High Sierra Topix

Thank you for completing this wonderful TR. Love the pictures, the route
outlines, and the gear descriptions at the end. Well worth the slightly extended
wait.

Good trip report. Thank you.

Bluewater wrote:Day 5 Continued:
Secor recommends following the south side of the creek from Midway Lake to Portal Lake. After scrambling most of the way down I found that the south side ended at the top of a cliff. I found three places where I might have been able to make it down but after my accident a few days earlier I wasn't going to take any chances. I ended up traversing the entire boulder field, crawling between the boulders and frozen waterfalls in the creek. After an hour I finally found a large cairn along a well used route on the NORTH side. For anybody heading this way take the route on the north side of the creek!

Secor has a peak-baggars distain for class 2 and 3 and has a nasty habit of calling Class 3 Class 2. I have climbed this Finger Col route, I had to use my hands, so therefore it is in fact, Class 3. I went up the route from Portal Lake to Midway lake, a steep stable talus climb (moderate Class 3), and I figured there had to be a better way. And there is. There is an un-mapped trail from Portal Lake to the lakes to the north and if you head that way to just below Chapel Lake, you will find an easy sod slope that really is Class 2 that will take you to Chapel Lake, easy peasy. If you are coming from Finger Col, the XC from Cathedral Lake to Chapel Lake is easier than trails. Take the easy way.

EDIT: Looking back on my notes, it says that the best route to Chapel/Midway/Cathedral Lake is from Pearl Lake. So take the use trail from Portal Lake to Pearl Lake,then the XC to Chapel Lake.

Thanks for posting the rest of the trip. I'm planning on doing a similar trip this September sans the Ionian Basin.

Thanks for your comments everybody!

Doyle, thanks for your info on the route from Portal to Chapel to Cathedral Lakes. The map really helps. After scrambling down the west side of Finger Col I would have welcomed that route down to Portal and beyond. The 'x/c' between a Cathedral and Midway was enjoyable. I stopped for a long lunch break on the shore of Midway. A beautiful spot.


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Re: Midway to Portal Lake

If forced to choose one side of the stream with a pack, I too would want to find a different route. The two times I did it, both going down, the water level was low enough to easily cross a couple of times. The resulting descent was straightforward class 2. One trip was the first week of July in a dry year.

After deciding to dig deeper into pages from the past, I discovered your excellent report. I love the area and have spent a lot of time roaming around in it.

Thanks sekihiker. I read several of your trip reports when researching the route. The climb up the north side of Thunder Pass must have been a challenge!

I enjoyed reading about your Elizabeth Pass loop from this year. I spent a week last spring snowshoeing through some of that same area (Tablelands, Pterodactyl Pass, Lonely Lake).


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Cool trip! Ionian Basin is on the top of my to do list.

Brian

Andy,

That is a really well-done TR. Sorry the hear about your unplanned descent down the slabs- I've done stupider things, at least bloodier. What a great route you discovered. Lake Confusion looks beautiful, and your photos / panos are excellent! I have never read any of Secor's books, so I had never heard of "Finger Pass," that looks like the way to go next trip to Ionian Basin.

I did three long summers of restoration work on "Lost Canyon," which was pretty much destroyed when the P.G.&E hydro. pipe burst between Courtright and Wishon- mostly revegetation. During the drought on the first year of the project (1986?), my then girlfriend and I were free to hike as much as we liked, because the work was on hold due to lack of rain. We did a lot of hikes, mostly beginning at Courtright Res. Have you ever descended "Enchanted Gorge" from Ionian Basin Andy? I reckon that was our favorite trip. From the bottom, we went up the Middle Fork of the Kings and on to Dusy Basin, which was the first time I had ever seen it- what a stunning view of the Palisades from the trail to Bishop Pass! Down through Evo. Valley, and out Florence Lake.

I will be in LB in a few days, and then off to the Sierra again with Lizzie and the dogs. I am very interested in your backpack designs- I am still saddled with a 7lb. pack, and other assorted heavyweight gear. Your stove sounds like space-age technology Andy; we couldn't figure it out. Let me know if we can meet up soon in LB. Ian and Lizzie Harlen.