High Sierra Topix

Bench does not work for me. No problem- maybe next year.

Well, I thought I would check in and see if the Meetup is still on, and it sounds like it is, right?, so I am going, if it is still on. My new rebuilt,bionic ankle is working out great, and I already have a permit for Taboose. So, spending some a few days in the general area, then meeting everyone at Bench is fine with me. Great fun fishing at that lake! I spent a full day several years ago fishing the perimeter of Bench, and it was a great day. As we get closer, and if we have a few big long heat waves, more snow may melt than people think, and I might bring my old axe, and buy some spikes if it looks like Arrow Pass is doable. Looking forward to it!

I think Bench provides a good base since it's both scenic and technically a bit remote. We may take it for granted, but if you consider the most direct routes available are Taboose, Sawmill via White fork or the SHR from RE (still, you have to cross the S fork), then it definitely qualifies as a challenging hike.

Taking a day hike to check out Arrow pass from a base camp would provide a good group activity without any pressure to continue or make it to the top/over if it turned out to be too sketch. Of course, it could be a cake walk, but with axe & spikes, it would still be a fun chance to practice some skills.

richlong8 wrote:Well, I thought I would check in and see if the Meetup is still on, and it sounds like it is, right?, so I am going, if it is still on.

It's still on Rich

We will pass Bench 6 days ahead of the meetup. Unless something goes totally sideways with our schedule and plans, we won't be there this year. I have it on our route plan, in case we have to abort our planned schedule early, and then find us with time to re-enter at Taboose or Sawmill for a few more days before heading home. I guess the Taboose permits just ahead of the meet may be harder than usual to come by.

after speaking with Mav, we agree this would be the prime spot.

https://caltopo.com/m/T1GN

So we move to Bench Lake then? OK with me. I'll go over Arrow the next day then instead.

That leaves me with an extra half day or so, assuming I can hike as usual. Has anyone climbed Mount Ickes from Bench before? The only info I can find is this entry from Mr. Burd: http://www.snwburd.com/bob/trip_reports/ickes_1.html . Any other Mount Ickes trip report will be appreciated.

Is anyone still planning on attending this meet-up? With the S fork Kings bridge damaged, and perhaps still plenty of snow come late July (especially on the Monarch divide), any trip out of Road's end (trail or SHR) might prove to be problematic.

Secondly, anyone contemplating going up the Window drainage will be covering territory where Morgenson was lost (presumed to have broken through a snow bridge) during the same period in 1996. I think it's important to note that Mammoth recorded 'only' 321" inches for the '95-96 season. This year is 616" so far - in fact, Mammoth is planning on staying open through August.

So, there's that to consider as well. And, conservatively, since both Arrow and White have the same N/S orientation, they may also present similar challenges & difficulties.

As for me, I'm heading up Taboose Wed 7/26, check in @ Bench Thurs 7/27 to see if anyone is there, then head out over Pinchot & down Sawmill the next two days.

We now have 3 alternates. The blue denotes primary plan A, green indicates alternate paths depending on what we encounter (Plan B), black shows Plan C and Plan D is that little red dotted line (JMT).

https://caltopo.com/m/A0GD

Jimr, for what it's worth, I'll be at Bench Lake whether the meetup happens or not. I'm entering over Taboose on Sunday July 23rd. My plan is to basecamp in Upper Basin and bag peaks for a few days. On Thursday I'll traverse over to Bench Lake and hopefully see some friendly faces.