High Sierra Topix

On a two week trip in the mid-80's, I  skirted the edge of a wild, trailless area we called the Lake Basins.  I had come down to the Middle Fork of the Kings from "Enchanted Gorge," after hiking through Ionian Basin for the first time.  I was keen on exploring all of the most remote areas of the Sierra, and this Lake Basins area was the next in line... yet it took me till this year to finally get up there!  Coming up the Middle Fork on that 1986 trip, I almost chose to head south up Cataract Creek to enter the northernmost of the three "Lake Basins,"  but I was lured away by visions of climbing in the Palisades, and Evolution Valley.  Since then, the Lake Basins area has been in and out of my vision, and my plans.  Ten thousand things, plus the dog restriction, have been in the way until just now. Strange turn of events-- one month ago Bearzy and I crossed Taboose Pass, and gazed at the wall of Cirque Crest that guards the Lake Basins from the south and east.  That set the hook in me again.  On the way back down the nasty, rocky trail, Bearzy broke his dew claw.  Then back home, he sliced his forearm, and so, Bearzy was sidelined.  My friend Frank was free, and Voile! a trip was born.  We would head in again via Taboose Creek, exactly one month after my last trip over that same pass, and finally get to explore the named "Lake Basin" of the main fork of Cartridge Creek, and the "Dumbbell Lakes" basin of the northern branch.   
 
Our route after crossing Taboose Pass was straight across the South Fork of the Kings, then up the south slope of Cartridge Pass.  Here is that section in photos:

You begin the T.Creek trail in lizard habitat, and a desert flower garden.  Last month it was the Lupines blooming, this month it was the penstemon, buckwheat, and chia sage who were in peak bloom. This is Penstemon floridus, or Panamint beardtongue, and it was found everywhere from 6,000' to 7,500.'

There is a thin conifer belt beginning at 8,000.'  This is where I saw the Bear on my way down and out last month.  No such luck this time, but these white fir, and Jeffrey pines trees are also home to Woodpeckers, Grouse, Squirrels, and one sunset-colored Western tanager, all of whom I had the luck to see.  

The willow flowers had turned to wind-blown seeds.  When I lobbed a stone into these stems, a cloud of puffy white seeds floated all around me like snowfall.




The currants were also in full flower.  That forest belt is a very welcome surprise on the way up T. Creek.  All of a sudden you feel cool, water is everywhere, birds are singing.  Frank and I chose to stop there for our first night.


As an amateur scatologist, I can pick apart bear scat to my heart's content.  This bear had been eating old pine nuts (lower right), and chewing up willows, perhaps for the seeds.  This bear is not particular, there were bits of granite in his scat too.



Above is the water birch as I found it in late April, and below are the same plants on May 28. 


 


Much of the T. Creek trail surface is composed of loose, angular rock, and stable footing is rare.  I find it especially hard on the way down. Still, it is a wildly beautiful canyon, and so strikingly different from the interior Sierra that one finds beyond the pass, it is as though you get to experience two totally different mountain ranges.

The rocks at the top of the pass can be fascinating, like this oddity. The green inclusions are baseball to softball-sized spheres. I even brought one home with me though it weighs 4 lbs!

When you finally pass behind the great orange wall of Mt. Goodale, you find that wall to be part of a very striking mountain, with multiple peaks.

Frank at T.Pass on June 2nd, and below, compare the same scene from one month ago:

 


Once more, note the change in snow.  Here is one month ago, just west of Taboose Pass. I came in with snowshoes, crampons and an ice axe to cover all the possible snowy conditions.  This time around, we could have used flip-flops to cross the same high basin.





Years before, my wife Lizzie and I hiked from the basin west of T. Pass to the nearby lakes. At one lake, we were startled by a very big splash, which could only have been a large fish.  This trip I brought spinning gear, to try for the fish in these high lakes.  The highest were still frozen, but lower down, I landed some very nice rainbows.  They are 14, and 15 inches, and I could barely finish them.



