Trip Advise: Ionian Basin

[Wandering Daisy]

Well, since everyone is asking for trip advise, here is another!

I have planned out a basic loop through Ionian Basin. Now I have to decide between several ways to go in and out. I can do a point-to-point because my husband is meeting me at the end and can take me back to my car, although we do not want to drive between the east and west sides.

One plan is to loop from Courtright. An option is to include Tunemah Lake. I have gone (in one long day) from the lakes east of Finger Col, the pass between Blue Canyon Peak and Finger Peak, then over Dykman Pass to Tunemah Lake. Has anyone gone over the pass directly east of Blue Canyon Peak, down to the unnamed lakes to the east, and then south to Tunemah Lake? I always wanted to see those little lakes. I looked down on them from the ridge north of Tunemah Lake. Or could you traverse the very top of Blue Canyon and then up to the col just south of Blue Canyon Peak, and run that ridge over to Tunemah Lake?

Also, if you are to drop down from McGuire Lake, the 7.5 minute topo shows the trail bending back to the se end of Big Maxon Meadow. Another map shows a trail that cuts down directly. Does that old trail still exist? If not, on Google Earth it at least looks feasible to x-c. Are there fish in the NF Kings downstream of the Meadow Brook cabin? Fish and Wildlife map show no fish in Schoolmarm, Holster and surrounding lakes. Is that accurate? Another basin north, are there fish in Horseshoe Lake? or Devil's Punchbowl?

Another route is from South Lake to North Lake, via Dusy, possibly loop through Barrett and HSR to Palisade Lake, then up to Helen Lake and over Black Giant Pass. Has anyone day-hiked the set of lakes east of Mt. Charbybdis? Is it worth the effort.

[CAMERONM]

I will be posting my trip report in a few days, but for now I can say that I attended the meetup at Grinnell, came down the JMT, up Goddard Canyon (nice), Martha Lake, Mt. Goddard (really nice), just below 12491, north of Chasm lake, Black Giant Pass, out South Lake via the JMT. I was all set to climb Black Giant but some ugly clouds appeared and I just hauled down the trail as fast as I could, and it did indeed turn into a very thunderous and wet experience. The topos for Ionian look more challenging than the reality. I suppose a nice tighter loop version of what I did would be South Lake-Piute Pass. If you add just a few miles in the middle you could divert to go clean off at the Muir Hot Springs!

[tlsharb]

Daisy, I can comment on a little bit of this. Last summer we headed from Crabtree lake to Halfmoon lake. As the trail drops down from Macguire Lk it heads though a really beautiful, lush forest following Falls Cr. As you start to break out of the forest, there is a use trail that takes off and descends down to the North Fork. Three years ago I found it easily. Last summer the ducts seemed to disappear. So we just cross countried our way down....not too hard (but the whole time I kept thinking the use trail was right next to us). We hit the river about .75 miles from Big Maxon meadow. A lot of the descent is wide open slab, so it is pretty nice.
There are fish in the river, but nothing I caught had any size to it. All the lakes in Bench Valley that I fished last summer had fish (and we fished all but about three of them). A couple of the lakes have some really nice rainbows in them, the rest seemed filled with small brookies (the lower lakes) and really small brookies (the upper lakes). The best fishing I had on the whole trip last year was at the Punchbowl....brookies and rainbows. I fished horseshoe a few years ago...little brookies. One lake up are some nice goldens. One lake down...really nice rainbows (but hard to catch). Of course I've found that what happens one year can have little to do with the next year.

[Wandering Daisy]

Thanks. I have been in Ionian Basin three times before, so am well aware of its terrain complexity. I have done Black Giant Pass but not Wanda Pass. Also have done Enchanted Gorge. Every other time I have had an ice-axe, so a concern is if I really will need one. The first trip I did was a very high snowpack year, and even in late August I had to use my ice-axe. The more enjoyable trip in Ionian Basin was when I base camped and day-hiked to lots of the lakes. It was really nice not to have to lug a pack around. I actually day-hiked Enchanted Gorge (with an unplanned bivy!) Did it once; no desire to do it again; it is that kind of a route, LOL. I was lucky in that every time I have been in Ionian Basin, the weather has been perfect.

Good to know about that trail from McGuire Lake. And the fishing. Still not sure which route I will end up doing.

