R04/R01/R03 TR: Adventures With Rogue Photonic 2015 July 3-August 19

[RoguePhotonic]

I still laugh at being on Columbine Peak on the diving board with Larry too afraid to look at me telling Derek "make him come down". Then me jumping in the air while everyone shouted AHHH!!!! I almost was loosing my balance from laughing.

[Wandering Daisy]

"Light on Palisade after storm" is a GREAT photo! I climbed the Le Conte Route in 2005. Your photos bring back memories. We had ropes with us so we rappelled the class 3-4 stuff. I would not have enjoyed down-climbing it! Barrett Basin is one of my favorite spots in the Sierra.

[alpinemike]

" I climbed the Le Conte Route in 2005. Your photos bring back memories. We had ropes with us so we rappelled the class 3-4 stuff. I would not have enjoyed down-climbing it!

The Class 4 doesn't really worry me too much anymore.. But what were the chockstones like? That's our biggest concern..

[alpinemike]

Sorry about the delay but here's Week 4... Beginning where I left off at the very remote lake below Norman Clyde Peak.

Day 22- July 24- Climb Norman Clyde Peak
The night was extremely wet & quite cold & the sun didn’t rise over the crest until after 8. We finally set out to climb Norman Clyde. Up & up we went until we reached a chute which we climbed for a ways until it branched & we hit hard & sketchy climbing. We quickly crossed over into the right chute & continued to make our way up good but technical Class 3 rock. We approached the top & crossed over some Class 4 slabs & made 1 slight wrong move & went up the Class 4 variation partway. It was quite fun & not too difficult but we found our route which was cairned all the way up. Once we topped out on the summit it was a cold but beautiful mostly clear day. Very few clouds were left in the Sierra. The views stretched from Ritter/Banner all the way to the Kaweahs! It was undoubtedly a beautiful major peak with excellent climbing. I paid homage to Norman himself in my register entry. The way down was fairly straightforward & by 4:20 we were back in camp. Unfortunately there was no service on the peak to obtain a weather report for the coming days. Forgot to mention that the previous day while looking for a place to do my business I discovered an entire galvanized garbage can! I was very creeped out at first by it thinking that there might be something very unpleasant in it. Funny how my mind seems to make up quite the imaginative story for it. Rogue & I found it to be a cache for supplies ranging from food to tent to stove from 1984!! The person was out to do the Palisades Traverse. He never picked it back up, which made me think he might have died. Little did we know but in a few days we would find out more of this story! That evening went by with a good dinner & the prospect of climbing over Cirque & Scimitar Passes to Finger Lake was not good. We seemed to think it would be nice to relax at the lake below Cirque we had passed 2 prior.

Sustained Class 3 climbing with varying levels of difficulty in the central chute up to Norman Clyde Peak.
@ Rogue Photonic

Me climbing down and off the Class 4 Variation. Definitely a difficult climbing spot.
@ Rogue Photonic

What a beautiful peak from all sides.. Definitely a worthy peak for the legend himself.
@ Rogue Photonic

Such a grand view of the Palisade Lakes an all the sub-ranges in the Sierra including the Kaweah's! You can also see our super remote lake high above the Palisade Lakes. Middle Palisade rises like a true monarch with it's knife-edge fin to the left.
@ Rogue Photonic

Day 23- July 25- Lake 11,870 (Below Normal Clyde Peak) to Lake 11,676 (Below Scimitar Pass)
Today we traversed around the hillside & up to Cirque Pass which was a walk in the park compared to Chimney. What was amazing is that Secor lists Chimney as Class 2 & easier than Cirque. It appeared as there was no other way to cross the entire ridge so Secor must be out of his mind as usual. We joked around & figured to make a TV series titled “Death By Secor”… A good joke but a sad truth that his ratings & descriptions lead us among many to doom. And so we made our way down to the lake below Scimitar Pass & enjoyed relaxing the rest of the day. Several parties went by. One that was doing the PCT but had departed to do a part of the SHR. He & his buddy made their way from Cartridge Pass all the way down the to bottom & up to Mather & down to the Palisade Lakes & over Cirque & were trying to get over Thunderbolt that day!! Insane to think of how far that is. But, given that he was finishing the PCT as the last of the Triple Crown it's not as surprising that he would be one to be able to pull a day like that. The previous night at Norman Clyde Lake was very cold… 34oF or so. Hoping that tonight would be much warmer considering it was the end of July and not early June!

