TR 7/1 - 7/4/23: Quasimodo, Hunchback, Round Mtn + failed Sky Haven

[sierra_youf]

With Tioga Road still being closed, I gave up on Vogelsang last minute and got a Baker & Green Lakes Permit instead. I choose the Big Pine overnight parking lot as entry point. Green Lake is still half frozen, in case you want to try this alternative. The Baker Lakes area and Coyote flats is quite beautiful and offers plenty of opportunities for easy peaks with impressive views. For July there are still plenty of permits available. In 4 days I only saw a single person - a runner from the far distant why I was offtrail on the way to Sky Haven.
The area offers a good escape from the Deep Snow still present in the Sierra. Luckily, the off-road roads are still closed so that I could enjoy the solitude of Coyote Flats as well.
In late summer or a dry winter, expect that most creeks are dry and you have to rely on lakes.

An estimate of the route can be found here: https://caltopo.com/m/E5EHM

On Day 1 I tried to summit Sky Haven via the southern portion of the East Ridge. But for my taste there was too much snow on the steep slopes. Instead, I enjoyed the views from one of the first peaklets instead. The slog up would continue for a long time. I could later confirm from other perspectives that there was snow on most of the ridge. On the way up to Sky Haven I could find a hidden Frog Lake that provided me well needed water. I camped near the creek on the way up to Baker Lake. I only noticed now that the camp area was probably inside a violet square - does that mean I chose an illegal spot outside the wilderness?

Day 2 I went past Baker Lake and atop the pass west of Quasimodo Peak and south of the Hunchback. The Baker Lake area had quite a bit of snow coverage, but all slopes up the pass are flat enough so that snow travel is easy and harmless. The upper section of the pass was snow free. The NW / W slopes of Quasimodo were pretty much snow free. Try to avoid the false summit and aim for the Eastern High-point. The slopes are Class 1 with a Class 2 summit block. Because of the airiness of the boulders, the real summit is probably class 3. I couldn't find a summit register and traversed the top West to East. The most comfortable spot to sit and rest is on the eastern end at slightly lower elevation. It avoids Class 3 scrambles.
The next goal was the Hunchback (Southern summit). The peak is Class 1 and offers quite impressive views.
I returned the same way down and camped at a quasi-hidden lake I could spot from Quasimodo. Unfortunately, the creek flowing into the lake had brown water. I used purification tablets - unwilling to find a new water source - and would recommend you to look for alternatives.

Day 3 I hiked up Round Mountain at the Eastern End of Coyote Flat. Coyote Flats is very easy to hike. There are multiple off-road trails you can follow. I used a shortcut following a creek which had multiple use trails. For the route up to Round Mountain I chose to follow the road up to a pass. From thereon you can follow east of the ridge to the summit. Because of the snow fields on the second half, I eventually switched to the other side. Alternatively, you can chose a more direct route up the summit (looks like Class 1). The ridge route remained class 1. The views from the top offers expansive views of Owens Valley. With the heat & smog/dust the views were limited. On a cold Autumn day it must be quite impressive. You can see multiple 14000ers. I returned to camp 2 to pick up my gear and chose an off-trail route across the swamp to save some time.

Day 4 was a quick hike out early morning. I could observed the full moon atop North Palisade.

Big Pine Trailhead Switchbacks

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Middle Palisade + Sill/Polemonium on the first pass

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My turnaround point on Sky Haven

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Up the Quasimodo/Hunchback Pass (Southern slope)

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Quasimodo from Hunchback - Summit is on the Left Side

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Views from Quasimodo

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Hunchback - Southern slope

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[sierra_youf]

Views from Hunchback

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Coyote Flat

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Start of Round Mtn. Ridge

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Round Mtn.

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Full moon above North Palisade

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[sierra_youf]

Bonus pictures

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[texan]

Nice TR of a place I have been close too. Fished at Brown and Green Lakes many times plus went to Thunder and Lightning lake once. There sure is a lot of snow up high from your report. Was going to try to fish Echo in Sabrina basin but from this report, maybe try next year. Thanks again for sharing.

Texan

[RocketDoc]

Thanks for the TR - hoping to head into Coyote Flat this way later this summer. The violet square is LADWP land - apparently off limits for camping but open otherwise (https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp ... recreation).

How difficult was it to locate the trail from you took between Logging Flat and the TH? I was there in May and didn’t see another way up, just the other route that parallels Big Pine Crk. (My trip ended with snow clumping onto my snowshoes just above the flat and I did the safe thing and turned around.)

[sierra_youf]

I couldn't locate the start of the Logging Flat Trail on the way up. Instead, I hiked up the slope till I hit the trail. It is easy to locate the trail in the slope. The trail starts a bit further past the small creek, if I recall correctly. There are multiple use trails at the start that are off route.
Similarly, on the way down you need to know that the trail exists, otherwise you will miss where it starts on Logging Flat.
There are a few sections where it is easy to get off the trail, but it is usually obvious where to go next.

[sekihiker]

Thanks for the report and great photos. Too much snow for me.