Thank you for continuing your trip reports! The photos are great. I also really loved the rock formations in the Dorothy Lake area. I came in over Corridor pass from Big McGee Lake and also had storms that contrasted the vivid colors of the mountains. In 2010 my husband and I camped at Deer Lake and he caught a really nice fish. You had a lot more snow than we did. Thanks for the information on the pass to Ram Lakes. I hope to do that this summer.
2017 Summer Explorations July 23 - August 31
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Wandering Daisy
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Re: 2017 Summer Explorations July 23 - August 31
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alpinemike
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Re: 2017 Summer Explorations July 23 - August 31
Beautiful photo! There's really no place quite like it in the Sierra! Otherworldly is how I like to describe it.
Never put off a backpacking trip for tomorrow, if you can do it today...
Alpine Mike-
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alpinemike
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Re: 2017 Summer Explorations July 23 - August 31
Alright here's the last week of the trip... Week 6. Continuing our adventure through the Ansel Adams Wilderness and beyond.
Day 36- Minaret Lake to Cecile Lake
Well today was a very short day and because of that we got quite a late start. The walk around Minaret Lake was absolutely incredible. I had been waiting for it for many years and was not disappointed. I had been to Iceberg and Ediza 2 years earlier so I was finally making the full circuit around the incredible lakes in the region. The climb up to Cecile was a piece of cake and we were there in no time. Janine had a bad headache most of the day but it started to subside when we finally reached camp. And boy... what a camp it was. The sublime and unreal nature of it is just so hard to describe. If you were there you would be able to feel and experience the grandeur of that lake. The impressive Minarets were on full display with Clyde rising like a spire into the heavens. We had some absolutely unreal sunset light. Unfortunately this day had it's fair share of incidents. At Minaret Lake I thought that I had lost all my photos from the past week! And this has happened to me before on a memory card! Fortunately though they were not lost but I practically had a heart attack when I thought it happened again for the 2nd time in just 3 years! And Janine's incident involved a rodent.. those devilish creatures. A chipmunk decided to chew on her soft Katadyn water bottle in our camp at Cecile Lake! A water bottle with absolutely no smell! How rude! I was able to use some glue to patch the hole up but it was very frustrating and I'm not sure if it's completely leak proof. Fortunately these problems were more or less resolved and we could elate in the grandeur of Cecile Lake.
Day 37- Attempt to Climb Clyde Minaret
I had mentioned to Janine that I wanted to try climb Clyde. It was tough. Not an easy route by any means with lots of exposed stiff and vertical Class 3 climbing in fairly loose rock. But she wanted to give it a go anyways. Unfortunately we didn't get the earliest start... getting Janine out of bed in the morning is a challenge haha. Anyways we crossed the snowfields around Cecile that were quite interesting since if you fell you were going for a dip in the icy and still partially frozen lake! We reached the start of the route and started climbing up and up. We eventually reached the snowfield that you would have to go up to reach the start of the chute that started the actual climbing on rock. At that point we had only climbed ledges and various short sections of minor Class 3. Janine did not have the best shoes for this type of terrain and wasn't feeling too comfortable to continue. I was in my approach shoes and those had no issues. I've learned with all the peak bagging I like to do approach shoes are a must on basically every backpacking trip. I stared up at the route for a long while and really debated hard about attempting it solo. The thought didn't so much scare me but it was a challenging peak and I would have felt more comfortable with a partner. Not to mention there was no obvious way to get onto the ledge from the snow that I had to cross directly in front and above me. So after much mental toil I decided to stay put and climb it another day. I was definitely disappointed but at least the view from where we stopped was incredible! We had a terrific lunch there and then went back to camp. The mosquitoes at Minaret Lake did not let up and to our dismay even at the exposed Cecile Lake they were still a pain in the ass. It was the end of August and they still would not leave us alone! There was also a bit of smoke that rolled in that day. All of this caused us to yet again abort our plans to continue on this section. Janine was disappointed, since she was excited to see Thousand Island Lake for the first time in almost 20 years! But alas.. there would be another time to check it out. The mosquitoes and the smoke were just getting old and we were getting a bit tired. Not to mention we had been out for 38 days at this point! So we decided the next day we would head out and go back into Mammoth.
Day 36- Minaret Lake to Cecile Lake
Well today was a very short day and because of that we got quite a late start. The walk around Minaret Lake was absolutely incredible. I had been waiting for it for many years and was not disappointed. I had been to Iceberg and Ediza 2 years earlier so I was finally making the full circuit around the incredible lakes in the region. The climb up to Cecile was a piece of cake and we were there in no time. Janine had a bad headache most of the day but it started to subside when we finally reached camp. And boy... what a camp it was. The sublime and unreal nature of it is just so hard to describe. If you were there you would be able to feel and experience the grandeur of that lake. The impressive Minarets were on full display with Clyde rising like a spire into the heavens. We had some absolutely unreal sunset light. Unfortunately this day had it's fair share of incidents. At Minaret Lake I thought that I had lost all my photos from the past week! And this has happened to me before on a memory card! Fortunately though they were not lost but I practically had a heart attack when I thought it happened again for the 2nd time in just 3 years! And Janine's incident involved a rodent.. those devilish creatures. A chipmunk decided to chew on her soft Katadyn water bottle in our camp at Cecile Lake! A water bottle with absolutely no smell! How rude! I was able to use some glue to patch the hole up but it was very frustrating and I'm not sure if it's completely leak proof. Fortunately these problems were more or less resolved and we could elate in the grandeur of Cecile Lake.
