TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

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Flamingo
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TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Flamingo »

Hi Everyone,

Here is my long overdue TR from the 2017 HST Meetup. . . From July 22 through 28, I crossed Taboose Pass from the east, climbed Split Mountain (14,058’), climbed Arrow Peak (12,959’), and then joined everyone at Bench Lake for The Meetup. Overall, my trip was a success. After going solo for a week, it was a real treat to meetup with HST members at Bench Lake. I very much look forward to next year's gathering.

DAY 1 — Saturday 22, 2017

I left Oakland in the morning, ate lunch on Sonora Pass, retrieved my wilderness permit at Mono Lake Visiter Center, and finally arrived at Taboose Pass trailhead in the late afternoon. My plan was to climb the first four miles of the Taboose Pass Trail in the cool evening air.

A Note about Taboose Pass Road Conditions: The HST forums had much discussion about a road washout. I found the road to Taboose Pass Trailhead was indeed rutted and rocky, but still passable in my Subaru (with 8" clearance and trek wheels). I was surprised to see a Toyota Prius at the trailhead; it's hard to imagine how that happened. Overall, the road is very rocky with deep grooves; it needs repairs, but it IS drivable with caution.

I started hiking from the Taboose Pass trailhead at 6pm. The first couple miles are a sandy slog through sage brush, but I enjoyed the cool evening air and a sunset over the Sierra crest. I arrived at the first creek crossing at 8:30pm; the sky was dark now. The water flow at the crossing sounded powerful, possibly dangerous, and I couldn’t see across the creek with my headlamp. I decided to wait until morning to ford. I found a bivy spot near the creek and slept outside on my tarp. There were no mosquitos and the stars was brilliant. It was a nice way to start this trip.

DAY 2

I packed my gear at dawn and crossed Taboose Creek. The water flow looked formidable and sounded worse, but it was only knee deep and I safely crossed with ease.

I found the the upper half of the Taboose Pass trail to be delightful. I passed many tarns, waterfalls, and gigantic snow drifts. Wildflowers were everywhere. I arrived on Taboose Pass at noon. The vista on the pass was incredible. I felt no rush to be anywhere, so I setup camp on the west side of the pass and explored the high meadows in the afternoon.
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Last edited by Flamingo on Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:29 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Flamingo »

DAY 3

I was sitting in the morning sunshine on Taboose Pass, boiling coffee on my stove, and I spotted HST member Jeff walking in the distance. He came over and we chatted about our trip plans, the Taboose Creek crossing, and snow conditions. Jeff hiked away, and I remained on the pass to enjoy a slow breakfast and the views.

I hiked on solo. My plan for the day was to setup camp on the west side of Split Mountain. I departed the main trail and followed the Taboose Cutoff Trail; one mile later I found the rock cairn that leads to a well-known log crossing over the South Fork Kings River. This log is dangerous because it has no bark and it had become wet. In fact, the river was flowing so high that rapids brushed against the bottom of the log. Attempting to walk across the log would be deadly, but it seemed safe enough to straddle on my belly shimmy across. [Edit: I would later learn that a hiker died on this log crossing, only one day prior.]

Anyway, after crossing South Fork on the log, I joined the PCT and immediately encountered JMT hikers. Nearly everyone had gossip about the recent drowning deaths in the South Fork, but most of the facts disagreed and I was unsure what really happened. Apparently, it seems like the story is that the official JMT/PCT fording spot was impossibly wild, and two (possibly more?) recent fording attempts ended fatally.

A green helicopter buzzed and circled, and then landed down the valley near the PCT ford. I could only imagine this was a new SAR incident, or related to some previous incidents.

I departed the PCT at 11,300’ and went cross-country to Lake 11,616’ below Split Mountain. The was a lot of snow above 11,000', but it was condensed into Sierra cement and the hiking was fine. I setup my camp on the east shore of the lake near a sheltered rock feature. As I pushed in the final tent stake, a thunderclap boomed above me, and then it poured rain and hail all afternoon. I remained dry inside my tent, and enjoyed the power of the storm while reading a drinking hot tea.
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Last edited by Flamingo on Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:59 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Flamingo »

DAY 4

I was awake and hiking before sunrise. My goal was Split Mountain. The cold morning air felt sharp on my face. I wore all my clothing layers, and set out to cross fields of frozen suncups. Sooner than I expected, I was climbing the grassy slopes between Prater and Split Mtn. I passed fragrant polemonium gardens as I climbed higher. My vista over Upper Basin expanded; Mather Pass was far below me, and I could see hikers descending the switchbacks.

I reached the saddle between Prater and Split at 7 am. Dawn crested the ridge and the sunshine pressed warmth into me. The northern route up Split Mountain is not technically challenging, but the summit seemed impossibly distant from my vantage on the saddle. Anyway, I plowed ahead and reached the summit at 8:30 am. The views were outstanding, especially north to the Palisades.

Dark clouds formed, and it seemed like time to descend. I signed the register, snapped some more photos, and headed down. It started raining. I looked back at the summit and it was engulfed in storm clouds.

I rejoined the PCT and found a handwritten sign from the Bench Lake ranger with instructions to use an alternate river crossing 1.5 miles upstream from the PCT ford. I found the suggested crossing point, around 10,600’, at a nice meadow where the river forks into three. I then followed a use trail along the east side of the South Fork and rejoined the PCT at the official ford spot.

