I was just back from Europe, and had 2 more holidays lined up in July, with an otherwise busy schedule too, when I received notification that the meetup trip I was waitlisted for was now confirmed. After about 5 seconds of pondering, I decided to commit to it. Thus was planned my 4 day backpacking trip to Iva Bell Hot Springs with the Turtles meetup group.
Iva Bell Hot Springs is a 13 mile hike from the Reds Meadow through Ansel Adams and John Muir wilderness, Inyo National Forest. Permits are required for hiking this trail, but since I was joining a meetup group, this was sorted for me. The PCT and JMT intersect at the Reds Meadow and it gave me a thrill to see these signages at the trailhead.. I saw my first hikers box too, filled with goodies from generous hikers to others who need stuff. We had to take a shuttle to the trailhead from Mammoth Resort, and we took the first shuttle of the day, and the season actually!
My trip began on the previous day when I left Bay Area at noon and carpooled with Maggie, to drive to Mammoth Lakes. Since we had a bit of time in the evening, we decided to drop into Yosemite Valley for dinner and inspiration, before hitting Tioga Pass to Mammoth Lakes. The valley was actually not that busy, and the majestic granite peaks were breathtaking, as usual. We reached the hotel at Mammoth Lakes at about 8pm, in good time to get ready for a 7am start the next day at the trailhead.
The road to Reds Meadow looked quite scary indeed - with a sheer drop off to one side and granite walls on the other, and just wide enough to fit 1 bus. The drivers were radio-ing each other their location so that they don't cross each other at tight points. The scenery though was magnificent. After a 45 minute hike, we were at Reds Meadow to start our hike.
Reds Meadow is an absolutely charming place, with cute cabins, a cafe and a store. There are numerous trails for day hikes starting from here, this would be a perfect place for a family / friends holiday.
The hike was 26 miles round trip with about 4000 ft of elevation gain, and we had 4 days to do this. On paper, this seems like it should be a very easy trip, and that was my thinking too. Nothing worth seeing in nature is actually easy, nature has a way of making you work for its treasures, and this trip was no exception. The start was easy enough though with a downhill trail. About a mile in was the Rainbow falls, a picture perfect waterfall. We took a small deviation here to take some pictures and soak up the beauty. Back on the trail, we now had to hike through overgrown chaparral brushes overpopulated by mosquitoes. After an itchy, scratchy mile or so, the trail opened up and we were granted granite vistas once again. Behold the beauty of the Ansel Adams wilderness.
Since we didn't have long mileage each day, we decided to take it easy and took a break here to eat some ginger bread that Katherine had picked up at Mammoth lakes, in the name of helping her lighten her load. This break, and every other one on this trip, was a hallmark Turtle Break. It wasn't about sitting down to eat, catch your breath, take a few photos and hike again.. Instead, it was settling in to comfortable position, chatting about anything that comes up, soaking in the views and only moving when someone realized we still have a-ways to go. I came to love these breaks, the slow pace of the day was just the tonic I needed to relax.
Soon we crossed a knee-high creek (for me) and entered the John Muir wilderness. The water was cold and refreshing! We then started climbing a ridge, breaking for lunch and a nap to the music of grouse at a particularly scenic section. After lunch, the trail began to climb in an exposed region, and it was exhausting. There were also many fallen trees that we had to climb over, and with the backpack and all, this made the hike exhausting. Some hikers we met told us that the rest of the hike was pretty much like a field of felled trees and this sounded daunting indeed. After an unrelenting 3 mile climb in the heat, we started descending to Fish Creek which would be our camp for the night. This trail was beautiful, with views of the creek in the valley and numerous water falls visible from the height. The sound of water flowing in the creek was a constant companion, for the next few days actually. We ended the day after hiking about 9 miles, exhausted and a bit disappointed in ourselves that we were so tired for such seemingly low mileage and elevation.
The camp ground we stayed at was just after we crossed the creek over a bridge. There was easy access to the river, it was a beautiful meadow. The most amazing thing was that we found evidence of indigenous usage of this camp ground. On the large boulders near the fire ring was pound holes, which the indigenous people used to prepare food. It was easy to visualize how they would have lived in that area, gave us a lot of food for thought.
Day 2: The group made a collective decision to stay at Fish Creek for 2 nights and day hike to Iva Bell Hot Springs on day 2. This was very fortunate indeed because if we thought the trail the previous day was bad, the trail to the hot springs made it seem like a bed of roses. It was indeed a field of felled trees, with branches poking out at all angles to get us. We had to climb over, under the trees which seemed to be on a mission to attack us. My lace got caught on a small branch causing me to trip and fall (one of my many falls.. ). Our trip leader Lori decided to turn back after about 2 miles on this trail. She had hurt her knee at one of the tree crossings, and decided this was the best decision for her. The rest of us hiked on, and after 4 miles, we arrived at the hot springs. It was a large meadow on a hilly slope, and there were small natural pools created that we could sit and soak in. You literally had to walk by a tub to know that it's there.. We first found a very pretty pool with granite walls and floor, with hot spring water flowing into it. It was picture perfect and some of the women decided to stop at this one. I hiked on and found another tub with a sandy base, with hot water bubbling up from the floor - it was magical! The water temperature was perfect, with a fresh water creek depositing some water into this tub to keep the temperature pleasant. There was a log to lean on, granite steps to sit on, and I enjoyed 2 hours of bliss soaking and reading at this hot tub. Let's take a minute to examine this wonder. At the elevation of 8000 feet, surrounded by granite peaks, was a grassy meadow in which are hidden pools of perfect warm natural spring water. At that moment, I felt like the tough hike was a just price to pay to behold this marvel that nature has created. I felt blessed to have witnessed and partaken in this scene.
