Backpacking Granite Park, Bear Lakes Basin, Seven Gables, Marie Lake

Sam and I started this trip at the beginning of August. This was the last trip of our two week Sierras adventure. After our previous trip through Kings Canyon National Park, unseasonable thunderstorms arrived and the weather forecast was looking less than ideal.

It had been pouring rain all night before we got to the trailhead at Pine Creek. The sky was overcast and it was very humid. The trailhead was near an old tungsten mine at the base of some massive granite mountains. We began our trek up a seemingly endless series of switchbacks. The trail was very well graded. We didn’t see many people on the trail unlike our last trip. As we got higher, the views opened up. We could see the old mine far below. The mountains were beautiful and varied in their color and texture. The swirling mist and clouds gave the area a moody, mysterious vibe. As we continued up, Pine Creek Falls came into view. It was raging from all the rain the previous night.

Finally the trail met and followed Pine Creek, and the trail began to level out. As we arrived at the shores of Pine Lake it began to rain. We took shelter under some pine trees and had ramen for lunch. Above Pine Lake to the North was a beautiful granite mountain, adorned with lateral white stripes. The rain stopped and we continued along the trail to Upper Pine Lake. The creeks and streams were raging. After about a mile we arrived at Honeymoon Lake, our destination for the night. As we began setting up our camp, the ominous clouds started to open up on us again and it rained steadily for hours. We hid in out tent. The rain abated just as it was getting dark and I was able to get some dramatic shots of the lake before turning in for the night.

We awoke to beautiful clear skies. I walked around and took a few pictures of Honeymoon Lake. I returned to camp, we had breakfast and packed up our gear. Our day would take us up through Granite Park towards Italy Pass. Although it was a clear morning, the forecast warned of thunderstorms.

We saw few people. Granite Park was exceptionally beautiful. At the base of immense, white granite peaks were rushing creeks, small alpine meadows, tarns, and sporadic clusters of trees. Huge granite boulders were strewn about. The trail weaved through the parkland terrain on a slow and steady ascent.

As the day went on, large white clouds began to materialize seemingly from no where. We took lunch at a mid-sized unnamed alpine lake. The blue skies were almost entirely covered by the ominous clouds by the time we finished our lunch.

We were above the tree line at this point and in an exposed landscape. It began to rain. I still had many miles I wanted to cover that day but I didn’t want to get caught out in such exposed terrain in a thunderstorm so we decided to wait out the rain in our tent, about a mile and a half from Italy Pass.

The rain kept on for at least three or four hours. Our camp spot was the last suitable spot for several miles and I knew it made the most sense to spend the night there and make up the miles the next day. The rain finally stopped in the evening, so we emerged from our tent and took a short walk to a vista of the Chalfant Lakes basin below us, just as the sun was setting. We had dinner and retired to our tent. The following day would be arduous and long but would also yield some incredible alpine scenery.

We awoke at dawn and ate a quick breakfast which included Cliff energy gel or “goo” as we liked to call it. The day was cloudless and clear but It would not continue as such, eventually devolving Into thunderstorms. This would become a reoccurring theme of the trip.

Highly caffeinated, we powered up the bare granite landscape towards Italy Pass. In about an hour we made it and were treated to beautiful views of Granite Park and beyond.

We continued over the pass but left the trail towards a mountain col that was the entrance to the Bear Lake Basin, our next destination. We slowly traversed a steep boulder field which took a while, until we finally arrived at the gap. After continuing through the gap we were treated to a sweeping view of the Bear Lakes Basin and the Seven Gables Mountains beyond.

It was very exposed rocky terrain with little vegetation. By now the blue skies were 50% white clouds. There was no trail since we left Italy Pass and we wouldn’t be on one for several more miles.

We continued down the Bear Lakes Basin to Black Bear Lake, then followed the drainage downhill towards Big Bear Lake. As we followed the creek down, a gorgeous view emerged of Big Bear Lakes with the Seven Gables mountains in the background. We took some great photos and continued down to the lake and around the shore.

