TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

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valeofoakland
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TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by valeofoakland »

I just returned from 4 nights in the Ansel Adams with two friends. It was our first visit to the Ritter Range and boy was it amazing! I used the Gaia GPS app on my iPhone to track my trip, including photos: https://www.gaiagps.com/public/q16x0NXn54Gny9gJI9GM4P6H

On Thursday we drove from Oakland to the Rush Creek Trailhead (after picking up the permit at Mono Lake) and hit the trail at 10:30 am. Thursday's sun-drenched climb from Silver Lake to Waugh Lake was well worth the effort, as it put us within a short hike to Island Pass and our next night's destination, Thousand Island Lake. At Waugh Lake we camped on the north side, about 75 yards up from the short where there was a slight breeze to help fend off the mosquitoes (3).

On Friday we made our way to the PCT/JMT and over Island Pass with clear blue skies. We arrived midday to Thousand Island Lake and camped for 2 nights on the south shore, with a great breeze to ward off the bugs (3) and give us a stellar view of the lake and the Ritter Range. We were alone the first night on that side of the lake. On Saturday, we saw it get crowded across the lake with rather loud parties and barking dogs. On the south side we had a small group camp across a cove who had the gall to start a fire, despite notices everywhere prohibiting wood fires. :angry:

On Saturday we day-hiked cross-country to Garnet Lake and lunched at the beach (beach!) before hiking over to Altha Lake. We avoided hiking down snow by taking a cross country route over granite, saving us time and slippage. Altha Lake is beautiful, but was about to be overwhelmed by a large family group (12?) of backpackers with inner tubes in for the long weekend. From Altha, we hiked down to the River Trail and crossed the swift Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. I was glad to not be carrying a back across that current. We took the River Trail and PCT back to Thousand Island Lake for a 2nd night.

On Sunday, we short-hiked to Summit Lake via the saddle between Summit and Clark Lakes. It was beautiful and quiet at Summit (no fish) and the views of the range west and the valley south from above Summit were amazing.

Monday we hiked out via Clark Lakes and Spooky Meadows for a quick downhill 5-miles and headed straight for the June Lake Brewing Company for cold beers.

A great trip!
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maverick
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by maverick »

Thanks for the TR and picture Vale!
On the south side we had a small group camp across a cove who had the gall to start a fire, despite notices everywhere prohibiting wood fires
Did you report this to the rangers on your way home?
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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valeofoakland
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by valeofoakland »

maverick wrote:Thanks for the TR and picture Vale!
On the south side we had a small group camp across a cove who had the gall to start a fire, despite notices everywhere prohibiting wood fires
Did you report this to the rangers on your way home?
Maverick - I let a few forest services workers who were doing trail maintenance know. Regrettably, I did not report it to the rangers. We were distracted with the want for food and to head back to the Bay Area on the holiday.
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maverick
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by maverick »

You can still call the Wilderness Office, let them know the date, location, and group size.
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by Cross Country »

I really enjoyed the pics and certainly didn't know there were RR track nor a dam. Although I BPed more than 500 days I never went to Thousand Island Lake.
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by FeetFirst »

The Gaia trip summary is pretty cool! Thanks for sharing.
I'm still rather convinced that you can achieve more than you've ever dreamed of if you just lower your standards.
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by sambieni »

valeofoakland wrote:I just returned from 4 nights in the Ansel Adams with two friends. It was our first visit to the Ritter Range and boy was it amazing! I On Saturday, we saw it get crowded across the lake with rather loud parties and barking dogs.
Those were probably the people camped right beside me keeping me up to nearly midnight. :angry:
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valeofoakland
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by valeofoakland »

maverick wrote:You can still call the Wilderness Office, let them know the date, location, and group size.
Done - Thanks!
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valeofoakland
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by valeofoakland »

FeetFirst wrote:The Gaia trip summary is pretty cool! Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure. It was my first time using the app and I love it. Totally worth the $20.
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Re: TR: Thousand Island Lake Area 6/30 - 7/4

Post by sambieni »

Used the app as well for first time. Also loved it. Ecept didn't use for photo feature like you. Will try that next time. Thanks!
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