High Sierra Topix

Good evening everyone,

This year marks the fifth annual year of my trips into the Sierras with my Dad. There were a couple of deviations to our "normal" routine this year. We went a little later in the year (partly because of conditions, partly because of necessity). With school starting on the 14th, let's see if I can recover in time, eh? Anyways, this trip I've been looking for all year as it was in an area I've never been. This was the first time I would be down Dinkey Creek Rd, so there was a little excitement (embarrassing, I know). We decided to do 5 days this time, trying a new tactic. We would have "shoulder days" going in and out to acclimate and not beat ourselves up. It seemed to work, as the first day we made it to the junction mid afternoon after a late start, and on the way out we had about 5 miles and was at the truck at 9:30 AM, not bad for "rest days".

Day One, we started at Maxson TH and ended up camping at the junction that splits from Red Mountain Basin and Blackcap Basin. Day two, we made our climb to Disappointment Lake. I must say, this was a great area, right at tree line and we camped by the outlet, with a great overlook to the west. A wonderful area where we spent two nights there. Day three, we did a quick hike to Hell For Sure Pass, which was pretty awesome, still a bit of snow up there, but nothing that will complicate navigation. On the way back to camp, we did a little cross country travel (one of the purposes of this trip). Day four we started the descent back and camped at long meadow for a pretty relaxing afternoon and evening (and actually making a fire!). Day five was pretty uneventful getting over the last little hump and into Courtright.

Some takeaways from this trip are as follows:
I wasn't in the best shape, but still felt really good about the hiking. I feel like I'm starting to dial in my packing and hiking at this point. Even though we didn't really push ourselves, this type of trip would have been unimaginable a few years ago.
I like cross country travel, and I want to start really exploring some of the more remote areas of the Sierras. I'm thinking next year we will venture into the Miter Basin.
We mixed forest and Alpine camping this trip, I must say it is kind of nice to have the variety.

Enjoy the pics!

DSC_1649 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Long Meadow with the sky putting on a bit of a show.

DSC_1663 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

DSC_1725 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Looking over Hell For Sure from the ridge at 9400 ft a few miles to the west

DSC_1733 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Flemming Lake

DSC_1743 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

DSC_1776 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

DSC_1785 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Sunset looking into the upper reaches of the Red Mountain Basin

DSC_1794 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

DSC_1810 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

DSC_1830 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Hell For Sure Lake

DSC_1843 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Top of the Pass!

DSC_1849 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Goddard is such a beautiful mountain *EDIT* This is McGee, isn't it?

DSC_1857 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Still a lot of snow

DSC_1881 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
"I feel so epic"

DSC_1889 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

DSC_1904 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Surely not a disappointment

DSC_1925 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

DSC_1961 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

DSC_1967 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr
Mt Hutton and Co. After dusk

DSC_1982 by Charles Slaght, on Flickr

I like doing night shots, but this time the conditions weren't so good for my skill level. The moon was giving off quite a bit of light. Still absolutely beautiful.
I have more photos on the flickr where these are loaded from. Happy trails everyone!

cslaght wrote:Surely not a disappointment

Agree. I really enjoyed your TR and pictures. Very eloquent. The photo looking west over Disappointment says it all. It really shows the beauty of that area. Also, the picture of Hell For Sure Lake with the reflection. Wow! Epic. Glad you and your father had a good time.

This will be the first year in 5 that I won't be in RMB. Love that place. Your pics are a really good look at the basin. That view from the top of Hell for Sure is one of the best anywhere (and yes, that is McGee).
ts

Thanks for posting the report and photos. It has been 40 years (almost to the day!) since I was in that basin, and it is nice to be reminded of how attractive it is.
-Phil

Thank you for the kind words guys, much appreciated! I've always had an interest in this area because of the SEKI Park Visitor Map had Hell For Sure on it and the name always drew my curiosity. Bill Finch's reports on SekiHiker rekindled an interest in this area and I will be forever thankful for his reports and the eventual finding of this website. It is a really awesome area, the Sierras just keep giving!

Thanks for the report, especially the great photos. I haven't been in the Red Mountain Basin in a few years. I routinely recommend it as a great destination for folks who email me and ask me where to go. I may have to return this year or next. I've always thought it is one of the finest destinations in the range.

Thanks for sharing! I'm thinking of a similar trip next month. Great tip about camping at the disappointment lake.

Did you see many other hikers out there?

Is the Maxson TH the one in the voyager rock campground? Last year my family and camped at Voyager and hiked to Hobbler Lake. I wasn't sure if this was the Maxson TH. Google maps indicates i the TH right near the dam...

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Really nice. One of our favorite areas. Gotta get back there.

SekiHiker: Keep up the good work, it really is a cool place.

CAchief wrote:Did you see many other hikers out there?

Is the Maxson TH the one in the voyager rock campground? Last year my family and camped at Voyager and hiked to Hobbler Lake. I wasn't sure if this was the Maxson TH. Google maps indicates i the TH right near the dam...

There were a few groups up there, but it wasn't too bad, not hard at all to find solitude.

As for the trailhead, the parking lot is right where the Dusy/Ershim 4WD road starts, so it's really close to the dam. You actually hike the road a bit before the trail starts. This is the way to Hobbler lake. We didn't go directly to it, though my dad and I discussed it as a side trip.

Thanks!

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