High Sierra Topix

Ionian Basin was my desired destination this year but due to record snowfall I was prepared that I might have to change my plans. I have no experience with snow travel, and satellite photos were still showing a lot of snow in the Basin, so I started to think about the Goddard Creek and Tunemah Lake instead. I was inspired by Harlen and Paul trip reports from 2021 and 2022 and that's how my plan to go around the White Divide was created. The original plan was 10 days, but due to family matters I had to return to Chicago a day earlier, so I squeezed it in 9. Here is my trip report (please excuse my English, as it is my second language).
The first day (travel day) did not start as planned because my 5am flight from Chicago to Dallas was late and I missed connecting flight to Fresno. Instead of 9am I arrived after 1pm but fortunately my checked backpack arrived with me and after renting a car and quick shopping (propane fuel for my stove) I picked my permit up at High Sierra Ranger Station in Prater and off I went to the mountains! I arrived at Maxson TH parking after 5pm and immediately started heading toward Voyager Campground. I expected the campground to be empty in mid-September, and it was. I had entire place to myself and as the sun was setting, I pitched my tent. It was a long day and I slept like a baby.
Day 1
The next morning was quite chilly, so I took my time, waited for the sun to rise, made breakfast, and packed. Before 8am, I started along the trail towards Hobler Lake and then towards Red Rock Basin. The trail was overgrown, invisible and flooded in many places, and I eventually decided to leave it and go to the Basin, visiting small nameless lakes that I saw on the map. I arrived at Red Rock Basin after 2pm and didn’t see red rocks… maybe I was on wrong side but the meadows were beautiful, green and quiet. I reached the largest lake and began climbing the ridge between peaks 10,825 and 10,810. I was expecting a nice view from the top and planned to spend the night on the north side, near a small lake below Ward Mountain. Unfortunately, hail started to fall and I stopped to put my rain gear on and decided to wait it out. When it started to thunder, I retreated to the lake that I had passed earlier and pitched my tent in the rain. The sky cleared just before sunset, and I was rewarded with a nice view. Day 2
The tent was wet next morning. It is my first single wall tent and I pitched it in bad spot so it accumulated a lot of condensation. I packed it still-damp and set off east towards Zingheim Heights, crossing the basin along its northern edge. I reached Mosquito Pass Trail just below Upper Indian Lake and turned south toward Lower Indian Lake, after passing it I joined the trail leading to Hell for Sure Lake. It was already late afternoon and I had to speed up because it was getting cloudy again. It started to drizzle as I passed several tiny lakes just below Hell for Sure Lake but it stopped when I finally arrived. I quickly pitched my tent and changed to dry clothes and when sun came out from behind the clouds, I decided to go for a swim but ended up “cold soaking” only. Water was very cold but I felt much better. I was very tired; it seems I make the same error every year; my first days are long and tiring while my body is trying to adapt to elevation.
Day 3
Before going up to the pass I did a little exploring and climbed small hills between the lakes with nice views of the Basin and Horseshoe Lake. When I returned to the tent, it was already in full sun and drying quickly (condensation again). Climb to Hell for Sure Pass was steep but uneventful and I was rewarded with the grand view of Mt. Hutton and the lake. My pace was slow, I was hoping that my body would catch up to elevation so I was taking my time, enjoying trail to the bottom of the canyon and beyond to Martha Lake. I met two scientists researching local lizard in Upper Goddard Canyon. I was jealous of the views from their office.

Soon the canyon widened and trees and grass slowly disappeared giving space to rock and sand and finally Martha Lake! Day 4
I used north shore to circle Martha Lake and started angling up between patches of snow and the way to the pass was straightforward and not difficult. As I climbed higher, the views of Goddard Canyon and beyond become magnificent. When I reached Reinstein Pass I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t see lake 10,232 but the view still took my breath away. I had some difficulties to find a way down from the pass, I knew to keep right but all possible passages were blocked by snow. I retreated back to the top and climbed a little higher and “right” to finally find a way down. After crossing around 2/3 of the canyon, I finally saw lake 10,232! It's huge but well hidden! Reaching the outlet, I thought “This is a Paradise….” It was hard to leave this place and get going again but I wanted to go to lake 9797 and then climb to unnamed lakes in a valley leading to Finger and Blue Canyon Peaks so I set off downstream along eastern shore of Goddard Creek. The canyon was beautiful, lots of streams, small lakes and marshes (a lot of water everywhere). Very picturesque. It was starting to get late and I gave up on going to Lake 9797 so I crossed the creek again, I climbed toward Finger Peak and soon snow-covered slopes of Blue Canyon Peak and Finger Peak appeared in the distance. Day 5
The ascent to the north-east ridge of Blue Canyon Peak leading to cirque and Libby Pass took longer than I anticipated. It seemed to me that my decision making was off today because it felt the route was more difficult than it should . To be fair to myself, there was also snow blocking the way so I was often forced off my planned route. I finally reached the cirque to discover the pass blocked by snow so I climbed to the ridge east of peak 11,990 (?) and then the peak itself. It was tedious, steep climb (but not technical) and to my surprise I become dehydrated very quickly and when I reached deep blue waters of Tunameh Lake I drank a lot!

