed there for a little bit longer after changing.
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| Gilbert Lake |
The trail descended on a fairly mild slope for some distance past Gilbert Lake. Then, all of a sudden, I was standing at the top of a great drop, and the terrain the trail cut through was scree.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
I braced myself for a very slow and painful descend. Thankfully though, the scree field wasn't too large and soon the trail was back on stable ground where the rocks were safely embedded in real soil.
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| Alpine Shootingstar, Primula tetrandra |
A small section of the trail was very damp, even flooded in places. As expected, riparian, wetland plants were thriving in that place.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
I didn't think I'd see any more new wildflowers on this trip but there they were - tiny, white Macloskie's violet. I've seen them only few times before, the last time being last year at Ridge Lakes, in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
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| Macloskie's Violet, Viola macloskeyi |
The western Labrador tea however, is a very common riparian bush in California's mountains, and I wasn't surprised at all to see it blooming there too.
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| Western Labrador Tea, Rhododendron columbianum |
At a bit higher than 9000 ft, there was a nice mixture of conifer species, including the whiteback pine. This pine was just beginning its bloom season at the time, its pollen still held within the young, and very red male cones.
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| Whitebark Pine, Pinus albicaulis |
I followed the trail down the very steep slope on a long series of tight switchbacks. The twists and turns of the trail allowed me viewpoints in all directions.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
ON one of these switchback turns a beautiful cascading waterfall came into view and remained there with each switchback turn in that direction for a long part of my way down.
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| Independence Creek |
The switchbacks seemed to be endless. I could see now the Onion Valley Road and make out the area where the campground was. There was a lot of descending to do still.
The seemingly endless way down was littered with beautiful wildflowers so I didn't mind it at all. I did think that at some point I should probably have a snack break, but I wasn't ready to stop just yet.
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| Wavyleaf Paintbrush, Castilleja applegatei |
Quite a lot of people were climbing up the trail now, and each time we approached each other, one of us would politely step aside (assuming that there was a place to step to) and motion the other to go on. Sometime both of us would do it at the same time, then smile. When that happened it was usually me who would resume hiking first - the uphill hikers liked taking a short breather.
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| Prickly Hawkweed, Hieracium horridum |
About half of the uphill hikers were backpackers that were either resuming their long trail hike after a resupply break, or that like me, they were going on a shorter trip. The others were day hikers. They were carrying a small day pack and looked fresh and energetic, even those who were children. Some of them were carrying long fishing poles and I assumed that they'd stop at one of the lakes I had left behind and won't be going over the pass.
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| Spreading Phlox, Phlox diffusa |
Down and down and down I went. The descend reminded me a bit of the way down from Mount Whitney which I summited back in 2022. Thank goodness, this was much shorter, and my physical condition was much better than it was them.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
A little bird flew across my path and settled atop a chinquapin bush near the trail. It was a fox sparrow, one of many I've seen on my trip, most of them on the eastern slopes of the mountains.
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| Fox Sparrow |
There were more wildflowers that I didn't recognize down the trail. Some I had to wait until I got home and analyzed the photos to identify their species.
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| Sierra Mousetail, Ivesia santolinoides |
The scenery was changing around me as I dropped in elevation. For one thing, there were no more of the foxtail or whitebark pines around. The trees near the trail were taller species of pines, probably Lodgepole, and might be others that I didn't identify.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
The big drop with the long series of switchbacks ended with a longer, much milder stretch of trail, which was a very welcomed ease for my joints. I was now almost level with the pool at the bottom of the waterfall that I saw from above. The water body below the waterfall was labeled on the map as Little
Pothole Lake. I didn't get a good view of the entire thing but to me it
looked mire like a waterhole than an actual lake.
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| Little Pothole Lake |
Then I saw off to the right another beautiful cascade, one that was hidden from my view when I was descending down the switchbacks. It too was pooling into Little Pothole Lake.
I was ready to have some food now so I was keeping my eyes out for a nice place to take a short break. Knowing this is my last day here I didn't want to sit just by the trail.
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| Nuttall's Sandwort, Sabulina nuttallii |
The trail stretched ahead before and below me. There was still a lot of altitude to lose before reaching the parking area where my car waited. I couldn't see and particularly special place to stop at though.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
Then the trail got close to Independence Creek again and curved right at the top of another cascading waterfall - the one I saw from Onion Valley Campground at the eve of this trip. It was the perfect place to take my break, and I could also refill my water bottle there.
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| Independence Creek |
Just as I finished my snack break a group of backpackers on their way uphill came to look at the cascading creek. I suggested taking a group photo of them by the water and they accepted my offer happily. I was impressed at how energetic they looked - they were at the very beginning of their trip.
