High Sierra Topix

Hoovertime wrote:Sept. 14-17 I went on a BP trip to a remote place in the Sierra. I was checking out a Topo earlier this year when I saw a lake that appeared to have all the attributes of a great fishing lake. It was off the beaten path, on the way to nowhere, hard to get to, appeared deep and seemed to have a relatively flat inlet stream= good for spawning.
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Took me awhile to figure this one out. I looked at the photos, kinda figured what part of the Sierra this was in, checked the clue, then confirmed on the topo. Then I realized that someone had PM'd me about this place, so I went back and checked and found that it was in fact you. What a gorgeous spot--just as one would imagine it. Too bad about the fish. I had targeted this lake since the 80's or even earlier (even bought a stereo air photo pair to evaluate spawning potential in more detail)--may have thought about this the same time I thought of doing the Dumbbells back in the 70's, but unlike the Dumbbells I haven't gotten around to this place.

It certainly qualifies as one of the most remote spots in the Sierra, that's for sure.

Those clues were a little to vague. Northernmost lake = Peeler

As Wandering Daisy suggests, the Goddard topo has places that have to be the most remote, as well as awesome, places in the Sierra. My Rocky Mtn friens look with awe at the topo.

I've been to Ionion Basin from the west and east, and neither is easy. Mt. Rubenstein or Lamark Col, from Muir Pass area... All are a great x-country treks.

Looks like Tehipite Valley may be a candadite for most remote too. I'll find out this spring.

Goddard 15' quad- best map in California IMHO. Also happens to have the place furthest from a road.

JD

I believe the most remote place in the Sierra would be a really nice lake that is so remote that no one (apparently) has been there.

Is this the lake north of WIndy Ridge? It is below Gray Pass on northwest side. I camped at the little pond above this lake on Ropers High Route this summer.
If you only had one more place to hike to ......A photo follows.

Here is another photo - this one taken the next day from Gray Pass. It is a beautiful lake. It is farther down to the lake than it looks like. The afternoon I was at the little pond above it, the weather was stormy and I was out of energy so did not go down to walk around this lake. I regret that.
If you only had one more place to hike to ......A photo follows.


This is the lake that I saw on the same route, that, TMK, is the only lake past the Horseshoes that is
of any significance on the SHR until you get into the basin below Grey Pass. In Doyle's chronicles, I believe he refers to it as the "lake on the edge of forever"...or some such phrase. And,yes, it is a ways down there....it bears a visit, if for no other reason than to peer over the edge, but time was an issue on the trek to Lakes Basin and something we didn't have enough of.....oh..for another visit w/more time and energy...
If you only had one more place to hike to ......A photo follows.

The string that is entitled "If you only had one more place to hike to ......" also has the three pics.

I have personally been to many many remote places in the Sierra but if this place isn't the most remote I don't know where is. It is North of Windy Ridge, close to Horseshoe Lakes, near State Lakes, out of Kings Canyon up the Copper Creek trail.

Has ANYONE ever been there?????
Apparently not.

I certainly agree about the Mt Goddard 15' quad. I still think in terms of the old 15' quads and to me the old Goddard quad represents the crown jewel of the High Sierra. No other 15' map of the Sierra has so many trailless areas and potential off trail routes.

Seems many believe in the Goddard topo (the 15' one), as I do, for beauty and remoteness. I will be sad when mine falls into dust, because it will fall into dust and it can't be replaced. The memories of the trips it's been on make me happy. The Goddard is the best.

I remember one to McClure Mdw, during the drought, from Courtwright, x-country over hill and dale, and when coming back we had no water for a day, and we happily drank from a stock pond right next to the cows.

Well, if anyone is still interested, franky (from the Supertopo forum) used mapping software to calculate the exact furthest point you can get from the road in the Sierra. It also turns out to the the furthest you can get from the road in all of CA and most of the other states.

He came up with two locations that are almost a tie and he did not feel comfortable confirming a winner because the road layer of his map was from a free public dataset and may not be infallible.

THE WINNER!
Just west of Tunemah Peak, -118.70208 36.995476, at 21124 meters from the nearest road.
CLOSE RUNNER UP!
In the bowl below Milestone Mountain, -118.478895 36.61802, at 21071 meters from the nearest road.
So, who's been at or near these spots?

There's lots of places in the Sierra I haven't been but I've been within a quarter mile of both of those red marks. Crossed over from Milestone basin thru Milestone Bowl enroute to Colby Pass trail in the 80s as part of a "patrol" that I took from Roaring River up Cloud Canyon then up Table Creek then down to the Upper reaches of the Kern, a couple of days at the Tyndal Patrol Cabin meeting up with some infamous SEKI Rangers then to Milestone Basin, Milestone Bowl, Colby Pass and back to Roaring River. Not bad for 7 days of work!

Visited the little lake north of the red dot in 2011 on my sun cups from hell trip where I targeted Tunemah Lake only to find it almost completely frozen with no fishable water. Did manage to catch 2 16+" brookies out of a supposedly fish less lake on that trip though.

Mike

I've gotta ask, care to post or send me a private message as to the whereabouts of 16+" brookies!?!?!