TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

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Hobbes
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by Hobbes »

You are probably the most accomplished outdoors person on this board. It's too bad we've never met.
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by Stanley Otter »

Hobbes wrote:Remember the line in "The Graduate"? One word: plastics. Likewise, with respect to trail food, one word: Fritos. :D
By Jove, I think you've got it! In yet another context it is quite clear that Fritos = lembas and 18 year old Aberlour Scotch = miruvor. What else could one possibly need on or off trail?
Hobbes wrote:More on topic, the Cathedral range is difficult. You can search hard and long @ HST for trip reports, but they are few and far between. The one I think most recall is Cam's ie the blue Pothole. I've said it before, but there's a reason Roper routed the SHR up Vogelsang to TM. Class 2 with mini-bits of class 3 is ok, but hard-ass mountaineering wasn't what he intended.
Yes, I have been through the archives and come across what I believe are the few TRs out there, which have been helpful and attract me to the area. If I find myself in extended Class 3 I will certainly turn around and find some other on- or off-trail way around. Going to the west side and poking up into each basin individually is certainly in the cards -- I have ten or so days for this first part of my trip with no other goal than getting acclimated to the elevation and seeing some fine Sierra territory.
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by Stanley Otter »

Wandering Daisy wrote:The pass you are considering is on this skyline, probably hidden behind the larger massive peak on the right (Pt 12358). The big peak on the left is Florence (I think). Not 100% sure I am correct on the peaks on the skyline.
A_Hutchins.jpg
WD,
After horsing around with Google Earth and using the track from your map, I *think* Peak 12358 is on the left in this photo and that the large gray mass to its right is Mt Maclure. If so, "Russell Pass" is obscured by Peak 12358 in this photo. Whatever the case, your photos confirm that I *must* go to Hutchings Basin one way or another. Thanks also for the track from Maclure Lakes to Vogelsang Pass. I plan come in from a more northerly direction via Evelyn and Ireland Lakes, but I had picked out essentially the same route as you have indicated south of Amelia Earhart Peak. I passed Evelyn Lake in a snowstorm on my JMT hike in July 2015 and would like to see it in somewhat different conditions this coming summer. Thanks for digging into your archives on my behalf!
Dennis
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by Hobbes »

Is there a reason for returning to the Cathedral range? There are plenty of interesting x-c zones that provide challenging routes, but let you get away with class 2 to slight class 3 without the need for crampons/ice axe. Of, if you want to go that direction, there are many fairly established routes that let you get to exercise and release your inner mountaineer.

The two that come to mind are of course the Whitney MR and Ritter. Or, if you want extended snow travel with traction/axe, going early season (April/May) from Bishop to Kearsarge should satisfy anyone. Bishop, Mather & Glen are all fun, and the region is quite beautiful in snow.

Cathedral is tough, because you've got long sections of flat, easy terrain/trail where you have to haul gear. Then, boom, you're right in the sh!t with no good way through or over. With the places mentioned above, you use your gear the entire time with no real flat zones, so it seems like a more logical deal.

PS Honey Badger (aka Blue Water) and I are going Piute to Mammoth in May. This will complete my multi year alpine JMT section hike, having done every part in snow (1-5 miles from/over passes).
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by Stanley Otter »

I don't really have one particular reason for wanting to explore the Cathedral Range. I hiked a variant of the northern half of the SHR in summer 2016 and wanted to stitch something together along the Cathedral Range to Blue Lake Pass or even further south and west. I have only been to YNP three times, so I am quite happy to give it a go again and be prepared to retreat and go another way. I am most definitely not in it for the snow travel or the mountaineering. I will join the tried and true routes for the second half of my trip where I will pick up where I left off the SHR at Humphreys Basin (perhaps we'll have a chance meeting ascending Piute Pass :thumbsup: -- also gotta love that new EST shuttle out Bishop, right?) and continue south to Whitney and Cottonwoods Lakes via the SoSHR.

It is also a matter of getting myself out there using public transportation, and Yosemite NP is relatively easy in that respect. Relatively: this summer I have a 6 AM flight out of my regional airport to Chicago, thence to San Francisco, BART to station nearest the Transbay Temporary Terminal, Amtrak Thruway Connector Bus to Emeryville, Amtrak train to Merced, and YARTS to the Valley. No problem!
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

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Got it. Andy did the SoSHR a few years ago; there may be a trip report somewhere around here. Or you could contact him directly (Bluewater) if you have any questions.

Our Czech friend we met on the JMT did the SF to YNP shuttle after flying here from Europe. He had no idea what to expect, but coming from a region near the Alps, imagined some kind of nice, high-end village environment. Boy, was he in for a surprise, especially about the 'Gateway to the Sierras' (sic). It has been a source of amusement since. He came back out again last year for almost a month, and hung out/re-supplied in the town I introduced him to when we first met - Lone Pine - between forays.

My wife & I are doing a Euro road tip this fall, including Czech, so we plan on stopping by to visit. Merced is the answer to many of our jokes. Oh, and also the Rockies. Like many of us, he has become quite the Sierra snob. LOL (He has a good friend in Boulder whom he has visited, and while he likes the Rockies, knows firsthand it doesn't quite compare in terms of visual/overall aesthetic.)

