Taboose Pass next week?

[commonloon]

I think we're going to try Taboose and will bushwack around the sketchy bits if needed. I like the idea of finding the "Old Taboose Creek trail." Both my friends have done lots of off trail so it should be in their wheelhouse.

[commonloon]

But thanks Cameron... I too really enjoy Taboose. The top section is incredible aesthetic imho,

[SirBC]

I had a video of the first crossing in the HST Meetup thread but it seems to have disappeared from Youtube. Here it is:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KxcYk4FLWBusNyddA

[Jimr]

@commonloon, you'll have no problem. If the creek crossing is a no go for you, then just head straight up and over the deer brush from the first crossing. It's a bit of a slog, but very doable and you will see remnants of the old trail once you get past the rockslides that cover lower parts of the trail. We came down that way from the 2017 meetup.
This is the post in 2017 that gave us confidence we could avoid crossing the stream on our way down. It was posted about a just before the meetup.

The bypass I did of the creek in order to stay on the north side of it and avoid both crossings was not horrific, just slow. Similar to cross country Sierra terrain up high. Old rockslide debris in places. Also appeared that the trail might have stayed on that side at one time before sections of it were wiped out - often found old bits of trail.

I did encounter a large rattlesnake at 8300 ft on the bypass that was courteous enough to warn me as I was about to step on it, curled up between the talus.

[commonloon]

Super. Thanks @Jimr. If we do use the by old trail bypass then I will make sure to take some pics and get a gps track (for those who want one).

[KathyW]

Yes, the crossing can be really difficult. Scared me a time or two

[kylekuzma]

The Caltopo sat photos are showing that the only reasonable east side pass is Kearsage. Ive kept an eye on Taboose but its still a ton of a snow field slogging.

[commonloon]

We did Taboose Pass last Tuesday. It was in relatively good shape. The road seems about the same as the last time I did it (2016). We were dropped off about 3 miles from the trailhead itself (high clearance would be needed). It was HOT as we didn't arrive until about 9am! We did NOT cross the creek (white water) but used the old trail talus walk. It was reasonably easy as those things go. Near the top we got pinned down by an unforecasted T-storm for a bit. Here is a track for those interested:

https://caltopo.com/m/VGNN8

We did see some apparent cairnes/ducks. Mostly patchy snow towards the top, soft by the time we got there.

Creek video:

https://gopro.com/v/LRRgWm6krXlVm

Note: during this trip, some creeks looking like this (white water) were actually not that bad to cross because the depth was relatively shallow. Given the drop off just downstream and the strainers we opted for off trail avoidance.