High Sierra Topix

This is the 2022 installment of our extended family’s high Sierra backpacks. We’ve been doing annual trips since 2007. The participants were the usual suspects – sisters Julia, Megan, daughter Trekker9 (HST handle), her S.O. Slabwalker and self. Plus a newcomer to our group and newcomer to high Sierra backpacking – Slabwalker’s friend JP.
Our usual itinerary is to go for ~9 days. Typically we begin from an Eastside pass with the intention of getting to some relatively remote/off-trail place of Sierra beauty, spend some quality time there and then get back out. If we can make a loop of sorts all the better.
This year our planned route was to go in from North Lake over Piute Pass, then over Alpine Col, down to the JMT, south to McGee Lakes Pass and over into McGee Lakes. Spend up to 3 days there, then out via Evolution Valley, Darwin Basin & Lamarck Col. Julia, Megan and I were to spend 9 days accomplishing this; Trekker9, Slabwalker and JP however had work commitments and would squeeze it into 7 days – leaving us after 5-6 days and taking 2 days to exit over Lamarck.
Of interest is that while our group very much enjoys being together in the backcountry, our hiking speeds cover an extreme range. Slabwalker and JP are young men in excellent shape – they race and recreate on bicycles in their Other Lives. Trekker9 maybe not in their class of physical fitness, but definitely a fit and athletic woman who also rides, and can hike at a fast pace. Megan, Julia and I are all easily over 60 now and move much more slowly, with myself harboring a gimpy ankle that (depending on the terrain) makes me the slowest of all.
On hiking days Slabwalker has adjusted to this circumstance by often climbing a peak somewhere near the day’s route and then catching up to us at camp or before.

Day 0
In the past few years we’ve taken to starting our trip late in an afternoon with the goal of getting in a few miles – thus being able to acclimatize somewhat, avoiding hiking in the mid-day heat right off, and reducing the mileage & elevation gain of our following ‘Day 1’ hike. And so it was – we left the North Lake trailhead around 5pm, reached the west end of Loch Leven at dusk, ate our Schatts sandwiches in the dark and enjoyed the high Sierra stars.

Day 1
A sunny day and a fine place to wake up – overlooking Loch Leven in the NF Bishop Creek Canyon. NF Bishop Creek Canyon, Looking east at Loch Leven

Our objective today was to get to Goethe Lake – a modest goal. Slabwalker and JP went up the trail a few hundred yards, stashed their packs and headed up to climb Mount Emerson. We four continued up the trail. Had lunch at Piute Pass, then off on the use trail to the west and south, around Muriel Lake and up to Goethe. Arrival at Lower Goethe Lake

For various reasons we believed that we’d find a camp spot between the two lakes – at the north end of the large Goethe Lake. This was not true – this area is a jumble of talus. We four didn’t want to go back to the nicer camp area at the outlet of the northern lake, and because we had agreed to meet Slabwalker and JP in this area we were reluctant to go on to possible camp areas at the south end of the large Goethe Lake. So on a rock ridge we found enough sleeping spots and set up camp there. Slabwalker and JP reached camp a little while later – they had successfully summitted Mount Emerson, then inadvertently visited the lake west of Muriel on the way to Goethe.

Day 2
This was our day to cross Alpine Col. We knew that it was going to be a Talus Day, and expected nothing less. Alpine Col over Upper Goethe Lake. Water, Rock & Sky

Following HST and Secor advice we proceeded around the west side of the lake (though I maintained that the east side looked shorter and doable). Across the small attractive meadows at the Goethe Lake inlet on the south end, then up towards the Col. Trekker9, Julia, Megan and I followed the HST photo image route – below the rock faces, around them to the left/north, then towards the Col. Slabwalker and JP picked another route, ascending a path of loose rock up through the rock faces. They reached the Col well before we did, put down their packs and headed off to climb Muriel. We four reached the pass eventually after spending too much time working through an area of huge talus. Looking NW from Alpine Col SE View from Alpine Col

