Tips for a brief excursion into Tablelands
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:06 pm
I've planned a two-night trip into the Tablelands area for next weekend, and I was wondering if any of you have suggestions for particular places to camp/explore. (I've done a decent amount of research already and am just looking to refine the fine twigs of the decision tree).
Background: Six people total, all experienced backpackers, but my wife and I will be leading the way with all the xc/routefinding. I expect we'll need to be sensitive about elevation and exertion in late August, but we backpacked a few nights with this group in the Tetons last summer and everyone held up well enough. We're all coming from sea level.
Plan:
Day 1: Assuming we obtain our desired permit on Friday morning, we'll take the Lakes Trail to Pear Lake, and then push on a few miles up into the Tablelands, dependent on how people are feeling. I expect this to take about half of a day if we start around 8:30am, but I want to cut the day at that point for acclimation and enjoyment purposes. I've read that there are a bunch of options for camping once you get to the 'tables.' I've also picked up on the suggestion to hug the creek/travel north-northeast (perhaps on the creek's north side?) until about 9650' before veering more east.
Day 2: Base camp and explore. I was thinking it could be fun to: visit the tiny lake at 11,200' west of Big Bird for sunrise; bag Big Bird Peak from the west; check out Pterodactyl Pass.
Day 3: Return the way we came, maybe hitting what I think is the Watchtower trail on the way out.
Questions:
Any particularly impressive campsites we might want to aim for our basecamp between Pear and Tablelands?
Is there any reason we should try to visit Moose Lake on this trip? It sounds pretty but I've also seen many number of reports of Boy Scout troops regularly camping there with dozens of people.
Are there other features in the Tablelands area that might be good to check out, beyond Big Bird/Pterodactyl? Seems like swimming holes and grand vistas abound, and we can somewhat wing it.
Should we consider not basecamping but instead moving the camp somewhere else for the second night? I know I'll be back here for a longer trip in the future, probably to hit some of the other peaks, and I think this will still be glorious even if we are conservative about our goals.
Much appreciation as always!
Background: Six people total, all experienced backpackers, but my wife and I will be leading the way with all the xc/routefinding. I expect we'll need to be sensitive about elevation and exertion in late August, but we backpacked a few nights with this group in the Tetons last summer and everyone held up well enough. We're all coming from sea level.
Plan:
Day 1: Assuming we obtain our desired permit on Friday morning, we'll take the Lakes Trail to Pear Lake, and then push on a few miles up into the Tablelands, dependent on how people are feeling. I expect this to take about half of a day if we start around 8:30am, but I want to cut the day at that point for acclimation and enjoyment purposes. I've read that there are a bunch of options for camping once you get to the 'tables.' I've also picked up on the suggestion to hug the creek/travel north-northeast (perhaps on the creek's north side?) until about 9650' before veering more east.
Day 2: Base camp and explore. I was thinking it could be fun to: visit the tiny lake at 11,200' west of Big Bird for sunrise; bag Big Bird Peak from the west; check out Pterodactyl Pass.
Day 3: Return the way we came, maybe hitting what I think is the Watchtower trail on the way out.
Questions:
Any particularly impressive campsites we might want to aim for our basecamp between Pear and Tablelands?
Is there any reason we should try to visit Moose Lake on this trip? It sounds pretty but I've also seen many number of reports of Boy Scout troops regularly camping there with dozens of people.
Are there other features in the Tablelands area that might be good to check out, beyond Big Bird/Pterodactyl? Seems like swimming holes and grand vistas abound, and we can somewhat wing it.
Should we consider not basecamping but instead moving the camp somewhere else for the second night? I know I'll be back here for a longer trip in the future, probably to hit some of the other peaks, and I think this will still be glorious even if we are conservative about our goals.
Much appreciation as always!