Today was the last day of our journey! When we woke up we discussed continuing on the high route but we both felt satisfied with the passes we'd done, and with Emma's ankle, it would be safest to just hike out on the Piute Pass trail into North Lake.

A short but steep descent took us down to French Canyon.

As the clouds rolled in, we began the last climb. A steady grade took us slowly up the canyon until we broke free of the trees. We had a great view of Mt Humphreys, a magnificent 13er that can be seen from Bishop.Across the valley to the south stood a towering ridge of peaks, the Glacier Divide. If we had continued the high route, we'd be crossing this massive divide via Snow Tongue Pass. I would remember this view as we returned to the city, and I knew we'd be back to complete the high route some other year.Since Emma was going a bit slower because of her ankle, we decided that I would hike out first and try to hitchhike to our car. We parked my car at South Lake, but we were exiting at North Lake.

Pretty soon, I made it to Piute Pass, and from there it was all downhill to the car. Rain started coming down just as I reached the road and stuck out my thumb.

I was picked up almost instantly by a pair of hikers who had also just finished a trek. They took me to the fork of the road leading to South Lake, and from there it took about 30 minutes to get my second ride, a family of 5 from LA on a fishing trip.I was relieved to see that the car was intact, and no bears had broken in. I drove back to North Lake just as Emma reached the trailhead. We headed into town for a meal, and to prepare for the long drive home.

Merriam Lake to North Lake trailhead - 15.53 mi and 2198 ft gained.

SHR Totals:

This trip report was only told from my point of view! See Emma's perspective here and Isabel's perspective here.

Closing thoughts

What a mind blowing two weeks it has been!

Every single day tested our skills in the backcountry, and rewarded us with landscapes and encounters like no other trip had offered me before. Each pass we climbed revealed to us the scale of this mountain range, making us feel small and our movements insignificant under the grandness of the Sierra Nevada.

Hiking off trail went better than I expected. We were well prepared for the mental aspect, the decision making, and the ambiguity, but what surprised us was the feeling of absolute freedom once you leave the trail. All of us expressed interest in doing more off trail routes, and making our own routes for future trips.

I've learned a lot about properly fueling myself, and bringing the right amount of food. Mistakes I made while packing for the first half led to slightly better decisions in the second half. However, I still feel like I don't have my food dialed 100%. Savory oatmeal, summer sausage, and fritos were nice new additions to the backpacking pantry.

After two weeks, I felt mostly ready to go home. It was a good amount of time to be away from the city and recharge. Toward the end I missed my friends, and I missed my life in SF. If I were to do this again I'd go even slower and spend more time in the places we merely passed through. But the mountains will always be there, I guess. A lifetime of exploring awaits.