Question on Clark Range X-country Travel
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 9:04 pm
Hi Everyone,
Some weeks back, I posted a request for some info on a proposed Southern Yosemite/AA Wilderness route, to which I received much great feedback. I discussed the proposed route with my hiking partner, however, and he expressed some concerns, specifically Blue Lake Pass and the route to Long Creek from Bench Canyon. He's wary of class 2 terrain, and I don't want to make him at all uneasy or apprehensive about the trip.
I've decided to go back to the maps and find an alternate in the same region. I still want to include some x-country to add an element of adventure, but want to keep it straight forward. Secor describes two neighboring Class 1 passes, the south ridge of Merced Peak and the south ridge of Triple Divide Peak. I'm thinking of a modified Clark Range loop where we use the trail from Post Peak Pass to Red Peak Pass (N of the Clarks, east to west) and then:
1. Leave the trail halfway between Lower Ottoway and Merced Pass Lakes.
2. Contour to the unnamed lakes a couple miles east of Merced Pass Lakes (I imagine they are seldom visited, thus pristine).
3. Over Merced Pass and Triple Divide Peak S Ridge (spending a night at the basin in between) to Walton/Slab Lakes, then reconnect with the trail.
I saw Secor's Class 1 rating and got excited. For those who have done it, or parts of it, is this section truly Class 1? As long as the route finding isn't too complex, and there are no extensive boulder fields, I would love to try this route.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Anish
Some weeks back, I posted a request for some info on a proposed Southern Yosemite/AA Wilderness route, to which I received much great feedback. I discussed the proposed route with my hiking partner, however, and he expressed some concerns, specifically Blue Lake Pass and the route to Long Creek from Bench Canyon. He's wary of class 2 terrain, and I don't want to make him at all uneasy or apprehensive about the trip.
I've decided to go back to the maps and find an alternate in the same region. I still want to include some x-country to add an element of adventure, but want to keep it straight forward. Secor describes two neighboring Class 1 passes, the south ridge of Merced Peak and the south ridge of Triple Divide Peak. I'm thinking of a modified Clark Range loop where we use the trail from Post Peak Pass to Red Peak Pass (N of the Clarks, east to west) and then:
1. Leave the trail halfway between Lower Ottoway and Merced Pass Lakes.
2. Contour to the unnamed lakes a couple miles east of Merced Pass Lakes (I imagine they are seldom visited, thus pristine).
3. Over Merced Pass and Triple Divide Peak S Ridge (spending a night at the basin in between) to Walton/Slab Lakes, then reconnect with the trail.
I saw Secor's Class 1 rating and got excited. For those who have done it, or parts of it, is this section truly Class 1? As long as the route finding isn't too complex, and there are no extensive boulder fields, I would love to try this route.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Anish