Trip Report: Convict Creek- Smoky to Clear, Dogs and Fish: Aug. 26-30
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2021 7:06 pm
Convict Lake Trailhead is 10.5 miles south of Mammoth Lakes on Hwy 395. From Convict Lake you hike 5 miles up a steep, rocky canyon. Part of the trail is over large rock-slides, which are now more or less stable. There are at least 3 new trail washouts along the way-- see recent HST Post: http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... 34&t=21884 for details. Once above the canyon, you reach a 1.5 mile long flat valley with Red Slate Mountain soaring 4000' above the valley floor. There are quiet campsites about 1 mile up this valley, and many fine day hikes can be made from there, including the climb up the gray marble slopes of Mt Baldwin. Or, you might head up to the higher lakes to the west, like Dorothy, which has well-developed campsites on the northeast side. Dorothy is a great base for exploring the lakes at the foot of Bloody Mountain to the NW, or you could visit the nice lakes to the south, and slightly above Lake Dorothy. Red Slate Mountain is an easy, first sandy, then bouldery climb from the the basin above Lake Wit-so-nah-pah. I once encountered an ecstatic population of colorful Yosemite toads by Wit-so-nah-pah, copulating like mad, one on top of the other as far as the eye could see! No doubt, you will find something exciting up there too.
The last time I passed through Convict Creek with my dog Bearzy, we happened to be on a long trip north, to an HST meetup at Minaret Lake. I thought the meadowland, and the shallow waters around Mildred Lake were a dog's paradise. I told my wife about it, and we planned to return to stay awhile, and not just to please our dogs. Convict Creek leads one into a wonderland of some of the most colorful rock formations in all of the Sierra.
Red Slate Mountain- 13,163'
Lizzie, literally rockin her new Granite Gear Pack.
We fished in all of the 8 lakes we visited, and caught Brook Trout in 7 of them. Our friend Ryan fished his homemade Tenkara rig, and he caught fish in the streams, and lake margins too.
Just a light bamboo pole, with cord wrapped all around it-- that's to save the fish and gear in case a big fish breaks the pole. More cord, and then a tapered fly line extends maybe 12' off the tip. He seems to have great control of both the placement, and the action of the flies. And the simple, forward flip of the line saves all of that cursing frustration from getting stuck in the willow way behind you.
The rest of the dog pack-- “Arlo,” and “Indie.”
Arlo of the sore paws.
We all had a great time, though Ryan’s big dog got a few torn pads in the rough rock of the canyon trail, and we amended the plan to camp higher due to that injury. On our first day hike up to to Bright Dot Lake, Ryan turned back with his limping dog, and Lizzie and I carried on to the lake. We moved to a quieter camp a mile up the lower valley from Mildred Lake, and made a plan to alternate long day hikes, and hanging out with the resting dog Arlo. I stayed with Arlo the first day while Lizzie, Ryan, and the rest of the dogs spent the day at the upper lakes. To better enjoy a day lying about in camp with Arlo, I made a headlamp-half moon climb up Mt Baldwin. I was on the smoky summit by 7 AM, and back in camp by 8:30.
The old weathered marble of Mt Baldwin makes for exquisite friction climbing.
Nearing the top, I intersected a trail coming from McGee Canyon. It is a sandy mess, and I tried to stay on the solid rock.
View south with Red and White Mt. on the Silver Divide. This morning was the worst smoke of the trip, but it made for a surreal, orange cast on the landscape.
The really amazing view for me was this look along the ridge to Mt Morrison. What a wild link-up that would be.