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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 9: Our final half-day involved 6000’ of descent through different climate zones, from the alpine environment at Shepherd pass, down through forests, and ending in the semi-desert environment of the Owens valley. [End]

Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Sunrise at our final campsite at Shepherd Pass (12,000’). What an amazing place!

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

We were very pleased with ourselves after summitting Mt Williamson, seen in the background. It’s slightly lower than Whitney—which I haven’t climbed—but is supposedly much harder, and felt like a real achievement.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 8: Mt Williamson was tough, but we made it! Whitney is visible over my R shoulder in the summit pic. I didn’t take photos on the way up or down (too busy trying not to fall) but we met another climber who took a pic of me descending the chute—posted with permission (thanks Sean!)

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

From the summit of Mt Tyndall we had a great view of the W face of Mt Williamson, the second-highest summit in CA and our target for next day. It looked intimidating, but we were ready to trust Secor: “Aim for the cliff face with a large black stain and then follow the chute up to the left.”

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 7: Summit pic on Mt Tyndall, my first 14er. I’ve been higher several times (over 20,000’ in the Andes) but on previous occasions I was defeated before reaching the summits.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 6: A shorter day, with amazing transition from the lush forests and meadows of the W to the more harsh and arid environment to the E as we approached the crest of the range.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 5: We originally hoped to climb Milestone Mountain, the iconic pinnacle seen in the middle of the Kern Ridge. (framed here between two trees). It is supposedly a class 3 scramble, but it looked daunting from every angle, and we decided not to risk it.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 4: We crossed the Kaweah ridge via Pants Pass—a hard bushwhack to 11,960’ with our 50# packs—and were grateful to Secor’s guidebook for saving us from the mistake of climbing the aptly-named ‘Piss-your-Pants Pass,’ which looks easier from the W but ends in a vertical drop on the E side.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 3: We climbed Lawson Peak, deep in the Sierras and far from any trailhead. Behind me is the Kaweah ridge, with several jagged peaks that looked great but were beyond our skill level.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 2: Campsite at Pinto Lake. Earlier in the day, we tried unsuccessfully to climb Mt Eisen, but the loose rock made for very slow progress and we ran out of time.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Day 1: My in-laws Clark and Rosa came with us to Mineral King. Their car is wrapped in tarp to protect it from marmots, which for their own reasons love to chew through tubes and wire insulation, and are a notorious problem there (although more so in spring than fall).

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Overall, an outstanding trip, and a reminder of the greatness of US National Parks. The rest of this thread shows pics from each day. I’m happy to share more info with anyone interested in the Sierras or wilderness backpacking in general.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Williamson was even harder – Simon & I agreed it was the second hardest summit that we’ve climbed (after Gannett Pk in WY)—lots of talus to cross, tricky route-finding up the W face, then a long haul up a chute ending in a scramble up the headwall to the summit plateau.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Mt Tyndall (my first 14er) was more challenging, with exposed class 3 scrambling along the ridge to the summit. Not technically difficult, but it requires a good head for heights.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Trails were mostly good (compared to New England mtns), but they stick to valleys and passes—unlike the NE, reaching summits in the Sierras almost always requires off-trail hiking/scrambling, which is much harder. This pic is an example of an easy summit route (Lawson Peak).

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

We didn’t meet any bears, but we heard coyotes and saw their fresh footprints near our campsite one morning.[

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

We both carried bear canisters but couldn’t fit 8 days-worth of food in them. Some nights we camped near bear boxes (the only facilities in the back country) but other times I got to practice my bear bag hanging skills.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

We covered ~78 ml and 22,000 ft of ascent in 8 1/2 days, and climbed three summits including Lawson Peak, Mt Tyndall and Mt Williamson (the second highest in CA after Mt Whitney).

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

My companion was my old friend Simon from London, with whom I’ve done many hiking trips ever since graduate school—still going strong 40 years on! We documented our combined age in the summit register on Lawson Peak (13,140’).

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

A longer thread about our 8-1/2-day hike across the Sierra Nevada in 9/25. We started at Mineral King in the W and finished at Shepherd Pass trailhead in the Owens Valley on the E side. So no way out but through! Luckily we both have family members in the area who were kind enough to give us rides.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 1d

I recently returned from a backpacking trip across the #sierranevada of CA. It was great to unplug from the news and spend time in the back country of Sequoia-Kings Canyon, one of our greatest #NationalParks. I’ll post a longer thread, but here’s a couple of pics.

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 2d

NYT is inviting comments from scientists for a new series about the impact of Trump's cuts on US science.

Has Your Scientific Work Been Cut? We Want to Hear.

www.nytimes.com

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 3d

Reposting b/c 'Like' doesn't seem like the right response when we are talking about an estimated 88 deaths per hour, as a result of Trump's cancelling aid for malaria, TB, infant diarrhea, malnutrition, etc..

Jen Rubin @jenrubin.bsky.social · 3d

how many kids did Trump kill today? Here is a tracker: www.impactcounter.com/dashboard?vi...

Impact Dashboard - Impact Counter | Impact Counter

Visualize the human impact of funding changes for aid and support organizations.

www.impactcounter.com

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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 3d

He will be remembered for what is surely one of the most important expts in the history of biology.

John B. Gurdon, 92, Dies; Nobelist Paved Way for Cloning of Animals

www.nytimes.com

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