A big, snowy slog up to Colosseum Mountain and Mount Perkins from Sawmill Lake got cancelled due to my climbing partner's work schedule. I had mixed feelings about this since 2.5 days to try for both peaks would have been slightly silly. Anyway, a last minute scramble to find something to do for my week off lead to an assortment of great day hikes. Basically, I went wherever someone would hike with me. The first day I joined some Sierra Mountaineering Club members for a trek up Horsetail Falls to Pyramid Peak where high water, soft snow, and tricky route-finding provided a variety of challenges. On the second day, I met a new friend at Virginia Lakes to tag Excelsior Mountain. On the third day, I rested my legs at Strawberry Lodge and checked out the rocks at Lover's Leap. On the last day, I joined an SPS list finisher for her second round on Dick's Peak. It was a fantastic four days!!
I thought I'd post some pictures from Excelsior since Dick's and Pyramid have both been reported on recently.
Looking back towards the Virginia Lakes Trailhead from where we leave the trail for Excelsior:
As we begin to ascend the NE ridge (the long one which is also a wilderness boundary) we got into some deep, soft snow.
Not postholing yet, but we do.
The ridge itself was pretty much naked with only a few patches of snow.
The summit in view now. It was very windy here.
View of Mono Lake from summit:
View towards Yosemite from summit:
Near the tarn below the ridge, I convinced two, wandering fishermen to come up to the peak with us. And they did! One of them was only wearing cowboy boots and long johns. They took this picture of Joanne and I. I was the least like an Abercrombie model of the four of us.
TR: Excelsior Mountain, 6/8/16
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TR: Excelsior Mountain, 6/8/16
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Re: TR: Excelsior Mountain, 6/8/16
Peaks,
Thanks for posting these great pictures. Go ahead and post your reports of the Pyramid and Dicks climb. It would be interesting to hear about the Horsetail Falls route. Have you ever climbed up the Rocky Creek trail?
What type of climbing boots does Joanne wear? They look like green La Sportiva Nepal Evos.
Thanks for the pictures,
-Russ
Thanks for posting these great pictures. Go ahead and post your reports of the Pyramid and Dicks climb. It would be interesting to hear about the Horsetail Falls route. Have you ever climbed up the Rocky Creek trail?
What type of climbing boots does Joanne wear? They look like green La Sportiva Nepal Evos.
Thanks for the pictures,
-Russ
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Re: TR: Excelsior Mountain, 6/8/16
Thanks for posting peaksandpotatoes. Beautiful pictures of that leg of your trip and would love to see Pyramid and Dicks as well. You added good mileage on your trail shoes on that trip along with your car to get to each trail head. Impressive!
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Re: TR: Excelsior Mountain, 6/8/16
Thanks for reading!
Yup, I think Joanne's shoes are La Sportiva Evos.
No, I have not been up the Rocky Creek way.
Horsetail Falls is fun... People love to swim in the pools in the area when it is hot. It's just so beautiful.
I'll look through the pictures and post some when I get a chance.
Yup, I think Joanne's shoes are La Sportiva Evos.
No, I have not been up the Rocky Creek way.
Horsetail Falls is fun... People love to swim in the pools in the area when it is hot. It's just so beautiful.
I'll look through the pictures and post some when I get a chance.
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