I spent the night on a perch overlooking Alpine Creek Valley few hundred feet below Dykeman Pass and earlier in the evening, while I was reading a book the bear walked into my campsite. That was my first ever bear encounter and, in a place, I would have never expected it. Next morning, I saw bear tracks on a patch of snow near Dykeman Pass and again in the other side of the pass. Day 6 I crossed Blue Canyon staying above 10,400 ft, visiting the lakes below Finger Peak but the lower canyon I saw below seemed more interesting to me. It was an easy walk to Mantle Pass and soon I was descending to the meadow above Hummingbird Lake. I decided to stay on higher elevation again, near the edge of the cliffs above the lake with nice views of the Crown Basin and lower Blackcap Basin but the view during the descend to Portal Lake was the best. Clouds, wind, rain and thunder arrived several minutes later and I quickly pitched my tent in “storm” configuration, all stakes and guy lines deployed but to my luck, bad weather passed quickly and I was rewarded with beautiful light show during sunset. Day 7
It was a very cold night despite me wearing extra clothes and I decided to start moving as soon as possible. I headed towards the ridge before Pearl Lake, then when the path became steep, I turned east and went up the steep slope to the top of the ridge between Portal and Midway lakes. I emerged near Chapel Lake, left my gear there to dry and I set off towards Midway Lake and gorgeous Cathedral Lake. For the rest of the day, I was touring Blackcap Basin lakes: Pearl, Division, Regiment, Battalion, Ewe and Ram to Bighorn and Ambition Lakes. During the descent to Bighorn Lake the hail started to fall but I was pushing on to the Ambition Lake. I was planning to stay there for the night but the thunders chased me down to upper Lightning Corral Meadow (very pretty area). The temperature dropped in the evening and I was facing another freezing night.
Day 8
I woke up cold and the tent was solid frozen. I waited for the sun, exercising, trying to get my blood going. The sky was blue but the wind changed and was blowing cold air from the north with visible clouds on the horizon. I was close to Blackcap Pass; the terrain was easy to travel and soon I was looking down on Bench Valley. I descended steep northern slope to small cliff above Guest Lake and then turned north to Colt, Horseshoe and Filly Lake, then up to Twin Buck Lakes to finally stop for lunch at Schoolmarm Lake.

I really liked the terrain here and Crabtree Lake below looked really nice. Initially, I was planning on descending to this lake on my way to the Lucifer’s Saddle pass, but in the end, I took upper approach where I walked along the edge of a high cliff from where I could see big part of Bench Valley. Lucifer's Saddle West welcomed me with black clouds and snow blocking the way down. I decided to cut through the snow in its flattest section and then scramble down through field of big boulders. Shortly after, I enjoy the view of Devil's Punchbowl Lake with its two neighbors - Little and Big Shot Lakes. The Punchbowl Lake is a beautiful lake, it even has a small beach! I stopped here to rest thinking what to do next but I got cold really fast. The wind was icy cold and it looked like the night will be too so I decided to go a little further and I ended up looking for a tent spot at Fleming Lake. Unfortunately, the wind was as strong and icy here as at Devil’s Punchbowl and it took me a long time to find sheltered place in the forest some distance from the lake.
Day 9
The last night was the coldest. My 15-degree sleeping bag did not keep me warm, and I was wearing everything I had! The condensation inside the tent was frozen, so I climbed out of my shelter and made a cup of coffee while I waited for the sun to reach my campsite. I had only a few miles to the parking lot, so I didn't have to rush. I made breakfast, had another cup of coffee, and then headed back on the trail. The ground was frozen, which made it easier to cross the wet sections that had been trampled by horses' hooves. After a mile, I reached a small stream where I met Ian (Harlen!), his wife Lizzie, and Carlton. I hadn't seen anyone in almost a week, so I was probably babbling. My brain must still have been frozen because I didn't realize that Ian was the Harlan whose trip reports I had been reading. I'm glad I shook his hand, though.

Items lost: none.
Items gained: empty Coca Cola can (sugar fee) near Lower Indian Lake and pieces of Happy Birthday balloon in Blue Canyon.

An amazing report, with breathtaking cross country distances that I can only imagine. I enjoyed my own on-trail trip from Maxson to Red Mountain Basin, but you covered so much more terrain that it makes my head spin. I did hang out at the beach at Devil's Punchbowl! A nice spot. My favorite lake that I saw, although Big Shot is right up there too.

Thank you Slepak for this wonderful report ! Beautiful photography, and a nice description of your route (and its difficult spots). I will have to (roughly) plot out your trip on a map; you didn’t mention your overall distance but it sounded pretty strenuous.

love this report! i made it to 10232 in 2022 on a similar but much shorter trip, so great to see it all again

grampy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 8:31 pm Thank you Slepak for this wonderful report ! Beautiful photography, and a nice description of your route (and its difficult spots). I will have to (roughly) plot out your trip on a map; you didn’t mention your overall distance but it sounded pretty strenuous.

Thank you grampy!
According to my GPS watch, it was 88 miles. Here is the map of my route:

What an epic trip that takes in some of my very favorite places in the High Sierra. I've never put this particular combination in one trip, though. 10232, Blue Canyon, Tunemah, etc. are really special places. Thanks for posting this---it brings a lot of magic to the viewer.

What an inspiring report with nice photos of some special areas! You certainly covered a lot of ground in less than ideal conditions. I've had some of the spots you visited on my todo list for awhile now, although reaching all of them in the same trip is well beyond my abilities. Thank you for taking the time to put together and post your report.