Harrington Pass

[TehipiteTom]

GENERAL OVERVIEW: Crosses the Monarch Divide between Grizzly Lakes (on the south side) and the Gorge of Despair & Swamp Lakes (on the north). This gets you into a trailless area with lots of lakes, spectacular views, and very few people.

CLASS/DIFFICULTY: Class 2

LOCATION: Kings Canyon National Park. HST Map

ELEVATION: 10,680+.

USGS TOPO MAP (7.5'): Slide Bluffs & Cedar Grove (pass is at the edge of Slide Bluffs, so you really need both)

ROUTE DESCRIPTION: From Grizzly Lakes, follow the drainage to the northwest all the way up to the pass (this is a fairly gentle and obvious route). To descend to the westernmost Swamp Lake, first head N to the saddle south of Point 10,760+; from there, countour E around the head of a talus-choked gully and descend N via slabs east of the gully. From about 10,240', follow the ridgelet down to the irregular tarn (not shown on map) on a bench at 10,000+. Follow the slopes N and then NNE to reach the lake a little south of the outlet.

[alpinemike]

Typical terrain to get up the South Side

Toward the top on the South Side

Looking at the North Side. Lots of options exist and depend on which way you're headed. We curved around the peaks to the North and descended from the saddle between Peak 10,697 and Tenderfoot Peak.Taken from the top of Tenderfoot Peak. Peak 10,967 is directly to the South and left of center.