Advise please:Bear Dam to Vee Lake
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 6:28 am
Hello,
There have been so many posts about Bear Lakes Basin, that I would love to visit that area. I have never been there. I am pretty good with xc route finding but am a still not very confident on loose scree and very rough talus. I keep pushing so that I can get better at xc navigation and dealing with rough footing to have more freedom to go to less crowded, more beautiful places.
I am thinking of going in at the Bear Dam TH and hiking as far as I can, hopefully past twin falls, (I will be driving in that day so I am not sure how far I will be able to get.) The next day I would go to Vee Lake. The third day I would layover and go from Vee to Bear Lake Basin and hike around, exploring the basin, camping at Vee that night. 4th and 5th days I would pack out.
Here are my questions please:
1) How is the road to Bear Dam? Can I drive all the way to the TH with a high clearance 4wd or is it so bad I will have to park A few miles from the TH and walk on the road?
2) How is the route from Vee to Bear Lake Basin? I will only have a day pack so I could manage some, very easy class 2. Is the navigation pretty straightforward in both directions, coming and going? I would like to avoid anything extremely steep, too loose to be safe or with huge gaps between boulders making giant leaps necessary. I know extremely steep is subjective, so let me say, I want to avoid something so steep and loose that you backslide on most strides. Bouldering and hopping from rock to rock on reasonably secure footing is fun, the backslide on super steep, loose footing is scary for me.
THANK YOU SO MUCH HST COMMUNITY!
There have been so many posts about Bear Lakes Basin, that I would love to visit that area. I have never been there. I am pretty good with xc route finding but am a still not very confident on loose scree and very rough talus. I keep pushing so that I can get better at xc navigation and dealing with rough footing to have more freedom to go to less crowded, more beautiful places.
I am thinking of going in at the Bear Dam TH and hiking as far as I can, hopefully past twin falls, (I will be driving in that day so I am not sure how far I will be able to get.) The next day I would go to Vee Lake. The third day I would layover and go from Vee to Bear Lake Basin and hike around, exploring the basin, camping at Vee that night. 4th and 5th days I would pack out.
Here are my questions please:
1) How is the road to Bear Dam? Can I drive all the way to the TH with a high clearance 4wd or is it so bad I will have to park A few miles from the TH and walk on the road?
2) How is the route from Vee to Bear Lake Basin? I will only have a day pack so I could manage some, very easy class 2. Is the navigation pretty straightforward in both directions, coming and going? I would like to avoid anything extremely steep, too loose to be safe or with huge gaps between boulders making giant leaps necessary. I know extremely steep is subjective, so let me say, I want to avoid something so steep and loose that you backslide on most strides. Bouldering and hopping from rock to rock on reasonably secure footing is fun, the backslide on super steep, loose footing is scary for me.
THANK YOU SO MUCH HST COMMUNITY!