PS If you're not completely locked into SFO, LAX is actually the easier/better option. It's s $35 taxi/Uber ride to downtown LA, then a train ride up to Lancaster. From there, Inyo runs a shuttle up to Mammoth. My Czech buddy has done both, and prefers the LAX option. (Of course, you do miss out on Merced, sigh.)

https://www.estransit.com/routes-schedu ... lancaster/
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by ndpanda »

Stanley Otter wrote: After horsing around with Google Earth and using the track from your map, I *think* Peak 12358 is on the left in this photo and that the large gray mass to its right is Mt Maclure.
Correct. If 12358 had two more feet of mean prominence above the saddle connecting it to Maclure it would rank 15th on SummitPost's list of Yosemite's highest peaks. It's a fun scramble from the saddle, and an imposing sight from the long, narrow-waisted lake beneath it in Hutchings Basin.

(So imposing in fact that I'm surprised R.J. Secor resisted the temptation to name it after one of his friends, as he did with nearby "Sluggo Pass," known to Yosemite locals as Ingraham Pass for decades prior to publication of his guidebook.)
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by Stanley Otter »

Hobbes wrote:Got it. Andy did the SoSHR a few years ago; there may be a trip report somewhere around here. Or you could contact him directly (Bluewater) if you have any questions.

Our Czech friend we met on the JMT did the SF to YNP shuttle after flying here from Europe. He had no idea what to expect, but coming from a region near the Alps, imagined some kind of nice, high-end village environment. Boy, was he in for a surprise, especially about the 'Gateway to the Sierras' (sic). It has been a source of amusement since. He came back out again last year for almost a month, and hung out/re-supplied in the town I introduced him to when we first met - Lone Pine - between forays.

My wife & I are doing a Euro road tip this fall, including Czech, so we plan on stopping by to visit. Merced is the answer to many of our jokes. Oh, and also the Rockies. Like many of us, he has become quite the Sierra snob. LOL (He has a good friend in Boulder whom he has visited, and while he likes the Rockies, knows firsthand it doesn't quite compare in terms of visual/overall aesthetic.)
My wife and I took our freshly graduated daughter (high school) to Europe last summer as a present to see a bit of the world and to satisfy her Sound of Music jones in Salzburg. Since we were in the neighborhood :rolleyes: , I insisted on four nights of hut-to-hut hiking in the Dolomites in the Südtirol. So, yeah, I suppose the contrast between them there civilized alpine villages they have in Europe and Yosemite Village was a real eye-opener for your friend. The Dolomites are very scenic -- I should post a TR on the Other Places board sometime. And if you aren't making good time to your next hut, why, you can just drop down to the valley and take a bus 'round the mountain to the top of the next pass. Ask me how I know this... Anyway, I hope you enjoy your trip to the Czech Republic.
Hobbes wrote:PS If you're not completely locked into SFO, LAX is actually the easier/better option. It's s $35 taxi/Uber ride to downtown LA, then a train ride up to Lancaster. From there, Inyo runs a shuttle up to Mammoth. My Czech buddy has done both, and prefers the LAX option. (Of course, you do miss out on Merced, sigh.)

https://www.estransit.com/routes-schedu ... lancaster/
My sister-in-law lives in Half Moon Bay, south of SF, so I know the area better and have someone to rescue me and a place to land if things go awry. I am familiar with that bus though, since it is how I get back: EST bus from Lone Pine to Mojave, Amtrak Thruway Connector bus to Bakersfield, Amtrak train to Emeryville, Amtrak Thruway Connector bus to Transbay Temporary Terminal, BART to SFO. That one's a *long* day. I like public transportation, but it takes patience sometimes.
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by Stanley Otter »

ndpanda wrote:
Stanley Otter wrote: After horsing around with Google Earth and using the track from your map, I *think* Peak 12358 is on the left in this photo and that the large gray mass to its right is Mt Maclure.
Correct. If 12358 had two more feet of mean prominence above the saddle connecting it to Maclure it would rank 15th on SummitPost's list of Yosemite's highest peaks. It's a fun scramble from the saddle, and an imposing sight from the long, narrow-waisted lake beneath it in Hutchings Basin.

(So imposing in fact that I'm surprised R.J. Secor resisted the temptation to name it after one of his friends, as he did with nearby "Sluggo Pass," known to Yosemite locals as Ingraham Pass for decades prior to publication of his guidebook.)
I checked to see if I had a photo of Peak 12358 from my trip, but I must have been so intent on finding a way down from Peak 12499 that I didn't take one. I do remember everything to the south being backlit at that time of day, and I tend just not to take photos in those cases. I will take your word about the "fun scramble" -- I will be content to view it from below should I be lucky enough to get there and be on my way to Ingraham Pass. A much better name, in my opinion. Thanks for the information.
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Re: TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

Post by kpeter »

Stanley Otter wrote: My wife and I took our freshly graduated daughter (high school) to Europe last summer as a present to see a bit of the world and to satisfy her Sound of Music jones in Salzburg. Since we were in the neighborhood :rolleyes: , I insisted on four nights of hut-to-hut hiking in the Dolomites in the Südtirol. So, yeah, I suppose the contrast between them there civilized alpine villages they have in Europe and Yosemite Village was a real eye-opener for your friend. The Dolomites are very scenic -- I should post a TR on the Other Places board sometime. And if you aren't making good time to your next hut, why, you can just drop down to the valley and take a bus 'round the mountain to the top of the next pass. Ask me how I know this... Anyway, I hope you enjoy your trip to the Czech Republic
You bring back fond memories.

A couple of huts from my hikes around Salzberg. It was certainly more "civilized" than the Sierra! And get used to "Gruss Gott!" with every person you pass on the trail. (Well, at least the locals. Northern Germans won't greet you that way.) I'm glad I went and did it once, but it is not the kind of experience I savor in the Sierra. It is something different altogether.
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