The Palisade Glacier

Mountain highs, aspens in autumn gold, and good times at camp with old friends. It really just doesn't get any better.

It was a delicious shoulder-season backpack, with the crispness of autumn in the air. Chattering squirrels and chipmunks were busily preparing for winter. Our goal was to see if the Palisade Glacier – one of California’s few remaining glaciers – still clung to life after years of warming and drought. To our delight, it is still hanging on, slowly grinding the rock on the north faces of several Fourteeners into a fine rock flour that seeps into the lakes below, turning them a dazzling teal blue.

A celebration of the fall equinox, this backpack will take us into the scenic backcountry of Big Pine Creek. We'll set up a lakeside base camp from which we'll launch optional dayhikes among a series of glacial lakes and the Palisade Glacier, formerly one of the largest in the Sierra. Recent drought and climate change have dramatically reduced the glacier, threatening to cut off the spigot of glacial meltwater that makes the lakes emerald green. But we'll hope for the best. Those not interested in additional hiking may relax in camp, birdwatch, fish, or whatever.

This will be a fairly strenuous backpack, covering about 25 miles in four days at a purposeful pace, so this trip is suitable only for experienced backpackers in very good shape   Most of our hike will be along well-maintained trail, but some cross-country hiking and rock scrambling may be required on our trek to the glacier.

Because of the strenuous nature of this trip, the leader reserves the right to qualify participants. This is a consciously low-impact outing, so carpool participation is encouraged and participants are urged to contribute to their vehicle’s shared mileage and gas costs as well as their share of the backcountry permit fee. Participants are also required to pack or rent a USFS-approved bear canister. Permit pending for five participants; two spaces have been filled by GO members outside this posting.

This trip is strictly dependent upon a favorable weather forecast. A National Weather Service forecast of rain within 72 hours of our start will cancel or re-route this trip at the sole discretion of the leader, as will fewer than three confirmed signups as of 8:00pm, Tuesday, September 20. This trip will be by individual commissary, and we’re not planning any shared meals, so please plan to provide your own four-day supply of food.  We will aim to return to Los Angeles by 7pm Sunday, September 25.