This originally started out as an LDW trip to Darwin Bench which I had been eyeing for some time. It then somehow turned into a first foray into Ionian Basin with Darwin Bench tacked on at the very end as I committed to taking more days off of work. A friend was to join me but came down with COVID a few days before. That unfortunately just left me alone. I do a lot of solo backpacking and enjoy it, but it always feels bad at first when a trip you’d intended to have company on becomes a pity party of one.
I forced myself to pack on Tuesday night and left the Bay after work on Wednesday to spend the night before the trip in Mammoth. I knew this trip was within my skill level but there was still some nervousness on my part to do it alone. Overall though it went exceedingly well and I got to see a huge range of new terrain. I’m not the fastest hiker since my aerobic fitness has suffered a bit over the past few years, but at least it was good to confirm that talus walking and off-trail navigation skills haven’t suffered
. I came away from this trip determined to keep my fitness up so I can tackle some bigger objectives next year.________________________________________________________________
Day 1: Sabrina Lake TH to Echo Lake
Getting to Echo Lake was relatively uneventful and I don't think there's much to really say here. I chatted with three guys at Echo Lake who were on a day trip from Hungry Packer but was otherwise alone that night. The nice part about late summer and north/northeast-facing slopes is that the Milky Way crests over them shortly after sunset. I stayed up till maybe 10pm taking photos before heading off to bed. This is the part where I admit my dinner didn’t really agree with me and I had to run out of my tent in the middle of the night to take care of business
. Great start to the trip.
Lunch break at Sailor Lake.
First night at Echo Lake. Milky Way is a bit out of focus bc I was more focused on stomach issues....
Sunrise. I don't think this spot really gets proper sunrise light on the peaks due to neighboring peaks to the east being taller
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Day 2: Echo Lake to Lake 11828 (via Echo Col and Black Giant Pass)
The big day. Route-finding to the base of the col was straightforward. I had read through Bluewater’s excellent writeup of Echo Col but once on the north shore of the lake, figuring out how to get around the cliff bands lower down was easy anyway since I had a clear view of everything. I was nervous about getting up and over the col and had anticipated it being the crux of this trip for me, but it honestly ended up being completely fine - like when you overprepare for an exam and ace the real thing
the north side of the col was maybe 100 ft of scrambling, mostly one or two moves punctuated by decent flat-ish spots to catch your breath. The final move was a bit awkward with a heavy pack but otherwise felt the holds were solid. I found descending the south side to be easier and was glad I wasn’t going down the north side. There is still snow in the bowl below to col on the north side btw. It was very firm at 9am and spikes were helpful.Amazing views south/southeast from the col. Took lunch at lake 11428 before heading down to the JMT and joining the throngs of hikers. Due to my mishap on night 1, I had to sheepishly beg some kind strangers for spare TP and easily had my stock replenished by Muir Pass. And not that I was at all in any position to complain, but every hiker who gave me some TP gave me one-ply. Is this an ultralight thing or do people have a secret stash of one-ply TP that they only give to hapless unprepared hikers?
Anyway, the north side of Black Giant Pass was very mellow (stable) even if I was moving like a slug at this point. The south side I happily plunge-stepped down and set up camp at lake 11828 before sunset. I spent a ton of time debating whether to go up Black Giant for sunset or not. I really wanted to watch the sunset over LeConte Canyon but it had been cloudy all afternoon and I was worried the effort would have been wasted. Ultimately didn’t have the energy to summit and this will likely haunt my dreams until I can return next summer.
Great views looking south-ish from Echo Col
Enjoyed a lunch at lake 11428 after a gully slog to get there
Some sad tarn right where I joined up with the JMT
First views into the basin from Black Giant Pass
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Day 3: Lake 11828 to Scylla Lake
This was a pretty uneventful day. I had only really researched the the passes I was going over and figured routefinding in the basin would be a fun challenge without spoiling myself reading TRs. The terrain down to Chasm Lake was mostly easy stable talus and some sparse grass. I mostly followed drainages except for the waterfalls draining into Chasm from the east, which I bypassed a bit north. Took lunch at an amazing campsite overlooking Chasm Lake before continuing onward. I mostly stayed on the vegetated benches well above the creek draining into Chasm Lake from 11592 and found that easy enough. The only minor inconvenience was getting around lake 11837. I ended up doing a lot of up and down due to cliffs that weren’t visible until you rounded the corners of the lake and came face-to-face with them. There was still snow on the north-facing slopes just below Scylla Lake and on the shore of 11837. The former were avoidable. The latter wasn't but by midday kicking steps in was fine.
