TR: 81 Days in the Sierra w/Rogue Photonic 7/1-9/19/16

[alpinemike]

Day 19- July 19- Climb Mt. Darwin
The climb started by 8:45A A.M. or so… a bit late (given how much we had to climb) but since we knew the weather would be good all day we figured getting some sleep would be good. We entered the proper chute and found the cut across point marked by cairns. We followed up fairly tame Class 3… albeit some vertical to the next chute which started a long, brutal, and annoying climb. Super loose rock, literally a mine field especially on the descent since nowhere one stepped was stable ground. There was little if any good climbing in the chute but we went up and up till we took the final right branch where the climbing got a little more interesting. From there we obtained the ridge amid stunning views to the North & East & down to the Darwin Glacier. We made across the cut across easily and ended up on the easy plateau until we reached the far side with the high point. The view in every direction was phenomenal and definitely in the top 3 peaks for me (and after climbing all the peaks later this summer it still ranked in the top 5). After lunch and searching for the register we made our way to climb the summit pinnacle. After negotiating a very spicy climb through a snow chute we surmounted the Class 4 block & made the top! The spicy snow chute was very steep and getting foot holds in the snow was not the easiest of tasks. With an ice ax it would have been a piece of cake, but without one it was a true testament to your nerves of steep and technical and acrobatic prowess to stay on the rock along the sides of the chute as much as possible. From there it was steep but very fun Class 3 to the final summit block move which had the most incredible final tactical move I've done in a long time. The register wasn’t old but nonetheless nice to sign & there was a tattered old cop of the “Origin of Species”… A fitting tribute. After a very tactical descent of the block which wasn’t too bad….albeit the exposure was massive (1000's of feet) we climbed our way down to camp via the nasty & horribly tedious chute. Definitely not a climb I’ll be repeating anytime soon. Over 9 hours of climbing but with lots of breaks so not quite McDuffie status. That day, as so many was crystal clear with not a cloud in the sky. Hopefully that trend of non-inclement weather continues.

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[alpinemike]

Day 20- Lake 11375FT (East of Evolution Lake) to Lake 11,293FT (East of JMT in Evolution Basin)
So the day after climbing Darwin we climbed Mt. Spencer and moved camp to the lake above Sapphire by the JMT. The climb around Spencer was straightforward & the climb up was some fun Class 3. The view was quite nice & the weather was excellent with no clouds. We quickly made it down into the very scenic basin to the East of Sapphire Lake. I had been here before in 2013 while attempting a climb of Mt. Wallace and Haeckel. Didn't make the climb since the scree got the best of me and I gave up. This time though, the basin had a lot more snow on the slopes. The cirque was fairly easy terrain and we soon forded the very wide Evolution Creek made our way up to the JMT. From there we got to our lake and after some searching found a very nice flat area that was really pleasant except of course for the crazy mosquitoes. Dinner was a struggle to keep them at bay.

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[alpinemike]

Day 21- Climb Mt. Huxley
Today we climbed Mt. Huxley, which overall was a pretty decent climb. The chute was loose but not horrible and the top afforded some very nice Class 3 climbing up a face. The ridgeline was a little spicy & knife-edge for a good ways. And the summit had an incredible view, but there were finally some clouds which may be indicating a pattern change for less stable weather. The register was placed by none other than Eric. We met Eric the previous year as he had suffered a nasty fall on his way up Scimitar Pass. We camped with him by Elinore Lake as he had to retreat back down to the TH, since he had sustained multiple large gashes around his ankles. We descended in good time and I finally bathed and did laundry. That night the mosquitoes were out in full force again, which made things very annoying but nonetheless not nearly as bad as they could have been.

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[alpinemike]

For everybody following along. I just finished editing Week 4 and got all my photos resized so if I'm lucky I might get that posted tomorrow! Week 4 is when we head into the canyon of the Muro Blanco! I know everybody wants to hear all about that.

[RoguePhotonic]

You should have added that you were retreating off of the attempt at the summit block of Darwin when I made the top and declared not only that I was on it but that there was a register. Then you were like ****! now I have to do it! =P

[commonloon]

Hey Rogue & Apline Mike,

Love all the super photos and you novels!

Last year we saw 2Pack in June. 1st we saw his tent, etc. You likely know what I mean by "etc." out while going X-country between Rockwell pass and the Wallace/JMT junction. A couple days later he had moved to the Tyndall Creek JMT campground where we chatted with him. He told us he had become lost out there, couldn't find his camp and had to build a fire and spend a night out there with nothing but his "wits." Interesting people in the wilderness.

Keep the reports coming!. Keep enjoying your time out there!!

[alpinemike]

Week 4

Day 22- Lake 11,293FT (East of JMT in Evolution Basin) to Muir Hut
We left our camp amid no wind, which was a real first in quite a while (likely weeks) & with a **** ton of mosquitoes. We made short order of Muir Pass & chatted with people there during lunch. We met a young climber from Colorado that decided (on a whim, since he was doing the JMT) to traverse a part of the Palisades completely free solo with no climbing shoes to boot! If you know the terrain you realize this takes some serious nerves of steel. He even mentioned he climbed the Summit Block of Thunderbolt Peak. I was practically cringing when I heard all that. What an incredible climber. After lunch we climbed the **** up ridge of Warlow.. which Secor claims as Class 1. Well that was complete and total ********. All Class 2 & some 3 & naturally no register. The descent and ascent took much longer than expected & we were totally wrecked when we reached the hut. Definitely a mess of loose/nasty rock that we were so fricken tired of. So we decided we’re staying in the hut. I had never done that before. It's been fun with no wind or bugs & just a cool experience. We went down a couple 100 feet to get some delicious water from snow-melt. And we had one couple visit around 5:40 but by dinner we were alone & about to enjoy a very restful night.