Had lunch on the pass, chatted with 3 young men from Colorado College heading north on Roper’s route. We left a note on Slabwalker’s pack and headed towards lake 11910 below. Still following HST & Secor we headed to the east side of the lake… after dropping part-way down we could see why – a small but difficult area of cliffs on the west side. Part-way around the lake Slabwalker and JP caught up with us after their successful ascent of Muriel Peak. Lake 11910, View back up at Alpine Col Descending to Lake 11546
We six continued around the lake and meandered down towards the next two large lakes below. Nice walking here – down slabs and grassy areas, following the stream and its waterfalls. We had intermittent clouds and sun throughout the afternoon, and felt a few raindrops.
Our goal for the day had been to get down to Darwin Bench. But we were all a bit knackered, and collectively satisfied to camp on the flat between these two large lakes. There were continued clouds and the possibility of rain overnight so we all set up our tents. I slept outside my tent though and rain did not materialize. Camp at Lake 11540

Day 3
We had morning clouds. Pre-trip weather forecasts had suggested this as the most likely day for rain, so we were somewhat expecting precip. Slabwalker left his pack at our campsite and headed west and north to summit Mt Goethe. JP chose to stay with the rest of us for the day.
We went around the east side of our large lake. This involved climbing up onto some rocky bluffs, as there were steep rock faces dropping directly into the lake. JP and Trekker9 tended to scout routes for us along here, and JP coined our Phrase for the Trip: in response to our queries regarding the feasibility of a route, his frequent answer was “I see no reason why not”. We made good use of this phrase throughout the subsequent days.
We crossed the shoulder east of the lake outlet and had a pleasant walk down to and across Darwin Bench. From above Darwin Bench looking south - Hermit, lower McGee Canyon & Peaks Beyond

Located the use trail dropping down towards the JMT, and indulged in our usual JMT-related competition – guessing how long it would be after we stepped on to the JMT it would be until we saw another person on the trail. I believe the winning guess on this day was about 5 minutes.
We had lunch near the trail at a small creek, then ascended to Evolution Lake. The rain reached us, first in sprinkles, then harder, then as we hiked south along the lake the wind picked up and we had hail interspersed with the rain. We made stops under trees to put on rain gear and pack covers, but generally we kept moving. At one stop we saw Slabwalker intently hustling up the trail behind us… had we stayed quiet he might’ve passed us by, but we greeted him instead. His ascension of Mt Goethe was successful.
We passed the south end of Evolution Lake and continued up the valley. There was some blue sky ahead of us and the rain/wind lightened up a little. And then ceased entirely. We reached Sapphire Lake and stayed on the trail as it climbed above the lake. McGee Lakes Pass was above and west of us. I had been over the pass once before and advised our group to stay on the JMT to a point southwards of the pass, then angle back to the NW to reach the pass. We did this and it was a successful strategy. From Near McGee Lakes Pass - View North to Sapphire Lake, Evolution Lake, Mts Mendel & Darwin
We dropped down to a bench ~200’ below/west of the pass containing a small marshy lake, camping out on the ridge overlooking the McGee Canyon. Rain was still a definite possibility so we set up the tents. Sunset views – with the sun shining through and from below the clouds – were awesome.

[Continued ---]

DAY 4
Our objective for the day was only to find & establish a base camp at McGee Lakes. We could be somewhat leisurely in the morning, but not too much since afternoon rain was likely. We meandered down through meadows to the upper end of the McGee Lakes proper. Descending to McGee Lakes

Decided to check the south side of the upper lake for campsite options. Really there weren’t any. Eventually we reached the area between the two large McGee Lakes and found a great spot, set up our tents and explored a little.
McGee Lakes has nets in it, similar to other lakes that we’ve been to in recent years – Amphitheatre Basin, above Sixty Lakes and near the JMT west of Le Conte Canyon. However we saw no fish or frogs/tadpoles in these lakes.
After lunch the clouds thickened up and looked threatening. And eventually started spitting rain, so we retreated to our tents. My tent is quite light, but requires hiking poles and guy lines to erect. And I only use it when absolutely necessary, so I’m not accomplished at setting it up correctly. Thus my initial set-up allowed water to run down the tent roof, through the screen at one corner and into the tent. I sopped up most of the water, corrected the configuration in the offending tent corner and snuggled atop my sleeping pad to wait it out. It rained for 1-2 hours, quite hard for part of that. The rain lessened and we emerged, put stuff out to dry somewhat, explored a little more. We started dinner around 5:30-6, had soup but then the rain returned and we retreated again. Around dusk it stopped again, but dinner seemed like too much trouble at that point. So we had dessert, enjoyed another spectacular sunset, and retired for the night.

