Split Mountain - no summit.
This was meant to be the easiest hike of the 6 14ners I was planning to hike during my week in Eastern Sierra. Not because this is such an easy hike but rather because I hiked almost to the top of this mountain last year. Unfortunately it did not pan out the way I had planned.
I tried to do everything right: I drove the treacherous road from I-395 to the trailhead. I followed my favorite route from 395 taking the Tinnemaha Rd toward the Tinnemaha Campground. From there I followed the Fuller Rd which ,after a short drive from the campground, becomes dirt road. I took this road last year and I liked it better than the Mc Murry Rd that splits left from the Glacier Lodge Rd. Either road is a disaster this year. The roads are so bad that, if last year I was able to make it to the trailhead and back on a sedan, this year would have been impossible. Lucky me, I had an SUV. It is hard for me to believe that the road which takes hikers to one of the famous 14ners is kept in total ruin. Not only is the road in very bad shape but, also, there are no signs to point one to any direction - either to I-395 or to the Red Lake trailhead, or anywhere else for that matter.
I know the road and, although I made it there around midnight, I was able to drive all the way to the trailhead with minimal problem (since there are no signs I took a wrong turn but that road was a dead end in .5 mile so I turned back not wasting much time). I made it to the parking lot at the trailhead and I slept in the car from midnight to 4:30 AM. I got up and, as the light of day was pushing through the East mountains, I was ready for my first 14 of the year.
I took the trail on the South side along the creek, since the trail on the North side of the parking lot (although the official trail) has no signs, and it is way longer due to a million switchbacks in order to get a couple of feet elevation. Both trails merge on the other side of the first hill anyway. I followed the trail to the crossing of the creek which is about 1.5 miles from the trailhead. Once at the creek, the crossing was not very clear anymore; lots of trees and branches had fallen blocking the crossing and I ended up going up the hill, on the right side of the creek, trying to find the place to cross. Not my luck; the bushes and trees were getting thicker and thicker. I hiked up on the rock fall until it became impossible to hike and it was also impossible to cross the creek. So I turned back and after careful search I recognized the place to cross the creek. I battled the fallen branches and made it to the other side in total disbelief that a trail like this is utterly unkept. I wonder how hikers with large backpacks and tents and food and everything were able to go through such a thick maze of branches.
Later on I will find out that the trail to Red Lake does not cross the creek. Just before the creek the trail veers off to the right, switchbacking uphill. I missed that turn entirely due to a lot of outgrown vegetation and lack of attention.
Once on the other side of the creek, I got lost completely. I could not see the trail. I hiked up and down, left and right for 3 hours. I just could not see the trail anymore. The trail was entirely washed out and I could not remember from last year where it was. After 4.5 hours of total hiking and not really knowing how to go toward the Red Lake, having Split Mountain in view the whole time, I gave up. The frustration got the best of me. It was 9:30 AM by now and I should have been to the summit but yet, here I was, still by the creek.
As I decided to go back to the car and do something else - so as not to waste the day - I found myself in the dilemma of "where is the darn creek crossing" again. At one point I thought I found a trail crossing the creek but was only a deer path through the thick bushes. I followed that until I got stuck in them bushes, almost not knowing how to get out. I made it out and with a lot of luck I found the creek crossing again, all blocked by the same fallen trees and branches. After I crossed the creek I hiked 30 minutes back to the car and right to the Lone Pine Easters Sierra Visitor Center. I tried to express my concern about the horrible state of the trail to Red Lake, but all the ranger did was to laugh out loud. After all, they require permits for night camping at Red Lake and as far as I can tell they supervise all mountain activity in that area, being paid from everyone’s tax money. But even when I tried to be clearer the second or third time with my description of the trail, the same ranger laughed out louder and that was all he said about that. Since they get paid from tax money and don’t really have to justify what they do, what would they care? They only cared when the money did not come in October 2013. To actually put a bit of effort into maintaining the trails is probably not part of being paid from tax money, is it?
The fact is that, if I could not find the trail with a map in my hand, being there the previous year, in broad daylight, then other hikers had the same experience. How difficult would it be to have a few signs here and there and make the hiking more fun, less frustrating and, most importantly, safer? Why would Whitney trail be 4 feet wide for the whole 11 miles, with a ton of signage, while other trails don’t get any attention?
Laziness is my only answer. It would take a ranger half the day to install a few signs from the trailhead to Red Lake but there has to be a will and dedication. Rangers at the Eastern Sierra Visitor Center are nice and comfy in their air conditioned offices handing out WAG bag for people to litter the Whitney Zone with them.
In the end, this was my second unsuccessful attempt to Split Mountain. I am terribly sorry last year I did not wait out the storm and continue my last half a mile hike to the top. The 2014 attempt was much worse. Nine months of preparation and planing went to waste in one morning. Thanks for nothing Eastern Sierra Visitor Center.
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