Perhaps my Courtright loop is doing too much on one trip and Tunemah should be saved for an different trip. I ran through the Tunemah area once and it would be nice to slow down and spend some more time there. Perhaps, instead, just go over Finger Col to Cathedral Lake. Definitely want to get down to Lake 10232 on Goddard Creek and fish. I remember seeing fish in Lake 9797, on my unplanned bivy.

North Lake to South Lake looks pretty good too. I have done the direct route from below Helen Lake to Ladder Lake and then down to the river. Tempted to do Ladder Lake again but getting there by traversing below Black Giant and McDuffie was miserable and tedious.

[Jimr]

A nice point to point would be Wishon over Finger col to 9797, then 10232 and up into Ionian basin. Nietzsche col to Wanda lk, then Davis lakes to Martha Lk, then Hell for Sure pass out to Courtwright. Or the reverse (obviously)

[bobby49]

If you go to the Ionian Basin, watch out for all of those damned Ionians hiding behind rocks everywhere.

North Lake to South Lake or vice-versa is an awfully standard trip. You can stay right on the trail over Muir Pass, or you can take one of a dozen detours, like over Lamarck Col.

[Wandering Daisy]

I guess I was not very clear that the North Lake to South Lake route INCLUDED Ionian Basin. You are right, the standard on trail route is standard.

Here are some more details:
1. Drive, get permit, camp Lower or Upper Lemark, fish Wonder Lakes.
2. Darwin Bench Lemark Col, fish lower lakes
3. Through Evolution to Davis Lake, fish
4. to Martha Lake, side trip to lake below Goddard, fish Martha Lake
5. through Ionian, Scylla and down to Chasm Lake
6. over Black Giant Pass, to timberline on PCT, with side trip to lakes west of Black Giant Pk
7. Ladder Lake via high traverse (or down trail if behind schedule)
8. drop to PCT, up to Palisade Lake (or go up to Dusy and fish there)
9. SHR to Barrett Lake (or side trip to Barrett Lake from Dusy via Knapsack)
10. South Lake via Thunderbolt Pass, with side loop through Chocolate Lakes

This is the route I would do if someone were with me who had not been to Darwin Bench or done much in Dusy Basin or seen Barrett Lakes. I was in Dusy just last year but have not been in Blackcap Basin for in many years so am leaning towards that route. Although I really do like the route outlined above!

[SSSdave]

wd...a good candidate for the mt hoffman road end club

[Wandering Daisy]

Bobby- "Ionian", ancient Hellenic people! Well, did not Harlen lecture us on the tough ancient Greeks on the post about if the Greek mythology feats were really possible or just a big fish story? So, I will definitely look for Harlen behind each rock!

Sorry, you lost me on that last comment, SSSDave.

Interesting footnote; The trip I outlined is a lot like my 1997 (? or 98) first big Sierra solo trip I did when I moved to California: 14-day, one-way trip from North Lake via Lemark Col, Darwin Bench, climbed Mt Fisk, traversed the south (wrong) side of Davis Lake, climb Goddard, through Ionian Basin, Chasm Lake, unintentional day-hike turned overnight hike down Enchanted Gorge , up Goddard Creek and back over to Chasm, over Black Giant, down Le Conte Canyon, up to Dusy, over to Barrett Lake, day-climb of Mt Sill (after at first climbing the wrong peak) and out via Thunderbolt Pass to South Lake. Then hitch back to my car at North Lake. It was a high snowpack year, challenging, many snow bridges to cross, many roaring streams. A wonderful trip with a few very tense moments. Old heavy gear, army surplus wool pants, Kelty pack loaded to the hilt, old wooden handled ice axe, Terrey mountaineering boots, a 4 pound cheap synthetic sleeping bag! I had spent my last penny getting a master's degree, got a job in Sacramento, finally earned some money but also was putting a kid through college and had nothing left to buy new gear. Goes to show, the old stuff still works.

[AlmostThere]

Devil's Punchbowl has very nice brook trout in it. The lakes in Bench Valley mostly have brook or rainbow, save the very shallow ones. We caught skinny tiny brook in Horsehead and some very nice rainbows in smaller Twin Buck lakes. Crabtree had both brook and rainbow, nothing large. Didn't fish in Horseshoe but saw rings. Hell for Sure Lake had smaller brook. I have caught small brookies in the NF Kings below Meadow Brook.

There was a porcupine in the Maxson cabin chewing all night - not a great place to camp. We should have hiked more that night...