The 14er Hogs were turned back from Mt. Sill last August by high winds, rain, and hail. This year we were more determined than ever to get to the top. The group of old men, Gene Blackmore, John Clemens, Monte Hammer, and Jim Cline, ranging in age from 50-something to 70-something, had to substitute stealth and guile (extra time and periodic naps) in place of the strength and endurance used by younger climbers. The two-day expedition to the top of Sill and back was planned and executed as a four-day adventure. While there are obvious advantages to the extended time plan, keep in mind that blood loss from mosquito bites can become a critical factor on this particular trail. We started Sunday morning, 1 July 2001 from Big Pine, CA after a wonderful "last meal" breakfast at the Country Kitchen (great omelets). We arrived at the Big Pine Creek trailhead at 8:30 AM and conducted the ceremonial coin flip to determine who had to take the truck to the overnight parking area 3/4th mile down the road, and walk back. Monte "won" but got a ride back up with a kind local a few minutes later. The first few miles were a death-march in 90°+ temperatures, deep dust, and the rich aroma of decomposing horse dung. It was a real joy to reach the second falls and begin to go along the North Fork of the Big Pine Creek. That's a pretty walk with lots of flowers, grass, and the stream offering beautiful variations on the "rushing waters" theme and occasional glimpses of trout in placid pools. We enjoyed lunch and our first nap in a perfect by-the-stream location within a few feet of the trail. Refreshed, we moved on to Lake 1, where we set up camp, did a little fishing, gave up, and cooked our freeze-dried yuck for supper. We also noted that we had entered the mosquito zone, and were racking up amazing scores in our video-game-like swatting frenzy. Our repellent was effective, it kept the little zappers flying in frustration an inch away from open skin, but if you missed a spot on skin or clothing, they were more than happy to show you where. Early the next morning we moved above lake one, past lake two, lake three and into the meadow where the glacier trail crosses the North Fork Creek. This was the highest concentration of mosquitoes. I had neglected to protect the inside of my nose and forgotten about the inside of my mouth. Yikes, Snort, Patooie, AACH! Happily moving above the meadow, we entered beautiful Sam Mack Meadow at 10,400' about noon. After a short nap, we explored the falls, snowfields, flowers, and famous endangered yellow-leged frogs to be found there. We found two nice tent sites under trees, and relaxed. There were still enough mosquitoes at this level to provide entertainment, but not enough to prevent breathing normally. Next morning we took day packs and set out to cross the stream and head up the trail. The stream crossing was marked by a nice sign, but the stream couldn't be crossed at that point. We found that by going downstream a hundred yards, we could get across on rocks without getting the boots wet. "They" should move the trail sign. The trail took us past a nice view of lakes 1, 2, and 3, all in a row, then up some boulder-hopping and friction pitches to the ridge overlooking the glacier. This picture is from last year. There was a lot more snow this year which can be seen in the picture below. Great view of all five of the Palisade peaks from here. From left to right, we could see Mt. Sill and the ridge running past the "v-notch" to Polemonium Peak, then the big "U-notch" with North Palisade Peak to the right, then Starlight (how are we ever going to get up there?) and Thunderbolt (which we have already climbed). At the ridge, we turned left and made our way over the boulders to the glacier, donned our crampons, and crunched our way across the snow to the first couloir. There we turned left and kicked our way straight up the snow to the rocks just under the ridge. We exited the snow to the left, and scrambled over the rocks to the ridge. At that point we were low on water, so we did a little creative pumping from the meager runoff, topping off the water bottles and allowing time for another nap. Then it was back into the crampons and across the snowfield on the other side of the ridge, and a right turn up the steep North Couloir, kicking in steps that were sometimes in soft snow and sometimes in solid ice. Gene in the North Couloir At the top of the ridge we were met with thunder, rain, and corn snow. Was this to be a replay of last year?? We decided to hunker down and wait it out. Try and keep warm as you hunker down to wait out the afternoon storm. Sure enough, a while later the storm past, and we scrambled up the shoulder of Sill and across a ledge that might make some climbers a bit nervous. There were enough places for hands and feet to make it pretty easy-just sporty. But then we came to a 60' vertical scramble that our guide book called class 3. HAH! Exposure makes it class 4 in our book. We roped up to climb the rain-slick rock. We came out on the ridge between Sill and Polemonium, fairly near the Sill summit. Polemonium - Sill Ridge There were a few interesting moves to get to the summit, and we each used a different one, but none had any exposure to speak of. We reached the top (14,153'), signed the register at about 2:30, took a short nap, and started down about 3:30, realizing we were not going to do Polemonium on this day. Gene & Jim signing the summit register We rappelled over the class 4 on the way down, and enjoyed some speed and excitement glissading down over the snowfields. With no more time remaining for naps (UGH!), we pressed on over the boulders and down the friction pitches to get to the trail before dark. We just made it and got back to camp well after dark by headlamp. Have you ever crossed a big stream at night by headlamp? Exciting! The next day we hiked and napped our way out, and enjoyed a nice 4th of July Barbecue, courtesy of the Big Pine Fire Department at the local park. We had time for one more nap on the grass. John Clemens

I just wanted to show you the CLASS 3 section.
There are 3 climbers in the center of the picture.
For a close-up and more images Click Here

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