Route Planning

[Wandering Daisy]

Why don't you mail yourself fuel c/o Parcher's resort? I am sure they would keep it there for you.

From Mammoth to Deer Lake - I would just go up the trail that goes by Crystal Crag. Roper's High Route via the ridge would be pretty miserable going up all that loose sand/ash. I came down it and was sure glad I was not going up! Once on the ridge via Crystal Crag trail, you could drop your pack and go north on the ridge for a while if you simply wanted to take some photos. It does have some nice views.

I am curious about getting from Anna Lake to Bettlebug Lake. I was considering the same last year but was reluctant to get my husband into tricky travel, when he really just wanted to fish. We had good luck fishing at Olive Lake. The trail from Fish Creek to Olive Lake was pretty faint, so I suspect the "trail" from Beetlebug Lake may also be quite overgrown.

Exactly how are you going to get from Roaring Fork to Talus Lake? I have been up Cunningham Creek and it is VERY steep, a bit brushy, but a direct route to Longly Pass. I went from Upper Cloud Canyon to just below Longly Pass in a day. There looked to be lots of talus to traverse from Talus Lake into the Cunningham drainage. I probably chose the worst route from Longly Pass to Reflection Lake. The route finding is really tricky. There are lots of small cliffs that do not show up on the map. I hope you have better luck than I did!

This year there are going to be a lot of dry creeks in northern Yosemite by late season. Be careful of water supply. I recall that Kerrick Creek where the trail crosses, north of Benson Lake, runs under talus and in late season you can hear the water but it is hard to reach it. My experience is that a lot of "permanant" streams on the map are not really permanant. The lakes are the only reliable water sources.

[RoguePhotonic]

Why don't you mail yourself fuel c/o Parcher's resort? I am sure they would keep it there for you.

Parchers only accepts UPS and i'm not sure UPS will ship that stuff at all. Even when you find someone that will ship it you have to package it in all sorts of special ways.

From Mammoth to Deer Lake - I would just go up the trail that goes by Crystal Crag. Roper's High Route via the ridge would be pretty miserable going up all that loose sand/ash. I came down it and was sure glad I was not going up! Once on the ridge via Crystal Crag trail, you could drop your pack and go north on the ridge for a while if you simply wanted to take some photos. It does have some nice views.

Yeah that is the plan. I am no purist of routes but I do want to hike up there. I only plan to go to Deer Lakes because I plan to be in a motel room the night before and it's always nice to take your time and get some good food and hit the trail casually.

I am curious about getting from Anna Lake to Bettlebug Lake.

Yeah I am also. The way Maverick suggest up to the ridge was my plan already but the other side looks very steep on maps. I found one very odd photo of the lake that looks like it has an option for getting down. *One* anyway. Much of the Northern face of that ridge is solid granite.

Exactly how are you going to get from Roaring Fork to Talus Lake?

After crossing the Whaleback I am going to make my way over to Colby Lake and begin straight up to the lake that is at about 11,580 just to see it (anyone that has been there let me know if it's not worth it) and then I will move back down at an angle only dropping as low as I need to in order to get around the long ridge coming down from Midway Mountain and then head over to Talus Lake.

I have indeed heard bad things about coming down from Longely. I'll do my best but is there any established better way around Lake Reflection?

As for water i'll probably start carrying a third liter of water by the end.

[oldranger]

Rogue,

"Upper Colby" is fairly barren but with a good view of Midway. I don't know of many lakes in the Sierra that are "not worth visiting." You've got the time, you will be near, do it! No fish though, used to be.

Mike

[maverick]

Rogue,

OR is right about barren, and Talus Lake has a reason its called talus. A prettier version
IMO would be to go over Colby Pass and into Milestone Basin, and over Milestone Pass
checkout the many small lakes of Milestone Creek, and come back using MacLeod Pass.
In regards to Longely Pass, too me it has not been difficult finding a route down to
Reflection. The only time it was a little more involved when there was a cornice present.
Found these links that are similar to the route taken by myself.
Photo of Longley Pass without cornice:
http://sitekreator.com/Shared/Html/gi_p ... curr_idx=5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Route taken on map:
http://sitekreator.com/Shared/Html/gi_p ... curr_idx=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Electra]

I found Longley to be rather straight forward without snow on it. I have also gone up ouzel creek to the ridgeline just south of brewer (not sure of name) which was interesting, the west side was an ugly descent and a friend broke a finger slipping in talus. This is a great area to spend some time Rogue, i really like the reflection>millys>thunder pass> sphinx loop for a quality kings canyon adventure if you decide to do further exploration someday in the area.

[Electra]

Forgot to add, let me know if you are still looking for beta on the area around Rodgers Peak. Have an AMAZING trip and be safe. Maybe see you out there!

[Cross Country]

In my opinion the Little Five Lakes are scenic except for one. Long Lake is good for fishing but it is not scenic. This is the best view on the lake but it's not a camp-sight. I didn't like this spot and it was still better than any camp-site we saw.

[RoguePhotonic]

I think I will save Milestone for another trip or if everything went perfect another section into late October on this trip. I still want to take a route over Milestone and Harrison and possibly explore around that area more. I never posted my 2010 trail report around here but the only time I have been to that area I arrived just before dark where I only had enough time to set up my tent and cook in the dark. It was about 15 degrees and the wind was blowing up to 40mph. At 8pm my water bottles were already turning to ice. After a horrible night trying to stay as warm as I could and a continuing freezing temperature I bailed on my layover day at Lake South America and went down to the Kern Hotspring for 3 nights.

As for the area by Rodgers after seeing several photos of both sides of the ridge I think that it's possible to cross there but will probably be very difficult at best. The idea of going over Clinch to Rodgers, Sluggo and Russell Passes would probably be a much nicer way to go although I haven't done any statistics on it yet.

What's the deal with Lyell, Maclure Col? What sort of class 4 does it have and how difficult would it be with a 20-25 pound pack on? If I could manage that one I could still go for a Mt. Lyell summit.

[Electra]

I have not done Lyell/Maclure col but I went over the 'col' from the maclure glacier into hutchinson creek with about 35 pounds and it is very doable. The west side is demanding, talus filled and a long descent (or climb depending on direction)to the uppermost lake in the basin. I recall the east side to be ledges, slabs and occasional glacier near the top. Considering your route, you could pop over the ridge at blue lakes pass and traverse back into hutchinson though this may be too much meandering....