R08/R02 TR: Buckeye Creek Thompson Canyon June 19th to 23rd 2014

[bigd]

Sorry for the delay. First time TR post. Long time lurker.

My route is here: http://www.hillmap.com/m/ag1zfmhpbGxtYX ... IDA2deeCgw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lot's of mosquitoes around 9,000 to 10,000 feet. Certainly a 4 on the HST scale. I was well protected with long pants, long shirt, and head-net, but it was still a pain.


Looking up Buckeye Creek Canyon. This canyon is very underrated and peaceful. Only the first 4 miles are sandy and boring.


Lots of fresh bear poop.


Small meadows near Center Mtn.


Center Mtn itself. Very photogenic.


Small tarn on the pass north of Center Mtn.


Thompson Canyon Meadow


Unnamed lakes just north of Thompson Canyon. No fish in these lakes.


Small hidden tarn above and north of the unnamed lakes.


Another lake.


The largest of the unnamed lakes. No fish.


The tree ate the rock fish.


Woolly Mule's Ears


Outlet of Stubblefield lake


More complete picture of Stubblefield lake. No fish, but lot's a big tadpoles swimming around like fish.


Inlet of Stubblefield lake


Higher up


Rock garden meadow above Stubblefield lake


Upper Stubblefield Canyone with Tower Peak looming above


Small tarn at the head of the Stubblefield lake headwaters


Snow bear prints


Sandy meadow at the very head of this little valley. It's so flat, you could land and takeoff with a small plane.


Wells Peak


Melting sun cups near summit of Ehrnbeck Peak.


Hawksbeak Peak on the left.


Some flowers


Sign in need of some loving care.


If all trails were this nice.


Tree initials. 1924


1918. The oldest I've ever seen in the Eastern Sierra.

Hope you enjoyed my pictures and TR.

BigD

[maverick]

Great introductory TR and pretty pictures, especially with it being to a less
traveled part, but still just as pretty part of Yosemite.

[texan]

Nice TR and pics. Thats an area most people don't go to in the Sierras. Thanks for sharing.

Texan

[Tom_H]

Beautiful pictures. Brought back some good memories of that territory decades ago. Thanks for that!

[balzaccom]

Really nice photos. thanks for those.

This is a good way to get into the Yosemite back country when the rest of the park is snowed in, as Buckeye is usually easier...

[Ikan Mas]

Very unique and special hike. Thanks for sharing.

[Tom_H]

I zoomed in on that picture of Thompson Canyon. I remember camping in that cluster of trees on the rise to the right just before the meadow begins. That was one long pristine meadow. I encountered a bear at the far end. That was June of '85. A friend who was with me went back, I think in '87, and said that an immense avalanche had laid waste to much of the meadow. I'm curious as to your take on that. Did you see any evidence of that?

[giantbrookie]

Very nice report of an area seldom visited. From a fishing standpoint, your verification of all those lakes as fishless is very informative, too, for I have long thought about snooping around there to find out myself--I thought about going to Stubblefield as far back as 1990 or so but never got around to checking it out.

[bigd]

Tom_H:

Here are some more pictures of Thompson Canyon. I did not see any evidence of a huge avalanche, but then again, the mosquitoes were terrible and I was practically running through there.



Looking down the meadow from the head.



Looking down the meadow from the middle.



Looking up the meadow from the foot.

GiantBrookie:

While this trip was more of an exploration hike and less of a fishing trip hike, I was keenly aware of the fishing situation for any future fishing trips. It's a real downer to get to a lake with no fish when you're expecting to eat some for that night. Stubblefield lake definitely had no fish. Big tadpoles swimming around with no fear means no fish. Those unnamed lakes just north of Thompson Canyon Creek may have had fish, but I didn't see anything jumping and I didn't see anything swimming. It's a shame, because the biggest lake is plenty big and deep and there's plenty of flat inlet/outlet streams for spawning.



BigD