Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

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notis
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Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

Post by notis »

I’ve gleaned a lot of information from HST, but have always been conflicted on posting trip reports anywhere online. Hiking in California—a place with a lot of people and a lot of easy access to hiking—I’ve seen a LOT of folks not practice LNT principles, and it really makes me upset. I’ve been on the fence about TRs because I don’t know what people will do to the land with the information.

If you use this trip report, PLEASE practice LNT principles; and if you already do, please pass it on to others :)


***

We drove up from San Diego on Wednesday night, and crashed at a campground near Bishop. The next morning we got the last two permits for Piute Pass, despite being the first in line at the White Mountain Station?

We started out over Piute Pass. The wildflowers were spectacular, and the photos never do it justice.

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Hazel tromping around while we took a break due to altitude.

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Waiting out the small hail storm that was passing through.

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Up over the pass and into Humphrey’s Basin, the clouds broke briefly and the open land under the divide looked spectacular.

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Desolation Lake

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Mesa Lake

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Here we met Andy, who was doing the SHR. It was really great to meet an experienced and lightweight hiker who was in the midst of an incredible trip :) His travels have been real inspirational to the both of us!

Easy XC from S to N up over Carol Col.

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There’s a number of cairns on top, and we didn’t take the right route down. It would’ve been a fun boulder hop with the two of us, but having good ol’ Hazel there complicated things. We met a nice guy on the top, who waited for us at the bottom and shouted directions that I couldn’t hear in the wind. He was cookin’ and I wondered how many miles he could cover in a day. Eventually we got down to Puppet Lake, where the wildflowers were stunning.

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The boulder hop from puppet down to Elba is fairly straight forward and a fun route find. Again made more complicated by having Hazel and picking moves she could do safely.

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We ended up heading for Royce Pass beginning at the 11k foot contour line west of Honeymoon Lake in Granite Park. Due to some large granite shelves, I think the more efficient route would’ve been to start heading XC SW from Honeymoon Lake. We definitely need to explore Granite Park more.

Class 1 on the way up to Royce Lakes.

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I remember thinking how incredibly beautiful Royce Lakes were because they were so, so pristine.

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The hardest part of the Royce Lakes excursion (and the whole trip) was, as I was warned by something I’d read, the boulder hop on the east side of Lake 11725 (Lake 2). I think there must’ve been a rockslide. Again, this would’ve been challenging but fun with the two of us carrying light packs, but with Hazel it was really stressful. We had to lift all 70lbs of her over certain gaps and to bypass rocks that she could not have gripped. At certain points I thought we’d bitten off more than we could chew, and we debated having her swim alongside us while we boulder hopped on shore. Her paws were bleeding by the time we finally made it around the east edge of the lake. We took lunch to regroup and split Hazel’s pack between us to give her some relief. She seemed hunky dory after that, and took interest meeting what must’ve been her first grasshopper.

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There was a moment here where I realized something. This landscape doesn't give a s*** if we're here or not. I mean really. It just sits this beautiful and pristine whether we're here to see it or not. It was one of the most humbling experiences ever.

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The previous day, on our way to Pine Creek Pass, I’d visually scouted a route down the Royce Lakes shelf (back into French Canyon). I was glad I did so. From on top of the shelf as you travel towards French Canyon, it looks like a sheer drop off until you get very near the edge. To the right, the terrain drops off very steeply and is pretty rough—as exemplified by the Royce waterfall (and the extremely close contour lines!). We picked our route well and descended on some steep but solid grass, roughly following the outlet of the tarn located to the east of Lake 11658 (Lake 4).

Down the beautiful French Canyon, and then a slog up and over Piute Pass back to the trailhead.

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I hope this TR has fueled your cabin fever—much like yours do to mine!
Last edited by notis on Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Late August 2016

Post by oldranger »

Nice trip! I take it you didn't fish. Passed some great fishing lakes. I've always understood that the lakes were numbered from the bottom up so didn't make sense that you went over Pine Creek Pass to Honeymoon Lake to Lake 2 (which I allways considered Lake 4).
Mike

Who can't do everything he used to and what he can do takes a hell of a lot longer!
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notis
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Late August 2016

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Ah, you're probably right about the numbering of the lakes Mike. I numbered them in them in the order that we encountered them! We didn't fish, but--same as you--I've heard there's some good opportunities along this route.
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

Post by tlsharb »

Beautiful report. I'm still debating this Sept. to head into Humphreys and Royce or to go explore the Silver Divide out of Edison. Too many great choices :).
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

Post by ERIC »

Nice report, and beautiful photos! Good lookin' pup!!
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

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SO many choices, tlsharb!

Thanks Eric! Finally figured out a quick system for uploading them. And I think Hazel is happiest in the High Sierra :)
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

Post by maiathebee »

Aww, puppers! Gorgeous trip, thanks for the report! I agree that the rise in people interested in outdoor activities in California is taking its toll on our mountains. I like that you mentioned LNT in your report to remind people doing research that its their responsibility to not only know where to go but also how to be in the space they're in.
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

Post by sekihiker »

Exceptional photos. Thanks for posting.
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Poor puppy. I saw she had booties. Did they not work? I bloodied my dog's paws once and felt so bad about it. We have yet to find dog booties that really work.
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Re: Trip Report: Royce Lakes XC Loop - Early August 2016

Post by Hobbes »

I'm going to do this hike this summer. I'm going to take the same path you did out of Piute, but also go through the Bears via Italy & Feather before looping back around from French. And yes, I'm taking my fly rod to fish Russ' lake.
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