DAY 5
This was a planned Layover Day – we having successfully implemented our plan to get into a remote and trail-less basin with exploration opportunities. The sky was still partly cloudy, but rain seemed less likely than the previous days. Morning Look West across the Lower McGee Lake

In the middle of the area between the two McGee Lakes and above our campsite sits a small granite dome, maybe 40’ above the lake elevations. It’s an ideal spot for a morning cup of coffee or bowl of muesli, with fine views of both lakes and the scenic basin around us. We took full advantage of it.
My thought for the day was to ascend to the south to the lake at about 11220’ and check it out, possibly then climb up onto the shoulder to the east of that lake and survey further exploration from there. Trekker9 decided to come with me, at least part-way. Megan and Julia chose to relax around camp. Slabwalker and JP were going to start their day by circling the lower McGee Lake.
I battened down my tent and gear in case of rain, and Trekker9 & I started out. We passed the larger lake immediately south of ours, at about 10,900’. Earlier we had thought that this lake might be a good place to camp… it was fine, but our campsite was better. Proceeding south and up – there are some rock faces on this ascension, we went to the right/west of those. Reached the shoulder above and NW of lake 11220 – it’s a fine lake sitting in a rocky cirque with cliffs all around including Mount McGee. No real need to explore it further. We found a grassy area slightly downstream from the outlet and stayed for a bit snacking. Trekker9 decided that she had gone far enough and would head back to camp, while I would continue up east and a little south. As we were preparing to leave Slabwalker and JP came around the corner… their ‘circuit’ around the lower McGee Lake had brought them up an extra 400’ to Lake 11220. Eventually they three headed back down, and I started up the ridge/shoulder. Lake 11220, Mt McGee
From Shoulder West of Lake 11220, View NW to McGee Canyon, Glacier Divide
From Shoulder West of Lake 11220, View NE to McGee Lakes Pass, Mt Darwin Center-Left

Nice walking on slabs and broken rock. There’s a number of draws & ravines on this route that make it difficult to know exactly where one is relative to the highest shoulder than looks down into Lake 11280 further to the east, but eventually I reached this ultimate shoulder. Really outstanding views from here of the Hermit, McGee Lakes, and north to Glacier Divide. From Shoulder Above Lake 11280, View Down to Lake

Looking south and east I could see that I was level in elevation to Pass 11720 which leads over to Davis Lakes. It seemed a shame to miss the views from there given how close I was. The terrain between myself and the pass led steeply down to Lake 11280, with a quite a bit of impassable rock face but also a number of benches that could probably get me over to the pass. From Shoulder Above Lake 11280, View SE Across to Pass 11720

Of course I had to try it. All went well. The benches did tend to angle up slightly, with the result that I reached the ridge above Davis Lakes somewhat above the pass. I worked my way down to the pass, finding on the way a nice outcrop that was perfect for taking a panorama of the Davis Lakes basin. Not much vegetation down in that basin, but lots of water. The highest lake had that lighter hue indicating glacial runoff. From Pass 11720, View West to Lower Davis Lake
From Pass 11720, View Southwest across Davis Lake
From Pass 11720, View South into Davis Lake Basin, Mt Goddard behind
View down the South Side of Pass 11720
View down the North Side of Pass 11720

I descended from the pass to Lake 11280, then followed the outlet stream to the lower lake and down to the upper McGee Lake, and back to camp.
It didn’t rain this day, though the moving clouds above made photos more interesting and gave some shade relief from the warm sunshine. And gave us yet another colorful sunset.

DAY 6
On this day Trekker9, Slabwalker and JP were departing us, planning to spend two days to exit via Lamarck Col. Julia, Megan and I had two extra days to spend in the backcountry – one of which would be an additional Layover here in McGee, and then we’d take 3 days to accomplish our Lamarck exit. Granite Dome Above our Camp (center right). One of our Group Atop the Dome.