I was on the trail for only three miles, and I met 12 JMT hikers and section-hikers. Everyone was in good spirits. I sensed these groups had been leapfrogging each other for several days. Also, I could only imagine the crowds of backpacker tents at popular sites before big climbs. For example, nearly every southbound hiker I met today said they were headed for Marjorie Lake by night.

Later in the afternoon, I setup camp at Junction Lake. I would not normally camp here, given the proximity to the trail and the ranger station, but there’s a sweet camp spot across the creek from the PCT, totally hidden from view. It’s perfect. Later, after dark, the wind stopped and the lake became a mirror. I stayed up late sitting on the shore, taking night sky photographs of the Milky Way reflected in the water.
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Flamingo »

More photos from Day 4...
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Flamingo »

DAY 5

Today was an easy day. My plan was to rest from yesterday’s climb and position myself for climbing Arrow Peak tomorrow.

I strolled along the trail to Bench Lake, and I spent all day exploring various beaches and inlets along the shore. I swam in the cold water and took a long nap in the hot sun. I setup camp on the western shore at a neat campsite with a huge view of Taboose Pass in the distance. Overall, Bench Lake is amazing and worth the two mile detour from the PCT.
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Last edited by Flamingo on Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Flamingo »

DAY 6

I stashed most of my gear behind a rock at Bench Lake, and started hiking before dawn. My goal was to climb Arrow Peak. I’ve wanted to climb this peak for a long time, and today was my chance.

From Bench Lake, I contoured southwest at 10,600 feet until Arrow Pass came into view. I crossed a chain of delicate meadows, through flower gardens and around waterfalls. I reached the base of Arrow Pass and found an obvious use trail. Snow patches lingered on the north slopes, but I managed to climb Arrow Pass without crossing snow. Overall, I rate the pass as class 2 walking, although it’s steep in some sections.

I traversed to the east face of Arrow Peak and planned my route. I had a rough idea about which scree chutes to choose. My idea was confirmed when I spotted a climber descending far above on the same route.

I started up Arrow’s face and found the route to be very straightforward. It was steep class 2, with occasional class 3 moves to surmount big boulders.

The other climber reached me, and I was happy to see it was HST member Gazelle. We chatted about my route to the summit, and we agreed that the weather and conditions today were perfect. I highly respect Gazelle’s mountaineering skills, and I was reassured to hear that I was climbing the correct line. Gazelle shared her plans to bag more peaks today before the HST Meetup later in the evening. Her plans were ambitious — to say the least — and I felt inspired to improve my own mountaineering skills.

The route was steeper as I climbed higher. The final 100 vertical feet was strictly class 3. At the very top I had to cross either a steep snowfield or large boulders. Taking advice from Gazelle, I chose the boulders. I suspect there is an easier class 2 route hiding under the snow.

I reached Arrow peak summit at 11 am. The views were incredible in all directions. I think this summit view is among the best I’ve experienced in the Sierras. I spent one hour on top. The register entries date back to the 1980’s, and I found signatures from R. J. Secor, Bob Burd, and other notable names.

I followed my route back to Bench Lake, and along the way I stopped in the meadow to get water. The mosquito swarms were crazy! At this point, I realized my ice axe was no longer attached to my pack. It must have fallen away during my descent, but I was in no mood to climb back and find it. Oddly, I felt a sense of relief: it was a heavy axe from 2005 and I hated it. Now I had a good reason to buy a new ultralight axe. Although, I do feel bad for violating Leave No Trace principles. Note to HST members: if you climb Arrow Pass and find an ice axe with my name written on it. . . private message me :)

Back at Bench Lake, I retrieved all my gear---sans ice axe--and met Bluewater (Andy). He was returning from a trip to the Emerald Pools in the valley north of Arrow Pass. We walked together along the trail and found the HST group camped on a peninsula on the eastern shore.

Over the afternoon, more HST members slowly arrived . . Jim, Oleander, Alpine Mike, Jeanine, Hobbes, Jeff, and eventually Gazelle.

As the day ended, we gathered on the grassy shore — no mosquitos! — we ate dinner, watched the sunset, shared stories, and laughed a lot. We stayed up late, past 10pm, which is quite late considering there was no campfire. Overall it was a practically perfect night outside in the Sierra.
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Last edited by Flamingo on Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:45 pm, edited 6 times in total.
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Flamingo »

More photos from Day 6. . .
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Flamingo »

DAY 7

I hiked out with Hobbes and Jeff, over Taboose Pass and back to the trailhead. The hiking was relatively straightforward, and I enjoyed chatting with Hobbes about all sorts of crazy things. The descent down Taboose is a grind, but the time passed quickly with good conversation. We reached the trailhead at 4 pm, which is pretty good considering we left Bench Lake at 8:30 am.

Overall, it was a great trip!
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Last edited by Flamingo on Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by Gazelle »

Awesome thanks I still need to do mine get to it when it starts to snow and I am sitting at home bored! Probably be at the next meetup want some peaks around there!
Kristine
The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before. Albert Einstein
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Re: TR: Split Mtn, Arrow Peak, HST Meetup 2017 (July 22-28)

Post by maverick »

Wonderful write up Flamingo, and photo's to match! I too love the views from the top of Arrow Peak, the only peak that I can say had better views was Brewer. :)
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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