Has anyone been here?

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maverick
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Has anyone been here?

Post by maverick »

This is the Junction Buttes area(I think) which I took a picture of while
descending the trail from Iron Lake looking south.
The place looks interesting, has anyone been here? I could not find
any info on it in Secor's book even though that dome looks like it
would be a prime rock climbing area.
I also check on Climbing.Org and Summit Post.

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TehipiteTom
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Post by TehipiteTom »

The prominent dome in the left middleground is Balloon Dome, and it's even more impressive close up. Below it and to its right is Cassidy Crossing, a great early-season spot (gets hot later in the season, though). I set out to climb Balloon Dome from Cassidy with a couple of friends, but I took a spill in the creek and wound up turning back before the base of the granite; my friends got onto the class 2-3 friction slabs, and the exposure made them nervous.

There's a dead-end trail from Sheep Crossing to the Middle Fork above the junction, and that's a great spot too--beautiful granite walls, and at least one waterfall (in early season, anyway).

Definitely some nice country to explore down that way.
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maverick
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Post by maverick »

Thanks Tom, I may make it pre-season(May)hike next year.
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Timberline
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Post by Timberline »

Nice shot, maverick! Unusual perspective on this unusual country. If you shot this from somewhere up in or near the North Fork Canyon, I would conclude you were looking generally SSW, and the ridge rising on the left eventually trends into Kaiser Ridge maybe? I can still recall my first view of Baloon Dome fairly close up from the sloping plateau below that ridge. I was there exactly 100 years to the month after the Brewer party went through on their scientific exploration in 1864. Didn't realize the connection at the time, but later thought it was kinda cool to mark the century that way.
Here's what Brewer wrote about it: “The Middle Fork of the San Joaquin comes down through a very deep canyon, and the wide, open valley-like depression terminates here. This canyon is from 3000 to 4000 feet deep. Two or three miles southeast of this is a most remarkable dome. It rises to a height of 1800 feet above the river, and presents exactly the appearance of the upper part of a sphere; or, of the top of a gigantic balloon struggling to get up through the rock.
“The sides of the canyon are very abrupt, and present immense surfaces of naked granite, resembling the valley of the Yosemite. There are everywhere in this valley the traces of former glaciers, on an immense scale. . . .It was evident that the glaciers which came down the various branches of the San Joaquin all united here to form one immense “sea of iceâ€
Let 'er Buck! Back in Oregon again!
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TehipiteTom
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Post by TehipiteTom »

I have a few shots from that area on Flickr. Here's one of Balloon Dome from the Cassidy Crossing trail:
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maverick
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Post by maverick »

Reminds me of a smaller Tehipite Dome a little.
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