Advice On Gabbot Pass

[Lumbergh21]

I'm planning a loop for next year that includes Gabbot Pass. Since it will be a loop, I have the option of heading up Second Recess to the Mills Creek Lakes and head south over Gabbot, or I can head north over Gabbot from Toe Lake. Is there a preferable direction? An easier way to find the use trail/route between Second Recess and the Mills Creek Lakes for instance?

Thanks

[Wandering Daisy]

The Toe Lake side of Gabbot Pass is easier than the Mills Creek side. I hope you plan to camp at one of the Mills Creek Lakes; it is beautiful! I have missed the trail going down to Second Recess, but at least the bushwhacking was downhill. I also missed the trail going up and ascended the rock slabs next to the creek. The trail junction was not very distinct, but that was years ago. I recall actually finding the trail junction once. It is on the High Route so could be well marked and easy to follow by now. All I can say is that if you do miss the trail, it is not a disaster.

[SSSdave]

Don't recall that route being difficult so could work either way if paying attention, but earlier the season, the more one will need to deal with increasing patches of steep snow that before slopes warm up could be icy. Given the slope exposure to the north near the top, snow will be less prominent northeast of the central ravine that faces west northwest. For experienced off trail backpackers using a topo while viewing the small scale landscape, reasonable routes like Gabbot Pass don't require ducks for guidance. Generally if one tends to be guided by such, one is more likely to sometimes end up in more difficult terrain because those bothering to add ducks are likely less experienced. As a base camping destination, the upper basin during clear days above 10600 late afternoons through dusk where the west setting sun is unblocked, is arguably one of the most impressive Sierra crest areas on par with Dusy Basin.

[Flamingo]

Hi @Lumbergh21 Based on your past TRs, I think you'll be fine going either direction. Gabbot Pass itself is relatively easy & straightforward class 2 walking. I've crossed it with snow early-season in running shoes, and it was no big deal (link to TR). However, as you mentioned, the trickiest part of navigation is the granite slabs and the waterfall between 9400' and 10K', connecting Second Recess to Mills Creek Basin. I've visited this area twice, and both times I failed to find the "ideal" route up the waterfall. I bushwhacked; it wasn't dangerous, just briefly annoying.

All things being equal, I would vote to go southbound. This way, you'll arrive at the Mills Lakes with the peace of mind that you've completed the "tricky" navigation section.

[giantbrookie]

I second Flamingo's vote for southbound based on the fact that off trail route finding is easier going up than going down because you can see the steep steps, whereas when you're looking down the steeper parts are vanishing points. The descent on the south side toward Toe Lake is trivial and the angle shallows progressively downward so you can see everything.

[RiseToADry]

The crux of this pass, as most everyone has said above, is getting from 2nd Recess up into Mills Creek canyon proper. I did this pass going southward and found a really nice use trail from mono creek all the way to the point where the topo lines start to get steep going up Mills Creek. If you use the Caltopo "Map Builder Topo" the dotted trail line is quite accurate. Many people loose the trail crossing Mono creek - I think the trick is you actually have to cross Mono Creek proper, then head east and cross a second smaller creek before continuing up into 2nd Recess (the Map Builder Topo shows this). Once you're on the trail its really obvious until the crux.

I'm going to describe my route here in text and I think it will make sense if you follow along on google earth or overlay some satellite imagery with topo maps. The trail kind of peters out at an opening in the forest on the North Side of Mills Creek at about 9250ft and this is where I got confused for a brief moment. I tried to ascend a steep gully heading due east at about 9300ft but quickly realized heading south first and getting quite close to Mills Creek before going east was the correct play. I popped up on a bluff around 9400-9500 ft above some pretty large slabby rock and found the use trail again and was able to follow it all the way up to the lowest Mills Creek tarn. The use trail in this section is steep and rocky but has some nice switchbacks. It stays to the north side of Mills Creek all the way up and is quite a distance north of the creek itself. If you're close to the waterfall or creek you're too far south. Looking for small paths or footprints really helped my route finding and decreased the difficulty of this section a lot. I was able to basically avoid all bushwhacking going this way, which was nice.

The section from Mills Creek Lake to the pass has some minor boulder hopping above the tarn, but it's trivial compare to some other areas of the Sierra. I think it took us <1 hour to get from the upper lake to the top of the pass. And like many have said above, the southern side of the pass is easy relatively speaking. There are three "choose your route options" from the top, pending where you are going next. You can stay high and head SE towards North Col or drop down directly to Toe Lake (best option if heading for Italy pass) or you can consider following the spine coming off the pass going in a SSW direction and traverse Italy along the north side (best if you're heading down the Hilgard Branch). The north side of Italy does have some appeal early in the season because you'll avoid the steep snow banks that linger along the south shore.

This is a beautiful area, would definitely recommend.

[Lumbergh21]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I plan to head west from Lake Italy taking the trail down to the JMT and heading south then back east up to Seven Gables Lakes, Vee Lake, etc. I stopped at Brown Bear lake earlier this year for lunch and a nap, and I don't think that the ridge separating Brown Bear from the Bear Lakes to the south is one that I want to tackle, especially not by myself. After that, I'll head back to the JMT and north to Mono Creek and back to the trailhead.

That is very detailed description RiseToADry. I'll follow it on CalTopo and save the description to the printed mapset that I'll have with me.

[Lumbergh21]

Hi @Lumbergh21 Based on your past TRs, I think you'll be fine going either direction. Gabbot Pass itself is relatively easy & straightforward class 2 walking. I've crossed it with snow early-season in running shoes, and it was no big deal (link to TR). However, as you mentioned, the trickiest part of navigation is the granite slabs and the waterfall between 9400' and 10K', connecting Second Recess to Mills Creek Basin. I've visited this area twice, and both times I failed to find the "ideal" route up the waterfall. I bushwhacked; it wasn't dangerous, just briefly annoying.

All things being equal, I would vote to go southbound. This way, you'll arrive at the Mills Lakes with the peace of mind that you've completed the "tricky" navigation section.

Your trip report was the inspiration that kicked off my planning, but then I ended up diverting my plans further north, as I have yet to hike along Mono Creek and would like to explore the Recesses as well.

[SSSdave]

Just added an annotated Google Earth image to the Crosscountry sub forum "White Bear Pass" entry aka Brown Bear Pass. To bother going all the way down to 9300 along Bear Creek adds another 1k or so uphill and several miles versus WBP or Dancing Bear Pass.

[Lumbergh21]

Just added an annotated Google Earth image to the Crosscountry sub forum "White Bear Pass" entry aka Brown Bear Pass. To bother going all the way down to 9300 along Bear Creek adds another 1k or so uphill and several miles versus WBP or Dancing Bear Pass.

Thanks for the reference to the pass. Having stood there (and laid down for a nap) looking at that wall in August, did not fill me with confidence. Knowing the route now, and already planning a slight detour to Brown Bear Lake anyway, I'll reconsider it. I'll also take a look at the other routes from Lake Italy over the winter.