Navigating the area was not so easy. There was no trail and many large granite rock formations to negotiate. We passed high above the shores of beautiful Vee Lake before entering a narrow slot canyon down to the Seven Gables Lakes Drainage.

By now the skies were once again completely overcast with dark grey clouds. It began to sprinkle. Sam was pretty tired at this point and not happy to be once again, caught out in a thunderstorm. We had already covered many rugged off trail miles but we still had quite a distance to go to arrive at our destination at Marie Lake, off the John Muir Trail.

We rain proofed our packs and continued our off trail descent, following the Seven Gables creek downhill. By now there was thunder booming around us. Luckily the terrain yielded more shelter as we descended and we left the open granite parkland of the Bear Lake Basin and Seven Gables drainage. We were looking for the unmaintained Seven Gables Trail that would take us down the valley and connect to the John Muir trail.

We eventually found the Seven Gables Trail and calling it unmaintained is a bit of an understatement. It was very hard to follow and full of obstacles.

We were back in the forest now but stuck in a full on downpour with frequent lightning strikes booming through the walls of the canyon. After some route finding, that involved some class 3 scrambling, we reached Bear Creek and the John Muir Trail at the valley bottom.

We finally had a good trail but we were still several miles from Marie Lake and It was pouring rain. Sam’s spirits were dampened at this point but we stoically continued up the trail towards the lake. After several soggy miles the rain subsided. We were getting close but Sam was very clearly ready to be done with this challenging day. We finally arrived at the shores of beautiful Marie Lake. We couldn’t see anyone else around. We found a nice spot near the lake and set up our tent. It was evening now and the sun decided to treat us with a nice sunset. The water was still and offered a pretty reflection of the surrounding mountains. The serene view was a nice reward for a very challenging day.

I got an early start on the day as I wanted to take some pictures of the lake from Selden Pass, high above. The day again, started off clear and beautiful but I knew that didn’t mean it would stay that way. I took the trail along the shoreline of Marie Lake and up a short ascent to Selden Pass.

I distinctly remembered Selden Pass from my thousand mile backpacking trip through the California Pacific Crest Trail back in 2011. It was still just as stunning. I got some good shots from the pass, then I scrambled farther up the hill side and got some good sweeping panos from the top of the hillside. After exploring the area above Selden Pass a bit, I decided to head back.

I got back and had breakfast and coffee with Sam and enjoyed a leisurely morning. This was our layover day. Much needed after the previous day's stormy, off trail exploits. We broke into the box wine and went on a little pack raft excursion around the lake.

White clouds once again seemed to materialize out of no where and methodically covered up the blue sky. The tell tale breeze of a weather shift came and we knew it was time to start boating back towards camp. We got about a hundred feet from our camp and the sky opened up on us while I paddled us back to shore. We escaped the rain and hid out in some trees near out tent. The rain only lasted about 20 minutes but it looked like more was on the way. We had lunch and enjoyed another walk about before the next round of rain came.

This time the rain came with deafening thunder. We hid out under a tarp shelter in the tree grove for awhile then decided to escape to the tent as the thunderstorm worsened. It preceded to downpour for the next four hours while we remained confined to the tent. Our layover day at Marie Lake was turning out to be less glamorous than I had hoped. The funny thing was, In my combined month of time I had spent in the Sierras in previous Summers, I had never experienced some much as an overcast day! Now I guess I was paying my dues.

At around 6:30 the rain finally stopped. Sam and I went on a nice walk around the Northern portion of the lake. The air was fresh from all the rain. The water was still. After returning from the walk sun blasted through the clouds and lit up the mountains. I was able to get some great photos of it.

Even though our layover day plans were somewhat dampened by the rain, I feel I was able to make the most of it. After dinner, we retired into the tent. Around 10pm it started raining again and it did not stop for about 14 hours.