The wide basin west of T. Pass is a wonderful area to amble around. We encountered several Deer, and Marmots there, and more Deer on the way through the forest to the Kings River.








This view west shows much of our route:  The left (blue) arrow points to the south slope of Cartridge Pass; the middle (red) arrow is on Vennacher Col; and the green one on the right is Vennacher Needle, our second mountain climb.

We easily crossed the single northern branch of the South Fork of the Kings where it meets the JMT.  There, we saw 3 campers that morning, and we had only met 3 other day trippers so far.  We would see no one else for the next 4 days, which included the Memorial Day weekend.  


This beautiful lake is two-thirds of the way up Cartridge Pass.  I caught 3 nice fish from 9-10 inches.


  
The north side of Cartridge Pass was steep snow, which we avoided by traversing right (east) on solid rock terraces.

View from our 3rd camp, in the promised land of Lake Basin.  Marion Peak is below the moon.


You pass more lovely lakes on the way to Dumbbell Pass.


Marion Peak, and Lake.  As you see, snow is still hanging onto the northern slopes, including on our passes into the Lake Basins.  Though we crossed the passes later in the day, even at 4 PM, we never had trouble with soft snow, except around the rocks.


The top of Dumbbell Pass is broad and level, and we were surprised by the great view of the Palisades.  The high point is shadowed North Pal, and sunlit Mt. Agassiz is to the left, and the Middle Pal group is to the right.

Directly north of the pass is our climbing goal, easy Observation Peak, seen to the left and forward.

Frank "The Thinker," with D. Pass in the background.


Heading up Observation Peak with the promise of fine views.


We made it interesting by hugging the east ridge...

Where there are some terrific drop-offs!  Beyond the Cataract Creek Basin is the Middle Palisade group.


The summit of Observation Peak, with lake 10,565 below.  This lake drains into the Middle Fork by the "Devil's Washbowl."   Across the river is the beginning of another even larger remote area-- from Black Divide in the east, to Goddard Creek in the west, Tehipite south, and Ionian Basin - Davis Lakes to the north.  The Middle Fork of the Kings here is so little traveled, that you can just connect the two areas together, and consider it the wildest and most remote part of the High Sierra.... along with Red Spur- Kaweah's- upper Kern, or is it??


The view NW from Observation Peak contains the baffling absence of Mt Goddard.  Turns out that it is directly in line with Mt McDuffie. From left to right, the Blue line points to Finger Peak; the Red line points to McDuffie/Goddard; Green is Black Giant, and the Blues are on Mt Darwin.  It is a really fine vantage point, and hence the name. (you can click in the image to enlarge it.)

The peaks Arrow, and Marion bracket a view of the KK Divide, and the north end of the GW Divide-- Mt Brewer right of center.


Frank making his way back over D. Pass.


The colorful side of Lake Basin, with Marion Lake.



Back in Lake Basin. (note, we had stashed 10 lbs. of excess food and gear here while over in Dumbbell Lakes Basin.)


Short on food, I caught enough small fish for breakfast and lunch in this beautiful lake.

We chose to exit the Lake Basins via Vennacher Col, as I was concerned about the snow in Frozen Lake Pass.  Also, V. Col would give us the option of another peak to climb.  



 The col is easy till the last 100 feet or so.  However, we avoided the low point, and the gully leading to it, for fear of objective hazards, ie., rockfall!  Our route had been used before; we even found a rusty old jar with records of ascents of the col, beginning in the 60's.


The col led easily to the summit of Vennacher Needle.



Vennacher Needle has two problems.  First, it doesn't have a needle-like summit, and secondly, it is shy of 13,000 feet by just 5 feet.  In the photo above you can now find a needle, and below, you can see that it adds at least 7 feet to the height of the mountain.

  


We stayed on the summit till 7:30 PM, and then made it down to this lake.  That is Split Mtn. in the distance.


