Day One
To get to Tamarack Lake you need a permit on the popular High Sierra Trail but I was able to get a walk-up on Thursday morning. After some last-minute packing, I drove to Crescent Meadow and got started. The first 10 miles are easy hiking on a well-graded trail to Bearpaw Meadow with lots of streams along the way. From there I took the upper trail toward Tamarack that starts to give you views to Valhalla. At the base of Elizabeth Pass you head east up a canyon framed by domes and steep walls. At Tamarack Lake I chatted with two guys that were doing the Saber Ridge traverse the next day, which looks like an amazing route. I camped on the ridge west of the lake to avoid bugs and get the morning sun and a view of Mt Stewart. Daily total of ~15 miles and 5000’ elevation gain.
Looking up the canyon toward Tamarack Lake from the base of Elizabeth Pass
Mount Stewart from Tamarack Lake
Day Two
On day two I wanted to get up to Lion Lake and then cross over into Nine Lake Basin but was expecting some snow, based on recent satellite images. On a previous trip we had climbed above Tamarack Lake to where the creek drops into a waterfall. There is a use trail that starts close to the lake outlet that avoids the steeper cliffs closer to the falls.
Finding a passage from this upper meadow to Lion Lake is not so straight forward, as Lone Pine Creek disappears into a deep canyon. My read that was north of the creek is a series of cliffs and ledges with less vegetation compared to south of the creek has several chutes where you trade cliffs for brush and wet rock! As I was traveling solo, I stayed on the a south side and didn’t find much of a trade route until the upper section (~ 10,500’) where the slope eases up and there is a grassy ramp. This experience seems consistent with other trip reports I’ve seen here?
I guess you could say that Lion Lake has a ‘stark beauty’? Maybe I was just tired from the climb but it didn’t wow me like some of the views that followed. From Lion Lake there are two passes into Nine Lake Basin south cleverly named Lion Rock Pass 1 and 2. Based on the snow cover I picked Lion Rock Pass 1 (eastern one). The route around Lion Lake had steep sides and some loose rock but nothing eventful on the way to the upper tarn. From the tarn to the pass there is a 500’ steep climb. I mostly stayed on the snow as it was soft enough to kick steps in the sun cups and most of the exposed scree seemed to want to slide you back into the lake. The views at the top of the pass made it all worthwhile and after a leisurely lunch I descended down to the largest of the lakes in the basin below (10,725). Got hit by a solid thunder and hail storm after dinner to add to the adventure. Daily total was roughly 6 miles with 2500’ of scrambling but is tougher than these numbers alone suggest.
On the way to Lion Lake - choose you own adventure?
Lion Rock Pass looking north to Copper Mine Peak and Triple Divide (Nine Lakes Basin is behind me)
Day three really made the trip as I was the only person in the basin and there is so much to explore. While I can’t say I stuck a foot in all nine lakes I did hike into each of the three upper basins to take photos and peak a look at the passages to the next basin over Pants Pass and Pyra-Queen Col. Those will have to wait for another day as it was time to complete the loop. I climbed back over Kaweah Gap and started descending the High Sierra Trail. This trail is literally blasted into the cliff wall in places and even passes through a tunnel. I got reached Hamilton Lake around 5 pm and talked with a group that seemed to be serving as site hosts and directing people to open camp spots. I told them that I was going to keep going to Bearpaw and they asked if I was sure and knew how far it was? My pack was getting pretty light by that point and kept up a steady pace making it to camp with daylight to spare. Daily total roughly 7miles off trail and then 10 on the HST.
Exploring the basin
Upper lake and Pyra-Queen Col
There is not much to see at Bearpaw but that was fine as I had a quick breakfast then walked to back to Crescent Meadows. This was a quick loop that already has me thinking of new routes in the area for my next trip: maybe using Lion Lake Pass to the north or contiuing into Kaweah Basin?
