High Sierra Topix

This was a relatively leisurely backpacking trip. My hiking hours were short, leaving many hours to chill and enjoy the surroundings of each day’s destination. This is the trip to take if you don’t want to spend the entire day hiking but still want to see as much Sierra beauty as possible.

I started from the South Lake trailhead at 12:30pm after a 7 hour drive. Due to the late start, I had planned to stop somewhere before Bishop Pass for the night. However, feeling refreshed and energetic the entire time, I didn’t stop until I reached Lake 11,388 in Dusy Basin. It was so remarkable to find solitude at such a beautiful setting just under 5 hours from such a popular trailhead. This includes a sub-optimal off-trail route to the lake as I accidentally headed too far south. To the right of my campsite at the outlet of the lake are Isosceles and Columbine Peaks and to the left is the mountain range containing Agassiz, Winchell, Thunderbolt, and even North Palisade in the background. At dusk, the surface of the lake bubbled with fish.


Dusy Lake 11,388, Isosceles Peak, Columbine Peak


Dusy Lake 11,388, Mount Agassiz, Mount Whinchell


Dusy Lake 11,388

I had a leisurely late start the second day since my plan was a short hike to Barrett Lakes in the Palisade Basin. The only difficult section is crossing Knapsack Pass. I hiked past several ponds and the lake at 11,306, crossing multiple outlet streams and descending to around 11,200. I maintained this elevation as best I could, finding my way around cliff and thicket barriers.

At the base of the rocky portion of Knapsack Pass, it looked like the entrance for the main drainage path was below me. I believe this is the conventional route from the Dusy lakes at 10,742. There is another drainage angled closer towards my location that connected to the main drainage further up the pass. I was able to see that this route consisted of grassy ramps and groups of boulders with no major obstacles. This alternate path meant I would not need to descend and regain ~150’. My entire route to the top stayed class 1-2 as I was always able to find a grassy or granite ramp or easy pile of boulders to climb over. On the other side of the pass, there is a trail that gains about 200’ of elevation in the NE direction before it switchbacks down a gully of grass and boulders. Although you need to gain the extra elevation, it is a much easier descent than climbing down the boulders directly below the pass. From the switchbacks, I turned left in the direction of Barrett Lake 11,468 which was a short distance away.


Knapsack Pass


Dusy Basin from Knapsack Pass


Palisade Basin from Knapsack Pass


Descending from Knapsack to Palisade

At Barrett Lake 11,468 I found a nice campsite ledge midway up the hill with an excellent view of the lake and the backside of Isosceles and its adjacent peaks. Exploring further up the hill, I continually found a better site after another until I was at the top with a 360 degree vista including Barrett Lake 11,350 and the mountain ranges beyond.


Barrett Lake 11,468













Barrett Lake 11,468 has a very healthy population of frogs. Massive groups of tadpoles swam off at my presence. One nearby frog watched intently as I treated my water. Or it may have just been a blank stare. Besides the 2 backpackers that passed the lake on their way to Knapsack Pass, I had solitude again.


Tadpoles at Barrett Lake 11,468

The third day was another lazy day. Taking my time, I finally started off mid-morning for a day hike to a couple of the other Barrett Lakes. Along the way, I must have gotten close to an American Pipit's nest as she flew back and forth around me. Even though I typically prefer an above-tree-line granitic environment, I found the largest Barrett Lake 11,523 to be a little stark and flat without much charm.

I continued on across the outlet and headed over the hill to Barrett Lake 11,473. I was impressed by the clusters of shooting stars and good campsites at this lake so I stayed for a long break and snack before retracing my steps back.


American Pipit


Barrett Lake 11,523


Barrett Lake 11,473


Shooting stars by Barrett Lake 11,473


Barrett Lake 11,473


Barrett Lake 11,350 viewed from my Palisade campsite

On the fourth day, I made the short trip back to one of the Dusy lakes. From my campsite, I debated whether to stay high to traverse towards the middle of the switchbacks to the pass. The other option was to descend slightly below the small cliffs and walk along the meadows to a lower section of the switchbacks, taking the path I used on the way here. I decided today’s hike was short and I could afford to descend down to the known route rather than save the elevation and risk dealing with cliffs.