Such a nice view before heading up Cirque Pass. We'll be traveling through here this year en route to do the Muro Blanco.
@ Rogue Photonic

This was a really nice camp albeit there was no shade... A common theme among almost every campsite on this section. Treeless and barren the Palisades section was definitely living up to the reputation we thought it would have. Palisade Crest looms in the back.
@ Rogue Photonic

[alpinemike]

Day 24- July 26- Lake 11,676 (Below Scimitar Pass) to Elinore Lake
Fortunately the night was warmer and today we made our way up Scimitar Pass. It was long but not technical & we finally reached the top around lunch time. It was over 13,200 FT which made it the highest cross-country I’d ever done & even Rogue as well! The view was spectacular looking toward the Palisade Crest glacier along with the Norman Clyde glacier. I finally got some service & checked my email only to see annoying news about my job for my boss Ken. Hopefully that gets resolved…since I was able to send a reply. The pass itself is a ridge crossing right below Palisade Crest. Rogue decided not to attempt it & the Class 4 face definitely looked exposed & technical. We started to make our way down the pass amid annoying large loose rocks. Many of which shifted as we walked on them. The glacier was exposing loose, awful rock and was my no means friendly to passing hikers. We finally reached the glacier & tromped on the lower edge. It was a fantastic & epic experience to be on a glacier in the Sierra! The misery of rock soon began again though after we tasted some delicious water flowing directly out of the glacier. The rock was horrible & loose & essentially a minefield. Any step could be your last. And boy could my statement have ever been more true after what we were about to discover. It was getting later & later & we could tell that getting to Finger Lake would be quite a challenge. We saw a group of 2 day hikers climbing up the massive moraine pile. As we made our way down ever so carefully & slowly we spotted a third person below without a pack on. He seemed as though he was looking for something. We come to find out that he suffered a fall several feet above & tumbled down & had quite a few cuts! He didn’t look too injured; clearly, he was very lucky since his pack likely saved him. But he had 2 gashes above his ankle that were bad (deep) & clearly needed stitches. He asked for some first aid items & soon we started chatting. His name was Eric and he’s been climbing in the Sierra for years… (around 22) starting from when he did the JMT in 93, when he turned 21! He’s done quite a few awesome traverses & told of his tales of incredible experiences on peaks running away from storms. One particular story that I remember vividly months afterwards as I write this entry was when he was on Middle Palisade free soloing a route he hadn't planned on. As he crested the ridge-top he noticed something peculiar, weld marks from the rock being struck by lightning only moments beforehand! What an experience to be scurrying off that ridge. As we chatted more we found out he’s lived in Tahoe & Mammoth & has done quite a few cross country winter ski trips. We talked some more & told him of the garbage can at the lake below Norman Clyde & he said he’s seen it as well about 10 years ago! He even contacted the guy & found out he’s alive & well & lives in Oregon. What a crazy story & coincidence to find out the full story of the cache. It is truly remarkable to meet someone who has seen that trashcan considering it may have only been seen by a handful of people in the 31 years that it's been there. And not only to meet someone who's seen it but also to have a more complete story about the whereabouts of the person who left it is just extraordinary. Eric was planning to cross Scimitar Pass en route to go over Black Divide Crossing and into Ionian Basin just as Rogue and I had done about a week or so before! Another remarkable coincidence. We all started to descend toward Elinore Lake where we made camp for the night. While hiking I found out he graduated from Berkeley in 93! Always a trip to meet Berkeley grads that are mountaineers. The reason why that's striking to me is because in the early days of Mountaineering in California many of the most prominent mountaineers had some affiliation to the University. I believe it as not only an honor that I got to go there but also somewhat fated since I hope to be a mountaineer specifically for California peaks for my years to come. He asked me if knew Ben Hatchet & I realized I did since he’s one of the instructors at LTCC, which was the community college I went to South Lake Tahoe. What’s even crazier is while at camp I showed him my film camera & he said that he inherited the 645 from his best friend who unfortunately just committed suicide. This friend was very into photography & set up his own darkroom & was very into the weather! What crazy parallels between myself since I have also set up my own darkroom and just received my degree in Atmospheric Science. Eric told us many stories amid a very late dinner & we all were very grateful for getting off the pass in 1 piece. It was a nasty pass that was excruciatingly long, tedious, quite dangerous. One that Rogue & I know we’ll never be crossing again. Elinore Lake was pretty & finally we had trees which was a sight to see after all the desolate camping we had on the entirety of the section prior. Unfortunately the water was bad (filled with copopods and water fleas) so I busted out the filter for the first time. After chatting some more we all went to sleep amid very strong winds which continued through the night.

