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Silliman Crest Overnighter

Day One: Lodgepole-Twin Lakes  6.2 miles

This trip all began with me getting a summer job at Ash Mountain in Sequoia National Park. My maintenance position meant that I would be working the busy weekends and get Wednesday/Thursday off. I visited the wilderness permit office Monday afternoon and they agreed to hold a permit for me at Lodgepole for the next day. Tuesday after work I drove straight there, picked up my permit for Twin Lakes, and parked my truck at the backpackers' overnight parking. Getting a late start at 5:30 worried me a bit, but I was confident that between the late sunset and my headlight I would make it to Twin Lakes that night. The 3000+ feet of elevation gain proved to be more than I anticipated, as I sluggishly made it to the lake by headlight around 9:30. A quick dinner and off to bed I went, anticipating a cold night by the amount of snow on the ground.

Day 2: Twin Lakes-Marvin Pass  13.81 miles 

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Waking up Wednesday morning I saw the temperature only 40 degrees, not near as cold as I had anticipated for a trip so high and early. Today's plan was to hike over Silliman Pass, something I had been looking forward to for a long time, but had never done, and descend to Ranger Lake to spend the night. Heading out of camp around 8 I caught the trail to the pass, which required minor route finding through the snow, and made it to the pass in only an hour. I spent a bit of time up there, taking pictures, chasing marmots, and admiring my personal favorite mountain, Silliman.


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On the east side of the pass I found the trail required careful hiking because of several factors: the amount of small snow patches, streams running across the trail, and switchbacks. The combination of snow patches and switchbacks made the going frustrating in more than a few places, but nevertheless I made better time than anticipated. As I went down I got great views of Ranger Lake and the pointed prow of Silliman behind me.

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By the time I made it to Ranger Lake it was time for a snack break, not to make camp. At this point I decided that instead of camping here and heading back out the next day I would press on. My eventual plan was to hike to Marvin Pass TH and hitchhike back to my truck the next day. Leaving Ranger, I hiked past Lost Lake and into Seville. I had been to Seville several years ago on a dayhike, and knew that the hike out was no cake walk. Pushing up and out of Seville I found myself at the Marvin Pass TH to end the hike. I eventually got a ride back to Big Meadows where I hiked down to Stony Creek Campground and spent my second night. I was able to beg a ride back to my car the next morning and even had time to visit Moro Rock and the big trees. Not exactly what I had in mind, but a great weekend nonetheless.

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