High Sierra Topix

Another outstanding TR, Ian. I’m sure you realize that those “hallowed grounds” are a favorite of many on HST, and your photos and prose certainly did it justice.

I’m also blown away by how much snow survived the summer around Goddard, Ionian, and the Davis Lakes. Maybe the Sierra glaciers stand a chance. Or maybe not…

What a trip you had. The pic of mostly frozen Lake 12080 reminds of us of how big of winter we had last year. Its the last week of September and there are still frozen lakes. Also I am a fisherman and I like all of the golden pics and the pics of the legendary Martha Lake. Thanks again for sharing this amazing TR.

Texan

Ian.
Great trip and great pictures! It was a treat to met three of you that freezing morning and I'm happy the weather improved and you had a great time. .
What did I do to deserve "wild trekker" description ?
Andrzej/Andrew

Andrzej wrote:

Ian.
Great trip and great pictures! It was a treat to met three of you that freezing morning and I'm happy the weather improved and you had a great time. .
What did I do to deserve "wild trekker" description ?
Andrzej/Andrew

Lets see, you went solo all the way to Tunemah- the most remote point in the range, and then didn't you tell us that you chased a giant Grizzly Bear up Dykeman Pass... caught him, wrestled him, and then rolled him down the other side? And you probably swam to the bottom of Tunemah Lake, or at least across it!
Polish mountaineers are much admired around here, and have a fearsome reputation for daring feats, so you got lumped in with your heroic compatriots Jerzy Kukuczka, Voytek Kurtyka, Wielicki, Wanda Rutkiewicz, and your namesake perhaps: Andrzej Zawada. I wish you would have carried that Bear out with you so we could've had a look at him. Swietnie!
Hope to see you next time too.

Wow.. what a great trip!
The skies look soooo clear.. something about late September and October.
Some nice goldens too!
My favorite pics..
1) the one of the eagle..what a wingspan!
2) The one with the backpacker, the moon, and Charybdis in the background..
No dogs though?

Amazing to see the frozen lakes in September..and not just partially frozen..all frozen!

Great TR..

Thanks for all of these nice comments.
Andrzej whom we met on the trail, replied to me, wondering why I described him as so hardcore, and my flippant reply to that was this:

Lets see, you went solo all the way to Tunemah- the most remote point in the range, and then didn't you tell us that you chased a giant Grizzly Bear up Dykeman Pass... caught him, wrestled him, and then rolled him down the other side? And you probably swam to the bottom of Tunemah Lake, or at least across it!

This was not all BS on my part, as Andrzej really did encounter a big Bear (*which I turned into a Grizzly for effect) as he was climbing up near the top of Dykeman Pass. He told us that luckily, the Bear turned and ran off. I think it ran back down the south side of the pass. He didn't tell that he wrestled it, but he may have.

Wow, what a great trip. Yunno after being honored for being an athletic 64-year-old, I feel kinda old and feeble reading the report of this great trip which is vastly beyond any of my 2023 hiking efforts. Of course I probably feel a bit "older" right now given that I'm sort of "walking with duct tape", which would be a special hernia belt that keeps my insides from leaking out, as I await scheduling of surgery.

Hi Ian,

OK, thanks for cajoling me into taking a look at this sensational loop. As you know, I'm envious of the weather conditions you encountered and kudos to Carleton for scoring gobs of boletes.Maybe you should consider renting out your services as a Sierra guide? You and Andrzej would make a formidable team! Cheers, Cameron

Thanks for the report and photos! Those are really nice goldens and king boletes -- well done. And looks like the biggest score was the ideal weather window you experienced.

Cgunderson wrote:

OK, thanks for cajoling me into taking a look at this sensational loop. As you know, I'm envious of the weather conditions you encountered and kudos to Carleton for scoring gobs of boletes.Maybe you should consider renting out your services as a Sierra guide? You and Andrzej would make a formidable team! Cheers, Cameron

I just wanted to keep this area current in your mind toward our prospective trip to Tunemah. I wonder about a route that would include Ionian Basin, coming from either Florence Lake, or Bishop Pass. E.g.: B. Pass to Muir Pass; to Black Giant Pass; all the way thru. Ionian Basin; then down to Goddard Creek via the outlet of this Lake 11,818:




... and then on to Tunemah. The way back might include Martha Lake (via Reinstein Pass); then Davis Lakes; D.L.Pass to upper Evo. Valley; and return in a circle-- Muir to Bishop? There are great options for off-trail routes to and from Florence Lake too-- that can be your creation Cameron.

As for guiding, I've done enough, and heard more, to realize the challenge of it.... what did J.P. Sartre say?: "Hell is other people." I'm more of a Dog person. Do you reckon there's any money in guiding people's dogs through the Sierra? [*For you literalists, please note this big ]
Thanks for your comments, now where's your Miter/Crabtree story Cameron?