TR : There & Back Again…Lake Reflection, Center Basin, Forester Pass, Milestone Basin – July 26th to Aug. 3rd.

[michaelzim]

Part 1. – No Joe…

In case some members recall my 2020 saga “A Ridge Too Far” viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20921 and think I like to make a habit of trying to overcome challenging ridges, they would be mistaken. I’m a wuss when it comes to exposure. Take ‘fail’ lessons to heart. And passionately want to keep backpacking for as long as possible. Hence for this trip I did not have the 54 pound starting pack load I had in 2020 which was the main cause of my demise. Age, plus an itemized excel gear chart, plus higher tech choices drove my current starting weight down to 29½ pounds, including 1½ pounds of water – for a 7 to 9 day trip.

So yes, I was testing out quite a bit of new UL stuff this go around and will comment on each within the text. Here’s a list:

- Gossamer Gear Mariposa backpack.
- Tarptent Rainbow tent.
- Thermarest Uberlite sleeping pad.
- BV 475 bearcan (a gift from BearVault for helping them with new sizes).
- A new, new, Sawyer Squeeze filter (c/o Sawyer after double prior failures).
- A backup Platypus QuickDraw filter in case the Sawyer bombed again.
- SmartWool socks (instead of cotton).
- DarnTough Coolmax socks (instead of cotton).
- Head-net (which I had stupidly resisted for years).
- An UL Bogler CAT trowel.
- A few Mt. House and Peak meals splurges.
- [No hiking poles!]

First up, the BV475 replaced my Bearikade Weekender as it packed perfectly in the horizontal position which is way more preferable to me despite the extra few ounces. Plus I just don’t need that much food (7 pounds) so the Weekender is empty at the top. The Tarptent managed to fit in a side pocket of the Mariposa and everything else was easy after that.

Day 1. I left home at 3:30 am and managed to arrive at SEKI Roads End just in time for the 10:00 am “No Shows” openings. All the W permits were gone, but one Bubbs Creek no show appeared (lots for Woods Creek strangely) and I finally got on the trail around 11:30 am.

Wow…I think for me below 30 pounds is a magic number for pack weight and will allow a few more years of backing yet. The Mariposa is super comfortable and it felt almost like a day-pack. The very humbling “uphill-itis” of my spring sojourn into 9 Lakes Basin viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22299 was much less, though I put a lot of that down to not taking trekking poles. Yes, I think they actually drain me of energy – but no way I am going to open that can of worms here. Maybe a separate post for winter!

The mosquitoes were almost non-existent and the gnats/flies were a total non-issue with the head-net. I do believe that the head-net is the best, lightest weight (1 oz.) piece of backpacking gear I have ever purchased. Never without it again.
The trail was in great condition (little did I know what difference a week would make!) and the uphill parts were not too bad…until around 3:30 to 4:00 pm. Man, I just can’t deny it any more, this age thing is real as every day of the whole trip about this same time I would just tucker out precipitously. “Poof”. My energy would just evaporate and pure will had to take over. Sigh.

The trail was mostly empty of people except at the big camping spot opposite Charlotte Dome, where there were a lot more mosquitoes too – so the skeeters seem to know where the blood is! Hence I carried on and made camp about ½ an hour downstream of the East Lake junction, where I discovered that the new Sawyer filter actually worked as advertised. Finally.

The combo of the slick floor of the Tarptent and Uberlite pad was another matter though. I can’t quite believe the manufacturers have got away with this. It’s like sleeping on a flipping ice rink! There was about a 1% grade to the ground and all night I would find the pad scrunched up against the measly downhill side of the tent. This was not that much of a problem…yet. Little did I know what was in store for me! That aside the pad is very comfortable for its incredible light weight and packability.

Day 2. Up early I crossed a knee-deep Bubbs Creek under cloudy skies heading for Lake Reflection. The wetter areas of the trail were verdant green with an abundance of “POWBY” flowers (Purple, Orange, White, Blue & Yellow – I don’t know all the names).

Pic 1. Verdant trailside section. *NOTE FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW - Click on photos for a bigger & clearer version.

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The sky would lighten up occasionally but overall it looked like rain was coming so I kept up the pace and passed the abundance of campsites at East Lake without seeing a soul. I reached beautiful Lake Reflection early afternoon and hustled to pitch tent on the ‘clean granite’ west side. Once I was settled in I noticed a tent closer to the lake and met two great guys (C. & T. – hopefully now HS Topix members!) who were base-camping there for 7 days in order to climb peaks and scramble through the surrounding basins with day-packs. They told me tales and showed me photos of their sojourn up Milly’s Foot Pass. Vertical looking stuff. Class 4 at the top which had adrenalized them greatly. No way for me, so we all ambled off down the west lake shore to try and figure out where Little Joe’s Pass was given all the chutes on the high ridge due east. I had printed out a map and some photos from the HST Passes section, but they did not prepare me for the stunning array of options spread out along the slope. At least 9 chutes were good candidates, with only one being the ‘correct’ one. I knew to avoid the most obvious two to the left/north, but after that it was up for grabs. The sensible choice, especially given the temperamental wet weather was to scout it. An evening of drizzle-rain left me wondering if I could even do that the next day.

