Pine Creek Pass with Merriam Peak (13,103 ft / 3994 m)

Jack has missed hiking in the Sierra since moving to the East Coast. So we set up a short (2 nights), late season trip to Pine Creek Pass.

Day 0
We met at John’s place, transferred our gear to his truck, and headed up the Sierra. The drive was uneventful and relatively quick so we had time to look for fall colors at Lake Sabrina and North Lake. It was a little past the peak, but there was plenty of good color left.
We decided to camp at the Four Jeffreys campground because it gave us a night at elevation, which helped us adjust after driving up from sea level. We ended the day with a good pasta dinner by a campfire.

Day 1 (8.16 mi / 13.13 km, 3937 ft / 1200 m elevation gain)
We hiked up through the forest, then the old mining road to the Brownstone Mine, and then the trail to Pine Lake. Along the way we took regular breaks to enjoy the views, take nourishment, and catch our breath. From Pine Creek Lake we continued to Pine Creek Pass. By the time we reached the pass everyone was ready for camp, it had been a good, hard hike with the big packs. Malte and I scouted the area for campsites while the others took a breather. We found a great spot for 4 tents and set up. Water was available a little below the camp, but since we had our collapsable bucket that was a minor inconvenience.
After setting up we had time to just rest in the warm sun. There was no wind, no clouds, and it was not really cold. Very unusual for mid-October in the Sierra at 11,100 ft / 3,383 m. After the sunset (around 17:45) the temperature plummeted though and one could watch the digits on the thermometer change.

Day 2 (5.31 mi / 8.55 km, 2431 ft / 741 m)
We woke up to a cold morning and waited to crawl out of our tents about half an hour before sunrise knowing that the sun would immediately warm us up. The overnight low had been 26.4 F / -3.1 C. Starting to prepare breakfast we discovered that the water in our bucket had frozen, not only that, but an unfortunate mouse had somehow managed to get into the bucket and was frozen into the ice. It probably slipped off the pole we used to keep the bucket upright. Poor fellow, for the next night we made sure not to leave a trap like that.

We had the choice of climbing Merriam Peak (13,103 ft, 3994 m) or exploring the lakes on the other side of French Canyon. We opted for the peak.
We climbed from the pass to the plateau below Merriam and Royce peaks with the Royce Lakes at the foot of the mountains. Srisuda had planned to wait for us there while we attempted the peak. Jack started to feel the effects of the elevation (11,650 ft / 3551 m) and decided to also sit the climb out. He had not been able to train much in the weeks before this trip because Hurricane Helene had closed down much of South Carolina.
Malte, John, and I continued to the saddle between Merriam and Rocye peak and then on up the north-western slope of Merriam mountain. The climb involved lots of tedious talus and some very sandy slopes that slowed us down quite a bit. The view from the top was great and we enjoyed it while we had lunch. The decent was only slightly faster than the ascent because of all the loose rock and sand.
We joined the others at camp, exchanged stories about our day, had dinner, and crawled into our tents shortly after the sun had set.

Day 3 ( 7.5 mi / 12 km)
Wow, this morning was even colder than the one before: 21.5 F / -5.8 C. Since we had a long drive home before us we did not have the luxury to wait for the sun. We paid the price. We all got very cold hands and feet while we packed up. The hot coffee was not enough to keep us warm.
We started hiking just before 8 and we all were wearing several layers. Since it was a downhill hike we did not warm up until the sun finally made it over the mountains. At that time we took a nice break and imitated lizards: we just sat there letting the sun warm us up.
The route down was the same as the route up and we arrived at the truck by 13:00. We cleaned up a little, changed clothes, and drove to Bishop. There we stopped at the famous Schat’s Bakery and bought some big sandwiches. We also filled up the truck and drove straight home with just a couple quick breaks to switch drivers.