R04/R01 TR: Tunemah via Wishon, Crown, Blackcap 8/28-9/5 2024

[rhetts_go]

Background

Got the urge to do a big solo wilderness trip and heard from here that Tunemah was beautiful and remote. Seemed fun.

I gave myself a lot of time to do this. While I have some cross country experience, I hadn't done multiple off-trail days or high passes. Plus I'm getting myself back into shape so I wanted to feel free to rest wherever and enjoy the scenery. I planned a rough route with a bunch of alternate branches so I could call audibles, and confirmed that the passes were class 2 in Secor but otherwise didn't research them. Off we go.

Wishon > Maxson Basin

Got a late start out of the upper Rancheria trailhead. I've heard some people take Maxson TH towards Blackcap but I'd been there before and didn't love the walk -- this one looked more interesting with neat cross-country shortcut opportunities. Took the first one to cut to Indian Springs and visit some small ponds on the way. Took a second one before Chuck pass to cut north towards Crown Pass. Got tired before reaching the Crown Pass trail and slept next to a drying tarn.

Next day I went over Crown Pass and dropped to Half Moon Lake, taking the cutoff trail east towards Blackcap. Met 3 people on that short stretch of trail which turned out to be 75% of the people I saw over the entire 9 days. Before I reached the Blackcap Trail I felt like exploring and climbed up into Maxson Basin.

Maxson Basin is a very small basin with ridges in a 270 degree circle and a single evaporating lake right in the middle. Not much to recommend it but I found the very basic symmetry of the place funny - a ring of bare ridges, with a circle of trees inside that, with a ring of a meadow inside that, and a lone exposed flat rock sitting right in the middle. It felt like what a rushed animator might make for a "wilderness" scene in a 2000s PlayStation game. I camped on the rock and had a nice evening watching birds of prey swoop across the meadow.

Maxson Basin > Crown Basin > Blue Canyon > Alpine Basin

In the morning I did an easy climb over the ridge to the east to land into Crown. Really liked Crown basin. I kept stumbling across these rocky full ponds where I didn't expect them, and there was a good stream flowing through the wide meadow.

I planned to go over Mantle Pass that day, but after stopping at Hummingbird Lake for a swim I decided to spend a lazy afternoon there and watch the sunset from the ridge near the outlet.

Hummingbird's a pretty lake but annoying to walk around. After sloshing through its meadow the next morning I went over the easy Mantle pass and into the rocky and wide Blue Canyon. I sped across it and up to Dykeman Pass. This felt like my first real pass and it was fun to find and follow the best path up the thing. It started raining after I scrambled down into the Alpine Creek's basin, and I camped on a small bench with a gurgling brook and a great view of Tunemah peak.

Alpine > East Tunemah Lake Basin

Alpine Pass was a tedious but short scramble up to Tunemah lake. The lake and the views were beautiful, with a bit of snow still hanging on. The drop into the basin was steeper than I had expected but was easy enough with plenty of paths to take.

The basin was beautiful with amazing lakes, backed by incredible views of Ragged Spur and the surrounding mountains. I swam in the big lower lake, with fish jumping everywhere. I watched the sunset change the colors on the mountains from the ridge in the middle and camped next to the upper lake with a slot view towards the spur. Everybody here was right, it's remote and beautiful.

Tunemah > Finger/Goddard > Blackcap > Out

I intended to spend the whole next day poking around Tunemah but got restless past noon and climbed back up to Libby Pass.

I did not like Libby Pass. The climb up had maybe the best views of the trip and was entirely Class 1, which made me cocky, right up until I got to the pass and stared down a cliff. The drop was incredibly sandy and I didn't trust it, neither the rocks or my skill level. Instead I climbed higher up the ridge to the north and went down the talus field on the other side. This was not fun -- every other rock wanted to move on me and there was a wide cliff halfway down that I had to do some funky moves to get over. This all took way too long but still felt safer for me than the real pass. It was late enough when I got down that I had dinner near a small pond and camped there.

The next day took me into the basin below Finger Peak, where I walked over to look into Goddard Canyon. It was an easy walk up to lake 10232, but I knew if I did I'd stay another day, and at this point I was itching to get back to my partner. Instead I climbed up towards Finger Col. This basin is really striking. The lakes here are sprawling and friendly, with cascading pools at their outlets that are perfect swimming holes.

Finger Col is awesome! It has character. The route was really intuitive and it was a quick fun climb. I got so focused on getting higher on the ridge that I forgot why I was there and scrambled up and past the exit the first time I reached it.