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[alpinemike]

Day 23- Muir Hut to Lake 11,742 FT (Above Helen Lake)
Today was a pretty decent but annoying day. We woke up pretty early at the hut & started packing up. By 7:30 A.M. we saw the first people. Then a couple showed up & we chatted for a while before heading out. We dropped down the pass and quickly traversed a part of Helen to our desolate lake. And… no camping was established there. Definitely a rocky mess, so Rogue and I cleaned up a spot that was halfway decent & we decided to cowboy camp. Should be a beautiful night with a gorgeous display of stars including the Milky Way. The scenery is majestic with an impossibly blue Helen Lake below the proud Black Giant & bits of the Black Divide. The Palisades loom in the near distance. And fortunately not too many mosquitoes at all. After emptying our packs we headed up to climb Fiske. Overall a better climb than Warlow but still some loose nasty rock & massive moraine piles that had mines scattered throughout. Fortunately the route never got technical & the summit was gorgeous without a cloud in the sky. And we had a register to sign. Climbing down was tedious but manageable & then we had to wait for some shade as the sun sets, since there literally is none anywhere to be found. Tomorrow is the day we get a break from climbing peaks as the last 5 days were continues peak days. Back on the JMT for the next 2 days.

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[alpinemike]

Day 24- Lake 11,742 FT (Above Helen Lake) to Middle Fork Jct.
Last night we did some Milky Way shots & saw an epic shooting star. Best I’ve ever seen… A total fireball. And the stars were just incredible in general since we were cowboy camping. Today we traveled on the Muir Trail to the Middle Fork Junction. A hot event-less day. We conjured up the most ridiculous food ideas. One of mine was sticking an entire Quiznos Sandwich on top of Nachos... yes I know this is a little crazy. We call this kind of dreaming... Food Porn. And we still had 5 days till real food at Cedar Grove. We tried to stop in to see Dina the ranger in LeConte but she wasn’t home. The camp at the Middle Fork had us ford Palisade Creek which wasn’t too bad… actually quite refreshing after a long day. We even took a nice swim in the Middle Fork since it was so hot. The camp was more rugged than we thought it would be, but overall fine with plenty of firewood.

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Day 25- Middle Fork Jct. to Lake 11,616 FT (Upper Basin)
The night was warm & apparently a bear went through camp at 5 A.M. but I noticed nothing. Today we made the grueling 4000 FT+ climb over Mather Pass. What a long, hard day finally over. I had never gone over the Golden Staircase or Mather Pass. We chatted with the trail crew down by Deer Meadow & he mentioned Dina isn’t the ranger this year… Oh well maybe our note to her about the trashcan from last year would get passed on. We climbed up the Golden Staircase from there & I could see why it’s so hard & impressive in general. The unfortunate thing that happened on it was I lost one of my pole tips. The Palisade Lakes definitely had some grandeur but after that it was a horrendous exposed slog to Mather. Toward the end I was a bit delirious, but fortunately we made good time up it & the view South was awesome with lots of epic areas I’ve never seen or visited. We got down to camp quick navigating through the many impressive switchbacks on the South side of Mather. I really enjoyed Upper Basin with the expansive and open areas & of course the view of Split, Bolton Brown and Prater.

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[alpinemike]

Day 26- Climb Split and Prater
Today I climbed both Split & Prater. Got a nice early start & felt good all day. After a 4000 FT climb the previous day I guess my body could do another 3000 FT+. The climb up Split was relatively easy… just a long of talus, scree, & sand. I made the summit in a little over 2 hours, so by 10:45 I was on top enjoying the grand view to the South. But, to my dismay plenty of smoke was in the air. The Owens was choked with it & it was smoky to the North. The view South afforded an epic view towards Mts. Clarence King, Gardner, Whitney, & so on. I got plenty of good cell coverage so I contacted Dan (our hiking partner on the next section) about Rogue’s Pad & our desire for Pizza. Rogue's Pad developed a major issue where the closed cells were coming apart and the pad would turn into a giant pillow at the top but be completely fat in the middle. A bit of a pain no doubt. We also decided what kind of pizza we wanted since Dan could pick it up on his way to Cedar Grove. Dan was on board with getting our stuff. Talked to several people to let them know almost a month in we were going strong & got a weather report… The inevitable streak of no rain was about to end. Starting the following day a 20-30% chance of very isolated storms & then back to a drier cool patter we had been experiencing. I checked on fires & none in the Sierra but a 30,000 Acre one by Santa Clarita was blowing smoke up into the range. I descended to the saddle & quickly decided to climb Prater since it was so close and I knew the Class 3 Traverse wasn’t going to happen from Bolton Brown. But as I descended Split I got a real treat… 4-5 Bighorn Sheep with massive racks. Now that was a sight to see them so far North. Anyways the climb up Prater was easy & the summit had a nice view to the East & North. Lots of clouds had built in the South that day so I knew the weather was coming in. The descent was easy, albeit a bit long & tedious but I got back by 4:20. There were people set up by us and another guy that Rogue met earlier that went up Split that was from HST. We chatted with him after he came back & he ate dinner with us as we exchanged more stories.

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