It rained non stop all night and all morning. We had a good distance to travel that day. We waited in vain for the rain to stop till around 10am. We eventually bit the bullet and began packing up camp. The rain had lessened a bit but it did not stop. We hit the trail, donning our rain gear. Water was running down the trail like we were hiking down a creek. A hiker coming up the trail informed us that Bear Creek was raging from the apparent record rainfall and was very hazardous to cross. He said there was a large group of hikers waiting at the crossing because of the conditions. This turned up the anxiety level a bit but we continued on.

When we finally got there the creek was indeed raging. There were only a couple of people there pondering how or where to cross. The sound of the swollen creek was deafening. The place where the trail crossed Bear Creek was definitely out of the question. We scouted for a safer crossing downstream. After a few hundred yards we found a spot where the river was broken up into several smaller channels which made it less treacherous to cross. The last channel was the deepest and fastest but there was a downed tree across it that we could cross on. We finally made it and got back on the JMT.

I originally wanted to return the same way we came and follow the Seven Gables drainage back up to the Bear Lakes Basin but that area was too exposed for this kind of weather. I decided instead that we should take the Lake Italy Trail back to Italy Pass. After a few more sketchy creek crossings we encountered a group of older hikers that were waiting out the storm due to the high water. We eventually arrived at the Lake Italy junction and left the John Muir Trail. The Lake Italy Trail turned out to be a much better choice. It was better maintained and much easier to follow than the Seven Gables trail. The trail ran through a steep oscillating granite canyon and followed the drainage from large Lake Italy farther ahead.

It finally stopped raining around 3pm. As it started to get dark we found a nice spot next to the creek to camp for the night. We were treated with a brilliant orange sherbert sunset that evening. This fortunately was the last day we would have to deal with rain.

We woke up to beautiful clear weather and spread all our gear to dry out in the sun. We had at least fifteen miles to go to get back to the trailhead.

We continued up the trail toward Lake Italy. The scenery got more dramatic the higher we climbed. We were surrounded by large granite canyon walls. The sound of running water was every where as the mountains drained from the previous day's deluge.

We crossed the creek several times and eventually arrived at Lake Italy. We were way above the tree line so vegetation was very sparse. Everywhere you looked you were surrounded by granite. After taking a break and some pictures we continued up towards Italy Pass.

There was a lot of rock hopping to get there. Finally we arrived at Italy Pass and I took the opportunity to summit adjacent Mt. Julius Ceaser. The view from the mountain was amazing, offering sweeping panoramic views in all directions. I looked down upon Granite Park and the Chalfant Basin to the South and Lake Italy to the NorthWest. It appeared to be an endless sea of mountains in almost all directions.

After many pictures I returned to the pass, and we continued on our quest to the car. We still had a ways to go. Instead of returning the way we came back down Granite Park, we decided to follow the adjacent Chalfant Lakes drainage back down to Honeymoon Lake. I’m glad we did for it was a beautiful detour.

It was nice leaving the granite boulder fields behind and walking on some grass and soil for a change. The weather held up and the Chalfant Lakes were beautiful and inviting. Sadly we didn’t have time to stay. We passed the series of lakes and our route steepened as we continued down the drainage down to Honeymoon Lake. We were treated to more glorious mountain views as we descended.

We arrived at the shores of Honeymoon lake on the opposite side we had camped a few days earlier. I opted to use the pack raft to ferry our stuff to the other side where the trail was. It was growing later in the afternoon as we joined the trail again and followed pine creek down past the pine lakes.

The distance was taking its toll on Sam at this point. We had covered a lot of difficult terrain on this trip and suffered some less than ideal weather while we covered it. Thank fully the weather remained sunny. It was nice seeing the area in the sunlight for a change as we returned.

I took a nice panorama of pine creek falls as we made our way down the endless switchbacks. We finally arrived at the car as it got dark. We were exhausted. This had been quite a challenging trip. The daily thunderstorms had forced me to alter my itenerary a bit which resulted in some higher mileage days than I wanted. Over all I had an amazing time. I got some great photos and got to experience a lot of premium Sierra backcountry. It will be a trip Sam and I will never forget.