TR: Ansel Adams - 1000 Island Lake - Banner Peak Aug 2016

[JeffEndicott]

Background:

During a previous visit to the Ansel Adams Wilderness in 2009, I was young and inexperienced and strictly tied to day hiking. My guidebook suggested climbing the Two Teats near San Joaquin Mountain for up close views of Banner Peak, Mt. Ritter, and Thousand Island and Garnet Lake. The views were indeed spectacular, and I resolved to come back one day and explore this area up close.

Fast forward to early 2016. Now I’m living in the Sacramento area, and decided to make this trip happen while I still could. I booked a permit for the area for August 6-9, leaving from the Rush Creek Trailhead. In retrospect, I’m not sure why I chose this over Agnew Meadows. Maybe to avoid the parking hassle, or maybe to start lower to help with acclimatization. In any case, my agenda for the trip was to explore Thousand Island Lake, bag a peak, and relax.

August 6, 2016

Since I was under the impression that I had to pick up my permit by 10 am or it was forfeit, I woke up super early and left Sacramento by 5 am for the Mono Lake Ranger Station. Fortunately, there were no slowdowns along the way and I made it in plenty of time. The ranger helpfully noted that one can confirm online permit reservations a week before the trip date, therefore eliminating the need to show up by 10 am, which is a good thing to know.

I picked up my permit and arrived at the Rush Creek Trailhead at about 10 am. This trail begins at 7,200 feet and winds up a dusty mountainside to unspectacular Agnew Lake, to which I arrived about an hour after setting off. I had read trip reports saying that the switchbacks up the west side of the lake were brutal with a heavy pack, so instead I set off for the gentler but much more circuitous route around Gem Lake. I arrived at Gem Lake about an hour later; it is prettier than Agnew Lake, but still paled in comparison to what lay ahead.

As I trudged on, I started feeling the effects of the altitude, the heavy pack, and the previous poor night’s sleep. By the time I reached Clark Lakes at about 2 pm, my head hurt and I didn’t have the energy to continue much further, so I found a spot not far off the trail and napped for the rest of the afternoon. I truly felt like a pathetic flatlander, but the relaxation did me good for the next day. There’s no real view to speak of at lower Clark Lakes, but the cool water on my dusty feet felt like heaven.

August 7, 2016

Having turned in early the night before, I awoke before dawn feeling much better and more energized. I was on the trail by 7:30 am and eagerly set out for Thousand Island Lake. I finally got my first glimpse of Banner Peak reflecting in the calm waters of a small pond, and naturally had to stop to snap a few shots. Another 20 or so minutes led to a perch slightly above Thousand Island Lakes, which, in this soft morning light, was even more beautiful than I had imagined.

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I walked more or less to the end of the lake’s northwest side and found a wonderful, secluded spot. It was only 9 am at this point, so I set up camp and pulled out the map to figure out what to do for the rest of the day. I decided to hike up Garnet Pass to get a bird’s eye view of Garnet Lake, as well as to walk in the shadow of Banner Peak’s glaciated east face. There were many lovely fields of Indian Paintbrush along the way and the climb to the low “pass” was pretty short. It was worth every step, though, as the high perspective of the dueling Thousand Island and Garnet lakes is hard to beat.

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After wandering around on the ridge for a while, I came down and spent the rest of the day soaking my feet in the waters of the lake offshooting Thousand Island Lake to the west, without another soul in sight. The sun was intense and there was minimal breeze, so I stayed by the water well into the afternoon. As daylight faded, it was a joy to amble around the lake’s shore and take pictures.
The plan for the next day was to tackle Banner Peak.

August 8, 2016

I awoke just in time to enjoy the alpenglow show over Banner Peak, which was my goal for the day. Mt. Ritter had interested me more, but without a climbing partner, it seemed the technically easier route up Banner was a safer bet. I left camp as soon as the alpenglow faded and the warm summer sun began to rise over the ridge.

