John Muir Trail Part 1-Bishop to Palisade Lake

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This is our cabin at the Cardinal Resort at 8400 ft, near Bishop, CA. We stayed here 2 nights to acclimate to the altitude and run our car shuttle.

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John got a room to himself. Except that it was the living room/kitchen, so we all used it.

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Ron, Rob (with his back turned) and me (in the mirror) in our cozy little bedroom.

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Cardinal Resort alarm clock; housed right next door to our cabin!

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After picking up our permits and fuel for the backpack, Ron and WIll ran the car shuttle. We then visited several sets of petroglyphs in the Volcanic Tablelands area just north of Bishop. These are the White Mountains, on the east side of the Owens valley.

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Will is checking out a few of what appeared to be hundreds of grinding depressions on this boulder.

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Bad sign: Will looks lost already ;-)

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Rob, John, WIll and Ron lookikng at petroglyphs.

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The petroglyphs they were looking at. These may have been created by ancestors of the Paiute - Shoshone Indians, and some may be as old as 8000 years.

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Petroglyphs, with the White Mountains behind.

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The near-full moon rising above the petroglyphs

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OK; after a big breakfast at Cardinal Resort, we are finally ready to start hiking. We begin at the Bishop Pass trailhead, and will cross Bishop Pass on our way to the John Muir Trail.

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Ready to start our hike: Andy, Rob, John, Ron and Will, with South Lake behind us

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Ron and Rob saddle up. We plan a fairly short first day, about 4 miles and 1300 feet to climb. Here at the TH, we are about 9800 ft.

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The view across South Lake as we hike above it.

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The John Muir WIlderness boundary, about a half mile from our start. We will be in designated WIlderness for the next 9 days.

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Chocolate Peak

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John, hiking along the lower section of Long Lake. There were LOTS of people on the first part of the trail.

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Now we've climbed a bit. That's Long Lake in the background, and Spearhead at the lower left.

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John making his way along the outflow from Saddlerock Lake into one of the Timberline Tarns below.

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This is my tent at our first camp, near Saddlerock Lake. I was wedged in between granite slabs, and mostly had to use BFR rather than stakes to secure the tent.