Day 5 - July 15 - layover day in the Dusy Basin
It was nice to finally sleep in and eat a hot, leisurely breakfast. After breakfast we went out to explore the Dusy Basin and scout our next day's route to Agassiz Col. Dusy basin is very scenic, with great Palisades backdrop from almost every corner. We've visited all the lakes in the basin and took a good look at our next day's objective. We've also met a lone hiker - Jon Good (if I'm not mistaken), who came from the Taboose Pass TH and just climbed Mt Agassiz the day before. We chatted for a few and took each other pictures. Back at camp we ate hot lunch (the only one during this trip), some of us took a nap, then we swam in the lake and fished a little. It was very nice to have such a relaxing day after 4 days of rugged cross-county travel.
To be continued...
TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
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redbear
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
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redbear
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
Day 6 - July 16 - Mt Agassiz climb via South Ridge and descent to Sam Mack meadow
We had a feeling it's going to be a long day, so we woke up at 5, skipped breakfast and were moving by 6. We made our way to the base of Agassiz Col within an hour. Terrain was a combination of loose scree and various size talus, we tried to avoid the loose stuff and stayed mostly on the left side of the chute. There was a slab near the top that required couple of bouldery moves. We were at the top of the col before 10 am. Because climbing Mt Agassiz wasn't our original plan, we didn't have much beta, but according to Secor (my friend had a copy of the book on his phone), Mt Agassiz is considered the easiest major peak of the Palisades and the South Ridge route from the Agassiz Col is rated class 2. We rid our packs of heavy items and started towards the summit. It didn't really look class 2 from the col and looked kind of dangerous without the rope, but ended up being ok as we managed to find our way around cliffs with occasional easy bouldery moves without great exposure. It did take some route finding though. We've made it to the summit few minutes before noon. The views were incredible, unfortunately I didn't take many pictures as my phone's battery was low and while I brought a small USB battery charger, I forgot the cable
. We signed the register (last person to sign it was Jon Good, the fellow we've meet while exploring the Dusy Basin a day earlier), ate a snack and started our descent shortly. Back at the col around 2 pm, we thought the day is nearly over as we anticipated it shouldn't take more than couple of hours to arrive to Sam Mack lake. Our hopes were quickly extinguished once we started our descent as it seemed like the loss of altitude was inversely correlated with the size of the talus - the lower we got the bigger the talus was. We also made a mistake of choosing the moraine route from the col - it looked much flatter on the Topo map and visually in the beginning, but ended up being what seemed like endless, unstable, car size boulder field. When we finally arrived to Sam Mack lake we didn't like the campsites we saw and decided to continue down to Sam Mack meadow. Descending the glacial creek flowing into the meadow was not easy either - it was steep, big boulders interspersed with large snow blocks (the only place we came in contact with snow the entire trip) and swift water flowing in between. Exhausted but with a sense of accomplishment, we've made it down to the meadow shortly after 7 pm. That day ended up being a 13 hour day with very little break, definitely the hardest of the trip...
We had a feeling it's going to be a long day, so we woke up at 5, skipped breakfast and were moving by 6. We made our way to the base of Agassiz Col within an hour. Terrain was a combination of loose scree and various size talus, we tried to avoid the loose stuff and stayed mostly on the left side of the chute. There was a slab near the top that required couple of bouldery moves. We were at the top of the col before 10 am. Because climbing Mt Agassiz wasn't our original plan, we didn't have much beta, but according to Secor (my friend had a copy of the book on his phone), Mt Agassiz is considered the easiest major peak of the Palisades and the South Ridge route from the Agassiz Col is rated class 2. We rid our packs of heavy items and started towards the summit. It didn't really look class 2 from the col and looked kind of dangerous without the rope, but ended up being ok as we managed to find our way around cliffs with occasional easy bouldery moves without great exposure. It did take some route finding though. We've made it to the summit few minutes before noon. The views were incredible, unfortunately I didn't take many pictures as my phone's battery was low and while I brought a small USB battery charger, I forgot the cable
. We signed the register (last person to sign it was Jon Good, the fellow we've meet while exploring the Dusy Basin a day earlier), ate a snack and started our descent shortly. Back at the col around 2 pm, we thought the day is nearly over as we anticipated it shouldn't take more than couple of hours to arrive to Sam Mack lake. Our hopes were quickly extinguished once we started our descent as it seemed like the loss of altitude was inversely correlated with the size of the talus - the lower we got the bigger the talus was. We also made a mistake of choosing the moraine route from the col - it looked much flatter on the Topo map and visually in the beginning, but ended up being what seemed like endless, unstable, car size boulder field. When we finally arrived to Sam Mack lake we didn't like the campsites we saw and decided to continue down to Sam Mack meadow. Descending the glacial creek flowing into the meadow was not easy either - it was steep, big boulders interspersed with large snow blocks (the only place we came in contact with snow the entire trip) and swift water flowing in between. Exhausted but with a sense of accomplishment, we've made it down to the meadow shortly after 7 pm. That day ended up being a 13 hour day with very little break, definitely the hardest of the trip...
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giantbrookie
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
What a trip, with over-the-top off trail backpack routes with stunning scenery all stuffed into a single week! By the way, that nice plump fish in Dusy Basin is a rainbow-golden hybrid, the primary resident of the upper lakes.