Day 37- Attempt to Climb Clyde Minaret
I had mentioned to Janine that I wanted to try climb Clyde. It was tough. Not an easy route by any means with lots of exposed stiff and vertical Class 3 climbing in fairly loose rock. But she wanted to give it a go anyways. Unfortunately we didn't get the earliest start... getting Janine out of bed in the morning is a challenge haha. Anyways we crossed the snowfields around Cecile that were quite interesting since if you fell you were going for a dip in the icy and still partially frozen lake! We reached the start of the route and started climbing up and up. We eventually reached the snowfield that you would have to go up to reach the start of the chute that started the actual climbing on rock. At that point we had only climbed ledges and various short sections of minor Class 3. Janine did not have the best shoes for this type of terrain and wasn't feeling too comfortable to continue. I was in my approach shoes and those had no issues. I've learned with all the peak bagging I like to do approach shoes are a must on basically every backpacking trip. I stared up at the route for a long while and really debated hard about attempting it solo. The thought didn't so much scare me but it was a challenging peak and I would have felt more comfortable with a partner. Not to mention there was no obvious way to get onto the ledge from the snow that I had to cross directly in front and above me. So after much mental toil I decided to stay put and climb it another day. I was definitely disappointed but at least the view from where we stopped was incredible! We had a terrific lunch there and then went back to camp. The mosquitoes at Minaret Lake did not let up and to our dismay even at the exposed Cecile Lake they were still a pain in the ass. It was the end of August and they still would not leave us alone! There was also a bit of smoke that rolled in that day. All of this caused us to yet again abort our plans to continue on this section. Janine was disappointed, since she was excited to see Thousand Island Lake for the first time in almost 20 years! But alas.. there would be another time to check it out. The mosquitoes and the smoke were just getting old and we were getting a bit tired. Not to mention we had been out for 38 days at this point! So we decided the next day we would head out and go back into Mammoth.
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Never put off a backpacking trip for tomorrow, if you can do it today...
Alpine Mike-
http://mikhailkorotkinphotography.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Alpine Mike-
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alpinemike
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Re: 2017 Summer Explorations July 23 - August 31
Day 38- Cecile Lake to Mammoth
The trail from Cecile to Ediza passed by the enchanting and mythical Iceberg Lake. And it was definitely still very iceberg filled! Late August and this lake guaranteed never melted out this year. There was a substantial snowfield that we had to cross to get around it. I know that many years this snowfield is a major issue to get around but fortunately it was soft enough and not nearly as steep as it could have been. Iceberg Lake was of course as enchanting as the last time I had been there. From there we dropped down to Ediza which had a different but also exceptional quality to it. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were nasty around there and we knew we were making the right decision. We actually had to ford the outlet of Ediza further down since the flow was still too high to rock hop. Fortunately that was refreshing in the heat we were about to enter. Shadow Lake proved to be as idyllic as ever. From there we dropped further into the heat and headed to Agnew Meadows. It wasn't the longest day but we were definitely ready to get out. We had to wait for the shuttle for a little while but soon we were on our way. At the Mammoth parking lot we decided we'd shower and do a bit of cleanup. I ended getting a message from my buddy Aleks saying he was going to try and be in the area around next weekend, which was Labor Day. We made some plans to hang out in the area till they got there 2 days from now.
The trail from Cecile to Ediza passed by the enchanting and mythical Iceberg Lake. And it was definitely still very iceberg filled! Late August and this lake guaranteed never melted out this year. There was a substantial snowfield that we had to cross to get around it. I know that many years this snowfield is a major issue to get around but fortunately it was soft enough and not nearly as steep as it could have been. Iceberg Lake was of course as enchanting as the last time I had been there. From there we dropped down to Ediza which had a different but also exceptional quality to it. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were nasty around there and we knew we were making the right decision. We actually had to ford the outlet of Ediza further down since the flow was still too high to rock hop. Fortunately that was refreshing in the heat we were about to enter. Shadow Lake proved to be as idyllic as ever. From there we dropped further into the heat and headed to Agnew Meadows. It wasn't the longest day but we were definitely ready to get out. We had to wait for the shuttle for a little while but soon we were on our way. At the Mammoth parking lot we decided we'd shower and do a bit of cleanup. I ended getting a message from my buddy Aleks saying he was going to try and be in the area around next weekend, which was Labor Day. We made some plans to hang out in the area till they got there 2 days from now.
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Never put off a backpacking trip for tomorrow, if you can do it today...
