Wishon to Woodchuck Country

[AaronRDavis]

Mike,

Your route is quite helpful. Almost a straight shot with little up/down. I sketched it out on my map. I can see how there are a handful of legitimate routes in this area. I'm not a "prolific" xcountry route finder, but I have chosen the area from Wishon to Blackcap as my learning/experimenting territory.

As I mentioned above, I'd like to specifically find the most efficient route from Chuck pass to Portal Lake. I believe this may be a good pass to get to blackcap trail, but I am hoping to find out more before I head that direction.

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.04025,-11 ... %2Cunnamed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[oldranger]

Aaron,

Not sure this is best way but I have traveled between point A and hummingbird lake by working my way e first on 9200 ft contour and gradually up to 9600. any higher and you will encounter talus fields.
The crux of this route is when you get to the drainage just e. of point 10006. You need to get on ridge to e and follow it up to somewhere around 10,000 feet. to the n. down below is a huge talus field. you can go above it but I think it is easier and faster to drop down the ridge a couple hundred feet and go below the talus field in a ne direction. Continue in that direction to the shallow valley just west of Crown creek then to the head to the valley and thru the gap to the narrow lake w. of Crown Creek. Then you are on your own. But it may be faster to simply head over scepter pass and hit the trail before heading east. Also when route planning go between the USA topo view and satellite view--that way you can detect ahead of time whether you are dealing with slabs or talus
I find an altimeter adjusted every time I go by a pretty certain location on the map is my best tool. I guess a gps could work too but I'm not only old but old school when it comes to navigating in the backcountry (now in my car that is a different thing ).

Mike

[SSSdave]

Maybe it is. It looks like there's a couple xcountry passes one might take east of scepter, I am trying to decide which one is best.

Please provide an acme.mapper link with crosshairs at couple xcountry passes the way I did so I can make sense of your uncertainty.

Also oldranger's route is just as efficient.

[AaronRDavis]

Maybe it is. It looks like there's a couple xcountry passes one might take east of scepter, I am trying to decide which one is best.

Please provide an acme.mapper link with crosshairs at couple xcountry passes the way I did so I can make sense of your uncertainty.

Also oldranger's route is just as efficient.

Basically either "scepter pass" (which on my paper map has no trail thus i thought of it as xcountry, vs the "C" pass here:

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.03980,-11 ... ddard%20CA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And once over pass C, I wonder how bad the talus is.

[SSSdave]

Maybe it is. It looks like there's a couple xcountry passes one might take east of scepter, I am trying to decide which one is best.

Please provide an acme.mapper link with crosshairs at couple xcountry passes the way I did so I can make sense of your uncertainty.

Also oldranger's route is just as efficient.

Basically either "scepter pass" (which on my paper map has no trail thus i thought of it as xcountry, vs the "C" pass here:

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.03980,-11 ... ddard%20CA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And once over pass C, I wonder how bad the talus is.

Note whenever using the acme.mapper save link function, first clear the markers. Scepter Pass is an old horse trail regardless of the fact they left it off the 7.5 topo as is occasionally the case with trails simply because adding trails is often a manual task. In any case S Pass is not as I noted east from the trail but rather due north in the same direction as the trail. As for talus, do not recall any.

David

[AaronRDavis]

Last summer I basically followed the red route traversing the "maxon range". See map here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/becht/7569 ... 575306646/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
More talus that I would have preferred but I may have traversed too high. Overall a nice route though. I just know with a smoother route I could pick up the pace and get to portal even quicker. Ultimately if I can get from trailhead to portal in 1 long day, Im happy.