What a majestic view of the un named glacier below Palisade Crest and Norman Clyde Glacier along with Norman Clyde Peak.
@ Rogue Photonic

Walking on this dirty and rock filled glacier was definitely an experience to remember. It was a nice break from all the rock before and all the horrible rock to come.
@ Rogue Photonic

Pretty Elinore Lake along with Mt. Alice and Temple Crag in the background. Still a lot of rock to go..
@ Rogue Photonic

Day 25- July 27- Elinore Lake to 2nd Big Pine Lake
The wind was extremely annoying and I didn’t get a good sleep. That day coming to Elinore I finally got enough service to get a weather report. The outlook looked okay and then turned unfortunately bleak. Within about 4 days thunderstorms would most likely be making a comeback. More rain is on the way! Up to that day we had several days of crystal clear skies with not a cloud in the sky. This morning we faced the unfortunate truth. We weren’t going to climb Middle Palisade. We decided to head straight for Contact Pass & out to the 2nd Big Pine Lake. Eric was suffering from minor pulmonary edema which he says has happened many times before. His wound was no longer bleeding but his back was aching him. He said he should be just fine making it out to his truck at the TH. We told him who to look for on HST & since he lives in SF I’m hoping to get in contact with him after the summer. And so we said our goodbyes & made our way up to Contact Pass, which was a nasty slog toward the top with plenty of sand. Rogue had the brilliant idea to climb Temple Crag the next day since we had an extra day to spare. As looked up Temple Crag we certainly could not see any obvious route up but figured when we tried we would find it. So we descended another nasty & horrible pass… Contact Pass. The top had a nice use trail through the steepest section. Then a massive horrible moraine field we faced. This went on and on until we were almost off of it when one of the many loose & nasty boulders started sliding while I was on it. I couldn’t control the slide so I started diving head first! My hands stopped me from face planting. I fortunately suffered no injury but breaking my scab on my knee from my fall 3 weeks ago. It bleed for a while & fortunately stopped quick enough. To think… we needed to make our way back up this damn pass again! Eventually we got to right above the 2nd Lake and had to face an extremely annoying shoreline. We were quite tired because of the annoying terrain. Dinner was extra satisfying. Our camp overlooked the lake on a knoll which had a superb view of Temple Crag.

Early morning view from Elinore Lake to Norman Clyde Peak and Palisade Crest.
@ Rogue Photonic

The annoying slog up Contact Pass in the hot midday sun of a July day.
@ Rogue Photonic

The lovely North side of Contact Pass... Just look at all that loose fun rock just waiting to let you have a nice tumble.
@ Rogue Photonic

Now this was truly was a magnificent lake... North Palisade is barely visible to the right of Temple Crag with the glacier clinging to its' slope.
@ Rogue Photonic

Day 26- July 28- Touring Big Pine Lakes
We had a good sleep with constant moonlight. We explored all the lakes in the basin today. It was a very easy leisurely stroll around the basin. We had lunch at the 7th lake and enjoyed the fine views from each lake that were very varied. Soon we were back at camp not looking forward to our unfortunate predicament of having to climb Contact Pass... again.

