Marmots in Mineral King
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Snownymph, did the wire keep the buggers out? That looks like the route I would take. I would probably take some huge tent stakes to nail it down with rather than setting rocks on it. I still want to go but it looks like I will be pushed back to mid-July for my trip. I hope to do some exploring in the Florence Peak region.
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We went up to Mineral Peak (I put a link to my TR on another post but here it is again: http://www.theradioroom.org/MineralPeak ... lPeak2.htm
The snow was patchy as low as 8000', with snow fields at 9000' and consistent above 10,000'. I was surprised how much snow remains on the north facing slopes (isn't this the end of June?). Lets just say I got some real world experience using the old ice axe - and I was praising the higher powers for having it hand when I truly needed it (twice I was "unzippered" down a slope when the crud broke loose from under me. Yee-haw.
Still lots of fun having the snow around but at the end of the day marching thru the deep sun cupped stuff was a tad tiring.
I'm sure the Franklin Lakes and the peak have heavy doses of snow and ice - which just might make the climb up Florence a little easier?
The snow was patchy as low as 8000', with snow fields at 9000' and consistent above 10,000'. I was surprised how much snow remains on the north facing slopes (isn't this the end of June?). Lets just say I got some real world experience using the old ice axe - and I was praising the higher powers for having it hand when I truly needed it (twice I was "unzippered" down a slope when the crud broke loose from under me. Yee-haw.
Still lots of fun having the snow around but at the end of the day marching thru the deep sun cupped stuff was a tad tiring.
I'm sure the Franklin Lakes and the peak have heavy doses of snow and ice - which just might make the climb up Florence a little easier?
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- SSSdave
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Back for more Shawn! I camped next to the upper Crystal Lake in your pic one night late season in 1980. Took a pic and recall there being a large white marble block above the little tarn. Was doing some potential trip planning the last couple days and am warming to an idea of going over Sawtooth Pass and down the other side to a foxtail land we'd visited a decade ago. The first day would reach the Monarch area where I've wanted to climb the northeast arete for a late afternoon then a sunset image of the colorful pointy peak in the same frame as Sawtooth. Right now considering the end of July. ...David
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Going over Sawtooth Pass from Mineral King is just cruel and unusual punishment. They have "improved" the trail from the lake to the pass some recently, but it is still a sliding mess. There are really no easy ways to get over to the east side, but Sawtooth is the worst. Ideas: Timber Gap and Blackrock Pass, or Glacier Pass to Black Rock, or trails south. But hey, people do go over from the west, usually after a night at the lake. And some use the old north canyon trail too.SSSdave wrote:...Was doing some potential trip planning the last couple days and am warming to an idea of going over Sawtooth Pass and down the other side to a foxtail land we'd visited a decade ago.
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Yeah as bad as slogging up the gruss to Lamarck Col from Darwin Canyon. With the huge weight I carry, my boots sink in even more. I habitually wake up at dawn in the backcountry and would likely be stumbling up the modest 1400 feet up route from Monarch well before sunrise so it would at least be in pleasant cool shade. Even if I wasn't interested in doing some photography by Monarch there is no way I could go over the 4k pass in one day like many do. 3k vert is about my limit carrying 70 pounds or more.DoyleWDonehoo wrote: ...Going over Sawtooth Pass from Mineral King is just cruel and unusual punishment. They have "improved" the trail from the lake to the pass some recently, but it is still a sliding mess.
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