@fourputt, thanks for the confirmation on the rightmost notch on the east side of Echo Col. Although I was hoping to climb up that part from the east side, it looks like I'll be heading down that on the way out. At least I'll be many days into the trip and carrying a light load.
@tim, that photo of Davis Lake from way up the southern slope gives a great perspective. From the looks of it I would have hit an impassable cliff. Here's a quick detail map of the better way, does this look right?
davis lake route.JPG
@maverick; the 'run the planet fr' person on youtube must be an ultra-runner. I was watching one of his other videos called Evolution and it looks like he's running the JMT down from the hut toward Wanda. Yikes. thanks for the link to his Echo video, I've been enjoying the detailed footage of him climbing over the east side of Echo Col.
Thanx for your comments Mike M. I may have camped nearby the site you described overlooking the head of Le Conte Canyon last summer while on the JMT. I remember the vista overlooking Le Conte, amazing views. I'm planning on adding 2 contingency days and reversing the order of the trip.
Does this seem more reasonable/realistic? I'm open to any advice. . .
Day 1: North Lake TH to tarn just below Lamarck Col (5 miles)
Day 2: Over Lamarck Col to Darwin Bench (3.5 miles)
Day 3: Darwin Bench to Davis Lake (6.6 miles)
Day 4: Climb Mt. Goddard (3.8 miles)
Day 5: Davis Lake to tarn above Martha Lake (5 miles)
Day 6: Tarn above Martha Lake to Scylla Lake (3 miles + possible side trip/climb Scylla)
Day 7: Scylla to lake 11,828 (4 miles + possible side trip/climb Scylla)
Day 8: Lake 11,828, Black Giant, to Lake 11,428 below Echo Col (4.5 miles)
Day 9: Echo Col to Sabrina (9 miles)
This is a basic outline, some flexibility is built-in (and low mileage in the beginning). Here's an overview map:
lamarck col - evolution - ionian - echo col loop overview.JPG