The awesome view from Fifth Lake. 2 Eagle Peak is front and center.
@ Rogue Photonic

The most exceptional view for the Palisades from Summit Lake... Stretching from Temple Crag to Thunderbolt. Palisade Glacier is not fully visible but clearly it's a formidable piece of snow/ice to traverse through.
@ Rogue Photonic

[alpinemike]

Day 27- July 29- Climb Temple Crag
We climbed back up Temple Crag… er Contact Pass & then Temple Crag. We were very confused about the route up the chute since we couldn’t find any. Eventually we cut into an obvious chute & made our way up to the top. None of the climbing was difficult. Most of it was fairly tame Class 3. The top offered some fine knife edge Class 3 climbing that was quite exposed but none the less straightforward. Lots of parties came up the peak via long and classic climbing routes such as Venusian Blind Arete and Sun Ribbon Arete. We made it back down & once again over nasty Contact Pass. It was a good long climb. Lots of clouds started to build that evening so weather was most definitely coming. Only 4 more days and we'd be back at Parcher's or so we thought...

The majestic view from Temple rag featuring Norman Clyde Peak, glaciers and the Palisade Crest along with Scimitar Pass which is right up there on the crest itself.
@ Rogue Photonic

Day 28- July 30- 2nd Big Pine Lake to Baker Creek
Today we made an unexpected detour to Glacier Lodge. The thought of good food was just too much to pass up especially given all of the hard terrain and the steep hillside ahead of us. There we feasted on burgers & nacho chili cheese chips w/ more chips. After enjoying good Wi-Fi there for quite a while we started back up quite late as it was after 2. That is when the weather turned. A little rain fell at first but it soon turned into blown thunderstorm. Lightning was flashing directly overhead as the heavens let loose their mighty rain & hail. One lightning/thunder strike was so loud that Rogue jumped in front of me from the insane shock wave. The full power of the storm was directly above us. Instantly we were in a deluge where our trail was now a complete creek. Our shoes were instantly soaked & since we had no shell on we were soaked. This was one of the most intense and ferocious thunderstorms I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing outside and being in it! It lasted for no more than 7-10 minutes but afterwards continued a usual light rain for hours. We trudged further & further uphill realizing that we wouldn’t make it to Thunder & Lightning Lake that day. The hillside before Logging Flat was steep but offered pleasant views of the Palisades. Eventually we reached the top & were in Coyote Flat. We trudged some more amid light rain until we found our trail that went up the drainage. Here we entered a strange & eerie place with cow **** everywhere. We both seemed to hear sounds and saw bones in lots of places. We both knew the place was giving us the creeps but we had no choice but to finally make camp. It was without a doubt one of the weirdest and oddest places Rogue and I had ever been in in the entire Sierra. Most definitely a spot neither of us wished to ever come back to. We couldn’t make Baker Lake so we set up in a grove of trees & wanted to build a fire to at least dry out our boots but sure as hell & high water it started raining hard again as soon as we were setting up our tents. I didn’t bother to cook dinner & ate Doritos Tapatio chips along with more snacks.

The majestic view up the South Fork of Big Pine Creek with Norman Clyde Peak and Middle Palisade looming in the background from the hillside below Logging Flat. Storms a brewing!
@ Rogue Photonic

What an awesome view of Mother Nature letting down her full fury upon the land. Here you get a full view of the Palisades from The Thumb all the way to Mt. Agassiz. And it just kept on raining..
@ Rogue Photonic

So ends Week 4... What a section it was with so many changes to our planned itinerary. And to end it in the eeriest of places that was most unwelcoming. But alas brighter days were ahead but not without troubles of their own.

[RoguePhotonic]

Yeah that was quite the experience in Baker Creek. Soaked sloshing boots. Still raining as we set up and woke up in the morning. No good camp sites to be found anywhere and strange sounds coming from the forest that I have never heard before. At least I had a family size bag of ruffles to keep me company with dinner.

[alpinemike]

Without further ado.. Week 5. Only 2 more weeks to go after this one! Where we left off in Baker Creek...

