R03/R01 TR: Kearsage Pass to Charlotte Lake and over Gardiner Pass: 7/20 to 7/23 2023
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 10:14 am
Hey all - I dont have time for the most detailed trip report but i thought some notes would be helpful. I went into the hills with some friends who were on the slightly more inexperienced side but made up for it in endurance and grit. We had a basic idea to get to Charlotte Lake and then make a decision there about what to do next over the next few days, so we did just that.
Kearsage Pass trail was almost totally fine except for two snow patches with one being maybe 200 yards at most. Regardless, the snow was totally tracked out. For what it's worth, we heard that this was the case for Glen and Forrester as well. On the way to Charlotte Lake, outside of the trail ponding in a few areas, the trail was as delightful as it always is. We lunched at Charlotte Lake for a few hours without any bugs before moving on towards Charlotte Dome where we found camp 4-5 miles along the trail. The main thing to note about this leg was the the crossing at Charlottes Creek (lot of water but found a wide/shallow spot) and the size of the tributaries (roaring). Bugs were present but it could have been much worse. We were able to cook outside but moved into our tents immediately after eating.
From here, the group decided that since we had plenty of food and a few days that we would continue up and over Gardiner Pass for the adventure and see if we could complete the loop out via Rae Lakes. The trail to Gardiner Pass was a slog and the north face had tons of snow. We hit a ~250 foot glissade on the way down and made our way through this gorgeous area all morning/early afternoon. Up to this point, the trail was still relatively bug free, but the bogs and creek crossings had slowed our pace down considerably. By late afternoon we were at the final 600 foot cliff descent to Gardiner Creek and we had a decision to make. Do we drop off this cliff and risk crossing Gardiner Creek only to then slog our way up Gardiner Basin to 60 Lakes Col and Rae Col AND Glen Pass? Or do we turn back? After descending just a little bit it was clear that Gardiner Creek was absolutely roaring and the crossing would have been too much for the group to handle. A very difficult and sad decision but one that we felt was correct given our timeframe, supplies, and the groups experience.
We decided to head back to the foot of the pass to camp where we had a beautiful site near the stream with almost no bugs. The following morning we threw the microspikes back on and trudged up the north side of Gardiner Pass (by 10am the snow was soft enough for a relatively easy climb). We were back at Charlotte Lake by early afternoon and spent another beautiful afternoon/evening there. We were at the car the next day by Noon.
TLDR:
- Snow doesnt seem to be an issue on the passes anymore. They are either tracked out of the snow is soft enough to climb
- By far the biggest issues are the creek crossings
- Skeeters range from level 2-4, but seemed totally random. As usual, the higher up the better
Kearsage Pass trail was almost totally fine except for two snow patches with one being maybe 200 yards at most. Regardless, the snow was totally tracked out. For what it's worth, we heard that this was the case for Glen and Forrester as well. On the way to Charlotte Lake, outside of the trail ponding in a few areas, the trail was as delightful as it always is. We lunched at Charlotte Lake for a few hours without any bugs before moving on towards Charlotte Dome where we found camp 4-5 miles along the trail. The main thing to note about this leg was the the crossing at Charlottes Creek (lot of water but found a wide/shallow spot) and the size of the tributaries (roaring). Bugs were present but it could have been much worse. We were able to cook outside but moved into our tents immediately after eating.
From here, the group decided that since we had plenty of food and a few days that we would continue up and over Gardiner Pass for the adventure and see if we could complete the loop out via Rae Lakes. The trail to Gardiner Pass was a slog and the north face had tons of snow. We hit a ~250 foot glissade on the way down and made our way through this gorgeous area all morning/early afternoon. Up to this point, the trail was still relatively bug free, but the bogs and creek crossings had slowed our pace down considerably. By late afternoon we were at the final 600 foot cliff descent to Gardiner Creek and we had a decision to make. Do we drop off this cliff and risk crossing Gardiner Creek only to then slog our way up Gardiner Basin to 60 Lakes Col and Rae Col AND Glen Pass? Or do we turn back? After descending just a little bit it was clear that Gardiner Creek was absolutely roaring and the crossing would have been too much for the group to handle. A very difficult and sad decision but one that we felt was correct given our timeframe, supplies, and the groups experience.
We decided to head back to the foot of the pass to camp where we had a beautiful site near the stream with almost no bugs. The following morning we threw the microspikes back on and trudged up the north side of Gardiner Pass (by 10am the snow was soft enough for a relatively easy climb). We were back at Charlotte Lake by early afternoon and spent another beautiful afternoon/evening there. We were at the car the next day by Noon.
TLDR:
- Snow doesnt seem to be an issue on the passes anymore. They are either tracked out of the snow is soft enough to climb
- By far the biggest issues are the creek crossings
- Skeeters range from level 2-4, but seemed totally random. As usual, the higher up the better