2016 Summer Hike Planned Out

[RoguePhotonic]

Well as always the winter months are good for planning what will take place this next summer. This may be the first year where someone actually plans to be with me for possibly the entire hike.

Having been almost everywhere in the high Sierra I find each year I am more limited by visiting small new cirques and simply climbing more peaks. Along with AlpineMike's obsession with climbing as many peaks as he can we have come up with this plan: No matter how it goes down in the field it's sure to be another great summer of hiking!

July 1 - 1 - Drive to Parchers
July 2 - 2 - Bishop Lake (Climb Goode)
July 3 - 3 - Barrett Lakes (Climb Agassiz)
July 4 - 4 - Climb North Palisade
July 5 - 5 - Lower Dusy
July 6 - 6 - Climb Giraud Peak
July 7 - 7 - Hike out, Drive to Lodgepole
July 8 - 8 - Drive to Cedar Grove & VVR
July 9 - 9 - Layover

July 10 - 10 - Second Recess
July 11 - 11 - Upper Mills Creek Lake
July 12 - 12 - Climb Mt. Mills
July 13 - 13 - Climb Mt. Abbot Camp at Toe Lake
July 14 - 14 - Climb Bear Creek Spire
July 15 - 15 - Climb Mt. Dade
July 16 - 16 - Royce Lakes
July 17 - 17 - Layover
July 18 - 18 - climb feather
July 19 - 19 - Climb Royce
July 20 - 20 - Lake 11,880 (climb Merriam)
July 21 - 21 - Black Bear Lake
July 22 - 22 - VVR
July 23 - 23 - Layover

July 24 - 24 - San Joaquin Crossing
July 25 - 25 - Lake 11,600
July 26 - 26 - climb Darwin
July 27 - 27 - Climb Spencer
July 28 - 28 - Lake 11,440 (climb Huxley)
July 29 - 29 - climb Fiske & Warlow
July 30 - 30 - Middle Fork Junction
July 31 - 31 - Lake 11,600
August 1 - 32 - layover
August 2 - 33 - climb Bolton Brown
August 3 - 34 - Climb Prater
August 4 - 35 - Muro Blanco
August 5 - 36 - Paradise Valley
August 6 - 37 - Cedar Grove
August 7 - 38 - layover

August 8 - 39 - Grizzly Lakes
August 9 - 40 - climb Mt. Harrington
August 10 - 41 - Climb Tenderfoot Peak Camp at Lake 9599
August 11 - 42 - Upper Swamp Lakes
August 12 - 43 - Climb Hogback Peak
August 13 - 44 - Climb Slide Peak Camp at Lower Slide Lake
August 14 - 45 - Climb Peak 11,114
August 15 - 46 - Climb Kennedy Mountain camp at Volcanic Lakes
August 16 - 47 - Climb Hutchings Camp at Upper Tent Meadow
August 17 - 48 - Cedar Grove
August 18 - 49 - Layover

August 19 - 50 - Junction Meadow
August 20 - 51 - Lake Reflection
August 21 - 52 - Climb Ericsson camp at Lake South America
August 22 - 53 - Climb Mt. Stanford
August 23 - 54 - Climb Caltech Peak
August 24 - 55 - Climb Genevra Camp at Lake 11,560
August 25 - 56 - Climb Mt. Jordan
August 26 - 57 - layover
August 27 - 58 - Lake 11,760
August 28 - 59 - Climb Table Mountain
August 29 - 60 - Lake 11,440
August 30 - 61 - Lion Lake
August 31 - 62 - Lonely Lake
September 1 - 63 - Lodgepole

September 2 - 64 - Drive to VVR
September 3 - 65 - layover

September 4 - 66 - Mono Creek
September 5 - 67 - Pioneer Basin
September 6 - 68 - Climb Mt. Hopkins
September 7 - 69 - Climb Mt. Huntington
September 8 - 70 - Climb Mt. Stanford
September 9 - 71 - Climb Crocker camp at Big McGee Lake
September 10 - 72 - Rose Finch Lake
September 11 - 73 - Climb Mt. Izaak Walton
September 12 - 74 - Climb Peak 12,238
September 13 - 75 - VVR
September 14 - 76 - Head home

[RoguePhotonic]

Made the correction that after climbing Ericsson we should camp at lake South America not back at Lake Reflection.
And on a side note I never meant to post this in the peak bagging section. Just did so by mistake.

[zacjust32]

Day 60: Is Lake 11,440 the lake just NE of Colby Lake? My topos are in meters there and I can't seem to find an exact lake. And why not bag Milestone and Midway, they're right along the way?

[maverick]

Rogue wrote:
And on a side note I never meant to post this in the peak bagging section. Just did so by mistake

Moved

[RoguePhotonic]

Day 60: Is Lake 11,440 the lake just NE of Colby Lake? My topos are in meters there and I can't seem to find an exact lake. And why not bag Milestone and Midway, they're right along the way?

Actually it's the lake South East of Pants Pass. A really crappy place to camp but gets us in better striking range to copy what I did in 2012 by crossing Pants, Lion Rock, Lion Lake, Copper Mine and Horn Col. Most of the Lake elevations are a bit rough because i'll simply click on the nearest contour line.

I really did want to try and bag more peaks like Thunder and those others as well but the section already as planned is 14 days. I have gone longer but we don't want to carry that much weight. The reality is there is just too many peaks out there and not enough time.

I considered the idea of trying to get Milestone while crossing Milestone Pass but to take the ridge is 5.6 and taking the South West face would involve dropping down then climbing back up and that would make it too difficult to push far enough to make the following days realistic. Even as it stands leaving Lonely Lake and crossing Pterodactyl Pass and going all the way to Lodgepole will be a hard enough push.

I always had a plan to go and bag Milestone and Midway for the last couple of years but it never got done. At some point I still want to traverse over Glacier Ridge so I can see a cool trip of going back to the nice lake in Box Canyon. Taking Glacier Ridge. Maybe doing the Whaleback and then Milestone and Midway and then try to fit in Thunder also and loop back. Hmmm I think the summer of 2017 is already in the works.

[zacjust32]

I understand. Day 60 seems like a huff anyway, without climbing peaks along the way. It is a large section to cover with no resupply, and it would take a major itinerary change to remedy that. That's what next year's for!

[RoguePhotonic]

I don't think it will be horrible because once across Milestone Pass and down into the bowl it should be smooth traveling. Most of the Kern-Kaweah River valley there is class 1 walking.