Arrived at Scylla Lake (is this the right name for it? I’ve also seen it referred to as Swan Lake which I quite like) and set up camp shortly before the rain started - mostly a drizzle at first and then intermittently harder with a thunderclap or two later in the afternoon. I mostly napped and then ogled at Scylla and the Three Sirens before setting up the camera on a ledge for Milky Way shots. It was a bit too late in the season to get the exact composition I wanted sadly, but I think it still turned out okay.
Getting closer to Three Sirens and Scylla, except for all of the elevation I had just lost...
Definitely one of the highlights of the day for me
Smoke blew in after the rain and messed with the golden hour lightning (as well as my sinuses
)
This late in the summer the Milky Way was already well past the main summit of Scylla by the time it was truly dark out. I had wanted to line it up right over Scylla but I suppose that's only a July/early August thing
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Day 4: Scylla Lake to Darwin Bench via Wanda Pass
I did a rising traverse from near lake 11837 up to Wanda Pass. This was pretty straightforward except I would advise staying at a more middle elevation below the pass and then gaining it from a little below. My traverse put me high and to the southwest of the pass which had car-sized talus that slowed me down considerably. Lower down looked much easier. Amazing views of the basin from the pass. I stared down Davis Lakes at Mt. McGee and pondered what I was missing out on by not heading that way and also checking out the west side of Ionian Basin. Oh well, there’s always next time.
Ate a quick snack before heading down to Wanda Lake and rejoining the JMT superhighway. I had done the JMT southbound almost a decade ago but must have never turned around in this section because I was shocked at how nice the view of the Evolution group was from Sapphire Lake. My pace sped up considerably on the trail and I made it to camp at Darwin Bench with lots of time to spare. Beautiful place. I ran into a pair of hikers right before the Darwin Bench turnoff who said they were on HST and were heading cross country. I wish I had asked where because looking at where they left the trail on a map confused me and I couldn't figure out their destination. Perhaps they'll see this post and enlighten me
This was the first night I made camp with other people around. Took some more photos of the Milky Way and despaired that I only had an ultrawide prime lens which was much too short for this location.
The basin + lots of smoke from the Coffee Pot Fire
Darwin Bench from a comically wide lens + smoke
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Day 5: Darwin Bench to North Lake TH via Lamarck Col
I’d actually never been over Lamarck Col or through Darwin Canyon before so this day was a real treat. I think I probably added an extra hour to my travel time just by taking so many breaks to stare at Darwin and Mendel and the color of the lakes. I was also in awe that there was actually a bootpath leading up to the col that avoided nearly all of the talus - it didn’t look that way at first when I approached the base. The wind had picked up some time last night and steadily got more intense as the day went on.
Incredibly windy at the col specifically so I snapped a few photos, chatted with a ranger, and then made my way down. The snowfield on the north side is heavily sun-cupped (crotch height on me) but well-tromped on already so not too bad (I didn't need traction). The whole way down to the TH was in the baking sun but went quickly enough. Being that it was just me, my plan was to hitch a ride back to the Sabrina backpacker’s parking and, failing that, to just walk the road. A nice couple from Paradise picked me up almost immediately which was probably a good thing because I hadn’t realized the north lake road was so dusty and narrow. It was also very well-trafficked on Labor Day afternoon so I would’ve been huffing dust the whole way.
Sunrise.
As I hiked up to Lamarck Col from the bench, views like these made me wish I'd spent another day just exploring this area
Awe-inspiring.
The last picture I took on this trip. The last day had some of the most dramatic views for sure.
