Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

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hikerdmb
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by hikerdmb »

Epic to say the least. Glad you survived. I like your decision to go back out. Hopefully the next section was a little easier than this last section. Hiking with Rogue is a little different than hiking with the guy you were with when we met at Evolution Lake a couple summers back.
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by Wandering Daisy »

In 1998 I did the Enchanted Gorge by a loop from Chasm Lake. I went down Enchanted Gorge, traversed about 100-200 feet above the confluence with Goddard Creek, and then went up Goddard Creek, up past the lake below Scylla and back to Chasm Lake. I did it in 16 hours, day-hiking. Had I planned properly I could have done it in a day, however I started late (after 9AM) and it was September, so I got stuck in dark and bivouacked, finishing the next day - got back to camp by noon. This was after a 200% snowpack year, so the river was raging and I only crossed twice- belly-rolling across snow bridges. I had to stay on the east side of Goddard Creek, which was harder than the other side, because it was also too swift to cross. Without a large pack, it was not too bad. I had a fire at night so stayed warm, but had no food after lunch on the first day.

If you go when there is more daylight, and get a start at dawn, this is a very feasible long day-trip from Chasm Lake. If I were to do it again, I would do just that. I never would want to haul my full pack! I have never done the lower part of Goddard Creek - not sure I ever want to after hearing about it. Personally, I found Goddard Creek far superior in scenery, to Enchanted Gorge.
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by Jimr »

I went down Goddard creek in 1989. Full pack and 8 days of food (initially packed for 12 days). Going down the west side was tough. Staying high in the flank, there was (is) a series of false ledges that look like a way down, but cliff out. We spent half of the day dropping packs while I scouted ahead, then moving packs and doing it again and again until we rounded the flank and found a gully to the river. From there, it was numerous river crossings and moving out of the creek bed (a nightmare. The slopes crumbled away faster than we could move our feet). The forest on the east was tangled in bramble vines covered in spines. We slept cowboy style on a sand bar next to the creek using our food bags as pillows. In '89 the lower section was still quite clear from a previous fire, so for us, that was the easiest part of the hike. It took us 16 hours just to do the 6 or 7 miles down the creek to the middle fork.

As nice and wild as it is, I have no desire to go back.
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by Jimr »

Now that I think about that trip, I recall one river crossing that was not a crossing per se, but to move forward, I had to Tarzan it using a clump of tree root as a rope to side rappel ( whatever you call it when your hanging on a rope against a sheer vertical wall and side swing yourself to the other side). I almost made it. The creek below was only waist deep, so I managed to keep my bag and pack dry.
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Jimr- thanks for the account of the west side of Goddard Creek. Funny how when I was struggling on the loose steep talus of the east side, I looked across and thought it would be easier on the west side. Evidently it is not!

Enchanted Gorge was an unplanned mistake on my part. I packed a very light day-pack with the intention of simply hiking to the edge and looking over. Well, I got a bit curious looking down a hard snow slope to the deep blue lake below. I decided to slide down with a controlled self arrest using my ice axe. The snowfield turned to ice and luckily I skidded down the lower part without a major accident. I then realized that getting back up it was next to impossible. I had all the maps and enough gear to survive a night, only lacking sufficient food for two days. I had come into the Ionian Basin from Martha Lake so I knew a loop back to Chasm Lake would work. From the Lake below Scylla, I simply took the same route I did before. I had done plenty of bivouacking in my mountaineering days, so this one actually seemed luxurious - sleep on grass next to a fire instead of sitting on a cold rock ledge!

Weather was great and it was warm, so down the gorge I went! There were a few times when I had to "Tarzan" a traverse hanging off nearly vertical vegetation to continue. I only had about an hour's of serious bushwhacking with thorny brambles. Once on Goddard Creek it was mainly steep talus. Having only a light day-pack of about 6 pounds made a HUGE difference. Because I had no large pack, doing class 3 moves was relatively easy.
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by Jimr »

Yep. It's rough country no matter how one approaches it.
If you don't know where you're going, then any path will get you there.
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by RoguePhotonic »

That whole week was probably the most difficult sustained cross country travel I have done. Still look back at all that misery with a smile though! :D
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by Cross Country »

One time I was in the canyon below lake (9600 I think) 10212 (the old topos elevations) and was contimplating going down but remembered what a backpacker I met on the trail told me. He said that no sane person would take this route once they learned how bad it is. I went over finger pass and concluded it was much better. On HST there has been A LOT written about this miserable rout and yet I'm the only person I know of who had the sense to listen to someome else instead of being stubborn and miserable. This was in 1974. This alway makes me smile or laugh.
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by Jimr »

LOL 1989 was pre-internet. There was nobody I knew who had been there and the only thing I could find was an entry indicating that one of the pioneer explorers had been through the lower half.

I had no clue if we could make it down, but we had little choice. We were dropped off at Wishon, so there was no vehicle to go back to and our vehicle was parked at Road's End. Yep, 16 hours of the nastiest, wettest wilderness travel I'd ever been down just to do the trip over Monarch divide the next day. And to find out all too late that we forgot there was whiskey/water mix in our water bottles. Almost undrinkable after the first quarter of the hike.

It sucked out loud. I do have some epic memories, as Rougue.
If you don't know where you're going, then any path will get you there.
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Re: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2014 July 8-August 12

Post by alpinemike »

Definitely an area that gets a lot of interesting talk. There is one thing that is undeniable for me.. I will never go back and do the Enchanted Gorge or will I ever bushwhack through the lower part of Goddard Creek. The closest I'll ever come to that area is when I take the Middle Fork Trail or when I explore the upper part of Goddard Creek.

And as Rogue said it was a horrendous week but I definitely laugh about it now and am glad I have knocked off the Enchanted Gorge off the list.
Never put off a backpacking trip for tomorrow, if you can do it today...
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