Goddard Col

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GENERAL OVERVIEW: This pass connects Martha Lake, at the head of Goddard Canyon, with the Ionian Basin and the foot of Mount Goddard.

CLASS/DIFFICULTY: Class 2. It is easy to get into Class 3 terrain when dropping into the lower Ionian Basin from the top of the Col, so I would recommend that anyone taking this pass be comfortable on a variety of rocky terrain without exposure.

LOCATION: King's Canyon National Park. HST Map

ELEVATION: Approximately 12,300 feet.

USGS TOPO MAP (7.5'): Mount Goddard.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION: From Martha Lake, you are heading toward the gap directly to the right (south) of Mount Goddard, clearly visible here:

Goddard Col.jpg

You can start angling up the slope toward the gap from the northeast corner of the lake. You are ultimately shooting for somewhere near the top of the green drainage in the image. You can see a cliffy bump just underneath the gap, above and to the right of the green drainage. You want to get on top of that bump, and to do that, you want to get pretty high on the slope before climbing up on top. The lower you are, the more cliffy and difficult it will be. If you get high before crossing to the bump, getting on top of it is pretty trivial.

From here, you're in a world of rocks. Follow the drainage up (the water is hidden underneath the rocks). It looks something like this:

Goddard Col Midway.jpg

This will pop you out at a small lake. Looking across the lake, you will see something like this:

Goddard Col Final.jpg

The low portion of the ledge toward the left, with the alternating green bits and cliffs beneath it, is the final portion of the climb. Circle the lake (north side worked for me) and zig-zag your way up to the top. You will find yourself atop a ridge, right below the west chute route up Goddard, and looking down at Lake 12,273 right beneath the mountain. If you chose this pass because you wanted to climb Goddard via the west chute, now's the time to do it!

It is difficult to describe the route down into the Ionian Basin, because this portion of the basin is so much higher than Martha Lake. Goddard Col feels less like a traditional pass, where you climb up one side and then down the other, and more like a straight climb into the basin. To get down to Lake 12,273, just walk forward a few hundred feet. If you want to drop down to Lake 11,818 , which has nice camping and serves as a good take-off point for various other destinations both in the Ionian Basin and without, there are a variety of ways to do it. Feel free to pick your own! One route that will work is as follows: Circle Lake 12,273 to its outlet at the south end. Follow the drainage until you are looking down at Lake 11,951. From here, you can see the low ridge to the south that separates Lake 11,951 from Lake 11,818. You want to head toward that ridge. Here is a photo, from close to that ridge, looking back up toward Goddard and showing the terrain on the west shore of the lake that you will navigate:

Lake 11951.jpg

You can see the cliffs and rocks which preclude you from simply following the shoreline the whole way, but there are a number of possible routes through. Pick whichever one looks best to you. Once you get to the ridge, it's an easy walk over it to Lake 11,818.

Photos: Other than the photos above, the below shows the Col from Lake 12,273. It's the low point on the ridge on the left side of the photo.

Goddard Col from East.jpg