Day 29- July 31- Baker Creek to Parchers Resort
It rained constantly throughout the night especially at 4 A.M. & around 7 A.M. And of course it was raining as we were packing up our gear in the morning. We agreed we’re bailing off to Parchers a day early since we couldn’t climb peaks (Cloudripper) in this weather or the condition of our wet boots. And so, we trudged up the final pass of the section & had lunch amid clearing skies. Rogue named it Bland Pass for it truly was very bland. It was a large plateau which had decent views to the North but overall not dramatic. We descended to Green & Brown Lakes & started to see day hikers. Finally we would be done with this hard ass **** section that just wouldn’t let up. We made it to Parchers sometime in the early afternoon & it didn’t take long until it started to rain hard... again. We concocted the plan of staying in the hiker cabin for a night to let everything dry out but alas they were all full! Oh… how I dreaded wet boots again but fortunately some sun came out later that day & dried out our tents. Never hurts when mother nature can at least provide some silver lining. At Parchers we met a guy trying to speed hike the JMT, but he was getting lung problems from all the dust on the trail so he had to quit. He was literally pulling 65-70 Miles/Day. I'm still trying to fathom that kind of speed to this day. We had dinner back at our Parchers camp.

Bland Pass
@ Rogue Photonic

Green Lake from above. I'm sure not many people come to look at it from this perspective since this trail is pretty remote.
@ Rogue Photonic

Day 30- August 1- Layover
August 1st.. which means 1 month in the Sierra complete! We took care of showering & what not & had a small breakfast before we feasted at Bishop Creek Lodge for lunch. We walked the entire way there and made it after lunch. We had a glorious and stuffed lunch complete wtih 2 Pizzas & chili-cheese fires & we made our ridiculous concoction of chili-cheese fries on top of the Pizza. I had a few drinks as well. Then we relaxed on the porch for quite a while until we hit up the Bar again. There got to chat with one of the bartenders. I taught her how to make some drinks and even got a free drink. Finally, dinner time rolled around & the Parchers crew started to roll in. Later in the afternoon the storms started complete with Thunder & Lightning & lots of rain. I called my parents and told them I'd call again before leaving. We ate our leftovers for dinner & then Jared was able to take us back to Parchers. There it rained at night while we were falling asleep.

When you eat real good food once every couple weeks... You make it into something quite ridiculous.

Day 31- August 2- Layover
Since we had an extra day we had another layover day which is basically an excuse to eat more good food... and that's exactly what we did. We ate a small breakfast and even got some leftovers from Parchers like French Toast & Cinnamon Rolls. We proceed to sort through all of our food. My salami had gone bad as I suspected & so did my tortillas which was very surprising. Thus, I replaced the salami w/turkey pepperoni & some of Rogue’s greasy pepperoni (the greasy pepperoni would not be lasting for long for obvious reasons). I was able to buy tortillas at Parchers. My cheese was still okay though, which was impressive considered it hadn't been refrigerated. Wrapping it in vinegar soaked cheese cloth does the trick no doubt. We were able to hitch most of the way back to Bishop Creek Lodge. There we had chicken sandwiches with waffle fries. I felt very stuffed even though I didn’t even finish it. We sat on the porch again until we hit up the bar. The other bartender was there & we chatted with her for the night. I had a few drinks & then the Parchers crew came around again & we had our dinner. I finished my lunch, had a salad & had a few slices of Pizza that Rogue ordered. The bartender made me a drink of her choosing & she made me a peach & cranberry tropical vodka drink for free! It sure was nice enjoying a few refreshing drinks before the toils soon began the following day. I know I’ll be coming back here for sure. One of the people from Parchers gave us a ride back as we had to say goodbye to delicious South Lake Pizza, Waffle Fries & bartenders.