We took various group photos atop our local granite dome and then they three headed off. Photo Op on the Dome

Julia, Megan and I decided that our layover excursion would be to hike up to the lake that sits immediately SW of The Hermit, north and a little west of our camp. We had a leisurely mid-morning departure and headed up through the forested country towards the lake. A helicopter passed overhead – we idly wondered whether it was on a search mission. Some route-finding was required on this walk – there were small valleys and draws heading out to the west, and we wanted to avoid too much down-and-up while getting to the lake at an appropriate elevation. We were out on a shoulder of the last ridge before the lake when we heard the helicopter revving up loudly to our north, obviously preparing for take-off. We assumed that it was down in Evolution Valley, coming up from some errand there. But No! – it appeared right in front of us, ascending from the cirque-and-lake that was our Goal of the Day. It flew off to the south. Shortly after we were looking down at the lake, and could see 3 folks down there in the lakeside trees. We surmised that they had been dropped off. When we reached the lake we walked over to chat with them. They were a NPS Frog Crew, were camped down at the lower McGee Lake outlet, and had hiked up earlier in the day to meet the helicopter. As Frog Crew their usual summer duties are to go around to the netted lakes – including the McGees - and remove dead fish from the nets... the purpose of the nets is to catch those fish and so return the lakes to possible frog-friendly habitat. The frogs have an additional adversary besides the fish – that being a fatal fungus that’s infected many populations. Today our Frog Crew had a special assignment – to collect some 200 frogs from this lake (not yet fungus-infected apparently) and load them into the helicopter where they would be taken to somewhere affiliated with the SF Zoo for safe-keeping and research.
The Crew packed up their gear and headed off to their McGee Camp. We had lunch on the lake shore. This lake was indeed chock full of frogs and tadpoles of all different sizes.
On our return walk we again wanted to avoid the ravines between us and our camp, and headed up a draw SE from the lake to get over the ridge higher up. Lake SW of The Hermit, Glacier Divide behind

This was mostly successful, and then it was an easy walk down through the trees to McGee. We lazed about the rest of the afternoon. It was cloudy/windy enough to discourage spending time in the water, but still a fine place to spend the rest of the day.

DAY 7
The beginning of our trek out.
We packed up and started down the long valley downstream from McGee Lakes. I had been this way once before on a dayhike through the McGee basin, and was looking forward to it. There’s a 300’ descent immediately west of McGee Lakes that can involve some route choices… there’s brush along with rocks & meadows. Then the valley turns north, is pretty flat, and is fine stroll through meadows and on open ridges, alongside the creek. Beautiful and easy. Lower McGee Canyon

As we got closer to Evolution Valley the terrain dropped off a little steeper. We crossed to the east side of our creek (fine waterfalls!) and angled to the NE – aiming for the approximate point at the head of Evolution Valley where the JMT ascends out of the valley. Lower McGee Canyon - Waterfall

We hit Evolution Creek at a nice location – wide, shallow, sandy-bottomed. Forded it there and had lunch on the other side. Evolution Creek, The Hermit

We walked up to the JMT and climbed the switchbacks. Took the use trail towards Darwin Basin. Heading up we met the McClure Ranger coming down, returning from taking her Nurses’ Boards in Reno, and chatted for a bit. She didn’t say it out loud, but didn’t seem impressed with the frog project.
At Darwin Bench we picked a camp spot on the low ridge between the two major creeks. An excellent spot, with an unobstructed view of the sky and stars (no nighttime clouds now). Marmots also thought that was a good place to be – one apparently living in a wide crack on
one side of our camp, and another based in a small grove of hemlock trees on the other side. Afternoon at Darwin Bench. Plenty of Water, The Hermit Right-Center.
Marmot Photo Op

DAY 8
Today we planned to get over Lamarck Col and stay at Lamarck Lakes. For us olders we knew that would be a long day for us, having done it in 2015 (way back when we were much younger). We got off to a reasonable start – around 9am. Even though hiking along the Darwin Lakes is ‘flat’, it still takes time to cover that distance. We had an early lunch at the little lakeside meadow at the east end of the 4th lake, then started up towards the Col. Typical Pic of Darwin Lakes from partway up to the Col

For whatever reasons it took us awhile – got balled up in talus near the bottom, and slow going as we ascended. We saw a few other folks en route. A father (age 65) and son (college-age) who talked constantly as they hiked – could hear them coming & going from some distance. The father vowed to us that he’d have his son keep bringing him up here (meaning Lamarck Col apparently) until he keeled over. A lone young-ish man from Texas – he told me (after hiking up and over from the trailhead that day) that he was “rethinking his life choices”.
We didn’t get to the Col until 4pm. I figured No Way would we get to Lamarck Lakes that night – we’d need to stop at once of the rare water sources or dry camp somewhere along the route down. But we kept moving and did make it to Lamarck Lakes – camped in the same site as in 2015, near the Lower Lake. Cooked dinner in the dusk and ate in the dark. From my sleeping spot I could only see half the night sky, but could see the lights of Bishop below.