Day 3. Dawned with mostly clouds but showed signs of clearing so I headed up the for the ‘right hand fork of the chosen chute’ with well wishes from C. & T. The slope was about 45 degrees and not too bad. Some occasional loose rocks underfoot would jerk me out of any complacency as I steadily gained altitude, finally breaching my old Red Mt. ‘height record’ of 11,963 ft.

Pic 2. Looking down the chute to Lake Reflection.

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I knew I was at the top when my scramble suddenly ended in a gut wrenching (for me) vertical drop off that I couldn’t even bear to repeat looking over. As I mentioned, I’m an exposure wuss. The view to the west though was gorgeous, with Longley Pass dead center of the pic below.

Pic 3. Looking west from the top of not quite “Little Joe’s” pass.

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I knew I had to be too far left/north as that cliff drop off was looking out to the Ericsson Crags and I needed to be further right/south. But that terrain was wandering into blocky class 3 and 4 stuff, plus my head was a bit wobbly from the altitude so I decided to take a pass on the pass. Little Joe would have to remain a “Bonanza” TV character (Yeah I know, 1950’s TV even in Rhodesia).

For those interested, below is a video link from the top. It says it is High Def. but sure does not look it – so apologies if it’s not that sharp…

“Little Joe’s Pass”…somewhere around here.
https://youtu.be/gdimbn5yFxA

Later that afternoon back at the lake, I shared my efforts with C. & T. and we once again wandered down the west lake shoreline to try and figure out where the real Little Joe’s pass was. We had no success but did conclude that I had topped out at about 12,200 ft. where the red arrow is in pic below.

Pic 4. Pick-a-Chute, just make sure it’s the correct one!

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With more drizzle-rain that evening I decided to re-route via the JMT/PCT and Forester Pass to get to Milestone Basin, as I knew all the other passes over the Kings-Kern Divide and Great Western Divide were ‘treacherous’ for my skill and strength level. I have always wanted to go over Forester so this was my chance, and a much safer option than attempting yet another Joe chute.

Day 4. The night was colder and I morning greeted me with my first experience of “tent condensation” which is a hazard of light-weight, single wall tents like my new Rainbow. It was not too bad and I wiped it down giving it little thought, not realizing this was a harbinger of a much bigger issues to come. Plus the sun was out and the blue skies showed the true beauty of Lake Reflection.

Pic 5. Lake Reflection.

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With a farewell to C. & T. I headed back down to Bubbs Creek again. What a difference the sunshine made to the POWBY displays.

Pic 6. POWBY flowers A.

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Pic 7. POWBY flowers B.

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I met just a couple of people on the East Lake trail and then more as I hit the main Rae Lakes loop and JMT/PCT, but nothing like the ‘hundreds’ during the “bubble” periods. By 3:30 pm I was searching for the non-existent (to me) old trail to Center Basin and Golden Bear Lake so veered off into the forest hoping for an easy route through the trees and rocks. It was much, much, further than I thought and the late afternoon “Tucker bomb” dropped and was hitting me hard. I gave up on Golden Bear and made camp at the little lake below it just as yet another rainstorm was gearing up.

After a lie-down and cup of cold cocoa the sunset managed to pull off quite a show on the surrounding peaks.

Pic 8. Center Basin Crags.

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Pic 9. Center Peak.

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Pic 10. Sunset over East Vidette.

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Here’s another video for those interested…

Center Basin…evening.
https://youtu.be/A_-X7t__ZwM

Day 5. There was a bit more condensation in the tent but I expected that given the proximity to the lake and wet night. The skies were cloudy still but clearing so I headed off to the JMT/PCT by a more direct route and the lack of “Tuckeredness” made it seem a lot closer.
Being my fifth day I was wondering if I was ever going to get hungry again as had hardly gone through any of my food. I should have brought more Trader Joe’s dried oranges as they are fantastic (thanks for that intro. Ian & Lizzie) and their citrus sugar got me to the base of Forester Pass in short order.
Oh, what a pass!!!
Forester is incredible. What I will forever call the Crème Brulé of passes. Such a perfect trail grade for such an altitude gain. I thought I was going to be totally wiped out by it but was not. At 13,200 ft. that is saying something for me…or maybe it’s 13,123 ft. (CalTopo)…or 13,153 (Tom Harrison map). What gives with these discrepancies??? Does anyone know?

I met some great people on the trail, and one was an admitted “lurker” on HS Topix (Mariposa/Colby lady – please PM me if seeing this as would very much like to know more of your Colby Lake route!!!) who kindly took my summit photo below. She gets the photo credits. The goofy looks are all mine.

