direttissima descent from Upper Lamarck Lake to Lake Sabrina

jdogrunner · Post by **jdogrunner** » Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:04 pm

I'm curious if anyone has done xc travel from Upper Lamark Lake directly down to Sabrina. There's a saddle above Sabrina on the ridge that separates the middle fork of Bishop Creek drainage from the Lamarck Creek drainage and it looks like it's gentle enough to descend directly down to Sabrina (to cut out travel through North Lake.) We'll be traveling from the Lamarck drainage across Table Mountain and down into South Lake and a direct route would shave off a bit of mileage but I wonder if it would be a cliffy bushwhack descending directly down to Sabrina from the Upper Lamarck basin. Maybe I'm over-thinking it but I've walked down the North Lake Road and it sucks. Thanks for any input.

Wandering Daisy · Post by **Wandering Daisy** » Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:29 pm

Slope may be feasible, but it looks like bushwhack hell to me. Have you looked at Google Earth? South facing slopes in sagebrush are not generally very easy walking.

You said "we". Why not just have one person walk to your car (or better yet, hitch), another (others) stay at North Lake with the packs.

balzaccom · Post by **balzaccom** » Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:12 am

Here's a link to a photo of Sabrina from the west...that route over the low spot in the ridge would lead to this nasty looking talus slope:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uzLM7EBT7zyMc6gd6

Wandering Daisy · Post by **Wandering Daisy** » Wed Mar 24, 2021 10:37 am

You can avoid some of the talus, but the entire slope looks quite ugly. And, once down you still have to get around the lake and up to the trail. The photos below show the lake level low, but if it is high (it is a reservoir) then you are forced up into the brush. I really do not think you will save much time.