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The hike up to North Glacier Pass is obvious, but tedious. Ever higher it goes, and ever starker the scenery becomes. After about 1,000 vertical feet, the grassy slopes turn to talus and snow, eventually leading to the pass.

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Once atop, you’re treated to views of Lake Catherine, which fills the basin with its gorgeous, pristine, turquoise water. I ran into a couple who just climbed the peak and they gave a few routefinding tips that would prove helpful.

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Rather than descend directly to the glacier that flows northward into Lake Catherine, I stayed high on the rocks, climbing further and further up in the shadows of Banner Peak’s west face. After about an hour of shifty boulder hopping, I peered over the mini ridge separating the boulder field from the glacier and spotted cairns that led down to a scree field. This scree field hugged the tall rock wall to my left, and seemed like a good route. Getting down to it involved a tricky downclimb of about 20 feet, but it did the trick. A few hundred more vertical feet led to the Banner-Ritter saddle. It was not necessary to travel along a single foot of glacial ice to get to this point.

Secor describes the route to the summit from the saddle as a Class 2 boulder hop, and for the most part, it is. I may have been off route but could find no way to the summit that didn’t involve a few short sections of Class 3 climbing. Nevertheless, by 10:30 am I was standing on the summit, with mindblowing views of Mt. Ritter, Garnet and Thousand Island Lakes, and Mono Lake far in the distance. The dropoff to the east was dizzying.

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After hanging around for a good bit, I started my descent. Getting back to the saddle was quick and no problem. As I descended the saddle, though, I couldn’t readily find the cairns that led back over the ridge and towards the boulder field I had ascended earlier. I decided instead to descend the sketchy talus just to the east of the glacier, which was not a good idea. The footing was loose and steep, but I eventually made it down to a cliff just above Lake Catherine. It took some clever route finding to mosey back to the top of North Glacier Pass, but it all worked out in the end. The wind was fierce now, so I took a few pictures since the glacier and lake were out of the shadows, and then quickly started to descend from the pass to get out of the squall.

I was in a rush to get off of the lunar landscape of talus and boulders, so I hauled it down to the grassy area and wandered over to a small waterfall cascading through the open fields. I dipped my aching legs in the glacial melt water to numb the pain and watched as a family of jackrabbits ran off in a frenzy in the opposite direction.

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There were many hours left in the day. There’s nothing better than, after finishing your mountaineering goal for the day, having no itinerary, no distractions, and beautiful scenery all around you. These rest of the day was spent basking in the warm sun under the slopes of Banner Peak.

August 9, 2016

Ordinarily I like to stretch these trips out as long as possible, but I had a hell of a hike back to the car, plus a 4.5 hour drive back to Sacramento, so I had a leisurely morning before packing up. I left at about 9 am and had no desire to repeat the long, winding route around Gem Lake. Instead, I took the route over Agnew Pass, and then descended the steep valley west of Carson Peak back to Agnew Lake, which cut considerable distance off the trip. Looking back, this wouldn’t have been a bad ascent route, especially since it’s shaded in the morning. It is steep but much more direct.

I made it back to the car and reluctantly set off back to the real world. This was an amazing place and is truly worth the fuss. I can see why most backpackers long to visit this area at least once, and why many keep coming back over and over again.

[zacjust32]

Way to step up and introduce yourself with an excellent trip report! If only others came bearing gifts like yours. Welcome to the site, look forward to hearing more from you.

-Zac

[cslaght]

Excellent report! Welcome!

[Lumbergh21]

Good trip report, even better trip.

That view of 1000 Island Lake and Garnet Lake looks awesome. I can only imagine how nice it is in person.
Thanks for sharing.

[wandering_biped]

I really enjoyed the report. The picture of Thousand Island Lake and Garnet Lake from Banner is great. Thanks for sharing.

[JeffEndicott]

Thanks for the kind words!