TR: Sixty Lake Basin etc 9/2-9/11
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:21 am
We had a permit for Sierra National Forest, until we didn't. Plan B was to head to Roads End and see what we could get for walk-up permits. Fortunately, this was on Wednesday, 9/1 and there were only three groups at the ranger station trying to get permits for 9/2 so all options were open. One of the three of us had not been to Rae Lakes, so we essentially did the Rae Lakes Loop, but spent 2 nights in Sixty Lake Basin and hiked up to Basin Col to look into Gardiner Basin. Very chill trip.
Day 1: Roads End to Charlotte Creek. Lots of people on the trail. No mosquitoes and bluebird skies.
Day 2: Charlotte Creek to Lake Reflection. Even with the low water level, I still had to wade Bubbs Creek at the East Lake junction. The rocks are just too far apart for my 5'5". It was warm, so the soak was refreshing. The trail was in good condition, even beyond East Lake. We looked for the Harrison Pass trail and saw it on the way out, but missed it on the way in. Day 3: Lake Reflection to Vidette Meadows. One of our crew had painful hips, so we took a short day. There was a good campsite across Bubb's Creek that would serve as a good launch pad for exploring the Vidette Creek drainage...hmmmm...
Day 4: to Charlotte Lake. Short mileage for buddy with hip pain. It was Labor Day and we were the only ones at the lake! Day 5: to Rae Lakes. We saw a bunch of JMT travelers on Glenn Pass as we approached - at least 15. They were in various states - some needing food because they didn't want to risk exiting for resupply, others in high spirits because they had met with trail magic (food givers). The Charlotte Ranger had a box of "gathered" (confiscated from the bear locker) food that she was offering to any who needed it. Having done the JMT in 2013, I felt for these folks who were trying to keep their trips going despite the forest closures.
Day 6: into Sixty Lake Basin. This was the best part of the trip. The trail went far into the basin. We camped at the U-shaped lake at about 10,700 NW of Fin dome. We took a day trip to look at Arrowhead Lake and Dollar Lakes from Basin Notch. I was amazingly easy walking to the notch, and there was a use trail headed down. Seemed like easy navigation and easy walking.
Days 7: Day hike up to Basin Col. We took the west side of the long skinny lake, up granite slabs mostly. There was only one sketchy part where we had to walk along a crevice with a sheer granite drop off into the lake. Found some slab highways near the top. Day 8: to JMT and on to Woods Creek. The cross country travel in Sixty Lake Basin headed north was straightforward and easy. The low water allowed us to take a more direct path in many places because small tarns were dry. We saw some cairns along the way, but we didn't really heed them. Once you start to follow the outlet, there were some places where we met with steep talus, but a look around revealed better paths and we ultimately ended up on a faintish trail for the last ~400 feet of descent. We met the JMT just north of a big meadow with a bridge. We camped at Wood's Creek junction that night with some JMTers. There was a HUGE thunder storm that we could hear for hours as it rolled north into the night. This would be the storm that ignited the KNP complex fires.
Day 9: Hiked down Woods Creek to Paradise Valley. The Lower Paradise Valley camping area was closed due to risk of deadfall, so we camped at the middle. Camped with about 10 folks headed in the opposite direction. The air on this day was heavenly - full of scents from the vegetation along the creek and the SF Kings River. We were fortunate to have no smoke the whole trip. Day 10: hiked back to Road's End. TONS of people day hiking to Mist Falls. I had several offers for my bug net because the gnats were so thick.
Marnie
Day 1: Roads End to Charlotte Creek. Lots of people on the trail. No mosquitoes and bluebird skies.
Day 2: Charlotte Creek to Lake Reflection. Even with the low water level, I still had to wade Bubbs Creek at the East Lake junction. The rocks are just too far apart for my 5'5". It was warm, so the soak was refreshing. The trail was in good condition, even beyond East Lake. We looked for the Harrison Pass trail and saw it on the way out, but missed it on the way in. Day 3: Lake Reflection to Vidette Meadows. One of our crew had painful hips, so we took a short day. There was a good campsite across Bubb's Creek that would serve as a good launch pad for exploring the Vidette Creek drainage...hmmmm...
Day 4: to Charlotte Lake. Short mileage for buddy with hip pain. It was Labor Day and we were the only ones at the lake! Day 5: to Rae Lakes. We saw a bunch of JMT travelers on Glenn Pass as we approached - at least 15. They were in various states - some needing food because they didn't want to risk exiting for resupply, others in high spirits because they had met with trail magic (food givers). The Charlotte Ranger had a box of "gathered" (confiscated from the bear locker) food that she was offering to any who needed it. Having done the JMT in 2013, I felt for these folks who were trying to keep their trips going despite the forest closures.
Day 6: into Sixty Lake Basin. This was the best part of the trip. The trail went far into the basin. We camped at the U-shaped lake at about 10,700 NW of Fin dome. We took a day trip to look at Arrowhead Lake and Dollar Lakes from Basin Notch. I was amazingly easy walking to the notch, and there was a use trail headed down. Seemed like easy navigation and easy walking.
Days 7: Day hike up to Basin Col. We took the west side of the long skinny lake, up granite slabs mostly. There was only one sketchy part where we had to walk along a crevice with a sheer granite drop off into the lake. Found some slab highways near the top. Day 8: to JMT and on to Woods Creek. The cross country travel in Sixty Lake Basin headed north was straightforward and easy. The low water allowed us to take a more direct path in many places because small tarns were dry. We saw some cairns along the way, but we didn't really heed them. Once you start to follow the outlet, there were some places where we met with steep talus, but a look around revealed better paths and we ultimately ended up on a faintish trail for the last ~400 feet of descent. We met the JMT just north of a big meadow with a bridge. We camped at Wood's Creek junction that night with some JMTers. There was a HUGE thunder storm that we could hear for hours as it rolled north into the night. This would be the storm that ignited the KNP complex fires.
Day 9: Hiked down Woods Creek to Paradise Valley. The Lower Paradise Valley camping area was closed due to risk of deadfall, so we camped at the middle. Camped with about 10 folks headed in the opposite direction. The air on this day was heavenly - full of scents from the vegetation along the creek and the SF Kings River. We were fortunate to have no smoke the whole trip. Day 10: hiked back to Road's End. TONS of people day hiking to Mist Falls. I had several offers for my bug net because the gnats were so thick.
Marnie