Trip Advice: Gardiner Basin/60 Lakes Basin/Rae Lakes loop

[kylekuzma]

Hi everyone,

Trying to see Gardiner Basin, 60 Lakes Basin, and Rae Lakes out of Kearsage. Was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on:

1) Doing it as a large loop via Gardiner Pass then back to 60 Lakes Col and onward. OR...

2) head straight for Rae Col on our second day and then see gardiner basin as a day hike

We'd like to summit Mt. Cotter and would choose the route in which this makes more sense.

Thank you in advance

[kursavwilage]

I did a loop out of Roads End, up Bubb's Creek to Vidette Meadows, up to Charlotte Lake, over Gardiner Pass, down to Gardiner Creek, over King Col then out Woods Creek to Roads End. I was going to climb Cotter and then cross 60 Lakes Col then work my way out that way but opted for King Col.
Charlotte Lake was beautiful but, a crowded mess. The trail from Charlotte to Gardiner Pass was spotty but, easy enough to figure out. Gardiner Pass was not difficult and the area is beautiful. Lake 9534 in the western fork of Gardiner Creek is worth the hike and is full of golden trout.There is a nice camp site at the northern end of that lake. We couldn't find much if any trail from lake 9534 to the eastern Gardiner Creek region and ended up doing some horrendous bushwhacking to get through the lower area. We may have just chosen the wrong route and you might have better luck. After that we exited over King Col. To me, the remoteness, the beauty and especially the golden trout makes me want to visit that area again.

[maiathebee]

Last summer I did Kearsarge --> Rae Lakes --> 60 Lakes Basin via the north notch xc route from Arrowhead Lake --> day hike up 60 Lakes Col to look over in Gardiner then out via Rae Col. On my way out, I camped on a ledge on the upper trail above Bullfrog Lake and it was spectacular. I decided on this instead of a loop via Gardiner since doing a loop via Gardiner Pass seemed like it had lots of annoying routefinding and bushwhacking in Gardiner Creek that I didn't want to deal with on a solo trip. I do want to camp in Gardiner basin at some point (on the little tarn shelf above the biggest eastern lake) but just did not have quite enough time on that trip. I think going down the east side of 60 Lakes Col is easier if you have gone up it first. Many people report getting lost in the slabby ramps and backtracking a lot. I did not have to backtrack at all either going up or down. So, I guess what I'm saying is you can do a similar lollipop to what I did and add a night in upper Gardiner basin. I wouldn't go in via Bubbs unless a west side approach was much much more convenient for where I live (it's not). Getting to Road's End takes forever and then you are hiking in low elevation forest for a while, rather than up and over a dramatic east side pass. And remember that you do the start and end of your trip twice. So.

[rubywrangler]

I just did something similar last weekend (6/5 - 6/8). It was really lovely but a little bit brutal, with multiple passes per day and carryover of Mt Cotter. Would probably work better for 5+ days, not sure how much time you have.

Day 1 Onion valley > Rae lakes
Day 2 60 lakes via Arrowhead/basin notch, circuit of 60 lakes basin, up Cotter east ridge and down SW slope to Gardiner Basin. Camped on the tarn shelf mentioned above (This was meant to be 2 days with a night in 60 lakes basin but the mosquitoes were so bad there, I just kept going)
Day 3 60 lakes col > Rae col > Glen pass > Bullfrog lake > Kearsarge lakes
Day 4 Kearsarge Lakes > Onion valley

I decided to skip Gardiner Pass for similar reasons as maiathebee. Basically it seemed like a low point in past reports. Also the reports seem to have gotten worse over time. While I was enjoying a post-hike beverage in the parking lot, I chatted with another hiker who had just done the loop (your #1) and found Charlotte to Gardiner Pass particularly painful, so I felt vindicated But I have no firsthand experience with it.

I didn't have any trouble routefinding on the descent from 60 lakes col on the east side either (just kept going down and left). On the west side, there is an awesome ramp system that leads you to pretty much right to the col. Also, I was surprised and thrilled to find a path (of sorts) through the boulders around the northeast side of lake 11407 in Gardiner Basin, between ~10 and ~25 feet from the shore. The other hiker didn't find it and it sounded like his trip through that area was... unpleasant.

[kylekuzma]

@maiathebee @rubywrangler Thanks i think i'm going to follow your guys' advice and make a sort of lollipop about it. Ruby we were leaning towards your trip exactly except a slight direction change: going to rae col directly from glen pass to get to 60 lakes basin instead of dropping down into rae lakes. Thoughts?

[rubywrangler]

Rae col was pretty straightforward on both sides so I think that would work fine. Looked like nice camping around lake 11001 and there seemed to be fewer bugs than further into 60 lakes basin (at least last weekend).

[maiathebee]

If you haven't been to Rae Lakes, it's worth a visit. You don't save much effort going to 60 Lakes with Rae Col since you're trading easy trail walking (even with elevation loss and gain) for a cross country pass, where you still go up and over then down and have more complicated navigation. I wouldn't skip Rae Lakes if so close by, especially when there's a reasonable loop to be made with Arrowhead Lake access to 60 Lakes. Also, the lower lakes in 60 Lakes get way fewer visitors than the upper lakes, and you probably won't go visit them if you just pop in and out over Rae Col. If you are really destination oriented and set on Cotter and Gardiner, then fine go in and out over Rae Col. But for a little more mileage (but not much more effort since mostly on trail), you can also visit gorgeous Rae Lakes and get a bit of variety in the north end of 60 Lakes. Agreed that Rae Col is easy enough on both sides. NW side is a bit steeper, more talus, so going down is a bit annoying if you don't like descending steep talus with a heavy pack at the beginning of your trip.

[mort]

I agree with Maia, but would say the same about 60 lakes and Gardiner. I like your first idea. Many years ago I camped, with 6 others of all levels of experience. Starting at Onion Valley, we made it to Kearsarge Lakes, but this was before the PCT was a thing and nobody camped at Kearsarge Lakes. We went over Gardiner Pass and all the way down below 9000 ft, there is the remains of one of Shorty Lovelace's Cabins near the marshy area. Plenty of bushwhacking and a sketchy use path. We had a rest day at 11394, swimming & sunning. Popped over the col into 60 Lakes Basin - talus on the west side but ramps of granite slabs and gravel & grass down the east side. The climbers in the group summited Cotter. We camped at the northern most 60 lake. There were mosquitos. Then over to the northern most Rae Lake. Our intention had been to get a good look at every lake we went by. Taking the extra time to take off our packs and walk around, or mostly, every lake. My brother made the effort to take a swim or at least a dip in most lakes. We camped at the last high lake before the Glen Pass switchbacks. Next we camped at Charlotte and then returned to Onion Valley. Of all the Lakes I liked 11394 best. I'd say every lake is worth seeing. Of course your time is limited, but I strongly encourage you to get away from the most popular areas if you can.
-mort