DAY 9
An easy walk down the last 1300’ to the trailhead through pines and aspens. We gave a couple a ride to South Lake, had lunch in Aspendell, then to Bishop for showers and dinner.

On our day 6 Trekker9, Slabwalker and JP hiked from McGee Lakes over the Col to Lamarck Lakes. They had visions of breakfast in Bishop on Day 7, but spent all morning dealing with a dead car battery and so had to settle for lunch in town.

Notes:
We saw a lot of water on the trip - small creeks & watercourses were running. That was unexpected in mid-August in a dry year, but due of course to the monsoon weather in the SW US. It had rained the week before we began our hike, and as noted rained during. Thankfully for us this didn’t result in significant mosquitos – we saw just a few over the course of the trip.
Unusually though the water was generally ‘warm’, as compared to our memories of the past. In only one location – the east end of the 4th Darwin Lake, below the glaciers – was the water so cold that it was painful to keep our feet in the water. We’re used to that being the case much more often.

On our various Sierra backpacks I’m always engaged in my informal survey of the slime-green algae growth in waterways, and conjecturing about why it’s in the Sierras and why in some places but not others.
On this trip I saw quite a bit of algae along the Piute Pass trail, and up in the Muriel Lake/Goethe Lakes area. Once we crossed Glacier Divide though, not so much. For sure there were instances of it in the lakes below Alpine Col, above Evolution Lake, in McGee Canyon. But not gobs of it coating every rock surface as is sometimes seen.

Eric J

Thanks for a fine trip report to a very scenic area. My wife and I did a similar loop in the reverse direction back in 2001, except without the excursion to the McGee Lakes. They look very nice and I'd like to visit them. I like cross-country hiking, but Alpine Col turned out to be so tiring and annoying, primarily because of the big talus on the west side, that I swore never to do it or anything like it again. I've kept that promise to myself.

I too have been paying attention to the presence or absence of algae growth in Sierra backcountry lakes and streams for several years now, mostly while backpacking in Yosemite Park. It seemed to be getting worse every year, but then this year I re-visited some places that had bad algae two or three years ago and was pleasantly surprised to see clear waters. My hypothesis is that there are periodic pulses of nutrients delivered to the waters that result in pulses of algae growth. My best guess for the source of those nutrients? Ash floating down from the monster wildfires that have become all too common in California in the last decade.

-Phil

Really nice report. I remember eating lunch one day at Goethe Lake while we camped in Humphreys Basin. A group of about four guys passed by, on their way to the Col. They were looking at that talus, and we were looking at that talus. I think we were happier than they were---we weren't going to traverse it!

Nice work.

It's super to be getting these great trip reports coming in to while away in some reminiscing time as the wet, grey days take over. (Which is good of course). Thanks for this as McGee Lakes is a special place for me and I'm hoping to re-visit in late spring. It was cool to see your pics of Pass 11,720 too as I has gone up there in 2021 with intent to go over into Davis Lakes basin. Did you notice that sandy and fairly steep chute down on the south side?! Which then funneled out into what you describe well...'a lot of water and lakes but a dearth of vegetation'. Bit too stark for me as an intended base camp. McGee Lakes has the beauty and the trees!

Ta much ~ Michaelzim

Thanks for the report. I really liked the photos of Davis Lakes- very useful for future trip plans. I was in McGee Lakes before netting and caught some nice but small fish. I am also a bit of a skeptic of the fish removal/frog projects. I think I took almost the same first day-hike you did from McGee Lakes. It is a great area with few people. I saw someone with a tri-pod for photos. What was it and how much did it weigh?

a lovey report!

Wandering Daisy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 31, 2022 9:56 am I saw someone with a tri-pod for photos. What was it and how much did it weigh?

Wandering Daisy, it's the Peak Design travel tripod. 2.9 lbs

Besides the delightful report, I was curious about your HST moniker, because I thought it reminded me of a performance I'd once seen. So, the miracle of Google/Youtube yielded this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5YKzW9JGa4

Is there hidden (obvious) meaning here? Do you dance in the hills? Down the trail? And more to the point, I'm constantly encouraged by the supra-60 year olds you met. No better place to keel over! Cheers, Cameron