TR: Lake Mary over Duck Pass to Pika base camp
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:34 pm
August 2-5.
This trip was organized by a friend and was a backpacking reunion of sorts for several of us. They prefer the basecamp approach--lugging relatively heavy packs in one day's distance, setting up a base, and dayhiking from that base.
This year's trip was from the Lake Mary trailhead outside of Mammoth over Duck Pass to Pika lake. Pika is a large lake but dwarfed by Duck Lake that lies only a couple of hundred yards and a few feet in elevation away.
Day 1 was relatively straightforward, except I kept being thrown off by the fact that although we were starting from an eastside trailhead, we were actually hiking due south to cross the pass. Odd.
We bypassed the string of lakes leading up to Duck Pass, resting and snacking along the way. Skelton was a pretty forested lake, and I talked to families with very small children who camped there, since it was so close to the trailhead. Barney Lake is immediately below the pass and is rockier and more barren. There we met a group of young guys who had packed in a guitar and a banjo. I'm not sure whether I was or wasn't glad that we missed the opportunity to camp near them.
Duck Pass itself has an extremely well engineered trail, and seems to be used by dozens of dayhikers, backpackers, and horse packers every day. It seemed to me to be one of the easier passes I have done in the Sierras. When we popped over the top we were immediately hit with views of Duck Lake backed by Pika Lake. I was not prepared for the size of Duck Lake. That basin is a huge, sweeping vista dominated by water.
At the pass we took the left down a less well engineered trail that sweeps around the end of Duck to reach Pika Lake. As we passed the end of Duck lake we moved through wildflower studded meadows. To the left of the trail we eventually noticed a kind of cabin--actually a cave modified into a cabin, and we wondered if anyone here might know the history of it. There are many campsites on the small ridges flanking Pika Lake. In fact, it seems like a much better place to camp than the steep slopes that surround almost all sides of Duck Lake. Everyone else seemed to know this too, and we often had several sets of neighbors. Day 2 we hiked over to Deer Lakes. While it is essentially a cross country route, so many people do this hike that a well defined use trail has been beaten in to many sections. The descent down into the uppermost of the Deer Lakes is very steep, although it did not quite necessitate handholds. From our perch we heard and saw a group of young men swimming, and yelling in one of the lower of the Lakes. I also saw what looked to me like a great many large trout through the clear waters of the upper lake.
Day 3 I did an ambitious day hike on my own. I left Pika at 6 am and hiked around Duck lake and took the switchbacks down to join up with the JMT. From there I headed SE to Purple Lake. Parts of Purple Lake were truly devastated by the big blowdown last winter. For a few hundred yards it seemed to me that every large tree had been blown down, all rooted up and all lying in the same direction. Fortunately the trail crews have done an excellent job sawing them out, but it left parts of the trail looking like a lumberyard. The main camping area which is halfway along the NW shore on the Ram Lake trail seemed unaffected.
Purple lake is still a pretty, forested lake despite the damage. My real interest, though, was in following the use trail up to Ram Lake. The Ram Lake trail showed many signs of being a well constructed and maintained trail--years ago. It clearly has not been maintained for a long time. This bothers me that only main stem trails get any maintenance anymore and side trails are increasingly being left to revert. However, I found my way fairly easily and was charmed by a series of meadows and babbling creeks all the way up to Ram Lake. I did not have time to explore the whole basin, but thought Ram lake was a pretty high lake with low shrubby conifers and broken granite.
I returned the way I came, and 9 1/2 hours into my 10 hour hike the heavens opened up and poured. I got into my rain gear but still was a bit bedraggled. From the relative safety of our low camp my friends and I watched as the sun set during a lightning storm. The sky turned all shades of red, pink, and orange as the lightining over the horizon lit up the clouds. Eventually the hail drove us into our tents, but not before we had been treated to one of nature's more awesome displays. Day four I packed out, with a wet tent, and came home.
One interesting "find" that I thought I would ask the members here about. At one point in my wandering I came across a recent memorial/gravesite marker. I'd rather not identify its location in case it was placed illegally. I wonder if any of you knew this man or knew anything about the practice of placing memorials in the wilderness? We wondered if this was placed by his fishing companions, given the nickname.
