Mace-Warrior Ridge

[cgundersen]

TITLE: Mace-Warrior ridge

GENERAL OVERVIEW: Connects Mace and Warrior Lakes without dropping into low country where Fish Creek hits Tully Hole

CLASS/DIFFICULTY: Class 2

LOCATION: John Muir Wilderness HST Map

ELEVATION: 11,500 ft

USGS TOPO MAP (7.5'): Graveyard Peak

HST Map:HST Map

I have taken this shortcut several times (north to south) to avoid dropping down to Tully Hole and then climbing back up toward Silver Pass. The ascent from the Mace side looks a bit daunting, but the surface is good and it's just the standard grind to reach the ridge. The year these photos were taken, there was still plenty of snow, but later in the season, the snow is replaced by grass/gravel, so it still offers good traction. If you're camped at Hortense (where I've seen some good-sized trout), the ascent to Mace is easy. Here's the long-range shot of what the Mace side looks like followed by a closer-up shot of the ascent:

Near Mace Lake looking at Mace-Warrior ridge

Mace-Warrior ascent

The next shot is looking back down the Mace side from close to the top of the ridge; note the small pond that's shown on the topo map.

View down toward Mace from ridge

The photo order got messed up a bit, so this is the view of the ridge from Warrior:

Mace-Warrior ridge from Warrior Lake

The next photo shows part of Warrior Lake and Chief in the distance:

View from M-W ridge with parts of Warrior and Chief Lakes

The start of the easy route (to the right) down to Warrior from the ridge. Ritter & Banner Peaks at the upper right of the photo.

Head on view down to Warrior Lake:

View of Warrior from the ridge

Another view of the easy descent from the ridge to Warrior:

Sandy gravel leading down to Warrior Lake

View back at the ridge from the level of Warrior Lake.