After dinner and more chatting with the ladies, I was exhausted and glad to go to bed.
Day 3: The day started with a steep climb up a ridge, which has no shade, and so we decided to start early, leaving camp at 8am. As expected, the climb was hard and even by 9am, the sun was out and making the climb hot, but just as we finished the climb was a great spot in shade where we stopped for a "turtle break". It had all the hallmarks of the perfect Turtle Break, great views, shade, logs or rocks to sit on and chat like we had the rest of the day, which we had. The rest of the hike was easier in comparison, since we had very less climbing and we had the worst of the fallen trees behind us. After 4.5 miles, we had crossed 2 creeks and were at a flat grassy section just off the creek and we decided to rest here. The rest grew longer and longer until it turned out to be our camp for the night. I setup the tent without the rainfly and had a great afternoon nap with views of the pines, a good book and chatter of these amazing women outside which I could join if I felt so inclined. It was a slow afternoon and evening, with books, tea, chat, nap. It was perfect. In fact, I think this was my favorite day of the hike, notwithstanding the hot springs of the previous day. On a backpacking trip like this, we can get acquainted with intimate parts of other people and it was an enriching experience. Learning to go slow and relax was my personal growth achievement in this trip.
Let's talk about the people on this trip now.. There was Lori, the trip leader, who has hiked so much that she knows the Sierras like the back of her hand. A therapist by profession, she has actively volunteered for search and rescue operations and trail restoration. She was full of interesting tidbits about the plants, the peaks and the trail itself. Hiking with her was like hiking with a walking, talking encyclopedia. Then there was Maggie, with whom I had carpooled and stayed at Mammoth lakes. She's a Hand Bell ringer and plays in concerts too. I've watched her concert at Mission church last December. She has hiked a lot and it was interesting to hear which trails of Yosemite she has hiked and how as we were driving through. An introvert, she likes reading / listening to fantasy novels. Sylvia, who is the stalwart of the Turtles meetup group who is just an awesome person through and through. I've done many trips with her, and she is so gregarious, kind, funny and interesting. At 60 years of age, she is an inspiration for me. Katheryn, is a quiet 65 year old, who has had so many exciting adventures in life. She has spent months in Alaska, been deployed in Antartica for work for 4 months and even ran a half marathon there. She spent a few months in Russia because as a teenager, she didn't believe what she was taught about communism and wanted to check it out by herself. In her company, it's easy to believe that one can dream big and then fulfill them. The last member of our group was Eva, who is a newbie to our group. She is 35, a music therapist by profession and is absolutely the sweetest person! She was bringing up the rear of the group and since we were hiking slow, she used the time to clear the trail of the logs, twigs and branches. Always trying to be helpful, she was the first to jump up to volunteer for anything, be it bring a bucket of water for the campfire or clear the campsite of twigs. She was very chatty, and hiking with her was so much fun! With this group, it's no wonder that the "hanging out" day turned out to be so enjoyable.
We saw trail maintenance crew on horses and on foot hiking towards Fish Creek to start to clear the trail. While it is heartening to know that the trail will be cleared and a subsequent hike to the hot springs will be easier and more enjoyable, it's a bummer that they had to start just as we were finishing!
Day 4 was a short one, just 4.5 miles to Reds Meadows and comparatively easy trail. We started at 8am and other than it being uncomfortably hot towards the end, we had an uneventful hike, if a hike at Ansel Adams wilderness can even be called that! We reached Reds Meadows at 11:30, and after washing up in civilization with plumbing and flush toilets, decided to get lunch right there. We were the first in line, and the burger and fruits was possibly the best meal I've had in a long time! I have to add a caveat that after 4 days in the wilderness, anything fresh tastes great!
Not that I had substandard food on the trail, since I've got my dehydrator, my back country meals have always been awesome! I had quinoa pongal, rava upma with veggies and poha for breakfasts, and for dinners, Lauki dhal, dhal makhani and cauliflower subzi, chowchow kootu, all with brown rice. While every one of these meals was delicious, the crunch of a lettuce leaf in a burger tingles the senses in a whole new way after a few days of backpacking.
All in all, this was a great trip, with minimal planning effort from me, and maximum gains in terms of experience, company and vistas. I hope to be better aquatinted with the Sierras in the near future.
Google Photo Album is here
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