High Sierra Topix

maverick wrote:Thanks for the TR Peninsula.
Sounds like you had a lot of close calls all thru your trip.
The prospect of either an acl or mcl injury would be scary enough back home but in the
backcountry its much more dangerous.
If it had been an acl at least your where in a pretty well traveled corridor unlike Dumbbell
Lakes which rarely get visited.
That chute coming down ST Pass can be tricky luckly you stopped before it got worse.
I enjoyed seeing those tarns again they are pretty as is the view to the west.
Read about the fire in the Tehipite area but didn't expect to see so much smoke!

You're welcome, maverick.

The knee deal could have been a disaster, fortunately it proved to be a relatively mild mcl sprain. The popping sound was a first for me. I feared a cartilage tear initially. I was pretty sure the acl was okay given the circumstances (my knee was fully flexed when the twist occurred as my foot went sideways out from under my butt). All in all, it was a great trip, as good as they get. I do, however, question my wisdom doing these passes.

Hi Peninsula,
My wife & I have been busy recovering from our recent trip (and we made some unintentional blood/tissue donations, sort of like you did), but what got me from your photos is that you had pretty similar (smoky) conditions on the South side of Glacier Divide as we had back in July. It's been a rough year for getting the kind of long distance visibility that I've tended to associate with the Sierras, and given the views that we'd expected of McGee basin, Peter, McGee & Emerald Peaks and the Hermit, it was a bit of a let down. Still, that whole area to the South of Glacier Divide and West of Darwin Bench is pretty peaceful, so that feature is great. We'll look forward to future reports!
Thanks!
CG

Peninsula, I'll second the compliments of your report. I went over Lamarck Col last Wednesday. Don't feel bad for missing the Col -- I seem to miss it every time, although fortunately my traverse was only about 5 minutes. I didn't venture Snow Tongue Pass though. After tearing my shoulder up last September in a remote area west of Mt. Ritter, I'm a bit more leery of soloing things like that! I took a somewhat more roundabout root back to Humphrey's Basin, by way of Gemini, Feather and Puppet Passes.

quentinc wrote:Peninsula, I'll second the compliments of your report. I went over Lamarck Col last Wednesday. Don't feel bad for missing the Col -- I seem to miss it every time, although fortunately my traverse was only about 5 minutes. I didn't venture Snow Tongue Pass though. After tearing my shoulder up last September in a remote area west of Mt. Ritter, I'm a bit more leery of soloing things like that! I took a somewhat more roundabout root back to Humphrey's Basin, by way of Gemini, Feather and Puppet Passes.

Thanks quentinc,

I have to question my wisdom about these soloing ventures... roundabout routes make sense. I am rethinking my next trip and the possibility of going over Crabtree Pass.

Regarding Packsaddle- I've day-hiked it from Packsaddle Lake and did not find it especially enjoyable (heavy snow year). Coming up from the other side (Evolution) it should be no biggie. Who heer has gone up from the north with pack? It might motivate me to give it a try next year.