Cross Country Route Advice

[RiseToADry]

Looking for some advice/tips on two cross country routes.

1) Route down from lake 11092 (above McClure Meadow) to PCT. Looks like the best route down is to follow the outlet... Wondering if the hill side is heavily forested, any cliffs, etc.

2) Route from Martha Lake over to Davis Lake(s). From what I can tell there seems to be two routes. You can walk back down Goddard canyon to the outlet from Davis lakes feeds into the San Joaquin and then hike up the outlet creek. Or you can traverse Goddard Basin to a slight saddle (near the glacier) at 11800ft due south of Davis Lake. The first option has more elevation gain/loss (about 800 ft loss from Martha) and distance, but the second looks like it could be pretty nasty going down the north side of the saddle. Is the north side of the saddle typically filled with snow late into the season? Any thoughts/comments appreciated.

Thanks!

[maverick]

1) Route down from lake 11092 (above McClure Meadow) to PCT. Looks like the best route down is to follow the outlet... Wondering if the hill side is heavily forested, any cliffs, etc.

Where will you be coming from to to reach Lake 11092 (which by the way is beautiful, great views ) ?

2) Route from Martha Lake over to Davis Lake(s). From what I can tell there seems to be two routes. You can walk back down Goddard canyon to the outlet from Davis lakes feeds into the San Joaquin and then hike up the outlet creek. Or you can traverse Goddard Basin to a slight saddle (near the glacier) at 11800ft due south of Davis Lake. The first option has more elevation gain/loss (about 800 ft loss from Martha) and distance, but the second looks like it could be pretty nasty going down the north side of the saddle. Is the north side of the saddle typically filled with snow late into the season? Any thoughts/comments appreciated.

Here is TR using the descent down into Goddard Canyon from Davis Lakes area: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11787#p88796

Don't know when you are planning your trip for, if it is before or around the beginning of August then do the descent, if in the latter half of Aug or Sept then do the saddle route, but if you are comfy on snow and time your ascent/descent when the snow is softer, you could do the saddle route earlier.

[RiseToADry]

Mav-

Coming over Lamarck Col, then doing a ring around Mt McGee. We're planning mid-july so there will be snow on the north side of Lamarck and the saddle between Goddard Basin and Davis.

My initial thought was the route down the canyon and then back up is more realistic at that time of year - but wanted to hear some thoughts from others who have experienced it.

Thanks for the link - good find.

[oldranger]

There is a faint, somefimes hard to follow user trail that starts a couple hundred yards w, of the McClure ranger station.

[maverick]

There is a faint, sometimes hard to follow user trail that starts a couple hundred yards w, of the McClure ranger station.

Have used it when going to the lake from Darwin Bench, skirting the shoulder of Goethe, and also when coming down from STP.

[giantbrookie]

Looking for some advice/tips on two cross country routes.

1) Route down from lake 11092 (above McClure Meadow) to PCT. Looks like the best route down is to follow the outlet... Wondering if the hill side is heavily forested, any cliffs, etc.

2) Route from Martha Lake over to Davis Lake(s). From what I can tell there seems to be two routes. You can walk back down Goddard canyon to the outlet from Davis lakes feeds into the San Joaquin and then hike up the outlet creek. Or you can traverse Goddard Basin to a slight saddle (near the glacier) at 11800ft due south of Davis Lake. The first option has more elevation gain/loss (about 800 ft loss from Martha) and distance, but the second looks like it could be pretty nasty going down the north side of the saddle. Is the north side of the saddle typically filled with snow late into the season? Any thoughts/comments appreciated.

Thanks!

Hmmm, don't know why this didn't post, but perhaps I pushed the wrong button after downing some Belgian brews. Anyhow: no. 1 see Old Ranger and note that the route is easy enough that horses get up there. I've seen horse poop at 11092 on both my visits there. From the topo it seems that there are multiple options near the outlet stream of 11092 that are low-angle. I haven't done this myself because all of my 11092 visits were on sidehill traverses (easy) from Darwin Bench.

no. 2. The higher route going over the 11840+ saddle S of the lake works very well. It is easy class 2 over the usual Mt Goddard metamorphic talus, but there isn't a lot of steep talus or scree. Most of this is pretty pleasant walking. I took this route in the Martha-Davis direction.

Wow. Darwin Cyn-11092-Martha-Davis. This is giving me serious cabin fever!

[RiseToADry]

Thanks all for the replies. Appreciate the info!

Does anyone have a picture of the north side of the saddle 11840+? Just want to get an idea of what it looks like (steepness and geology).

[robertseeburger]

On the route from Mcclure to 11092, I had heard that there was a use trail up from the ranger station , but I did not find it. I have headed straight up from EAST of the ranger station and just navigated my way up through woods and broken cliffs. There is no difficulty, just some meandering root finding. I would say it is easy class 2. If I were to try again, I would try to find the use trail WEST of the ranger station, but I wouldn't sweat it if I didn't find it.

A story on the lake... it used to be 11106 on the old 15' topo map. I had been there a couple of times,(1970's) also going over Snow Tongue Pass ( never again!). Now the lake is on the Sierra High Route, but I didn't see anyone there when I returned a couple of years ago. I went to the lake with my brother who died a couple of years ago. When he died, his computer was locked, and his wife called me up with help for a password hint. The hint was something like
"lake with big fish". It was LKxxxxx. I said try LK 11106. Voila! Great memories.

[Wandering Daisy]

I traversed from Davis Lake to Martha Lake on the south side of Davis Lake in the late 1990's in a high snow year. There is a permanent snow filed that is steep but not long to cross. I carried an ice axe and really needed it. Just before the snowfield, I had to get down from a buttress, where I lowered my pack first (on a 50-foot line) and then backed down a grassy slot, jamming my ice axe into the grass and dirt. Other than those two places, it was just a lot of talus hopping. I have heard that the north side is easier. I would not do this route unless you have moutaineering experience. The snowfield was a bit steeper than the one between Cecile Lake and Iceberg Lake in the Minarets. I did not take crampons because I have been on a lot of steep snow without them. The snow was firm but I could kick a small step. A fall would have definitely dunked me in the lake below. I doubt I could have self-arrested fast enough to avoid it. It would not be bad with a day-pack but I had a huge pack (14 day trip). Also, traversing the bench at the base of Mt. Goddard was a bit tricky to exactly located myself. I was temporarily "lost" a few times. I camped on the bench and climbed Mt. Goddard from this base. The Goddard climb was also on very steep snow. There are better approaches to Mt. Goddard.

[sekihiker]

Here's a link to a Davis Lakes trip report from a heavy snow year:
http://www.sierrahiker.com/DavisLakes/index.html