We both slept out, star-gazing each night, and suffered little for it.  Besides the few mosquitos, there were Pikas by the lake.  I watched one with binocs for 16 minutes, moving closer and closer, but never tried for a photo.  Later in the trip, I did get close enough to photograph the Marmot and Golden-mantled Squirrel below.



This is where they live!  We finally took an easy day, and wandered all around this very shallow lake; it's near the junction to the Bench Lake trail.  

I saw this Bald Eagle to go with the Golden, and the two Osprey, and the Mountain Bluebirds, Yellow Warblers, Rosy Finches ....   It was a great trip for birds and rodents.

Just as we reached Taboose Pass, the clouds parted, and the light turned on!  I practically ran to the pass to get the view before the cloud cover returned. It was fantastic!

Heading east, back down into the Taboose Creek Canyon.


So this trip marked another of my efforts to get into parts of the Sierra I have always wanted to see-- the places that have eluded me.  A couple years back, I finally hiked all around Deadman and Cloud Canyons, and that felt like a whole world of spectacular new country!  This long-awaited visit to the Lake Basins of the Middle Fork of the Kings had a more intimate feel.  These are high, tight basins that can be seen in their entirety from up on one of their peaks.  The geology is nearly all granite, except for the lovely area around Marion Peak. Some of the biggest lakes are overhung by massive cliffs, and I wish the area awkwardly named "Dumbbell Lakes" was instead "Cliff Lakes," or anything more pleasing than "Dumbbell."  One of the beauties of these Lake Basins is their solitude.  We saw no other people there, and that was right through the busy Memorial Day holiday weekend. We were alone with the mountains for 6 of our 8 days... but even if you did meet someone in places like that, chances are they would be kindred spirits. 

So I've now been in 2 of the 3 Lake Basins; I still have yet to explore Cataract Creek. That fine route into the high basin holding Amphitheater Lake, and a score of other gems-- lakes, cliffs, peaks, and shining creeks, is still waiting.  For the time being, I am just so happy to have finally crossed a few new passes, and seen some wonderful new places.

My next desire is one many of us seem to share, and that is to see for the first time, or to explore again the region of the "Blue Canyon," and Goddard Creek. I've been through the lower end of that creek, and it was bush-whacking hell!  Yet the high country of Goddard Creek looks like a paradise!  Good Luck out there, Ian.

Thanks for another great trip report. I am hoping to explore some of the same area later this summer and your photos get me all bent out of shape with the need to be there now. I have a permit for early August, so I am trying to rearrange everything for a month or so earlier -- if I miss another season in the Sierra due to smoke and/or germs, I shall swoon and fall into a state of irreparable despair. (I also belong to the Ionian Basin Club, so you have ticked two of my top destinations this season -- I have a Lamarck Lakes permit for my version of that adventure mid-August. )

I hope Bear is recovering nicely.
Dennis

Amazing trips and photos, Harlen. A truly great trip report. Thank you!

Amazing to me that there is so little snow given it was only Memorial Day weekend and you were at 11,000-foot elevations! I have been over Dumbbell Pass in a high and low snow year- in my opinion it is actually easier with snow. Same with Frozen Lake pass - I think, if you have the snow skills and gear, that it is easier WITH snow. Filled with snow it also has a good runout if you were to fall. Although I would not want to do it without an ice axe. I thought you earlier said you had a Whipit- did you take it?

My favorite Dumbbell Lake is the higher - Lake 11410. Point 12882 has a wonderful north face- there is a technical route on it (I think it went at 5.11).The long lake just south of Observation Peak has some nice sized fish. Lake Basin Lk 10632 also has big fish. Now that you have gone once, you need to go back and spend some time just fishing.

Great report, great area, stunning photos. An Amphitheater to Bench Lake transect (or the thereabouts) is on the list.

Awesome to have found a register, last one I saw was on Junction Pass in 1990. What was the last entry in it? And thanks for making Vennacher Needle worthy of its name.

Hope Bearzy is back out with you soon.