It’d been years since we’d visited the leap. The last time we self-sandbagged by jumping on East Wall pretty much off the couch. We forgot that we hadn’t climbed in two years, and proceeded to hop on three pitches at elevation. We survived, but it was a tough time. This time we were in much better shape, and had more ambitious plans to match (Corrugation, The Line).
This was our first visit to the leap since the Caldor Fire, so we were pretty nervous about that. It’s hard to imagine what a favorite place is going to be like after such devastation. Although we missed going to the leap every year, it was probably good that we waited a few years and allowed the plants a chance to recover. Just for our sake.
Our first evening, after claiming a site and eating dinner, we poured drinks and headed up the trail, eager to revisit and check out one of our favorite spots. The burned trees were stark and dramatic, but all the extra sun had created a new biome. Bushes, shrubs, and stunning wildflowers had opportunistically moved into formerly shaded glades. It was a pleasant surprise, although it was bittersweet. I can’t pretend that the lack of trees and shade is a good thing, but at least the colorful showing helped to ease the sting of the loss.
But the real surprise was Petch’s Amazing Descent Stairs. Just when we were about to bonk on our descent from the main wall (we’re sea-levelers), we stumbled onto the new descent trail. It makes sense, since the original trail was practically a stairway made of bushes and roots, that the trail would have to change. But like wildflowers emerging after a fire, Petch’s new stairs are a glorious and beautiful expression of everything good in the world.
These stairs were a joy to descend, and will likely last longer than a human lifespan. They fit their environment so perfectly, it feels like they are a part of nature. As if they were right out of a Tolkien book, these granite flagstones create an alpine garden feel that should be inhabited by fairies and elves. And they sooth weary hikers who used all their gas on the ascent, and allow safe passage back to the shelter and comfort of tents among the pines.
But seriously though, short of Angels Landing, or the Mist Trail, this is one of the most elegant and natural descent trails I’ve ever been on. Truly an outstanding piece of work. So if you need a guide at the Leap please consider the absolute one and only Lovers Leap Guides.
So as a first time back, it was a great trip. And as a benchmark for Emma it was a huge success. From sometimes getting shut down on 5.7s to completing a 5.9 classic, this was definitely proof of her progress. It also felt like new territory for us as a team with regard to long hard days, with a really successful linkup that was exhausting, but left us both happy and satisfied. Add in a peaceful campsite in the forest, and a beautiful drive up and down the East Sierra, and we had a perfect vacation.
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