R03/R01 TR: A Wild, First Ever in Sequoia-N.A.P. to Cleaver Col, 8/29- 9/4/23
Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2023 9:30 am
One of the highlights of this trip was crossing Crabtree Pass to drop into that canyon of immense cliffs. Till now, "dropping in" for my friend Eric has meant to point his surfboard down waves. Big waves are 20'+ and these cliffs are well over 1000.' Eric has never worn a backpack in his life, except once in his youth-- on a year-long epic surf trip: Hawaii- Fiji- Australia- Bali...
Eric was in for the new ride of his life!
Permit me a quick bio. of Eric, because the real highlight of this trip for me was watching a friend meet the Sierra. I know that Nancy, and Ed in particular, and most of the rest of us here have enjoyed both the pleasure, and the folly of sharing the Mountains with friends. The lows can be very low, and the "Highs" out of sight! I've known Eric since 2nd grade, and my first memory was of him uttering the old line "Hey, pick on someone your own size." ... thereby saving me from a probable ass-whupping as I was squared off against a bully. Eric is a couple years older, and was respected. So you see-- I've owed him this favor for a long time. Eric became a mad carpenter, a super-productive, can-do guy, famous for working endless days, and never taking enough time off. We have often worked together, and I have seen enough of him balancing on roof rafters to know that he would be okay with scary exposure. Though he never runs or works out, Eric at 65, pulls off one 14 hr workday after another, and then hits the surf. I had full confidence in his endurance. He is a surfer first, but is also what's known as a "waterman." That is: surfer, body-surfer, swimmer, spear fisherman, free-diver, scuba-diver, and even a pier and cliff diver- which is an odd practice we share, and again-- proof that he'd be cool with the climbing and the heights. We have also day-hiked in the Redwoods and deserts together, and I have noticed how incredibly stoked Eric gets out in nature-- he really appreciates seeing animals and beautiful scenery, so I have long wanted to drag him off the job, and into the Sierra. On this trip the "gold" panned out. We saw outrageous granite high country, caught Golden trout for our food, and saw enough animals and wild weather sunrises and sunsets, along with the full moon, to make this a memorable trip for us both.
Explosion of red! Pre-storm sunset in Crabtree Canyon.
Another highlight for me was to return to Wallace Creek to fish for big Goldens, and to revisit mind-blowing Wales Lake for the first time in 35 years.
This is Wales Lake, and Eric has still never stopped smiling.
I have only gazed longingly down the great Crabtree Canyon from the pass on this wintery trip there in 2017:
This is a quote from that earlier trip report: "This is the view west from C.Pass, down the amazingly cliffy valley of the Crabtree Lakes- some of those cliffs are 1400' high! ... It would be very easy, in any season, to descend down that great valley from C.Pass."
But I had never done it--so hiking through, and camping beneath those huge cliffs at the big lake made a dream of mine into reality. I was also really impressed by the many huge green meadows in Crabtree Canyon. One included a distant view of Mt Russell- highlighting its classic climb-- the "Fishhook Arete."
Nor had I ever stared down this crazy canyon below:
Above "Noway! Chute" just north of Cleaver Col. This was the other piece of new ground I got to cover, after finding the right crossing point.
Okay then, enough of a pre-amble through our trip. Here's how it went:
Due to the recent flooding from the Hillary storm, you may need to detour up Lubken Road to reach the Whitney Portal road. We drove through newly green Alabama Hills on this road, and dropped one truck at Whitney Portal-- and then drove up Horseshoe Meadow Road to begin our trip at the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead. Our route took us out of the Foxtail Pine forest, over New Army Pass (all clear), and into Miter Basin. On our third day, we crossed Crabtree Pass with ease, though we were told that people were turning back from it due to steep snow. The pass itself was the easy part, there were, in fact, troublesome steep snowfields on either side of the pass. In both cases the problem was to cross the snowfields without entering the lakes below. Even the aquaman and woman named gunderson say they will not swim with their backpacks on, and even dislike swimming in their boots. We crossed these snowfields carefully, without any metal points, and only lightweight footgear. We ate golden fish for dinner on many of our nights, as we moved in one long day from upper Crabtree Lake to the lakes of Wallace Creek. We were utterly amazed by the scenery around Wales Lake. Especially the outlet, with its zig-zagging stream and artfully dropped glacial erratics. It is the great granite cliffs though, which really make it so awe-inspiring. The shadows cast by these cliffs were fantastic, along with the thick, snowy margins entering the lake. Higher up in the basin is the famous Tulainyo Lake, at 12,802' it is said to be the highest big lake in the Sierra. It was also super full, and included many ice-bergs, and great sheets of ice floating under the north facing mountain sides. Here are some images from that first part of the trip:
Cottonwood Lakes.
