Knapsack Pass tricks?
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:38 am
Hi,
I'll be leading some folks who are relatively inexperienced at x-country, from Dusy Basin into Palisade Basin, as a day hike (no full packs). This will be from the middle lakes in Dusy Basin (at the foot of Isoscecles).
I went over Knapsack last year with a full pack, starting from the same lakes near Isoscecles. I remember reading that the easiest beaten way to the pass is from the lowest lakes chain in Dusy Basin, but we didn't want to descend that far. On the other hand, we didn't want to traverse straight over to the pass, as I'd read, and could now see, that we would run into steep talus and cliffs. So we did a sort of descending traverse, that still involved a lot of bushwacking and being cliffed out. Once we started ascending up the pass proper, nothing we were on resembled the Class 1/2 "use trail" I had been told exists.
What did I miss last time? Should we have just bitten the bullet and descended (almost) all the way to the lowest lakes before resuming our climb? Does the legendary "use trail" over there really exist?
Last year, I recall seeing a photo somewhere online, where, I believe, someone explained that the proper approach to Knapsack is to the far right of the gully (looking up), climbing to a spot just above and to the right of the pass proper. But I can't seem to find that photo/description now. (Last year, we decided not to investigate that right side of the gully as there was a lot of steep snow; should not be there this year.)
We had absolutely no problems on the south side of the pass.
- Elizabeth
I'll be leading some folks who are relatively inexperienced at x-country, from Dusy Basin into Palisade Basin, as a day hike (no full packs). This will be from the middle lakes in Dusy Basin (at the foot of Isoscecles).
I went over Knapsack last year with a full pack, starting from the same lakes near Isoscecles. I remember reading that the easiest beaten way to the pass is from the lowest lakes chain in Dusy Basin, but we didn't want to descend that far. On the other hand, we didn't want to traverse straight over to the pass, as I'd read, and could now see, that we would run into steep talus and cliffs. So we did a sort of descending traverse, that still involved a lot of bushwacking and being cliffed out. Once we started ascending up the pass proper, nothing we were on resembled the Class 1/2 "use trail" I had been told exists.
What did I miss last time? Should we have just bitten the bullet and descended (almost) all the way to the lowest lakes before resuming our climb? Does the legendary "use trail" over there really exist?
Last year, I recall seeing a photo somewhere online, where, I believe, someone explained that the proper approach to Knapsack is to the far right of the gully (looking up), climbing to a spot just above and to the right of the pass proper. But I can't seem to find that photo/description now. (Last year, we decided not to investigate that right side of the gully as there was a lot of steep snow; should not be there this year.)
We had absolutely no problems on the south side of the pass.
- Elizabeth