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| Independence Creek |
From that point onward there weren't any serious switchbacks anymore. The slope was much milder now, and the turns much wider as well. Ahead of me I saw a large patch of white-blooming bushes. I recognized them even without the smell - these were Ceanothus bushes.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
The Ceanothus sweet fragrance was quite intense. I didn't need to inhale deeply to have it enter all of my pores.
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| Mountain Whitethorn, Ceanothus cordulatus |
I don't remember when it occurred to me that I haven't seen a single onion in Onion Valley. Then, on the side of the trail I saw the only plant that looked like it might be an onion of some sort. It wasn't blooming though, and I didn't identify it.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
Well below the Alpine zone now, I was seeing the familiar desert plants of the Eastern Sierra now all around. Most of these plants I saw already on the first day of my trip near the Baxter Pass Trailhead.
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| Naked Buckwheat, Eriogonum nudum |
Then all of a sudden I was once again walking through a different habitat: a side tributary flowed across the trail, irrigating a lovely meadow of grasses and rushes, and many wetland wildflowers.
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| Elephant's-Head Lousewort, Pedicularis groenlandica |
Among these wetland wildflowers was the first (and last) orchid that I saw on this trip - a white bog orchid..
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| White Bog Orchid, Platanthera dilatata |
A few mule-ears plants were blooming at the outskirts of the meadow. Mule-ears are not considered wetland plants, but these looked very happy and healthy, growing close to the water.
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| Mule Ears, Wyethia sp. |
There were also lots of cornily plants, none of which were blooming at the time. Among the cornlilies however, bloomed the familiar crimson columbine.
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| Crimson Columbine, Aquilegia formosa |
Right over the water bobbed the blossom heads of the American bistort, a common mountain wetland plant.
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| American Bistort, Bistorta bistortoides |
The trail curved again and I was facing west, taking a long, goodbye look at the mountains I was descending from. It isn't likely I'll be there again this year but perhaps next summer? Who knows. I sure would like to go exploring the Kearsarge area again.
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| View West |
I was getting close to the end of the trail now. In a direct line it wasn't more than half a mile away. The trail however, didn't cut directly downhill but took a wide curve to the north.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
The curve of the trail had me facing north, where I got to admire those mountain ridges and what looked like a deep gorge in between them. Within that gorge were the Golden Trout Lakes, a relatively short hike from the trailhead.
It was at this part of the trip where I saw the largest number of mountain pride penstemons in bloom. I associate these mostly with Yosemite National Park but they are common throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
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| Mountain Pride, Penstemon newberryi |
An elegant wooden sign of Inyo National Forest announced the boundary of John Muir Wilderness which I was now leaving. I felt a pang of remorse for leaving when I knew I had another day and a half before driving home. That time however, I meant to use well - I was planning to summit the White Mountain Peak.
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| A funny looking rock |
I felt a bit hungry again but I didn't stop. As much as I longed to stay longer in the wilderness, I was also eager to get me some real food in the town below. I yearned especially for fresh produce.
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| Kearsarge Pass Trail, east |
I passed the trail junction to the Golden Trout Lakes. Perhaps on my next visit in the area I would go hike to those lakes.
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| Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany, Cercocarpus ledifolius |
The trail curved again to the south and now I was seeing trees that were not conifers for a change - quaking aspens are also high altitude trees. They also love water, and are common near creeks and lakes.
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| Pando of Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides |
The parking area of Onion Valley was within my view now, and I was glad to see my vehicle waiting for me there. I assumed it would be very hot inside.
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| Onion Valley |
The last bit of trail I literally galloped, my backpack bouncing on my shoulders. I had to weave my way between the hikers that chose mid-day to start their ascend up the mountain. There were also tired looking backpackers that had just descended and reached the trail end before me.
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| Buckwheat, Eriogonum sp. |
I reached the trail end and regarded the trailhead sign for a minute, then went to my car. As I opened the trunk and took off my load a couple of weary-looking backpackers approached me and asked if I could give them a ride down to the town. It wasn't a trouble for me so I agreed and made room for them and their gear in my car. We chatted on the way down and I found out that they were Swiss. I asked, but they didn't know who were the three other Swiss backpackers that I met near Rae Lakes two days before, who gave me the micro spikes I used on Glen Pass. I found it interesting that five of the backpackers I've had the longest interaction with on this trip were Swiss. Now I have a desire to go on a backpacking trip in the Swiss Alps. Perhaps that too will happen one day.
I went on this backpacking trip officially to acclimate myself to the high altitude so I could have an easier time summiting the White Mountain Peak, which is a 14ner, but really, I do not need any excuses why to go backpacking in the mountains - this trip was great even without serving any other purpose. It started with a tough challenge but all and all it was a very good experience, and a heavenly beautiful place. I'd do it again without hesitation.