The descent to Blackcap was less fun. I went right when I should have went left and doomed myself to some slow boulder hopping. The sun was setting when I reached Cathedral and I accidentally plowed directly into the campsite of the first person I had seen in 5 days. I left the lake to him and collapsed next to the nearby Midway. After getting down from Blackcap the next day, I followed the same route for an uneventful but pleasant trip out.

Gear Thoughts

• I am a serial borrower of fishing gear and I need to invest in my own for solo trips. Most of these lakes were packed and I couldn't take advantage of it
• Carrying a male to male usb connector as a backup saved my ass. A bargain at only 11 grams.
• Dehydrating home cooked meals was a game changer, I'm never going back to store-bought crap. Had great meals like turkey chili, ropa vieja, chile verde, sausage and potato stew. Though I'll admit I was craving a salad by the end.
• My Exped 5R sprung a leak, but the included repair kit worked great after I dragged the pad into a lake with me to find where it was damaged
• XMid Pro performed well when I used it but I slept under the stars most nights, as I only saw only one mosquito the entire trip

[druid]

Thank you for the excellent TR (your first, I notice!). I still haven't been to Tunemah, although I did get fairly close this year, and your report makes it all the more enticing. Any idea what the raptors were that you saw in Maxson Basin? On our recent trip we watched what we thought was an immature bald eagle making repeated dives into Disappointment Lake, but we weren't certain about our guess. I agree with you about the Maxson trailhead entry being a bit tedious, and next time I'm heading that way I'll probably give "High Rancheria" a try. I also completely agree with you about Finger Col being a lot of fun, although in retrospect I'm glad we tackled the talus on the NW side on the way up. If you're ever back in the general area try to make it up Goddard Creek to lake 10232, I don't think you'll regret it.

[paul]

Nice! I share your appreciation of Libby Pass. I kinda wish I had done what you did instead of going down the sandy chute, although after the first terrifying 30 feet (being chased down the slope part of the way by a slowly sliding 3 foot wide rock) I got my hands on the solid stuff to the left and then it wasn't too bad, the talus below the sand was pretty solid and straightforward. If your little pond was the one right at the bottom of the slope going up to Libby, I stopped there for a rest and felt like that might be the least visited spot I've ever been to in the Sierra.

[giantbrookie]

Ooooh, this is such a cool report. You succeeded where I wimped out back in mid August when I was lagging getting to Chuck Pass. From Chuck Pass I had planned to follow my 2008 route which was to go off trail through woods and slabs to Crown Basin; from Crown Pass the first step is to go north toward Crown L. but then cross the creek near the confluence of the creek from Scepter L..(saves big elevation loss and avoids some rugged canyon crossings) then turning and heading ESE to Crown Basin. On our return we went from Hummingbird to Maxson Basin and then "over the hill" (rounded summit) directly to Scepter en route to Crown and Woodchuck (on our day 4).

In hindsight, I think your return route via Blackcap is much more interesting than my 2008 route via Maxson Basin because of Finger Col and because Blackcap is so much more alpine and scenic than Maxson Basin.

Your report reminds me of what I missed when I decided to abort Plan B after getting too comfortable at Crown Lake after my first night back in mid August.

[sekihiker]

Great report and photos. Thanks for posting.
In 2015, I visited Maxson Lake near Maxson Basin.
http://www.sierrahiker.com/Trips2015/ft1504.8.jpg

[papercup]

Nice report. Thanks for posting.

[rhetts_go]

Any idea what the raptors were that you saw in Maxson Basin?

Not sure, I'm terrible at identifying birds. Small, though - hawks? Also had an owl fly over me at Midway.

Trip was light for animal sightings. Saw a fat marmot at Tunemah, a marten near Crown pass. Bear scat almost everywhere including Tunemah.

If your little pond was the one right at the bottom of the slope going up to Libby, I stopped there for a rest and felt like that might be the least visited spot I've ever been to in the Sierra.

That's the one! Was completely quiet except for the pikas.

From Chuck Pass I had planned to follow my 2008 route which was to go off trail through woods and slabs to Crown Basin

My plan A was to go over the ridge near Scepter instead of taking Crown pass, but going both in and out I opted for the pass with a trail. Just wasn't feeling it.

In 2015, I visited Maxson Lake near Maxson Basin.

Nice! Looks like a much nicer lake than the one that's in the actual basin.