R03 TR: Ediza-Minaret Loop 7/23-7/25 2016
Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2016 3:10 pm
My wife and I just did the Ediza-Minaret Loop on July 23-25. I have been wanting to do this loop for a long time, but never got around to it for some reason. I came across a permit due to a cancellation and decided to finally make the trek. I have done many trips out of the Red's/Devil's area, but have never made it to any of these lakes. I knew from the pictures online that this trip was going to be a good one, but it was even better than I expected.
Day 1:
We drove down to Agnew Meadows at 6:30 am so we could actually park at the trailhead. This is not only more convenient, but cheaper as well. We just sort of chilled and ate breakfast at the trailhead for a couple hours before we set off. At this point there was no real reason to rush for anything. Our route was River-Shadow-Ediza for this day. It took us 4 hours to get to Ediza and find our campsite, which was perched on the rocks overlooking the lake. We set up camp around 12:30pm and just relaxed for the remainder of the day.
Day 2:
Still in no real rush to get anywhere quick, we slowly ate, packed, and planned the rest of our day. We set out towards Iceberg Lake at around 9:00am not really knowing what was ahead. We just knew it was going to be beautiful! Iceberg was just that, amazingly beautiful. I think next time I head up, I'll camp here instead of Ediza.
We hadn't really looked too much into the route, but I had a general idea of what it looked like. One very important thing I did't know was the snow field we would have to cross along the Iceberg Traverse. It wasn't a big section, but a fall would have surely resulted in injury or worse. The entire snow field was maybe 40 yards long, which I now know is much smaller than it should be when compared to pre-2012 years. If it had looked like pictures I've seen from 2011 we would have surely turned around. We discussed the risks, tested our footing, and made our way across, digging in each footstep and using 3 points of contact at all times. We had no special gear other than trekking poles, so it was a fairly slow process. If anyone else is considering doing it soon, I'd say to wait until the afternoon sun hits it and consider at the least having microspikes. I don't feel an ice axe and crampons would be needed as long as you STAY LOW on the slope. The crampons and axe wouldn't hurt if you have them, know how to use them, and are willing to carry the weight. If you plan to traverse high, then the crampons and axe would be highly recommended. This was the only snow we had to negotiate along the route.
We slowly made our way up and over to Cecile, which ended up being another marvelous place! Once we got to the other end of Cecile, which I feel like took forever, we had a little trouble finding the route down to Minaret. I didn't realize it until I got home, but we actually ended up taking the wrong route down. Instead of taking the use trail down, because we lost it, we ended up taking Minaret Creek down. I actually really enjoyed this route and this is probably the way I will go in the future. From Ediza to Minaret took us about 4 hours, but I feel like it could be done much quicker now that I know the route. We spent the rest of the day eating, taking pictures, and relaxing.
Day 3:
It was our last day, so we slept in and took our time packing up before we headed out on the long, hot, dusty trail to Devil's Postpile.
This was an amazing trip, with short mileage and beautiful scenery the entire time. If you haven't done it, I highly recommend it. I'm not sure why it took me so long to go on this trip, but I'll be heading back in September to do it again with a couple friends. That's how much I liked it!
Day 1:
We drove down to Agnew Meadows at 6:30 am so we could actually park at the trailhead. This is not only more convenient, but cheaper as well. We just sort of chilled and ate breakfast at the trailhead for a couple hours before we set off. At this point there was no real reason to rush for anything. Our route was River-Shadow-Ediza for this day. It took us 4 hours to get to Ediza and find our campsite, which was perched on the rocks overlooking the lake. We set up camp around 12:30pm and just relaxed for the remainder of the day.
Still in no real rush to get anywhere quick, we slowly ate, packed, and planned the rest of our day. We set out towards Iceberg Lake at around 9:00am not really knowing what was ahead. We just knew it was going to be beautiful! Iceberg was just that, amazingly beautiful. I think next time I head up, I'll camp here instead of Ediza.
We hadn't really looked too much into the route, but I had a general idea of what it looked like. One very important thing I did't know was the snow field we would have to cross along the Iceberg Traverse. It wasn't a big section, but a fall would have surely resulted in injury or worse. The entire snow field was maybe 40 yards long, which I now know is much smaller than it should be when compared to pre-2012 years. If it had looked like pictures I've seen from 2011 we would have surely turned around. We discussed the risks, tested our footing, and made our way across, digging in each footstep and using 3 points of contact at all times. We had no special gear other than trekking poles, so it was a fairly slow process. If anyone else is considering doing it soon, I'd say to wait until the afternoon sun hits it and consider at the least having microspikes. I don't feel an ice axe and crampons would be needed as long as you STAY LOW on the slope. The crampons and axe wouldn't hurt if you have them, know how to use them, and are willing to carry the weight. If you plan to traverse high, then the crampons and axe would be highly recommended. This was the only snow we had to negotiate along the route.
We slowly made our way up and over to Cecile, which ended up being another marvelous place! Once we got to the other end of Cecile, which I feel like took forever, we had a little trouble finding the route down to Minaret. I didn't realize it until I got home, but we actually ended up taking the wrong route down. Instead of taking the use trail down, because we lost it, we ended up taking Minaret Creek down. I actually really enjoyed this route and this is probably the way I will go in the future. From Ediza to Minaret took us about 4 hours, but I feel like it could be done much quicker now that I know the route. We spent the rest of the day eating, taking pictures, and relaxing.
It was our last day, so we slept in and took our time packing up before we headed out on the long, hot, dusty trail to Devil's Postpile.
This was an amazing trip, with short mileage and beautiful scenery the entire time. If you haven't done it, I highly recommend it. I'm not sure why it took me so long to go on this trip, but I'll be heading back in September to do it again with a couple friends. That's how much I liked it!
I'm also experienced with these type of routes and I took my wife, who is not experienced, on this trip. She did just fine, but she's pretty tough! I'd say it's a judgement call when you get there. See how it looks and see how the rest of your group feels about it. I'd imagine that most of the snow would be gone by September, but I could be wrong. This is my first year here and I don't really know the nature of the snow throughout the summer. The traverse is in the shade for a good part of the day, so I could see it sticking around all summer. Hope this helps.