High Sierra Topix

Lizzie and I and our eldest son Ryan joined a couple of my old foreign travel buddies for a trip all around Convict Creek.  We couldn't have hit it better--the weather was all clear blue sky, and fall colors must've peaked during our stay.  On the way out in the dawn light, we were treated to a display of the finest of fading leaves-- Aspen, Cottonwood and Water Birch, and more-- it was as if they were on fire rather than fading out.  I have finally learned, and trained myself to stop a while to admire beautiful scenery.  The sight of the colorful cliffs and peaks, and the plantlife shining so brilliantly, had me almost paralysed by the beauty.  There is a benediction offered among the Dine (aka, Navajo) which translates as: "Walk in Beauty."  While packing along steep rocky trails perhaps it should be "Stop in Beauty."  


There was this magical mile of fall-colored plant life, combined with the Sevehah Cliffs, that I must have stopped and just stared at ten times!




So, we came and went via this stretch of Convict Creek.  It is just about 5 and a half miles of steep canyon trail (*some still washed out and sketchy) to top out in the first of the wide upper basins.  Lake Mildred greets you first, and more lakes and vales grace the convoluted land above it.  There are many fascinating paths to explore, including the long hikes up to the summit of Red Slate Mountain, and another that leads you into a westerly drainage of Convict Cr., which passes through 3 lovely lakes-- Cloverleaf, Edith, and Genevieve.  Bright Dot Lake, and the gray marbled Mount Baldwin above it are other great destinations that we have explored.

Our friends found the area fascinating, especially our friend Tim, from merry old England, whose backpacking trips usually take him into the Lake District, which is a spongy soft land covered in heather, and which makes our Eastern Sierra lands appear like Mars.  The second friend, an Australian from the island of Tasmania, has visited with us twice before, and already knows and loves the Sierra.  This was to be our one longer backpacking trip, and from the Sierra we began a long road trip.  We made a wide circle, taking in many highlights from Yellowstone and the Tetons in Wyoming, south and east into the Colorado Plateau, finishing at the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. 
I had met Shaun and Tim on the border between Pakistan and far western China in 1987. We traveled together through troubled Tibet, and into Nepal-- Tim and I on bikes from Lhasa to Kathmandu. This was our long-awaited reunion.


Tim and Shaun.


The rest of the crew.



Okay, thanks for your patience as I rambled on.  Here is the trip we made, beginning in Convict Creek:



 Sevehah Cliff


Sadly, Shaun suffers from Parkinson's disease, but recently underwent a brain surgery in which electrodes were implanted in his brain, which can be manipulated remotely. The goal is to minimize his symptoms, and slow the advance of the disease.  We all hope that it was a great success.


He started out strong...


...but soon we (mostly young Ryan) were shuttling his pack for him.


Ryan must've walked at least 9 miles to get to our camp up valley from Lake Mildred-- 6 miles in.

Wolfie will take over any spare sleeping bag.


Trail through Mars, leading to Bright Dot Lake.


Wolfie awaits his fish.


Shaun did well with his fly fishing.








Fun at the Bright Dot Lake, and ...


... a lot of fish for dinner!


Parts of the descent were tricky.


Tim definitely had his climbing sights set on Red Slate Mtn.

Red Slate Mountain.  Route up shown in blue, though Ryan and Tim went around to the west side.


The higher tarns and marsh waters were iced over.





We almost chose to stop at one of these false summits, as Tim was tiring out.


Ryan and Tim, on their way west. I chose to try the northern ridge, which is just out of view to the left of this frame.  It proved to be loose, but fun.  (I know-- an oxymoron to Gogd and WD. )

NW, the Ritter Range dark in the distance.


Ryan begins the tedious talus slope.  Lakes No name, Cecil, and Lee. Ryan volunteered to stay with Tim and guide him up.



On the summit, with the long view to the northwest



Tim was really stoked; he had outdone himself and was proud, but "knackered!"

I will add in the final Parts 4 and 5 later in the morning.

Wonderful report! I love this time of the year in the Sierra. And now y9ou've given me one more trip to add to my list for the future.

Great photos, nice fish, too!

  Another summit view, this time to the NE, with Silver Lake and Boundary Peak in the distance.


I went down to check out the rough trail down the southern ridge.  Tim was not up for going back down the route we'd come up, and the sound of a trail off the mountain sounded wonderful to him.  It would be twice as far back to camp that way (via McGee, and then Corridor Passes), but we left it up to him.


There's Tim up there, still celebrating, which wouldn't last too much longer.


Ryan is young and fit, and was up for anything.  That helped a lot over the next 6 hours.


Nearing Corridor Pass.


Down around 10,500', and about to climb back up 1300.'


Corridor Pass (on the left) is no joke; there's a lot of very loose rock primed to slide.  It was very slow going, and set us up for a nightime finish.


We made it back well into the dark, and one of us was exhausted but still able to joke about it.  Ryan and I were fine, and acted as though this sort of thing happens all the time.  Here we are the next day, after a nice long day trip above Lake Dorothy. [Note to self and HST brethren: always include headlamps on climbing trips ; we had to creep along using a couple of cellphone lights


We hiked back to camp at Lake Mildred for our last night.




It's such a great place!

The ridge above Lake Dorothy is a great place to enjoy the sunset.  That's Mt. Baldwin.






I have to include some of these fall color images again, though they are in another recent Photography post of mine.  It was mostly the water birch trees that were turning colors, with a bit of aspen and cottonwood mixed in.  It was truly stunning!


The cottonwood leaves.



Water birch, Betula occidentalis.



A few of those rare Slender-leaved Paintbrush were still in bloom.


Wolfie always has a great trip!  Amazingly happy little creature

Everyone made it down fine.  Shaun carried his pack all the way, charged ahead, and felt fitter than he had in a long while.  We all really enjoyed this trip, and we were now set for another 3 weeks of traveling around the West together. 

We made it from Yellowstone to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. With many great places in between... Fisher Towers outsdie of Arches; the Navajo Nation-- Canyon de Chelly... Perhaps we'll document that part in a sequel later on.... maybe 1 or 2 now?:

Thanks for the excellent report! So cool that you were able to reconnect with your long-time friends on this trip. The fall colors in the McGee Creek corridor are stunning -- your photos are a glaring reminder that I need to return during this time of year.

Great report and photos! Thanks for showing us this colorful part of the Sierra. Looks like you had a great time with your companions, too.
-Phil