This trip was organized by a friend and was a backpacking reunion of sorts for several of us. They prefer the basecamp approach--lugging relatively heavy packs in one day's distance, setting up a base, and dayhiking from that base.
This year's trip was from the Lake Mary trailhead outside of Mammoth over Duck Pass to Pika lake. Pika is a large lake but dwarfed by Duck Lake that lies only a couple of hundred yards and a few feet in elevation away.
Day 1 was relatively straightforward, except I kept being thrown off by the fact that although we were starting from an eastside trailhead, we were actually hiking due south to cross the pass. Odd.
We bypassed the string of lakes leading up to Duck Pass, resting and snacking along the way. Skelton was a pretty forested lake, and I talked to families with very small children who camped there, since it was so close to the trailhead. Barney Lake is immediately below the pass and is rockier and more barren. There we met a group of young guys who had packed in a guitar and a banjo. I'm not sure whether I was or wasn't glad that we missed the opportunity to camp near them.
Duck Pass itself has an extremely well engineered trail, and seems to be used by dozens of dayhikers, backpackers, and horse packers every day. It seemed to me to be one of the easier passes I have done in the Sierras. When we popped over the top we were immediately hit with views of Duck Lake backed by Pika Lake. I was not prepared for the size of Duck Lake. That basin is a huge, sweeping vista dominated by water.
At the pass we took the left down a less well engineered trail that sweeps around the end of Duck to reach Pika Lake. As we passed the end of Duck lake we moved through wildflower studded meadows. To the left of the trail we eventually noticed a kind of cabin--actually a cave modified into a cabin, and we wondered if anyone here might know the history of it. There are many campsites on the small ridges flanking Pika Lake. In fact, it seems like a much better place to camp than the steep slopes that surround almost all sides of Duck Lake. Everyone else seemed to know this too, and we often had several sets of neighbors. Day 2 we hiked over to Deer Lakes. While it is essentially a cross country route, so many people do this hike that a well defined use trail has been beaten in to many sections. The descent down into the uppermost of the Deer Lakes is very steep, although it did not quite necessitate handholds. From our perch we heard and saw a group of young men swimming, and yelling in one of the lower of the Lakes. I also saw what looked to me like a great many large trout through the clear waters of the upper lake.
Day 3 I did an ambitious day hike on my own. I left Pika at 6 am and hiked around Duck lake and took the switchbacks down to join up with the JMT. From there I headed SE to Purple Lake. Parts of Purple Lake were truly devastated by the big blowdown last winter. For a few hundred yards it seemed to me that every large tree had been blown down, all rooted up and all lying in the same direction. Fortunately the trail crews have done an excellent job sawing them out, but it left parts of the trail looking like a lumberyard. The main camping area which is halfway along the NW shore on the Ram Lake trail seemed unaffected.
Purple lake is still a pretty, forested lake despite the damage. My real interest, though, was in following the use trail up to Ram Lake. The Ram Lake trail showed many signs of being a well constructed and maintained trail--years ago. It clearly has not been maintained for a long time. This bothers me that only main stem trails get any maintenance anymore and side trails are increasingly being left to revert. However, I found my way fairly easily and was charmed by a series of meadows and babbling creeks all the way up to Ram Lake. I did not have time to explore the whole basin, but thought Ram lake was a pretty high lake with low shrubby conifers and broken granite.
I returned the way I came, and 9 1/2 hours into my 10 hour hike the heavens opened up and poured. I got into my rain gear but still was a bit bedraggled. From the relative safety of our low camp my friends and I watched as the sun set during a lightning storm. The sky turned all shades of red, pink, and orange as the lightining over the horizon lit up the clouds. Eventually the hail drove us into our tents, but not before we had been treated to one of nature's more awesome displays. Day four I packed out, with a wet tent, and came home.
One interesting "find" that I thought I would ask the members here about. At one point in my wandering I came across a recent memorial/gravesite marker. I'd rather not identify its location in case it was placed illegally. I wonder if any of you knew this man or knew anything about the practice of placing memorials in the wilderness? We wondered if this was placed by his fishing companions, given the nickname.