Pic 11. Forester Pass (aka Crème Brulé Pass).

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Pic 12. View south from Forester Pass.

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The increasing wind and interruptions from two young guys curtailed much pass top conversation. Those who have been over Forester know, there is not much room up there. The pass gets its job done in a matter of feet, then it’s down the opposite side. Which is where I headed as it looked like more rain coming in again. However, Forester gave me a new pre-trip ‘altitude ceiling’ gain of 1,190 ft. if using Tom Harrison’s altitude measurement. Not too shabby even if on-trail. I was sure happy about it.

CONTINUED BRIEFLY BELOW...

[michaelzim]

CONTINUED...

The buzz did not last too long as the approaching storm was once again pushing me harder than I liked, plus the afternoon ‘tired bomb’ was plunging down. I managed to make camp at a little lake on the Upper Kern Cutoff Trail just before a violent windstorm with some spitting rain hit.
As seemed to be a pattern by now, the setting sun briefly reappeared to give an evening light show highlighting the broad expanses to the east.

Pic 13. Looking SE.

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Pic 14. Looking East.

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I went to bed early pondering the warnings of the few PCT’ers I had met before heading west on the cutoff trail… “The ranger at Tyndall said there is a really big weather event coming in today or tomorrow!”
Well there was not much I could do about that at this point, except carry on for my intended base camp area of Milestone Basin – in Part 2.

Part 2. later… Michaelzim

PART 2. NOW ADDED = FURTHER ALONG AFTER SOME REPLY POSTS BELOW.

Ref. 8/10/2022

[SSSdave]

Per Google Earth views, the top quarter of Little Joes at about 3650 meters spreads out into multiple shallow chutes. To end up looking down at the face west of Ericsson Crags, you apparently came out at the 3800+ notch maybe by moving north at 3650. Your queaziness due to the exposure will be the primary danger for most going up that chute that reads like class 2 slightly class 3 from step to step while taking the correct route. Such feelings can strongly affect one's safety because the feeling of being pulled away backward from the surface one is trying to grip onto due to the shifting weight of a backpack pulling one backwards is not trivial. Despite being very careful, over decades, twice I've actually fallen due to such backward weight shifts (very luckily self arrested so not hurt), once on the Lamarck Col glacier and once at the top of the Iceberg to Cecil steeps. Also note, I would not trust any of the topo map versions of that slope that have been converted from the original meter data into feet because they invariable round off loosing critical detail. One can see the same thing on other maps where that has been done. A reason I tend to prefer USGS 7.5m maps in the higher detail of original feet.

[thegib]

I've been waiting for someone to write up that 'weather event'. I was at Lake Reflection the afternoon evening of July 31 and there was rain and thunder but not crazy. The real action sounded focused near the crest (Forester area) and the thunder coming from there was nuts. Bubbs was runnning high and turgid on the 1st.

[kpeter]

I love your trail reports....probably because you and I think and hike much alike. Beautiful photography as well. Looking forward to the continuation.

[torpified]

I'm the one who took your picture atop Forester Pass! I've been wondering how the picture came out (now I know) and also how the rest of your walk went (I guess I'll have to wait for the next installment to find out). I'll to stay unlurked long enough to put up a report about my visit to Colby Lake. -Laura

[cgundersen]

Hi Michael,
I liked the way you kept up with Ian on the Blue Canyon Tunemah trip last year and the good news is he would have kept going over Little Joe's even if it was the wrong chute. At the same time, I don't know how you keep going on minimal calories. Those were some pretty stiff climbs and you cannot survive on exhilaration alone. Or can you? I guess we'll find out! Cameron

[sekihiker]

I'm sorry you didn't get to the top of Little Joe's. I've done it once and was way off route for three quarters of the way to the top when I had to move south over some dicey terrain. It's much easier coming down.
Your photos didn't suffer from the lighting. The light accentuates the drama. We are looking forward to the rest of the report.

[michaelzim]

Thanks for all comments so far and I will do my best to get Part 2. out in a timely manner...As you can speculate the big "weather event" had much to do with the outcome!
As that particular storm dump is getting reported on more here at HSTopix and the overall wetness in the Sierra currently, I feel a little less urgency to get the next part out in a piece-meal rush. The realities of raging creeks, pre-preparing for lots of water and wetness, etc. are being emphasized and still look highly relevant to me (looking at the 7-day forecast for Reflection Lake for instance!).
In other words, if I went out there today I would not have my new 'single-wall' tent...I would take my old 'double-wall' one despite the extra weight. And yes, that story will come out in part 2....soon.

*Looking forward to your TR too Laura!

Best, and more in due course ~ Michaelzim

[mkbgdns]

if you continue to use the rainbow (I've had one for years) paint some diagonal stripes on floor, silicone sealant, or silicone calk mixed w odorless (well...) mineral spirits. ice rink gone!