High Sierra Topix

Bear Ridge TH > JMT > Hilgard Branch > Lake Italy > Dancing Bear Pass > Big Bear Lake > Vee Lake > Seven Gables > East Fork Bear Creek > JMT > Bear Ridge TH

As the snow piled up earlier this year, our group of regulars decided to take a “wait and see” approach to this year’s annual trip. It was decided we’d postpone our plans for a long trans-sierra trip and try for a west side entrance and loop. Bear Lakes Basin, a destination that had been on our “to do” list for many years was the target.

Day 1:
After spending the night at Huntington Lake, we drove over Kaiser Pass early on the 26th and were on Bear Ridge Trail by 8:30. The trail is a good climb, but this wet year gifted us with some amazing wildflowers as we travelled the ridge. The flowers came with bugs, so we appreciated them quickly and kept moving. We reached the JMT by mid-day, and after a brief lunch stop along Bear Creek (which is still very high), we continued up the Hilgard Branch. I encountered a lone hiker who was headed up to Lake Italy. We camped at about 9600' in an area where the creek widens to a shallow channel next to a lovely meadow. There are pads on an elevated area to the north of the meadow. I pulled out a few tiny Golden Trout. The bugs were present, but the wind helped. Head nets did come out in the evening.
Day 2:
After breakfast we continued up the Hilgard Branch. The bugs were thick early on, but dissipated as we climbed above the tree line. We occasionally lost the trail and many areas were very wet, but as we climbed we were rewarded with some stunning beauty. We stopped for lunch just below Lake Italy where the granite opens up and the creek spills across it before channeling down into a deep gorge. Then we climbed up to Lake Italy after the creek crossing. Clouds had started to form and we again talked to the lone hiker I saw the day earlier. He had some luck fishing the lake. We crossed some snow fields and found a small campsite just before the inlet from Jumble Lake. The local marmot was bold and we chased him off all evening. We enjoyed the light across Mt. Abbot, Mt. Dade, and Bear Creek Spire.
Day 3:
Today was the big day. The plan was for three of us to head out early, summit Gabb, and then return and the group would then head over Dancing Bear Pass into the Bear Lakes Basin. We climbed around the infamous south side of the lake, crossing both snow and talus. It was after the first large talus moraine that we encountered a snow tongue with a 15-20’ cornice. We had spikes, but not axes or ropes. We decided to climb up and see if we could get around the cornice on the talus field above and then cross another large patch of steep snow. It became too risky. The talus above was loose and I did not like the angle of the slope crossing the snow. Besides that, the detour was eating our time. We decided it was too risky and we weren’t properly geared. We turned around and headed back to camp. For those keeping score, that’s Gabb 2 - Me 0.

That turned out to be a very good decision. We started up to Jumble Lake and could see our line up to Dancing Bear Pass. We would be climbing across more snow and talus, with one spot that looked a bit dicey. We took a line on the south side of the lake. Most of the climb was straight forward, but demanding. The snow had softened enough to get a good foot hold. Sure enough the one spot I was worried about delivered. We crossed a very step snow field with a few hunks of talus sticking through. It required one exposed crossing where I slipped two steps from a granite bench. That got my heart racing. We all made the crossing safely, but it was scary. After a short break, we continued up the snow and the slope gradually flattened and we were on top of the pass. It was covered with snow all the way until the edge of Bear Lakes Basin. The view is everything that’s been written about it—from our perch we could see Feather Peak, Gemini, Seven Gables, and the basin stretching out before us. There was still a lot of snow, but it was amazing. I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier on a backpacking trip.

We made our way down, exploring as we went. Our group archaeologist found part of an obsidian point as we descended. White Bear Lake and Black Bear Lake both were still mostly covered in ice with snow around the shores. We made our way down the chute north of Big Bear Lake and came around the corner to that wonderful campsite on the northern peninsula. What a place. It’s definitely one of the top two campsites I’ve seen. (The other being Darwin Bench.) We fished with little luck, enjoyed the evening light across Feather Peak.
...continued...

Day 4:
We awoke to a fresh layer of ice across Big Bear Lake. Today was to be a lazy day of exploration, so we navigated around the north side of Big Bear Lake to see the waterfalls coming down from Ursa Lake. Ursa still had a good amount of ice, but it was open near the outlet enough for me to scare the fish with two casts. We then headed SW to the notch above Vee Lake. Great viewpoint. Vee, Claw, and Tooth lakes all still had ice, although Vee showed more open water on its north side. We made our way down to Vee and I quickly started to fish the shore with no luck. As I stood there a Bald Eagle flew 20’ off my left shoulder and continued down the lake. We met another group of 3 heading up. We traded info and wished them well. We then headed down into the Seven Gables Lakes. Based on the advice of the group of 3 and a previous TR on this forum, we opted to stay on the East side of the creek and avoid crossings. We still had to swap out shoes to cross the outlet from Little Bear Lake as we went north of the small granite dome 10851. A bit more fishing and then we made our way down the talus fields on the north side of the East Fork. I travelled the same fields back in 2001 it was my first experience hiking across talus. Back then I thought it was one of the hardest things ever. Now, after a few trips that included some real beasts of talus crossings (Alpine Col for one) I can say that the talus on the East Fork is a pleasure. It’s mostly flat and stable. We camped in the trees at about 10k on the East Fork. It was very buggy, but it made for an easier day out.
Day 5:
Pretty straight forward day. 11.4 miles on the trail back to the car. Hilgard Branch still had a lot of water coming down and it required swapping shoes. I stopped counting people on the JMT after 30. We met a northbound JMT hiker from Florida, trail name Soggy Balls—very nice guy and very happy to be out there. After cleaning up in Huntington, we ate a lot of really good food at the Hungry Hut in Shaver.

I’ve been wanting to see the Bear Lakes Basin for years. It did not disappoint.

Fantastic report! Still amazed by all the snow travel you had to do at this time of year. And I can relate to the 'have pole, will travel'.

Great report with great photos. I've only been to the edge of this area (JMT along Bear Creek) and you are inspiring me to go back and explore more.
-Phil

Very Nice and inspiring report. We are going there in September. We re looking forward so much.

Re: Gabb, it surprised me that summit day on my trip two years ago took pretty much all day, even though we were camped at Lake Italy and the distance to the top is less than 3 miles. We also had no snow to deal with. The boulder-hopping on the south side of the lake and on the southern slopes of the peaks is not to be underestimated. It'd probably be an easier climb if it was all snow, but a mix of rock and snow would make for very slow going I would imagine, especially with any icy patches. Maybe third time is the charm for you on this mountain?

Great trip report and photos, thanks for sharing.