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2004:08:07 18:06:25
Arriving at Mineral King, all campsites are full -- so the ranger allows us to camp in the picnic area for the night. Elevation: 7800'

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2004:08:07 18:06:45
Setting up camp in the Picnic Area.

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2004:08:07 18:06:54
Eli prepares his air mattress

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2004:08:07 18:19:51
We spread out all the food we brought along and decide which food will be needed for each day. Extra/Unneeded food is left at bear storage room at picnic area

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2004:08:07 18:20:10
Kevin decides to take the cookies

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2004:08:08 11:13:14
Our first day's hike takes us from Mineral King (elev 7800') through Timber Gap (elev 9500') then back down to our first camp site (elev 7120'). Here the boys take a short break just before cresting Timber Gap.

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2004:08:08 11:13:32
Cameron takes an interest in the map and Steve is more than happy to show him where the trail takes us.

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2004:08:08 11:13:51
Preparing to resume the trek to Timber Gap

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2004:08:08 11:35:49
Arriving at Timber Gap (9500'), everyone digs into their pack for their first trail lunch

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2004:08:08 11:36:14
The upward hike to Timber Gap sparks an appetite.

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2004:08:08 11:36:30
Finishing up Lunch at Timber Gap.

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2004:08:08 12:26:45
Lining up and preparing for the downhill part of the hike from Timber Gap.

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2004:08:08 13:21:32
Cameron pauses among some of the lush vegetation growing near the stream.

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2004:08:08 16:10:30
Arriving at our first campsite (elev 7120'), the boys prepare to sleep out under the stars.

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2004:08:08 16:11:37
Half of the boys rest after the first day's hike.

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2004:08:08 16:34:17
Eli warms up after dunking himself in the rather brisk stream that flows beside the first night's campsite.

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2004:08:09 07:36:42
Early on the second day's trek, nobody is in a hurry to get up.

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2004:08:09 07:37:26
Steve starts the 2nd day by heating up some water for breakfast.

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2004:08:09 11:32:57
View from the last shady spot before starting the switchbacks from our first camp at 7120' to our second night's camp at Pinto Lake at 8700'

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2004:08:09 15:54:50
Arriving at our Pinto Lake campsite, Justin purifies some stream water while Eli reads and Mike sleeps.

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2004:08:09 15:55:04
Steve enters events from the second day's hike into his journal.

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2004:08:09 15:55:40
The younger scouts occupy themselves with a lively game of cards after selecting and setting up their sleeping area.

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2004:08:09 15:56:42
An encompassing picture of the Pinto Lake campsite. There is a stream to the rear of this photo and [the hidden] Pinto Lake is behind the photographer

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2004:08:09 17:09:50
At Pinto Lake, deer circle the campsite looking for an opportunity for food.

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2004:08:09 17:10:45
The deer stalked our campsite all evening and entered it once we fell asleep. We were awakened the third day by the deer upturning the pots laid out to dry.

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2004:08:09 17:40:45
Mike and Eli cook dinner at Pinto Lake.

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2004:08:10 11:03:30
Day Three is the most strenuous day. Starting at Pinto Lake at 8700' elevation, we climb to Black Rock Pass at 11700' elevation before descending to our campsite at one of the Little Five Lakes at an elevation of 10480'. Here, Bobby and Kevin rest on the switchbacks with Spring Lake (elev 10060') in background

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2004:08:10 11:04:02
Steve poses for a picture as well.

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2004:08:10 11:04:09

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2004:08:10 11:04:56

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2004:08:10 12:55:01
The boys relax and enjoy lunch after attaining Black Rock Pass at 11700 ft. Note that since yours truly took this picture, most of these boys have been waiting here over 1 1/2 hours waiting for me to catch up.

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2004:08:10 12:55:14
View of the Little Five Lakes from Black Rock Pass.

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2004:08:10 12:57:16
To the untrained eye, this looks like Eli preparing to descend the pass to our third campsite next to one of the lakes. The story behind this picture is that moments before, he was quite ill from either altitude sickness or overexertion as he literally charged up the 3000+ feet of altitude gain. He felt so much better afterward that he slapped his pack on again and took off.

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2004:08:10 12:59:05
Kevin and Bobby are in no hurry to finish up Lunch and move on from Black Rock Pass.

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2004:08:10 16:03:10
After arriving at our third campsite, several of the boys sun themselves after playing in the warm water of the lake.

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2004:08:10 16:04:09
A view of our Third night's campsite at one of the Little Five Lakes.

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2004:08:10 16:14:56
Mike and Justin relax by reading their novels

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2004:08:10 16:15:33
Zack and Kevin play in the lake after the most difficult day of hiking of the trip..

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2004:08:11 08:42:28
The fourth morning, the common gear is laid out and separated into piles to be matched with hikers to carry them.

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2004:08:11 08:42:45
Justin makes last minute changes to the makeup of the piles of common gear.

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2004:08:11 11:01:14
The fourth day's hike takes us from the Little Five lakes (elev 10400) to one of the Lower Big Five lakes (9880'). This is a marker at a trail juncture on the way.

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2004:08:11 11:44:19
Arriving at one of the Lower Big Five lakes, the boys enjoy jokes and lunch. It must've been a good joke as even Mike is caught smiling Eager to have a day without hiking, they decide to skip camping here and move on in order to have a layover day later on.

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2004:08:11 12:00:17
A view of our lunch area at the Lower Big Five lake.

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2004:08:11 14:59:51

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2004:08:11 15:00:02
Our fourth night's camp is by this stream and a stone's throw away from this sign.