Day 32- August 3- Parchers to Lower Dusy Branch
Today we started what would be my final big section. We had our last good meal… Breakfast and then got a ride to the TH. There we trudged & trudged up Bishop Pass passing plenty of people. The pack was ungodly heavy & I was hurting and finally vowed no more film camera gear on long hikes. It's not worth it or practical to carry an extra 7 pounds of gear for 70 days to take 50 photos. We made it over the pass in decent time & made camp at the horse camp on the Dusy Branch. We had a grand fire there, which was our first in practically a month, since the last was at Hutchinson Meadow.

Day 33- August 4- Lower Dusy Branch to Lake 10,565
Today, we made the trudge down to Le Conte Canyon. I've been on that stretch of trail maybe 7 times now and Rogue I think has been on it like 12. Needless to say the beauty is always there but the pounding on the feet never seems to get easier. We stopped at the Ranger station only to find Dina gone. We left her a note saying we missed her and told her about the trash can that we found at Norman Clyde Lake. On we trudged through Le Conte to Grouse Meadow for lunch. But the sky had turned bleak with smoke inundating the canyon & everything around. Little did we know that this would be the start of the worst fire in the central sierra in recorded history... The Rough Fire. We had a hell of a time up Adventurer Pass & didn’t even make it to Lake 10,565 until after 6:30. Fortunately the smoke cleared out mostly & we had a very nice evening albeit dinner was late. Yep… going up that pass was one of the hardest days backpacking I’ve ever had. 13 days of food & 10 pounds of camera gear. Unfortunately the lighting was good for some B/W but I was too tired to start anything. That night we played with some night shots of the Milky Way.

Milky Way... Ahhhh
@ Rogue Photonic

[alpinemike]

Day 34- August 5- Climb Peak 11,290
The first day at 10,565 we went to climb the peak above Adventurer Pass. Naturally we found ourselves climbing unnecessary technical Class 5 terrain for quite a ways. Once we obtained the ridge though it got a bit easier. Soon we reached the summit & to our dismay the Smatko register & paper was gone. His film canister remained but the first ascent paper was gone & all that remained was an ascent made in August 2012 by Chris Libby of Mammoth Lakes. Clearly something was up & I would be talking to Libby about these matters. We got back to camp disappointed & early. We enjoyed swimming in the lake amid wonderful temperate water. Unfortunately the weather got hazy & smoky but cleared out for an amazing red/orange sunset.

A fine peak.. The summit is actually in the middle.
@ Rogue Photonic

Oh just you know... Your average Class 5 we do because we're too lazy to go around haha.
@ Rogue Photonic

Magnificent view of the Palisades from the summit.
@ Rogue Photonic

Looking towards the Black Divide.. the area we had traveled last year.
@ Rogue Photonic

Beard was getting long...

Witness... Fire in the sky!

Day 35- August 6- Climb Peak 11,738
Today we climbed the peak above 10,565 on the North side. Naturally, we of course took the worst ascent & descent routes on it. The East ridge was a mess of Class 4/5 that we traversed up. Unfortunately we did no other peak because the terrain was not allowing it. Another year and another failure for me to summit Shakespeare . We eventually made the summit around lunch. The final push was only Class 3. The original Smatko register was there unfortunately it was barely legible & badly water damaged. We put our register up & concluded that we were fairly certain to be 2nd Ascent. We descended the West ridge for a ways until we entered a chute. The views on top were quite nice down the Middle Fork & into Le Conte. The clouds were building though in a hazy layer & did not look to be thunderheads. Strange weather indeed. In the chute we descended to a chockstone that we couldn’t cross & thus the climbing began. We continued to edge along the face of cliffs performing numerous Class 5 moves. I descended a challenging Class 5 crack while Rogue continued up to a point of no return where he said it was the most nervous he’s been in several years. He yelled at me later saying that he didn't think he was going to make it. Eventually we came to the crux where we descended down a final outcrop of rock that had our nerves stand on end. I honestly don't really remember how we did that part.. After much toil, lots and lots of cursing & heart pounding we made it down to easy terrain to camp. We both joked & said we should take the next day off. Smoke & more clouds greeted us this evening. Right before bed though, we saw flashes of lightning to the west and toward the Black Divide.

The nasty Class 4/5 East ridge.

