Bear Lakes Basin to Marie Lake ?s

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schmalz
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Re: Bear Lakes Basin to Marie Lake ?s

Post by schmalz »

rlown wrote:Granite Park night one? Most TR's here show Honeymoon as the logical stopping point for Pine creek. Not questioning your ability but, kudos!
I was in the area last year, and while I stopped at honeymoon, I think granite is definitely reachable. I really want to shoot sunrise there so it'll be a priority. The hard part will be doing that after driving up from LA that morning with no acclimation. I guess it's fair to say that I'm in pretty decent shape during the summer :)
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Re: Bear Lakes Basin to Marie Lake ?s

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Going back to the OP, I've had my dog all over that area with no problems, although I used a rope with her at Ruskie pass. If she is carrying her own weight (food, ect.), you may want to remove this weight for the second class (and up) stuff depending upon how she is moving. i think you will know cause she will be struggling a bit. Make sure you have something to put on her feet if they start weeping blood and don't be shocked when they do. That is a pretty rocky area. Another gem of an area to hit! Good luck with the trip.

I have a german shorthaired pointer and she has hard pads and nails. She gets taken out on trail all the time, but above treeline with all that rock, her feet will weep if I don't take care of them. She just sands the pads thin. Anyway, that's why I'm on about that.

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Re: Bear Lakes Basin to Marie Lake ?s

Post by schmalz »

Thanks Chris. Avoiding bloody paws is my #1 concern. I'd like to never have that happen, but I'm aware that it probably will at some point. Callie only weighs 40 pounds so carrying her out is always a consideration as a last resort that I hope I never have to deal with.

After putting some more thought into this trip I'll probably do something that is closer to Maverick's suggestion. Lowering the miles per day would hopefully be good enough to prevent any injury. Lots of weekend hikes on rugged trails at treeline will help get us ready too.
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Re: Bear Lakes Basin to Marie Lake ?s

Post by rlown »

Other than just toughening up the dog's paws, you might consider training for using Booties. You can do both bare paw and booties depending on the terrain. Carrying an extra 40lbs is a nice thought, but it changes your logistics.

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Re: Bear Lakes Basin to Marie Lake ?s

Post by sekihiker »

Here's a trip log with photos of parts of the Bear Lakes area:
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Re: Bear Lakes Basin to Marie Lake ?s

Post by calipidder »

I haven't seen it all, but based on my sierra backpacking experience thus far, Bear Lakes Basin is my favorite place in the range. I spent three nights at an excellent campsite at Big Bear Lake, perched on an outcropping on the northern side of the lake. From the site I had amazing sunset views of Feather and the view out my tent for sunrise was Seven Gables. The view of Seven Gables is better from the Vee area but then you lose Feather. I liked our site as a good compromise and central location for exploring the basin and climbing Seven Gables.

Here is where we camped

Some photos:
Granite Park to Bear Lakes Basin Via Dancing bear Pass

Wandering around Bear Lakes Basin

Climbing Seven Gables

Moonrise over Feather Peak from our campsite
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Sunrise view of Seven Gables from my tent (took this one from my sleeping bag :))
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Seven Gables from Vee Lake (during our dayhike around the basin):
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