High Sierra Topix

A group of us were camping for a few nights in Humphreys Basin at Lower Desolation Lake and so my buddy and I decided to ditch the group and go hike up Four Gables. We took the trail up to Desolation Lake to where it peters out and just followed the east shore around and went up this gully from the NE corner of the lake, not heading around to the north shore. There was a Fish and Game camera on a rock up at the top but definitely not much sign of human traffic going up the gully. We headed up the inlet for Desolation Lake and first climbed the ridge to the West just above Steelhead Lake and the views did not disappoint. We got a very nice look at Merriam, Royce, Feather and French Canyon as well as Pilot Knob, French lake and Puppet Lake etc...Instead of traversing the ridge around we just dropped back north and east and then proceeded up Four Gables. It is a very easy walk up from the base of Four Gables, class 2 but lots of "paths" for you to take up. It doesn't seem to get a whole lot of traffic compared to other peaks but I did recognize a some names, as I am sure a lot of you will, that were there just a few days before us. We were racing clouds all day and it actually snowed on us for about 2 minutes while we were snapping photos and signing the register so we descended quickly and got out of there. All in all I am very glad we got to hike up this peak and I cannot wait to get back into the Humphreys Basin for some more exploration. FYI the mosquitos were out in full effect out at Lower Deso Lake! That headnet paid for itself.

Hey I was one of those people!

Nice TR! Love the labeling as well.

Gazelle wrote:Hey I was one of those people!

Ya, I thought that was you Gazelle. I cheated and started at 11,200' lol, makes it easier that way.

Hey, I'm one of those people too!

Thanks for that picture of French Lake and the smaller ones above it! My mom and I visited that uppermost lake (La Tete Lake) back in 2013 and I told her at the time that the mountain above us was Four Gables. I went to Four Gables as part of last year's Sierra Challenge as well (in fact, I'm pretty much responsible for us going there this year), and she keeps asking me if I could look down on those lakes. However, since I only went to the high points, I never got to see that view. It's nice to know that you can indeed see all the lakes, so if I am able to take her up to Four Gables someday, I will definitely make sure we make it over to that view point.

Matt

PS, Here's my video from that day this year:

https://vimeo.com/album/4738870/video/230602279

JB,

Great Post! Thanks for sharing!

Matt,

Great video! You need to post more often on HST!

Thanks,

-Russ

Hey Gazelle, looks like you're in the video as well ;-)

Thanks Russ,

I didn't really get to spend much time on the summits this year due to the incoming weather and also being behind the group. You can see more of the area (including the tunnel that everyone else missed this year) on my video from last year:

https://vimeo.com/album/4144693/video/185555795

I dragged along my big 4K camera that day, so I got some great shots of Desolation Lake.

Matt