Taboose to Dumbbell: Kings Canyon NP
- peninsula
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Thanks Snow Nymph and KathyW,
TS Eliot has some really good stuff. I'm not big on poetry, but I think his stuff hits the nail on the head with abrupt eloquence.
And hikerduane, you will do well paying attention to both regular snacks (I think Power Bars are the best) as well as plenty of water. That along with picking a pace that is natural for you. I take plenty of breathers and can still manage to cover lots of ground. My breathers are short with my pack on my back and standing up. I rarely take my pack off during the course of a day when going from one camp to the next. And I keep my water, water purifier, camera, and food handy so my pack can stay put. I find resting with my pack off is not good for me. I get stiff and find it hard to get back into a rhythm. But to each his own as goes taking breaks. You got to do what works for you.
peninsula
TS Eliot has some really good stuff. I'm not big on poetry, but I think his stuff hits the nail on the head with abrupt eloquence.
And hikerduane, you will do well paying attention to both regular snacks (I think Power Bars are the best) as well as plenty of water. That along with picking a pace that is natural for you. I take plenty of breathers and can still manage to cover lots of ground. My breathers are short with my pack on my back and standing up. I rarely take my pack off during the course of a day when going from one camp to the next. And I keep my water, water purifier, camera, and food handy so my pack can stay put. I find resting with my pack off is not good for me. I get stiff and find it hard to get back into a rhythm. But to each his own as goes taking breaks. You got to do what works for you.
peninsula
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One should never apologize for invoking T.S. Eliot! My favorite lines from The Wasteland:KathyW wrote:peninsula - great report and beautiful pictures. I'd really like to get into that area eventually. It must have been hell coming down from Dumbbell Pass.
I see you have a TS Eliot quote as your signature - I love TS Eliot. I really like this section from "The Wasteland":
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
and most of all I love his poem "The Hollow Men" http://www.cs.umbc.edu/~evans/hollow.html
oops, i've gone off-topic - this is a backpacking thread
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
But, then, I always have had a weakness for angst.
- hikerduane
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- TehipiteTom
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How could anyone not be interested?If any of you are interested in Taboose Pass, Cartridge Pass, Lake Basin, Dumbbell Pass and Dumbbell Lakes Basin
Really enjoyed the report and pictures. Dumbbell Lakes basin has been on my wish list for a long time.
As for Eliot quotes, there's a line from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock that goes through my head over and over whenever I'm off-trail and picking out a route: "In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."
- maverick
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I saw no one in Dumbbell Basin either and I visited every lake in the
basin.
I saw some foot prints at the small lake north of 11108 but that was it.
Saw some bear and mountain lion tracks at the pass between
Observation Basin and Dumbbell Basin and some bear scat at
Observation Lakes and Dumbbell Basin.
Lakes Basin has become popular and the masses can have at it
Dumbbell and Amph is prettier anyways.
basin.
I saw some foot prints at the small lake north of 11108 but that was it.
Saw some bear and mountain lion tracks at the pass between
Observation Basin and Dumbbell Basin and some bear scat at
Observation Lakes and Dumbbell Basin.
Lakes Basin has become popular and the masses can have at it
Dumbbell and Amph is prettier anyways.
- peninsula
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I saw what looked to be cat prints on the Lake Basin side of Dumbbell Pass.
I'm going to have to check out Amph for sure. So many places on my list and only so much cartilage in my knees. I saw a guy that looked like he was about 70 making his way over Taboose. I can only hope my legs will hold out as well as his!
For beauty and relative solitude, another favorite of mine is Miter Basin. Even though it is not all that remote, it seems to get relatively less traffic. I imagine the solitude is aided by the fact Miter Basin is located south of the traffic-generating JMT. Another trip on my ever-growing list is Lower Soldier Lake, Miter Basin, Crabtree Pass into Crabtree Basin and then loop back out via New Army or Army.
I'm going to have to check out Amph for sure. So many places on my list and only so much cartilage in my knees. I saw a guy that looked like he was about 70 making his way over Taboose. I can only hope my legs will hold out as well as his!
For beauty and relative solitude, another favorite of mine is Miter Basin. Even though it is not all that remote, it seems to get relatively less traffic. I imagine the solitude is aided by the fact Miter Basin is located south of the traffic-generating JMT. Another trip on my ever-growing list is Lower Soldier Lake, Miter Basin, Crabtree Pass into Crabtree Basin and then loop back out via New Army or Army.
- maverick
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- peninsula
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I once climbed over the Miter from Sky Blue to Iridescent. I broke all of the rules. I did this some 20 years ago when I had little knowledge of basic mountaineering fundamentals. I went over the Miter between the second and third peaks if counted going from south to north. Had I made this effort further North, I'd probably been fine. I instead scooted up a long chimney from Sky Blue. No ropes, all by myself, I ended up stuck on the Iridescent side as the opposite chimney on my descent became too wide and to steep. I made a jump that prohibited my turning back. It was a very foolish move. Soon thereafter, I could no longer safely descend. I was either going to start blowing my whistle and hope someone heard me (I was getting cold and without any additional clothing for protection) or climb out onto a face of vertical granite and try to find unseen hand and footholds to lower myself down. In my panic, I attempted the later, and I ended up taking a fall. Incredibly, I came out with only some bruises and deep abrasions. It was a the nearest I've come to thinking I was going to die! Anyway, I made it. I'll never forget going into the water on the shore of Iridescent and washing off the blood. I started crying. Then I went back to camp and went fishing.
And yes, those two lakes are beautiful. I have yet to make it over to Primrose of Erin Lakes.
And yes, those two lakes are beautiful. I have yet to make it over to Primrose of Erin Lakes.
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