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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mort
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
Hi redbear,
Wow! Fabulous trip! I've been to a few of these places, but would never have come to Upper Basin via Split Mountain, for instance. As giantbrookie says, over-the-top, literally. Also excellent pictures. The audacity of your route distracted me from the appreciating the photography.
I'm wondering what climbing gear you brought and what did you use? and how heavy were your packs?
Thanks for the trip report, it provided me vicarious thrills. And inspiration to plan bigger and higher.
-mort
Wow! Fabulous trip! I've been to a few of these places, but would never have come to Upper Basin via Split Mountain, for instance. As giantbrookie says, over-the-top, literally. Also excellent pictures. The audacity of your route distracted me from the appreciating the photography.
I'm wondering what climbing gear you brought and what did you use? and how heavy were your packs?
Thanks for the trip report, it provided me vicarious thrills. And inspiration to plan bigger and higher.
-mort
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redbear
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
Yes, it was quite an adventure indeed. I feel grateful that we live in a close proximity to such an amazing "playground" that the Sierra Nevada mountains are, where opportunities to find solitude and incredible scenery are endless!giantbrookie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:20 pm What a trip, with over-the-top off trail backpack routes with stunning scenery all stuffed into a single week! By the way, that nice plump fish in Dusy Basin is a rainbow-golden hybrid, the primary resident of the upper lakes.
And thanks for the heads up about the fish!
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redbear
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
Hi mort,mort wrote: ↑Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:12 pm Hi redbear,
Wow! Fabulous trip! I've been to a few of these places, but would never have come to Upper Basin via Split Mountain, for instance. As giantbrookie says, over-the-top, literally. Also excellent pictures. The audacity of your route distracted me from the appreciating the photography.
I'm wondering what climbing gear you brought and what did you use? and how heavy were your packs?
Thanks for the trip report, it provided me vicarious thrills. And inspiration to plan bigger and higher.
-mort
Thanks for the praise! We didn't have any climbing gear other than helmets. My pack was around 30 lbs initially (without water) and my friend's was couple of pounds heavier as he carried more food for both of us (he is bigger himself and has a bigger and lighter bear canister). Our gear has been dialed in on the ultra light side, we share a tent and probably couple of thousand calories short per day food wise (our "happy hours" probably provide lion's share of calories we consume daily
) - but it allows us to be very agile and cover good distances over rugged terrain without feeling thrashed at the end of the day.-
oddtiger
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
Thanks for the TR! I thought about this loop when I bagged Split Mountain two years ago, but the Class-4 drive to the trailhead made me hesitate to go back. The fish up there was also quite impressive. Stunning photos!
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redbear
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
Day 7 - July 17 - Sam Mack Meadow to NF Big Pine exit
I always feel a bit sad on the final day of the trip, but it was time to wrap it up. We leisurely woke up around 6:30, ate a nice hot breakfast, packed up, turned the "auto pilot" on and hit the trail. It felt good to finally walk on the trail after 6 days of cross-country travel - you can relax and enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately my phone was dead and I couldn't take any more pictures. We were also a bit overwhelmed by large numbers of people going up the trail as soon as we reached the Third Lake. I knew the trail to Big Pine lakes is popular, but I don't think I've ever seen so many people there during my previous trips. Especially annoying were a few large groups of youngsters with nothing but their speakers, playing loud music; don't know how it completes their wilderness experience but it definitely ruins mine. Maybe that's why I feel sad during the exit days. It's like you come out of the wilderness with a clear mind and clean soul, and you get a pile of garbage thrown at you... Getting old? Maybe... Anyways, I hope it's a temporary COVID induced rush to nature by people who don't belong there and that we will go back to "normal" one day, sooner or later. Thanks everyone for reading and hike/climb on!
I always feel a bit sad on the final day of the trip, but it was time to wrap it up. We leisurely woke up around 6:30, ate a nice hot breakfast, packed up, turned the "auto pilot" on and hit the trail. It felt good to finally walk on the trail after 6 days of cross-country travel - you can relax and enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately my phone was dead and I couldn't take any more pictures. We were also a bit overwhelmed by large numbers of people going up the trail as soon as we reached the Third Lake. I knew the trail to Big Pine lakes is popular, but I don't think I've ever seen so many people there during my previous trips. Especially annoying were a few large groups of youngsters with nothing but their speakers, playing loud music; don't know how it completes their wilderness experience but it definitely ruins mine. Maybe that's why I feel sad during the exit days. It's like you come out of the wilderness with a clear mind and clean soul, and you get a pile of garbage thrown at you... Getting old? Maybe... Anyways, I hope it's a temporary COVID induced rush to nature by people who don't belong there and that we will go back to "normal" one day, sooner or later. Thanks everyone for reading and hike/climb on!
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redbear
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Re: TR: Palisades circumnavigation - Red Lake TH to NF Big Pine - July 11-17
Hey Cameron,cgundersen wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:23 pm redbear,
OK, I forgot to ask: does the brand of vodka matter? Stoli? Ketel One? And, I agree with gb, adding the uphill schlep to Barrett Lakes from Deer Meadow is close to certifiable. Or, the definition of fun for some folk? Looking forward to the finale! Cameron
I'm no longer a vodka fan, but vodka is a best match for bacon, and you do want a good brand if you're going that route. Ketel One is decent, Grey Goose is good, Stoli is garbage, best Russian vodka now is Beluga.
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