Yosemite's Northern Section - Above Hetch Hetchy

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TehipiteTom
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Post by TehipiteTom »

Maverick, I'm doing a Many Island/Spotted Fawn/Flora loop Memorial Day weekend, with a side dayhike to Nance Peak to look down on Kendrick Canyon.
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maverick
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Post by maverick »

Hey TT
Yeah Nance Peak! I climbed from just south of Edith Lake to the
top thru the nastiest brush ever it took 2hrs to get up several hundred
feet, much easier from the west!
Werent you going up Cherry Creek this year? Still going to the
lakes near Mosquito Pass on the SEKI side this year?
That place has some pretty lakes and ponds that are great for photos
I really liked the Bartlett Creek area! Nance Peak has a great view
well worth the hike.
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TehipiteTom
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Post by TehipiteTom »

maverick wrote:Hey TT
Yeah Nance Peak! I climbed from just south of Edith Lake to the
top thru the nastiest brush ever it took 2hrs to get up several hundred
feet, much easier from the west!
Werent you going up Cherry Creek this year? Still going to the
lakes near Mosquito Pass on the SEKI side this year?
That place has some pretty lakes and ponds that are great for photos
I really liked the Bartlett Creek area! Nance Peak has a great view
well worth the hike.
Thought about Cherry Creek, but I think I'll do the eastern lakes instead. I've been itching to do Nance ever since Kendrick. (I can't even imagine doing it from Kendrick Canyon...that sounds nasty!) Good to know the view is great...that's what I thought from the map, but confirmation helps.

And yeah, I'll be doing the lakes east of Mosquito Pass in July.
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Post by Aviprk »

Well OK! But that would be 14.5 miles, 6843 feet of gain and 2335 feet of loss.
Hey DoyleWdonehoo isn't the above elevation gain for the entire trip? Or is it really just till the lakes near Tiltill mountain?
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DoyleWDonehoo
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Post by DoyleWDonehoo »

Aviprk wrote:
Well OK! But that would be 14.5 miles, 6843 feet of gain and 2335 feet of loss.
Hey DoyleWdonehoo isn't the above elevation gain for the entire trip? Or is it really just till the lakes near Tiltill mountain?
No, that is just to the lakes near Tiltill Mountain. This counts all the ups and downs. It might be a little conservative. Topo! would say more. Harrison says more miles. I think my tools are more accurate.
...3 lakes north of Kendrick Creek about 3/4ers of the way to Edith Lake from Lake Eleanor...
I would get to Edith Lake and the downstream lakes (fishermen love it) not from Eleanor Lake, but from Laurel Lake north where it is easy cross-country.
The Branigans are a good early season place to visit which can be easily reached in a day.
Well, maybe not "easily" in a day :unibrow: , but it is a good destination, in particular the very nice largest Branigan Lake, looking good at the outlet with a wood at the NW shore for possible camping. The other lakes are on the pleasant OK side of things.
Thompson and Stubblefield Canyons are a good cross country warm up trip to.
Funny, I was just looking into them only recently... ;)
I'm doing a Many Island/Spotted Fawn/Flora loop Memorial Day...
Flora Lake is the real jewel with one of the best camps in the Sierra. There is a few trick ways to getting into Many Island Lakes, one of my favorite early season destinations (once the stubborn snow on Kibbie Ridge is gone). With a good topo, doing the Flora loop is very nice. There is some trail left above Flora (going towards Kibbie), but don't be fooled by that tree laying the length of the trail when the trail takes a sudden right. ;)

Interesting stuff...
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TehipiteTom
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Post by TehipiteTom »

I would get to Edith Lake and the downstream lakes (fishermen love it) not from Eleanor Lake, but from Laurel Lake north where it is easy cross-country.
Went to Edith with a buddy who fishes, and he got a 14" and a 13". Very tasty. No wonder fishermen love it. ;)

The Laurel approach is the best, but I wouldn't describe some the cross-country in Kendrick as 'easy'. Some of it is straightforward slab-walking--nice stuff--but there are also some pretty brutal stretches of, for example, manzanita-covered talus. (Just ponder that for a moment.) It's well worth it, but keep in mind there will be thrashing. I have a lengthy trip report (with pictures) at http://home.earthlink.net/~tehipite_tom ... ick_tr.htm.
Flora Lake is the real jewel with one of the best camps in the Sierra. There is a few trick ways to getting into Many Island Lakes, one of my favorite early season destinations (once the stubborn snow on Kibbie Ridge is gone). With a good topo, doing the Flora loop is very nice. There is some trail left above Flora (going towards Kibbie), but don't be fooled by that tree laying the length of the trail when the trail takes a sudden right.
Thanks for the info! Much appreciated. :)
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DoyleWDonehoo
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Post by DoyleWDonehoo »

TehipiteTom wrote:...Some of it is straightforward slab-walking--nice stuff--but there are also some pretty brutal stretches of, for example, manzanita-covered talus. (Just ponder that for a moment.) It's well worth it, but keep in mind there will be thrashing. I have a lengthy trip report (with pictures) at http://home.earthlink.net/~tehipite_tom ... ick_tr.htm.
Lovely pictures.

Talus+bush=BAD!
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maverick
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Post by maverick »

Hi Doyle

I also descended the ridge from Laurel Lake.Your right the largest of
the Branigans is the prettiest one of the three and they offer more
solitude than Vernon and Wilma in season.
You mentioned in another thread that you train in the Santa Cruz
Mt area, where abouts?
Flora is very pretty as is the small lake a little to the west of it a little
higher up.
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Post by DoyleWDonehoo »

maverick wrote: You mentioned in another thread that you train in the Santa Cruz Mt area, where abouts?
Flora is very pretty as is the small lake a little to the west of it a little higher up.
S.Cruz Mtns: Mostly at Lexington Res, Kennedy TH, Sandborn Park, Rancho Sanantonio and Castle Rock. I know some trails not used much. I go about every other day, like today.

Flora: Yup, I walked up that granite slope up to that small lake, took some pictures too. Waitaminute, there is a small tarn up one side of Edith (south), some NE and a small one towards Kibbie direction. I have pictures of all of them. Nice area.
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maverick
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Post by maverick »

Sandborn Park, Rancho Sanantonio and Castle Rock I have visited
especially Castle Rock, which I used every year to do the Skyline to
the Sea trail as a very long day hike that started at 5am and finished
at around 7pm.
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