"Everyone knew that a Lockheed Lodestar had crashed into one of the
high country lakes, and its cargo was hardly a secret. The word was that tons of
dope lay submerged in the Lower Merced Pass Lake, just below timberline in the
Clark Range. In early Febuary a Customs Service helicopter began shuttling
between the lake and Yosemite Valley, and agents unloaded the big, heavy bundles
in El Cap Meadow. just a few yards from the road. When the noisy activity ceased
two days later, people assumed the operation had succeeded in recovering all the
contraband. It hadn't. But no one outside the federal agencies knew this."
Thus begins the story of the Lodestar Lightning by Kief Hillsbury, written
for the obscure Mountain Gazetteer. The story goes on to tell how three
climbers, in Yosemite for a little backcountry skiing, are approached by a
ranger friend who suggested that they may want to change their backcountry plans
and check out a small remote lake at the headwaters of Illilouette Creek.
The three friends decide to take a look and begin the 20+ mile slog through the
snow to the crash site.
What they found turned out to be a crash site littered with debris, but no
drugs. They hacked away at the ice for awhile, but the lake was frozen
pretty solid, and it appeared that the secrets of the Lodestar would lay at the
bottom of the lake until spring. They found some scraps of plane and made
a makeshift shelter and built a fire to warm their hands. Finding a few
buds that the Custom Service didn't have the time or inclination to sweep up,
they rolled a joint and discussed their options. The small amount of
marijuana they did smoke that day turned out to be very high quality. And
then...
"Maybe smoking it was the charm, a burnt offering to appease the
mountain gods. Less than ten minutes after they wandered back onto the ice,
Jackson's quiet determination erupted into a madman's dance. Nick and Craig
rushed to the small hole he'd opened up and there it was. Black plastic and
sodden burlap, bouyed up by the air bubbles inside. They poked at the bundle and
it quivered as if alive. It seemed substantial."
They had scored the motherlode of dope deals. Some of the bags
contained high quality Qualidad marijuana, as well as lesser grades. They
spent the rest of the day pulling bags from the lake and drying the weed on
scraps of airplane wreckage. The rest is history, as they say. Word
quickly got out and an army of stout hearted adventurers made the march to the
lake to cash in on the windfall. The Gold Rush lasted just a few weeks
before the Park Service got wind of it. The three friends were enjoying
the fruits of their labor, when their ranger friend came up late one night:
"One sunny Monday a group of friends were admiring Jackson's
newly-purchased Econoline when the same friendly ranger who'd advised Craig and
Nick to change their hiking plans wandered over. "Now this is strictly off
the record," he said, "and you understand I can't tell you if there's
going to be a raid or when it might be." He paused. "But - I have a
feeling that Wednesday won't be a good day to be on the Mono Meadow trail."
The ranger looked up at the cloudless sky. "Looks to me like there's a
storm front coming in," he said, and walked away."
Sure enough, the feds clamped down on the site. Scores of people
scattered into the woods when the helicopters descended on the lake. Only
two arrests were made (and charges were dismissed).
Many myths and legends have sprung up about the crash, but a few details are
for certain:
"In fact, it is likely that more than half a million dollars worth of
marijuana was recovered in the unauthorized salvage operation. Airplane sold for
$400 a pound, minimum, and the price ranged up to $650 for the best quality
buds. Most 'prospectors' made brief trips to San Francisco or Los Angeles and
returned with thick bankrolls. Park Service estimates vary, but between 3100 and
4500 pounds were ferried out by the government before and after the Gold Rush.
In Yosemite, the latter figure is regarded with as much suspicion as the offical
"only four people scored" theory, but it still leaves 1500 pounds of
the six ton cargo unaccounted for. At $400 a pound, that's $600,000, an
impressive haul by anyone's standards."
The bodies of the pilot and the copilot were recovered in the spring during a
salvage operation. The wreckage was removed and little evidence (if any)
remains as a reminder of that cold spring day in 1977 when the Lockheed Lodestar
crashed into a remote mountain lake in Yosemite's backcountry.