Lakes Basin

[richlong8]

I am planning and deciding on where to do a trip about 10 days long this summer. I have been in a lot of different areas, but I have not been north or south cross country from Bench Lake. My preferences this year are scenery. Fishing is secondary on this trip. I would either come in over Bishop and Knapsack Pass, then up to Observation Lake, and on to Lakes Basin, then return by the JMT. or perhaps just do Taboose, go north into Lakes Basin, and take the JMT back to Taboose when I get to Glacier Creek. The scenery going south of Bench seems nice too. any preference for scenery, any of you who have been in these areas? I am not really asking for trip tips for travel at this point. I just hope to take a few photos, and enjoy the scenery. I will do my best to do the Meetup in Tephite also, but I think I will just come in from Rancheria like I did the first time, and make it about a 5 day trip. It will be interesting to see what snowpack we end up with this year.

[Gazelle]

Is the meetup for next year figured out? I maybe going to observation peak area to close out a bunch of those peaks next year! be good to see you out there!

[maxr22]

My preference would be for option #1, there is great scenery right from the start with Bishop pass along the lakes, and then once in dusy basin incredible sightlines. Sure, taboose has incredible sightlines but getting there I found less scenic than bishop pass's trail (but still enjoyable and worth it). Taboose also kicked my butt.

[tomba]

South of Bench Lake there are some nice areas too. Mineral springs E of Arrow Pass. The lake basin SE of Arrow Peak is nice. The two basins, one E of Pyramid Peak and Window Peak, and another S of Mt Ickes are fine too.

Overall though the areas on the route you mentioned N of Bench Lake may be more scenic.

[papercup]

For whatever reason, we've gotten an unusual number of wonderful trip reports from this exact region this year. Here are the four that I remember most clearly, apologies to anyone I've left out:

Mine: viewtopic.php?t=23707
Harlen: viewtopic.php?p=184572
Fviolich: viewtopic.php?t=23845
KT5519: viewtopic.php?t=23730

All four have some nice photographs and description that should give you a good sense of the area and some ideas for places you'd particularly like to see. Just a few opinions of my own to share here:

1. A few months out from exploring this area, the places that stick out to me as most memorable are Lakes Basin generally, which is just completely idyllic, and the eastern shores of Lake 10,565, which gives you absolutely incredible views to the east with just a bit of scrambling up onto high points.

2. Observation Peak is probably worth a climb if you're out here, as long as your route takes you past it. It's a pretty easy climb and accessible from a few different angles, and it has a very cool view of the Palisades.

3. If I had ten days, I'd probably try to figure out a shuttle setup of some kind and go in at Taboose and exit at Bishop. That would give you enough time to really explore a lot of the nooks and crannies of the area without having to re-cover any ground. This may also be because I relish the challenge of the big east-side passes; if doing Taboose sounds awful to you then just go with Bishop. Ten days would also be plenty of time to come in from the west, going up Copper Creek and then cross-country to get to Lakes Basin at Marion Lake, and then back out however you want.

[Fviolich]

Thanks for the shoutout papercup and putting these reports in one place. Hope my partner and I bump into you one day on the trail. Next August we’re going back to Roads End where we haven’t been since the Hwy 180 washout, up Copper Creek taking the High Route to Marion, thru Lake Basin, down and across the South Fork and then up south east through Explorer Pass and ending up at Window Peak. We plan to exit down Woods Creek thru Paradise. Have you explored the area around Explorer Pass, Barefoot Peak, White Fork Saddle, and Window Peak? Happy New Year! fviolich