Foxtail Pine forest and New Army Pass (arrow on pass).
Eric's first ever Marmot.
We passed Soldier Lake on the way to Miter Basin.
Permit me a quick bio. of Eric, because the real highlight of this trip for me was watching a friend meet the Sierra. I know that Nancy, and Ed in particular, and most of the rest of us here have enjoyed both the pleasure, and the folly of sharing the Mountains with friends. The lows can be very low, and the "Highs" out of sight! I've known Eric since 2nd grade, and my first memory was of him uttering the old line "Hey, pick on someone your own size." ... thereby saving me from a probable ass-whupping as I was squared off against a bully. Eric is a couple years older, and was respected. So you see-- I've owed him this favor for a long time. Eric became a mad carpenter, a super-productive, can-do guy, famous for working endless days, and never taking enough time off. We have often worked together, and I have seen enough of him balancing on roof rafters to know that he would be okay with scary exposure. Though he never runs or works out, Eric at 65, pulls off one 14 hr workday after another, and then hits the surf. I had full confidence in his endurance. He is a surfer first, but is also what's known as a "waterman." That is: surfer, body-surfer, swimmer, spear fisherman, free-diver, scuba-diver, and even a pier and cliff diver- which is an odd practice we share, and again-- proof that he'd be cool with the climbing and the heights. We have also day-hiked in the Redwoods and deserts together, and I have noticed how incredibly stoked Eric gets out in nature-- he really appreciates seeing animals and beautiful scenery, so I have long wanted to drag him off the job, and into the Sierra. On this trip the "gold" panned out. We saw outrageous granite high country, caught Golden trout for our food, and saw enough animals and wild weather sunrises and sunsets, along with the full moon, to make this a memorable trip for us both.
Another highlight for me was to return to Wallace Creek to fish for big Goldens, and to revisit mind-blowing Wales Lake for the first time in 35 years.
This is a quote from that earlier trip report: "This is the view west from C.Pass, down the amazingly cliffy valley of the Crabtree Lakes- some of those cliffs are 1400' high! ... It would be very easy, in any season, to descend down that great valley from C.Pass."
But I had never done it--so hiking through, and camping beneath those huge cliffs at the big lake made a dream of mine into reality. I was also really impressed by the many huge green meadows in Crabtree Canyon. One included a distant view of Mt Russell- highlighting its classic climb-- the "Fishhook Arete."
Nor had I ever stared down this crazy canyon below:
Okay then, enough of a pre-amble through our trip. Here's how it went:
Due to the recent flooding from the Hillary storm, you may need to detour up Lubken Road to reach the Whitney Portal road. We drove through newly green Alabama Hills on this road, and dropped one truck at Whitney Portal-- and then drove up Horseshoe Meadow Road to begin our trip at the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead. Our route took us out of the Foxtail Pine forest, over New Army Pass (all clear), and into Miter Basin. On our third day, we crossed Crabtree Pass with ease, though we were told that people were turning back from it due to steep snow. The pass itself was the easy part, there were, in fact, troublesome steep snowfields on either side of the pass. In both cases the problem was to cross the snowfields without entering the lakes below. Even the aquaman and woman named gunderson say they will not swim with their backpacks on, and even dislike swimming in their boots. We crossed these snowfields carefully, without any metal points, and only lightweight footgear. We ate golden fish for dinner on many of our nights, as we moved in one long day from upper Crabtree Lake to the lakes of Wallace Creek. We were utterly amazed by the scenery around Wales Lake. Especially the outlet, with its zig-zagging stream and artfully dropped glacial erratics. It is the great granite cliffs though, which really make it so awe-inspiring. The shadows cast by these cliffs were fantastic, along with the thick, snowy margins entering the lake. Higher up in the basin is the famous Tulainyo Lake, at 12,802' it is said to be the highest big lake in the Sierra. It was also super full, and included many ice-bergs, and great sheets of ice floating under the north facing mountain sides. Here are some images from that first part of the trip:
