TR: Lakes Basin, Dummbell, Amphitheater, Upper Baisn
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 1:47 pm
Loop from Taboose Trailhead
August 30-Sept. 8, 2013
BUMPED UP TO ADD PHOTOS - the old post photos from Photobucket did not show up- someone asked for them.
This trip was unusual for me. Instead of seeing lots of country, my goal was to go back to areas I had quickly passed on previous trips and try to catch a fish per day, and get one fish out of as many lakes as I could. Other than the first and last day, I only hiked in the mornings, and spent the afternoons fishing and exploring.
Being Labor Day weekend, I left early to get to the Mono Lake permit desk by 11AM, unnecessary because there was no run on permits for Taboose Pass. I reached Bishop by 1PM and after buying last minute supplies I was sucked into Wilson’s and dropped $100 on gear on sale. I decided to head to the Taboose Creek Campground before I spent all my gas money. The quiet campground became busy with kids on four-wheelers, but thankfully, all were put to bed by 9PM. It was hot – 95 degrees. Not expecting bugs, I spent a miserable night in my car camping tent with the zipper broken, and got eaten by some mysterious bugs.
Day 1: Trailhead to unnamed lakes below Striped Mountain. I awoke at 4:30AM with swollen eyelids and itching all over. What a way to start at trip! I quickly packed up while making coffee and eating a bowl of cereal. I started up the road, at a creeping pace in the dark. I could see a speck of light far ahead- some hiker starting up the trail by headlamp. After a half an hour I reached the trailhead. My husband called at 5AM (my wake-up call if I had not gotten up earlier). The trailhead is tight, and I spent some time parking the car without bashing into rocks. By 5:20 I was on the trail going as fast as I could to beat the heat. The trail heads up, unrelenting. I stopped for water at the one place where the creek was accessible. Soon I saw tent poles lying in the trail and wondered if they belonged to the person with the headlamp? I decided to leave them there; no way was I going to catch up, and perhaps the poles were not even this person’s. At first it was shady near the stream vegetation. Then the trail started up the south hillside, void of shade. It was beastly hot by the time I reached the crossing at 8,300 feet after gaining 2,500 feet. I took off shoes and waded just to cool off my feet. With 10 days food, my pack weighed 35 pounds with water and it was killing my back already. One foot in front of the other, up, up, up to the second crossing at 9,120, another 1,000 feet done, with a thankful breeze. I stopped and soaked my shirt and hat, wrung them out and used evaporative cooling for the next 1,000 feet to the lovely meadow with campsites. It was 11:30AM. This was my planned stop and the clouds were building above. What in the world was I going to do here for the rest of the afternoon? I decided to continue. I met a couple with a donkey who were descending the trail. Poor Donkey! Although threatening, the clouds offered welcome shade. My pace slowed to a crawl. I was finally on the pass at 12:30 after the final 1,300 feet of elevation gain. The west side was very dry so I decided I would head for the lakes below Striped Mountain. I knew I did not have the energy to make it all the way to Bench Lake, another option. Although only 1.6 miles and 450 feet gain, I did not reach the lake until 2:30, thoroughly exhausted. Thankfully there is a nice established campsite at the outlet. I slowly set up camp and regained enough energy to go fishing. I did not have to go far- about 100 feet from my tent I caught two fish, the first a little one and then a whopper! I cleaned the fish and cooked dinner, coming close to falling asleep while eating. An impressive sunset kept me up another hour taking photos. Several deer came by just before I hopped into the tent at 7PM for a good night’s sleep, after chugging down two Advil and an allergy pill. A long day;-9 hours, 8.2 miles, and 6,400 feet elevation gain.
Day 2: Striped Mountain lakes to Cartridge Lake. When I awoke it was stormy and overcast. A few raindrops fell. The tent was soaked with condensation, wet inside and out. Up at 6:15 I did not leave until 8:15. Thankfully the sun came out enough to dry the tent before I left. I returned to the trail and shortly was at the JMT junction. A large group was taking a rest. I looked around trying to decide if the lighting was worth the effort to go up the trail a ways to get a photo. A person in the group informed me that I was at the trail junction and Pinchot Pass was “that way”, just as the large sign said. Did I really look that clueless? I went up for a photo, disappointed. The lighting was all wrong. So I put on the miserable pack and started down to the South Fork of the Kings River crossing. The river was so low that I could hop across on rocks. I left the trail, passed a sign that said “no camping, restoration” and immediately found a nice distinct use-trail. Horses had recently been down this trail which runs up on the north bench above the river and then drops to the river at the east edge of a large talus cone. This is the old Cartridge Pass Trail. Although it crosses the river here, I followed the horse poo and found another use-trail on the north side of the river that skirted the talus cone’s lower edge and continued down river, through a forest, past another talus cone and through another forested area, ending at the third talus cone. I think it continued through willows, but I decided it was easier just to get up on the talus and hop rocks to the large flat area where the trail starts up the hillside to the north. I headed up finally bumping into the trail after about 200 feet gain. I had been down this trail before, but it seemed to be in much worse condition, with many wash-outs, the original switchbacks essentially replaced by a maze of steep “cut offs”. Yesterday’s effort had taken its toll on my energy levels and this hillside seemed endless and agonizing. My back ached; I sucked air taking a rest every few minutes, reaching Cartridge Lake (10,880) at 12:30. I spent nearly half an hour hunting for the perfect campsite, only to come back to my pack and set up on a nice grassy area adjacent to the outlet ponds, but without a view of the lake, but with a good view south towards Pinchot Pass and Bench Lake. With threatening weather I was more interested in being protected from rain and wind and having a site with good drainage. I fished for an hour or so catching three fish from 8-11 inches. The wind was howling so casting was a challenge! I strung the fish in the lake. The weather was clearing so I took a hike along the shoreline to the inlet. Half way there, the sun came out and I took advantage of this break for a bath. I washed one shirt and hung it in a tree and continued down the shoreline taking photos. Returning to camp at 4PM, I cleaned the fish and fried them up for a leisurely dinner. Again the sunset was outstanding so I had to run around taking photos! And again I went to bed early. It was a warm night, overcast with a few raindrops. Thus the short day’s backpack ended; 4 hours, 4.7 miles and only 1,500 feet gain. I was happy that I had found the old Cartridge Pass trail and caught fish. I hoped to catch at least one fish per day!
Day 3: Cartridge Lake to Lakes Basin Lake 10,632. The tent was soaked inside and out when I awoke at 6:15. After drying the tent it was 8:30 before I left. My pack still hurt my back having bruised my tailbone by now. I really need a new pack! I missed the trail to the next small lake to the north, although I was following the “trail” location shown on the map. It did not matter as there are many ways to go, all fairly easy. At the outlet of the small lake, thankfully, I found the trail and it was distinct. I took a break and ambled down to the little lake, surprised by the nice reflections. The trail continuing to the pass is very distinct and easy to follow. The north side of the pass has been severely eroded since I was there years ago. The last 300 feet was very steep, and a maze of paths among huge wash-outs. The upper lakes are quite beautiful and I was tempted to fish but I knew the lower lakes had great fishing so I continued. The clouds were puffy cumulous and less threatening than previous day’s clouds. I heard a shout in the distance. Years ago a wonderful campsite at Lake 10,632 was occupied by a couple who had caught so many fish they wanted to give me a few. I hunted and found that site! But I found a nearby sight that was even better with a view. As I set up, the beautiful puffy clouds had turned dark. With the unsettled weather I decided to skip the day-hike to Marion Lake and instead fish the closer Lake 10,592. This lake is shallow surrounded by smaller ponds and lots of tall grass. I immediately caught an 11-inch fish in one of the small ponds. At the lake, I caught two smaller fish. Back at camp, I had no luck fishing the outlet so I took a bath and washed clothes during a brief sunny period. Then I went to the shore close to my campsite and caught a 10-inch fish. Well, if I just had one more small fish that would be a grand fish dinner! So I cast into the lake and caught the largest fish (nearly 14 inches) of the entire trip. Now I had my limit and would have to really work at eating all these fish. I had to cook the fish in two batches. I stuffed myself but did not throw out any fish. While stuffing my face during my 2-hour dinner, four members of the trail crew (working on Mather Pass) walked by. Now I knew that the shouting I heard earlier was one of the fellows jumping into a lake. They were strong hikers – had the weekend off and went over Mather Pass and Frozen Lake Pass and camped at the lakes east of the pass and were returning from a day-hike to Marion Lake. After dinner I was blessed with another outstanding sunset that seemed to last forever. The clouds cleared to just the perfect amount to enhance the sunset. It rained a few drops but overall was a warm overcast night. Another short backpack and enjoyable afternoon: 4 hours, 3.7 miles, 1,000 feet elevation gain plus running around fishing.
Day 4: Lake 10,632 to Dumbbell Lake 11,108. In spite of the overcast night, the tent was dry. I think it was so warm that dew point was never reached. The original plan was to hang out in Lakes Basin and go over the pass in the afternoon but given the unsettled weather, I headed for the pass at 8AM. I had been over Dumbbell Lakes Pass twice so I thought I had it pegged. This time took the direct route up to the small lake at 11,100 feet and it worked fine. There are several ways to get to this beautiful little lake which has great campsites. I was up to the pass by 9:30. I was surprised to see absolutely no snow and a huge sink hole filled with snowmelt in front of me! People had gone down into this hole to get to the top of the medial moraine, but it looked loose and dangerous to me, so I went back up a ways and traversed on the hillside talus, which was more stable. I eventually got onto the moraine which provided flatter travel. Then I had to return to the hillside to avoid the steep nose of the moraine. Previously I had just walked down the gully on snow! Now it was an hour of tedious talus all the way to the solid rock rib below. Trouble did not stop here. Although I had been up the final descent gully before, I missed it and ended up on the steep exposed third class slabs. I had climbed up one move that I could not get back down, so I traversed the slabs, finally coming to the rocky lake shore. Lake 11,108 is one of the bluest lakes I have seen. And in that deep blue water were fish swimming around! I reached the outlet at 11:30 AM and spent way too much time trying to find a campsite. Flat non-rocky ground is hard to find at this lake! I ended up on a grassy patch next to the outlet ponds. The wind was howling and there was little protection. After getting my tent solidly anchored, I headed to Lake 11,470, going directly up the waterfall outlet. I found this route previously when I had camped up at this lake years ago. I fished about an hour, catching nothing. I am not sure there are any fish in this lake. Fishing was difficult in a stiff wind. On the way back to camp I also fished the small pond between the lakes, with no luck. Back at 2:30, I fished Lake 11,108, catching only two 9-inch fish after an hour and half work. I had many other bites and caught a minnow that I returned to the lake. By 4PM it was lightly raining. While fishing the storm lighting was fantastic, and, of course, I had left the camera in the tent. But the storm was not done, so I had another chance to get photos while hunkering behind scrub trees cooking dinner. During a break, I hiked up to the knob to the west to get a view down Cartridge Creek. I stayed up until 7PM watching the stormy sunset. It rained lightly off and on all night. I did not sleep well thinking that getting stuck in Dumbbell Basin was not a good idea if this weather kept up.
TO BE CONTINUED
August 30-Sept. 8, 2013
BUMPED UP TO ADD PHOTOS - the old post photos from Photobucket did not show up- someone asked for them.
This trip was unusual for me. Instead of seeing lots of country, my goal was to go back to areas I had quickly passed on previous trips and try to catch a fish per day, and get one fish out of as many lakes as I could. Other than the first and last day, I only hiked in the mornings, and spent the afternoons fishing and exploring.
Being Labor Day weekend, I left early to get to the Mono Lake permit desk by 11AM, unnecessary because there was no run on permits for Taboose Pass. I reached Bishop by 1PM and after buying last minute supplies I was sucked into Wilson’s and dropped $100 on gear on sale. I decided to head to the Taboose Creek Campground before I spent all my gas money. The quiet campground became busy with kids on four-wheelers, but thankfully, all were put to bed by 9PM. It was hot – 95 degrees. Not expecting bugs, I spent a miserable night in my car camping tent with the zipper broken, and got eaten by some mysterious bugs.
Day 1: Trailhead to unnamed lakes below Striped Mountain. I awoke at 4:30AM with swollen eyelids and itching all over. What a way to start at trip! I quickly packed up while making coffee and eating a bowl of cereal. I started up the road, at a creeping pace in the dark. I could see a speck of light far ahead- some hiker starting up the trail by headlamp. After a half an hour I reached the trailhead. My husband called at 5AM (my wake-up call if I had not gotten up earlier). The trailhead is tight, and I spent some time parking the car without bashing into rocks. By 5:20 I was on the trail going as fast as I could to beat the heat. The trail heads up, unrelenting. I stopped for water at the one place where the creek was accessible. Soon I saw tent poles lying in the trail and wondered if they belonged to the person with the headlamp? I decided to leave them there; no way was I going to catch up, and perhaps the poles were not even this person’s. At first it was shady near the stream vegetation. Then the trail started up the south hillside, void of shade. It was beastly hot by the time I reached the crossing at 8,300 feet after gaining 2,500 feet. I took off shoes and waded just to cool off my feet. With 10 days food, my pack weighed 35 pounds with water and it was killing my back already. One foot in front of the other, up, up, up to the second crossing at 9,120, another 1,000 feet done, with a thankful breeze. I stopped and soaked my shirt and hat, wrung them out and used evaporative cooling for the next 1,000 feet to the lovely meadow with campsites. It was 11:30AM. This was my planned stop and the clouds were building above. What in the world was I going to do here for the rest of the afternoon? I decided to continue. I met a couple with a donkey who were descending the trail. Poor Donkey! Although threatening, the clouds offered welcome shade. My pace slowed to a crawl. I was finally on the pass at 12:30 after the final 1,300 feet of elevation gain. The west side was very dry so I decided I would head for the lakes below Striped Mountain. I knew I did not have the energy to make it all the way to Bench Lake, another option. Although only 1.6 miles and 450 feet gain, I did not reach the lake until 2:30, thoroughly exhausted. Thankfully there is a nice established campsite at the outlet. I slowly set up camp and regained enough energy to go fishing. I did not have to go far- about 100 feet from my tent I caught two fish, the first a little one and then a whopper! I cleaned the fish and cooked dinner, coming close to falling asleep while eating. An impressive sunset kept me up another hour taking photos. Several deer came by just before I hopped into the tent at 7PM for a good night’s sleep, after chugging down two Advil and an allergy pill. A long day;-9 hours, 8.2 miles, and 6,400 feet elevation gain.
Day 2: Striped Mountain lakes to Cartridge Lake. When I awoke it was stormy and overcast. A few raindrops fell. The tent was soaked with condensation, wet inside and out. Up at 6:15 I did not leave until 8:15. Thankfully the sun came out enough to dry the tent before I left. I returned to the trail and shortly was at the JMT junction. A large group was taking a rest. I looked around trying to decide if the lighting was worth the effort to go up the trail a ways to get a photo. A person in the group informed me that I was at the trail junction and Pinchot Pass was “that way”, just as the large sign said. Did I really look that clueless? I went up for a photo, disappointed. The lighting was all wrong. So I put on the miserable pack and started down to the South Fork of the Kings River crossing. The river was so low that I could hop across on rocks. I left the trail, passed a sign that said “no camping, restoration” and immediately found a nice distinct use-trail. Horses had recently been down this trail which runs up on the north bench above the river and then drops to the river at the east edge of a large talus cone. This is the old Cartridge Pass Trail. Although it crosses the river here, I followed the horse poo and found another use-trail on the north side of the river that skirted the talus cone’s lower edge and continued down river, through a forest, past another talus cone and through another forested area, ending at the third talus cone. I think it continued through willows, but I decided it was easier just to get up on the talus and hop rocks to the large flat area where the trail starts up the hillside to the north. I headed up finally bumping into the trail after about 200 feet gain. I had been down this trail before, but it seemed to be in much worse condition, with many wash-outs, the original switchbacks essentially replaced by a maze of steep “cut offs”. Yesterday’s effort had taken its toll on my energy levels and this hillside seemed endless and agonizing. My back ached; I sucked air taking a rest every few minutes, reaching Cartridge Lake (10,880) at 12:30. I spent nearly half an hour hunting for the perfect campsite, only to come back to my pack and set up on a nice grassy area adjacent to the outlet ponds, but without a view of the lake, but with a good view south towards Pinchot Pass and Bench Lake. With threatening weather I was more interested in being protected from rain and wind and having a site with good drainage. I fished for an hour or so catching three fish from 8-11 inches. The wind was howling so casting was a challenge! I strung the fish in the lake. The weather was clearing so I took a hike along the shoreline to the inlet. Half way there, the sun came out and I took advantage of this break for a bath. I washed one shirt and hung it in a tree and continued down the shoreline taking photos. Returning to camp at 4PM, I cleaned the fish and fried them up for a leisurely dinner. Again the sunset was outstanding so I had to run around taking photos! And again I went to bed early. It was a warm night, overcast with a few raindrops. Thus the short day’s backpack ended; 4 hours, 4.7 miles and only 1,500 feet gain. I was happy that I had found the old Cartridge Pass trail and caught fish. I hoped to catch at least one fish per day!
Day 3: Cartridge Lake to Lakes Basin Lake 10,632. The tent was soaked inside and out when I awoke at 6:15. After drying the tent it was 8:30 before I left. My pack still hurt my back having bruised my tailbone by now. I really need a new pack! I missed the trail to the next small lake to the north, although I was following the “trail” location shown on the map. It did not matter as there are many ways to go, all fairly easy. At the outlet of the small lake, thankfully, I found the trail and it was distinct. I took a break and ambled down to the little lake, surprised by the nice reflections. The trail continuing to the pass is very distinct and easy to follow. The north side of the pass has been severely eroded since I was there years ago. The last 300 feet was very steep, and a maze of paths among huge wash-outs. The upper lakes are quite beautiful and I was tempted to fish but I knew the lower lakes had great fishing so I continued. The clouds were puffy cumulous and less threatening than previous day’s clouds. I heard a shout in the distance. Years ago a wonderful campsite at Lake 10,632 was occupied by a couple who had caught so many fish they wanted to give me a few. I hunted and found that site! But I found a nearby sight that was even better with a view. As I set up, the beautiful puffy clouds had turned dark. With the unsettled weather I decided to skip the day-hike to Marion Lake and instead fish the closer Lake 10,592. This lake is shallow surrounded by smaller ponds and lots of tall grass. I immediately caught an 11-inch fish in one of the small ponds. At the lake, I caught two smaller fish. Back at camp, I had no luck fishing the outlet so I took a bath and washed clothes during a brief sunny period. Then I went to the shore close to my campsite and caught a 10-inch fish. Well, if I just had one more small fish that would be a grand fish dinner! So I cast into the lake and caught the largest fish (nearly 14 inches) of the entire trip. Now I had my limit and would have to really work at eating all these fish. I had to cook the fish in two batches. I stuffed myself but did not throw out any fish. While stuffing my face during my 2-hour dinner, four members of the trail crew (working on Mather Pass) walked by. Now I knew that the shouting I heard earlier was one of the fellows jumping into a lake. They were strong hikers – had the weekend off and went over Mather Pass and Frozen Lake Pass and camped at the lakes east of the pass and were returning from a day-hike to Marion Lake. After dinner I was blessed with another outstanding sunset that seemed to last forever. The clouds cleared to just the perfect amount to enhance the sunset. It rained a few drops but overall was a warm overcast night. Another short backpack and enjoyable afternoon: 4 hours, 3.7 miles, 1,000 feet elevation gain plus running around fishing.
Day 4: Lake 10,632 to Dumbbell Lake 11,108. In spite of the overcast night, the tent was dry. I think it was so warm that dew point was never reached. The original plan was to hang out in Lakes Basin and go over the pass in the afternoon but given the unsettled weather, I headed for the pass at 8AM. I had been over Dumbbell Lakes Pass twice so I thought I had it pegged. This time took the direct route up to the small lake at 11,100 feet and it worked fine. There are several ways to get to this beautiful little lake which has great campsites. I was up to the pass by 9:30. I was surprised to see absolutely no snow and a huge sink hole filled with snowmelt in front of me! People had gone down into this hole to get to the top of the medial moraine, but it looked loose and dangerous to me, so I went back up a ways and traversed on the hillside talus, which was more stable. I eventually got onto the moraine which provided flatter travel. Then I had to return to the hillside to avoid the steep nose of the moraine. Previously I had just walked down the gully on snow! Now it was an hour of tedious talus all the way to the solid rock rib below. Trouble did not stop here. Although I had been up the final descent gully before, I missed it and ended up on the steep exposed third class slabs. I had climbed up one move that I could not get back down, so I traversed the slabs, finally coming to the rocky lake shore. Lake 11,108 is one of the bluest lakes I have seen. And in that deep blue water were fish swimming around! I reached the outlet at 11:30 AM and spent way too much time trying to find a campsite. Flat non-rocky ground is hard to find at this lake! I ended up on a grassy patch next to the outlet ponds. The wind was howling and there was little protection. After getting my tent solidly anchored, I headed to Lake 11,470, going directly up the waterfall outlet. I found this route previously when I had camped up at this lake years ago. I fished about an hour, catching nothing. I am not sure there are any fish in this lake. Fishing was difficult in a stiff wind. On the way back to camp I also fished the small pond between the lakes, with no luck. Back at 2:30, I fished Lake 11,108, catching only two 9-inch fish after an hour and half work. I had many other bites and caught a minnow that I returned to the lake. By 4PM it was lightly raining. While fishing the storm lighting was fantastic, and, of course, I had left the camera in the tent. But the storm was not done, so I had another chance to get photos while hunkering behind scrub trees cooking dinner. During a break, I hiked up to the knob to the west to get a view down Cartridge Creek. I stayed up until 7PM watching the stormy sunset. It rained lightly off and on all night. I did not sleep well thinking that getting stuck in Dumbbell Basin was not a good idea if this weather kept up.
TO BE CONTINUED