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2004:08:11 15:00:56
Crossing the stream to get to our campsite.

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2004:08:11 15:42:14
The boys spread out on a large flat section of rock to get a clear view of the starry sky. The nights are moonless so the stellar view is awesome. Card games take priority during the day, though.

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2004:08:11 15:43:11
The card game continues. We later find out that this area is used for landing helicopters.

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2004:08:11 15:43:42
Matt is happy just to get the load off his back.

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2004:08:11 15:46:51
Eli is the polar bear of the group. Here he prepares to wash off the trail dirt in the rather numbing 62º water.

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2004:08:11 15:47:12
You wouldn't catch me doing this.

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2004:08:11 16:10:54
Others follow the example and wash off the trail dirt in the stream.

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2004:08:11 16:12:36
After all, cleanliness is one part of the Scout law.

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2004:08:11 16:12:59
Zack decides how to get into the cold water.

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2004:08:11 16:13:52
Cameron cools his feet off as well.

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2004:08:11 16:15:55
Another Polar Bear want-to-be, Justin seriously ponders whether to let go or not.

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2004:08:11 16:17:50
Justin tries to convince Bobby to jump in.

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2004:08:11 16:18:59
Eli and Aaron search downstream for a good water slide area.

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2004:08:11 16:20:45
Aaron joins the Polar Bear team but is in and out so fast that this is the closest my poor finger could get to snapping the shot.

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2004:08:11 16:57:31
It's Bobby and Zack's turn to cook dinner. With a vested interest in the outcome, Eli and Justin help make sure nothing goes wrong.

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2004:08:11 18:20:29
Bloody Noses: Perhaps an inevitable result of a hike such as this. At 9560' elevation this was high enough for Bobby. His brother, Matt, had a bloody nose at the Pinto Lake campsite which started up again here when he fell on his face chasing a Mountain Gartersnake.

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2004:08:12 07:16:34
At dinner, we found out that this was a work crew camp for the Forest Service when a supply train of mules arrived. The crew graciously allowed us to stay as long as we left early the next morning. Here the boys take advantage of an early morning fire started by the work crew to heat up a can of water for cleaning. Temperatures at sunrise were typically 42º.

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2004:08:12 07:18:43
With two of the work crew in the background, the boys decide whether to leave the warm fire to pack and start breakfast.

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2004:08:12 09:52:12
The fifth day's hike (Thursday) took us up alongside the stream through a wooded area that opened up into this meadow. Sawtooth Peak, elevation 12,343 feet is in the background. The trail proceeds up the hill to the rear to Columbine Lake.

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2004:08:12 11:25:11
The boys stop to wait for me (and have lunch) at Columbine Lake. Our next campsite is just beyond the lake and a little up the hill.

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2004:08:12 12:10:54
Cresting the rise, our campsite comes into view. This site resembles Joshua Tree at 11,040 feet with a Lake and without the trees. As you see, I was far enough behind that the boys had camp set up by the time I got there.

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2004:08:12 13:25:11
The lake featured a rock roughly 30' out of the water that was beside an extremely deep section of the lake. Everyone took at least one turn at jumping from the rock except yours truly. Lake temperature was 62º at the surface but colder below. Here Mike takes a turn.

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2004:08:12 13:25:47
Eli takes his turn at jumping.

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2004:08:12 13:27:02
Mike tries and succeeds at doing a flip on the way down but my finger wasn't fast enough to get the best picture.

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2004:08:12 13:28:36

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2004:08:12 13:30:11
Justin tries a Kung-Fu style of jumping.

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2004:08:12 13:40:10
Bobby finds a hard seat and tries to dig into a new book.

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2004:08:12 13:41:32
Mike reads with Sawtooth Mountain in background.

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2004:08:12 13:43:34
Justin decides to swim back from the jumping rock rather than rock-scramble back.

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2004:08:12 13:52:59
It's no surprise that Mike likes to climb rocks.

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2004:08:12 15:14:55
Zack is our third nose-bleed casualty. At 11,040 feet, none of us are surprised.

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2004:08:12 15:58:13
If you couldn't find Steve, there was a good chance he was relaxing in some shady spot adding to his trip journal. His journal from the previous trip was handy to determine how much time to allow to get back to the cars.

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2004:08:12 19:44:36
From 3:00 until 7:00 PM, there had been continuous rain and thunder to the North where we had just been the first three days. As sunset arrived, the clouds dissipated and I was left with this impressive view looking out the front of my tent. The actual purple color doesn't come out well on this picture.

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2004:08:13 15:05:46
Eli, Justin, and Mike spend time reading at one end of the camp.

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2004:08:13 16:21:27
It's Zack and Kevin's turn to purify some water for dinner. One bottle is used for water, the other for a creative concoction of Crystal Lite.

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2004:08:14 08:50:13
Packing out on the final day (Saturday), everyone stops at Sawtooth pass (elevation 11,760) for a group picture. Sawtooth Peak is in background.

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2004:08:14 08:50:30
At Sawtooth pass looking East, back the way that we had come. Columbine lake is shown in the background.

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2004:08:14 08:51:39
Looking ahead to the West is the way out. As you notice, the smog level is up to 11,000 feet. Eli, Aaron, and Bobby are in the foreground.

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2004:08:14 08:54:32
"Thorns and Roses" at 11,760 feet around the cairn marking the trail.

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2004:08:14 09:55:42

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2004:08:14 11:51:18
Back at the parking lot.

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2004:08:14 19:41:06
From 11,760 feet to 200 feet before sunset. A good time was had by all.