Alpine Mike-
http://mikhailkorotkinphotography.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Alpine Mike-
http://mikhailkorotkinphotography.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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alpinemike
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Re: 2017 Summer Explorations July 23 - August 31
Day 39- Mammoth/June Lake Explorations
Today I figured since I had my truck I'd take Janine off roading up to Laurel Lake. I had been there several times in the past. The road is definitely a bit rocky in the beginning and is quite tight toward the end. My little 4 banger Taco did just fine though and we had a great little outing. The weather was threatening to rain and it definitely did with some thundering at some point. After that we probably did a little driving lesson around Canyon Lodge in Mammoth. She was definitely starting to get the hang of shifting! From there we probably went to the June Lake Brewing Company which we had visited earlier on the trip.. but I can't remember when that was. The beer there though I remember very clearly to be quite delicious. We hung out at the Crestview Rest Area and watched Pulp Fiction on my phone while we waited for Aleks to get back to us about our plans. We had a grand thunderstorm display around that time that was quite refreshing. We cooked dinner there that night after we found out that naturally Aleks was not going to be able to make or something like that. So we decided that we'd drive back home the following day.
Day 40- Back Home
Today was the day.. back home after 40 days of being out and about. Between 4 separate sections, 3 separate dayhikes up to the top of East Side Sierra Passes, Janine's Birthday, my friend's wedding, and everything in between we certainly had our fair share of adventures and issues. But even after all that I was sad to leave my mountains and go back home. I knew going back home wouldn't be easy and that there would be some nonsense to deal with as there always is. And naturally as soon as we got to Janine's place we found out the dogs had fleas, the mice situation from earlier in the summer had gotten out of control, and a day later a bear broke into the house and made a small but substantial mess, but fortunately didn't cause any real damage. I don't think Janine will ever want to come back home after a backpacking trip quite the same way after she came back to that **** show haha. Anyways on our drive home we had our final adventure where US Highway 395 back up to Tahoe was closed around Topaz Lake because of a fire. So we ended up going a route I had never gone before out of Bridgeport. We actually got to see the plume of smoke quite closely though as we passed by.
And so ends my very interesting and twisting adventurous 2017 Sierra Summer Explorations. I will definitely never forget it and naturally the experience was far different from any previous year since I actually shared it with a girlfriend for the first time! Hoping to share in many more with her over the years!
Till next time..
Today I figured since I had my truck I'd take Janine off roading up to Laurel Lake. I had been there several times in the past. The road is definitely a bit rocky in the beginning and is quite tight toward the end. My little 4 banger Taco did just fine though and we had a great little outing. The weather was threatening to rain and it definitely did with some thundering at some point. After that we probably did a little driving lesson around Canyon Lodge in Mammoth. She was definitely starting to get the hang of shifting! From there we probably went to the June Lake Brewing Company which we had visited earlier on the trip.. but I can't remember when that was. The beer there though I remember very clearly to be quite delicious. We hung out at the Crestview Rest Area and watched Pulp Fiction on my phone while we waited for Aleks to get back to us about our plans. We had a grand thunderstorm display around that time that was quite refreshing. We cooked dinner there that night after we found out that naturally Aleks was not going to be able to make or something like that. So we decided that we'd drive back home the following day.
Day 40- Back Home
Today was the day.. back home after 40 days of being out and about. Between 4 separate sections, 3 separate dayhikes up to the top of East Side Sierra Passes, Janine's Birthday, my friend's wedding, and everything in between we certainly had our fair share of adventures and issues. But even after all that I was sad to leave my mountains and go back home. I knew going back home wouldn't be easy and that there would be some nonsense to deal with as there always is. And naturally as soon as we got to Janine's place we found out the dogs had fleas, the mice situation from earlier in the summer had gotten out of control, and a day later a bear broke into the house and made a small but substantial mess, but fortunately didn't cause any real damage. I don't think Janine will ever want to come back home after a backpacking trip quite the same way after she came back to that **** show haha. Anyways on our drive home we had our final adventure where US Highway 395 back up to Tahoe was closed around Topaz Lake because of a fire. So we ended up going a route I had never gone before out of Bridgeport. We actually got to see the plume of smoke quite closely though as we passed by.
And so ends my very interesting and twisting adventurous 2017 Sierra Summer Explorations. I will definitely never forget it and naturally the experience was far different from any previous year since I actually shared it with a girlfriend for the first time! Hoping to share in many more with her over the years!
Till next time..
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Never put off a backpacking trip for tomorrow, if you can do it today...
Alpine Mike-
http://mikhailkorotkinphotography.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Alpine Mike-
http://mikhailkorotkinphotography.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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wildhiker
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Re: 2017 Summer Explorations July 23 - August 31
Thank you for this wonderful lengthy report on your many adventures in the Sierra in 2017! I'm truly envious that you spent 40 days in the Sierra and saw and experienced so much wonderful country. And came back with great photos!
-Phil
-Phil
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alpinemike
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Re: 2017 Summer Explorations July 23 - August 31
Glad you enjoyed it Phil! I have several more reports to write up.. I better get on it before 2019 hiking season is upon me!
Never put off a backpacking trip for tomorrow, if you can do it today...
Alpine Mike-
http://mikhailkorotkinphotography.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Alpine Mike-
http://mikhailkorotkinphotography.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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