Climbing back up to Knapsack Pass along the trail was quick and easy. As I started my descent from the pass, I spied a trail so decided to follow it. It led me into a large boulder field on the climber’s right of the pass so I immediately backtracked and just worked my own way down. Midway, I followed another use trail before realizing it had taken me partially down the drainage that leads to lower elevation. I quickly abandoned the trail again heading to my right towards the drainage I had taken on the way up. I had to remove my pack to hop down into this drainage. I took a slightly different but mostly similar path back to the Upper Dusy lakes, staying around 11,200 before climbing back up. I meant to return to my first night’s campsite but got distracted and hiked all the way up to Lake 11,345, the one closest to the pass. As expected there were other tents at this lake, mainly on the northern and western ends. There are few camping sites at the southern section of this large lake since due to the many inlets and outlets and ponds and vegetation and rocks everywhere. I finally managed to find a legal, environmentally friendly, flat campsite. At least my hike out tomorrow will be shorter.


Knapsack Pass viewed from my Palisade campsite


Approaching Knapsack Pass


View up Knapsack Pass on Dusy side


View down Knapsack Pass on Dusy side


Dusy Lake 11,306

I woke up at 5:45am the next morning to the smell of smoke. The sun hadn’t risen yet but I could tell the sky was hazy with smoke. This explains why I was sneezing so much the night before, similar to last year in Yosemite when there was a fire nearby. I was puzzled since there were no thunderstorms in the past few days to ignite any new fires. I began getting ready for an early morning hike out. I quickly reached the trail to Bishop Pass and chatted with other hikers who were also wondering where the smoke was coming from. As the morning went on, conditions improved. The distant mountains were still faint by haze but the air did not smell as much of smoke. On the way back to the trailhead, I learned through my Inreach text communications with my wife that a new fire, the Oak Fire, had started near Mariposa. I hope for the best in containing and extinguishing this fire.


Smoky dawn


Rocky switchbacks below Bishop Pass


Along the Bishop Pass trail


Long Lake and Mount Goode

Thanks for posting the TR and the pics are great. Mostly clear skies hardly any smoke.

Texan

Really superb photography. You must have a fine camera to capture both the bird in flight and the depth of field in many landscapes. I love your final picture of Long Lake--I gravitate more to color than to the grayness of the highest elevation lakes. And the close up of the frog was excellent!

Thanks for the great trail report and amazing photos! Looks like you got back there at the right time to avoid the smoke. Im hoping to head there soon and looking like thunderstorms are in my future. How were mosquitos back there?

Superb photos and great report. Who says you have to hike for days to enjoy remote wilderness.
Thanks for posting, Michael.

I did the same trip last August so it was fascinating to read your report and see your photos to see the subtle changes from one year to the next. I also camped at Dusy Lake 1,388, but on my last night and further up the lake. I also camped at Barret Lake 11,468 at a different site closer to the tarn. I also found Lake 11,523 to be bit too stark, though the view was fabulous, though not as spectacular and expansive as at 11,468. All the various use trails on Knapsack Pass pose an interesting set of possible choices one can make. I’m not sure which, if any, can be considered the best one to choose.

Really nice TR and photos! And a rather sobering contrast to our own trip up McGee Creek a few days later. Good on ya!

Hi Rockyroad,
Nice report and great pictures. This area is one of my favorites. Your Barrett Lake camps site looks great. I'll look for it next time. Here is what Knapsack was like in May 2021 vs your picture from last week.

Thanks for all of the generous comments.

texan, yep, the smoke cleared up from when I first woke up. Winds began blowing NE so that helped clear the sky.

kpeter, my Sony A7C is not as fancy as some of the other cameras with specific bird-focusing capabilities but it still has a pretty good focusing system which allowed me to get that 1 shot out of a few attempts as I wasn't prepared for a bird in flight photo (focus mode, tracking, continuous shooting...) And although I enjoy being in the aesthetics of higher elevation grayness, I agree with you that photos with vegetation and more color are nice.

hikerdude87, I definitely got lucky on the timing. There were barely any mosquitoes. The window was perfect between storms, mosquitoes, and smoke.

sekihiker, I'm going to plan more trips like this - instant remote wilderness!

LMBSVG, I remember reading your report and getting inspiration from it. Thanks for your write up!

balzaccom, I recall hiking down McGee Creek a few years ago. It seemed endless and I was glad I wasn't going up.

mort, I think I prefer it snow-free.