https://caltopo.com/m/VH0J
Day 1
7.3 miles 3,283 ft. ascent, 675 ft. descent
After spending a short night in Mammoth, our crew of 5 attempted to grab the 8 am shuttle to Devil’s Postpile, but the crowds were thick and we had to wait for the next one. Once on the trail, we encountered a bit of smoke from the resurgent Lions Fire. However, upon reaching Beck Lakes, we seemed to be in a pocket between the smoke from the fires both south and west of us. Thunderheads threatened in the late afternoon, but never delivered a drop. We found a nice site on the north side of the lower lake. It’s a delightful area. Bugs were light if nonexistent.
Day 2
3.6 miles, 2,034 ft. ascent, 1,848 ft. descent
We set out to cross two passes this day and set ourselves up for a third the next morning. The hike up to Beck Lakes pass was absolutely beautiful. Above the upper Beck Lake the hillsides were green and covered with wildflowers. The route to the pass was obvious and easy, only the last stretch contained any talus worth mentioning. Upon crossing the pass, we were welcomed by the beauty of upper Iron Creek and the majesty of the Minarets. The spires stood as guardians above this valley. This area was lovely as well, with green patches of flowers and grass interspersed with stretches of easy navigable granite. As we followed the contour to McDonald Pass we found an old mining site. The climb up to McDonald Pass wasn’t tough, but the view on the other side was unwelcome. Small, loose, talus stretched out upon our intended route. While the close contact with the upper portions of the Minarets was amazing, our focus was on our intended route. Without knowing what we would encounter, we had hoped to follow a line toward the lakes on upper Dike Creek. We decided to make an attempt and head for a notch in the opposite ridge and see if it was passable on the other side. It wasn’t. That left us with no choice but to descend the talus field and find a way down the cliffy drainage and then back up the main branch of Dike Creek. Descending small, loose talus after a long day of hiking is a recipe for disaster. We aimed for a small patch of green containing a tiny creek. Once there, we called it a day. The Pika begrudgingly accepted our presence. We had a day to spare and could hopefully find our way in the morning. The smoke was thicker that night, making the sun blood red. Trapped below a field of evil talus and cliffs blocking our route below, we enjoyed our evening in Mordor.
- Above upper Beck Lake, headed to Beck Lakes Pass
- Ascending to Beck Lakes Pass
- Looking north from Beck Lakes Pass
- Upper Iron Creek drainage, looking up at Minarets
- Heading to McDonald Pass
- The view north from McDonald Pass
- One does not simply walk into the Minarets
Day 3
2.1 miles, 1,263 ft. ascent, 943 ft. descent
Our plan was to descend the drainage as it looked like the most promising route. We’d drop packs when necessary and scope the route to ensure we didn’t waste too much vertical should we need to climb our way out. Thankfully, that was only required once and we were able to establish a line back up the main branch of upper Dike Creek. Again, we were rewarded with spectacular beauty. Dike Creek has a branch that descends in a long line of falls on the north side of the valley. We climbed up granite and grassy ramps, finding our way up Dike Creek to the large lake below Ritter Pass. We reveled in the beauty of an area probably not seen by many. The archeologist in the crew found a couple sites and we scoured the ground for obsidian flakes. For a moment, we were connected across the centuries with those who saw this place well before us. We investigated our route for the next day and took in another smoky evening, this time much happier with our location. The Pika were a bit more accepting of us.
- Upper Dike Creek
- Upper Dike Creek
Day 4
4.1 miles, 2,317 ft. ascent, 2,375 ft. descent
Ritter Pass was our target this morning. We had hiked up the day before to look for the pass, but because of our aversion to loose talus, Secor’s brief description of “easy rocky slopes,” and my lack of proper research, we decided the pass must be higher and to the north of the rocky crags where the actual pass is located. We found ourselves obviously well above the pass and so began descending the top of the talus line until we came across the straight notch just north of the pass. I assumed this had to be the pass, and so we climbed up the precarious talus one by one and found ourselves atop the ridge line, north of the pass, with cliffs below. I tried finding a route down, but it became too dangerous. I climbed back up to the perch with the rest of the crew, dropped my pack, and started climbing up to the ridge line. Thankfully I found a relatively easy line (perhaps class 3) that dropped us right down on top of Ritter Pass. From there it would just be a short scree scramble to the snow field. We all made the climb, breathed a sigh of relief, and started our way down the glacial valley.
The valley above Ediza Lake probably needs no description here. We marveled at the falls, the rock, the plants, the snow & ice, and the towering mountains. Finding a way down the cliff band presented little challenge and we turned the corner before Ediza and started up toward Iceberg Lake. Once there, we saw signs of people (the first since leaving the JMT) but didn’t actually see a human. We made one last push and climbed the spotty trail up the talus field to Cecile Lake. We made camp on the north end and enjoyed a dip in the crisp, clean water. That night was the smokiest yet, but we were so pleased with ourselves it did not matter.
- Ritter Pass is in there somewhere
- The notch just north of Ritter Pass
- The view from the top of the notch
Day 5
8.0 miles, 462 ft. ascent, 3,124 ft. descent
Up and ready to go early this morning, we started our walk out along the shore of Cecile Lake and then dropped down to Minaret Lake. Again, any description will be lacking, but it was marvelous. The Riegelhuth Minaret, though small, dominates the view as one hikes down this trail. Minaret Lake is a treasure and I will return to explore it more one day. Below the lake we finally encountered some people—almost a full 4 days in the Sierra without seeing another person. Maybe this isn’t much of a feat, but we do enjoy having it to ourselves. We heard the Mountain Chickadee suggest “Cheeseburger” and couldn’t agree more. The hike out was quick and once in Mammoth, we followed the Chickadee’s advice.
Summary
An absolutely amazing trip, even with the smoke. If anything, we were hindered more by my lack of research than anything else. I have such faith in my hiking partners, that I’ve come to the point that I just look at a map and think, “Sure, we can do that.” The days of those risks may be at an end. I’m sure this route would be child’s play for many, but for us, it may have been the most challenging and rewarding trip ever. If so, I’ll take that high water mark.
Edit: Sorry for the vertical images not displaying correctly. If anyone knows a snippet of code I can use to fix this, I'd appreciate it.