There it is... The Rouge Fire about to wreck havoc on 150+ thousand acres.

A very different and likely only twice scene view of Lake 10,565.

Week 6 coming up.. Where we continue to explore remote areas and climb unnamed peaks.

[alpinemike]

Well.. Time for Week 6. My last full week with Rogue. From 10,565 we made it to Horseshoe Lakes. I now have all my photos for this week. Let's begin...

Day 36- August 7- Layover at Lake 10,565
This morning we awoke to semi cloudy skies & decided to be lazy all day & thus climbed nothing. Thunderheads built strong in the morning amid a strong West wind. It is not clear to me whether more weather is moving in or not. Very odd indeed. At least the smoke today has been kept at bay. From what we can see there is a fire somewhere Northwest of the Middle Fork up by Tehipite. Tomorrow we venture back to Island bird Lake exactly 1 year ago on the same day as last year. What an interesting unplanned coincidence.

I love this area... And I really like sun flare.

Evening light on one of my favorite lakes.. period.

Day 37- August 8- Lake 10,565 to Island Bird Lake
Today we trekked to Island Bird lake. My second time and Rogue's 3rd. We took a different chute up to the lake that was actually a better route. We enjoyed lunch in the valley at the bottom as we did last year. Unfortunately the smoke came in & ruined the view completely. Thus, I started referring to Island Bird as ‘just another **** hole’. Obviously this was a joke but when smoke rolled in it was no better than anywhere else with a ton of smoke. We took a lovely swim in the lake & I ventured onto the island. The water was fantastic & the experience marvelous. We were able to use our old campsite. Lots of clouds build & indicated thunderstorms but nothing came of it.

Day 38- August 9- Climb Peak 11,988
Today unlike last year we achieved success on the peak. We followed the ridge to what was the lower false summit. It was knife edge & consistently Class 3-4. We got to the summit amid decent conditions of smoke free skies and discovered a large cairn & found to our great dismay a smashed metal film can. Once again no old register! We found another film can and none other than Chris Libby from 10 years was there. He mentioned the Smatko register as being destroyed but our suspicion was great. We watched a massive smoke plume rise 10’s of thousands of feet into the air. It was an incredibly impressive sight. We left the false summit amid worsening smoke conditions. The final ridge climb was a compete knife-edge with multiple Class 4 moves. We reached the summit to find another Chris Libby register. We descended a nasty and loose chute soon thereafter. The smoke came in very hard and fast & truly made the entire way back disgusting. We enjoyed another swim when we got back. The smoke was strong, thick, made everything orange and I really don't like the color orange. I was pissed as not only was the smoke destroying the beautiful view but we also failed to see a good register.

The epic plume from the Rough Fire.

One of my favorite photos that Rogue has taken of me.. Shows the type of climb this peak entailed.
@ Rogue Photonic

Day 39- August 10- Island Bird Lake to Lake 10,565
Today we decided to head back to 10,565 since we already did a layover day. The day was uneventful. It was a hot & awful smoke infested climb back up here. The smoke didn’t really clear until almost 9 PM.

How could this view ever get old.

Day 40- August 11- Climb Peak 12,185
Alas today we managed to climb the lower of the 2 highest peaks above the lake. The climb was technically easy except for 1 Class 5 face above a lake we did… which wasn’t too bad. And of course what should we find on the summit but another Chris Libby register & no Smatko. So disappointing and extremely mysterious. We looked across to the more technical & impressive peak & saw an extremely difficult ridge that looked either impossible or Class 5. So, we abandoned climbing it and thus returned to camp amid more smoke which now has inundated the area again. Fortunately not as bad as yesterday. And so ends our unnamed peak bagging for this section. Not a single good register! Such nonsense. Looks as though the weather is to remain clear for quite a while as clouds barely have built. Tonight marks the final night at 10,565 of the trip. We spent 6 night here.. More than anywhere else I’ve ever stayed.

As Rogue says.. We just can't be bother to go around Class 5.
@ Rogue Photonic

The awesome view into the Dumbbell Lakes basin from the top of Peak 12,185.

Why are we on Mars...