In 2010, when we did this route, we were surprised to get cell service on an out of the way, minor pass, in the middle of nowhere called Buckhorn Pass at 11,200'. Seeing as this is our anniversary, I would like to talk to Sally, so Craig and I made Buckhorn Pass our goal for the day. To get there from our zero day camp at Italy Lake, we will have to climb over 12,400' Gabbott Pass, descend the Mills Creek drainage down to Mono Creek at 8400', climb back to 10,200' Laurel Lake then ascend 1000' of near vertical heather fields to the pass. Is she worth it? Absolutely!! The big question is, was the cell signal six years ago a fluke? Will it still be there today?
The power of a zero day showed true again. Both Craig and I were revitalized as we left camp at 6:45 am this morning. We motored the two miles and 1200' up to Gabot Pass. We tried for cell service at the pass, hoping the Mammoth Mountain towers would extend this far. No dice.
The descent from Gabot Pass is typical, steep head wall for a few hundred vertical feet, boulder field for the next couple hundred vertical feet and then scattered meadows with interspersed boulder fields and slabs for the next few hundred vertical feet. This time the drop took us well below tree line, and soon we were fighting willow brush and tree branches. The valley falls steeply from 10,500' to 9,500' as one hanging glacial valley intersects the main channel of another glacial valley. This main valley is called the Second Recess. Quite a few people must travel this route, because we were able to follow "use" trails most of the way. Once on the floor of the Second Recess we picked up the trail and followed it two miles to Mono Creek at elevation 8,400'. From Lake Italy to Mono Creek is about 7 miles. We met a total of eight people on this portion of the day's journey. It was the last people we saw for the day.
After we found a log on which to cross Mono Creek, we headed up hill and east on the Mono Creek trail for a mile to the Laurel Lake trail.
The first mile of this trail climbs 1000'. It must have been made before the invention of switchbacks because it went straight up the hill; a very steep route. The nice thing about a trail this steep is you get to the destination, the top, quite quickly.
Once up the 1000' feet, the trail quickly peters out and we were cross country traveling again. A major avalanche must have occurred in recent years, bowling over trees, creating a pickup sticks scenerio to walk through. We reached the end of the valley where Laurel Lake lies about 3:30 pm. Buckhorn Pass is directly above the lake, a low spot on the side ridge. We knew there would be no water on the ridge, but we wanted to camp up there so we could get cell service for the evening; if it still existed up there. We resolved to cook an early dinner by the lake, go for a swim, then load our water bottles up and head for the ridge top.
The lake was delightfully not freezing. To say it was warm would be untrue; let's just say it was "refreshing".
After dinner, we worked our way up the 1000' to the ridge top pass. All the way up I was thinking how awesome it will be to talk to Sally, Andy, Jeff, friends and to find out what had been happening in the world. But, I was also preparing myself for the disappointment of arriving at our airy campsite to find "No Service" showing in the upper left corner of my iPhone screen. Another minor concern was the availability of two small, flat places for us to camp. I could not remember the nature of the ridge and whether it has a flat area or only boulder fields.
We crested the ridge and saw plenty of flat ground to sleep on. We dropped our packs, pulled out our iPhones, switched off airplane mode and waited . . . Searching . . . Searching. Bingo!! 3 bars of service and 4G data connection too. We looked north toward Mammoth and west toward the Central Valley of California and wondered where this signal came from. Who cares!?! We have service. Let's call people.
Bing. Bing. Bing. 120 emails filled my in box. 25 texts show up. 8 voice mails arrive before I can make a call.
For the next four hours I was on the phone. Craig was more restrained and talked for a couple hours.
Barb told us Sally was riding the YARTS bus from the Valley to Mammoth Mountain. She was planning to hang with Barb on her days off. I tried calling her multiple times, but I found out later she had switched to Airplane mode to save her battery on the bus ride. She finally called about 9:15 pm and we talked until 10:30 pm, the latest I have stayed up on this trip by at least an hour and a half.
Between our phone calls, Craig and I found a wide sandy shelf bounded by a cliff on the east side and a thicket of white pines on the west side. It was on the west side of the ridge, the side the cell signal was on. What a luxury! To lie snuggled in bed at 11,200' on an exposed shelf on an exposed ridge beneath a sky filled with stars and talk to Sally!
When we finally hung up, I began plotting the distance and route to make a dash for Mammoth tomorrow to celebrate our anniversary in person. I figured it to be about 16-18 miles, with the first four miles cross country. A long way, but doable. Glad we took that zero day yesterday.
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