High Sierra Topix

A major objective of this trip was to explore Gardiner Basin and the other valleys around Mount Clarence King. Another objective was to finally hike the Baxter Pass trail. That loop was a good opportunity to use that trailhead. I also wanted to avoid King Col, which has a bad reputation.

Day 1

I started on a mid-August afternoon.

See this post for the Baxter Pass Trail section, including creek crossings, trail conditions, and where I camped.

I picked some rosehips on the way.

At an elevation of ~2420 m there is a stand of burnt tree trunks.

Day 2

At the low elevation of ~2800 m, the night was warm. I was still in the desert plant zone.


“Trail”:
Grouse:


I stopped to eat at a creek, where it seemed to be the last place with water next to the trail.

On the switchbacks to the pass, I felt altitude sickness strongly. I slowed down my pace a lot to conserve oxygen, and I breathed heavily.

Resting at the top of the pass, I felt better. I saw a couple of bighorn sheep in the distance.

Panorama north of the pass:
A couple of potential destinations on the way back near Acrodectes Peak:

The lake below Grasshopper Pass, east of Acrodectes Peak:
The lakes west of Acrodectes Peak:
A view of the valley east of Window Peak and Pyramid Peak. Arrow Peak is also visible:
The small tarn just north of the pass was completely dry.

The highest, largest, and nicest Baxter Lake had no running inflows.


On the west side of that lake, I stopped to eat. As I took my first step onto a rock in the lake, my foot slipped, and I fell. The rock was slippery with algae. I got some minor bruises. I swam a bit.

I walked along the string of lakes and set up camp below the small lake on the northern side of the valley.

Day 3

I continued along the lakes on Baxter Creek. The outlet of the last lake disappeared into a pile of talus.

I crossed to the south side of Baxter Creek. There was no sign of a trail. I decided that if the trail traversing the slope parallel to South Fork Woods Creek was not visible, I would just go straight down to the JMT. Fortunately, the constructed trail appeared in the talus.

Looking south: Fin Dome, Arrowhead Lake, and Dollar Lake. The JMT is visible in the bottom right:
Looking north along the JMT (visible at the bottom), towards the valley east of Window Peak and Pyramid Peak:
I stopped near the outlet of Dollar Lake to eat and swim. I was concerned about leaving my pack unattended because bears in that area had become more bothersome in recent years.

I went through Basin Notch to Sixty Lakes Basin.

A lake in the basin, with Fin Dome visible on the left:
I swam in the lake east of the one labeled “3304” on the 7.5’ USGS topo map.

Then I went to Sixty Lakes Col. Nice area on the way.

The western side looks like a sea of talus surrounding lakes.


I made my way along the eastern side of the valley.

At the southern end of lake “WL 3477”, I met a hiker on an overnight hike, climbing peaks in the area. He had a tiny 20-25 liter running vest style pack and no tent, just an emergency bivvy. Instead of continuing to the outlet, I camped nearby, and we chatted in the evening and in the morning.

Wow tomba, these images are fantastic! The first two-- the burnt trees, and then you tent in the setting sun... or rather, the setting sun seemingly inside your tent, they are great pictures. The one with the caption "panorama north of the pass" is really fine too.

That was a pretty wild trip you chose Tomas, congratulations on pulling it off. Cheers, Ian and Lizzie.

p.s. Can you relate what you know about the Black Bear incidents in the Baxter Basin, or are they from the JMT below there?

Thank you.

I don’t think bears are much of an issue near Baxter Lakes because it’s not a busy area.

Bears cause trouble near the Rae Lakes Loop. Rangers warn about them during permit pickup and post signs.

On this trip, at Mist Falls below Paradise Valley, I met a couple of day hikers who complained that a bear had been following them. They pointed it out to me. I chased it off.

Day 4

Sunrise. Sixty Lakes Col is on the right:
In the morning, I followed the ridge southwest of the lake.

View from the ridge:
I crossed the outlet and got to the small valley north of it.


At the lowest lakes in that side valley, I wondered how that area looked like a typical High Sierra nice area.

I got down to the long lake below the main lake.


I went down to lake “WL 3214”, the lake below that, and to a steep overlook over the cliffy lake at 3100+ m. Here I considered how to explore the basin, given how much time I had left.

I went to the valley southwest of Mount Clarence King. I had a break at the highest small lake in that valley.


I went to the valley bottom.


I camped at the lake on the short southern branch of the creek.

Day 5

Morning:
I was eating breakfast on a small rise above my tent when I heard small rocks falling on the north side of the valley. I looked, but I didn’t see anything. A couple of minutes later, again, rocks fell. I looked more intently. I saw some movement. Bighorn sheep. Five of them. I stayed quiet, and for about half an hour, I watched them leisurely grazing, effortlessly traversing, going up the valley until I lost sight of them.


Can you see the sheep? How many? Tip: Open the photo links in two separate tabs and keep switching between them quickly.

That day, I still had time to explore more of the basin before I had to continue on the loop.

Nice walk down along the creek and toward the valley that leads to lake “WL 3223”.


View below lake “WL 3223”:
That lake turned out to have a forested northern shore. I went a bit on its western shore to see if I could find a nice flat spot, but I didn’t find any.

No flat spots:
Looking back toward the outlet:
I stopped on the western shore of the lake below to eat and swim.


Then, down along the string of lakes and on toward King Col Central.

View back before crossing the col:
See viewtopic.php?t=24067 for a description of my King Col Central crossing.

I camped partway down from the col at a flatter area with some flowing water. Good view of the lakes below and nice late sunshine.

Can you see the sheep? How many? Tip: Open the photo links in two separate tabs and keep switching between them quickly.

Difficult to see them with all the patterns in the rocks. I found four in the first, possibly five in the second, but cannot be sure on one of them on my phone.

Day 6

In the morning, there was some condensation, so I waited for the sun. Meanwhile, I explored the nearby area and packed everything I could. It took a long time for the sunshine to reach my spot. I should have just packed up wet and spread out my stuff later in the sun to dry out.

I was concerned whether I had enough power for my phone, so I pretty much stopped taking panoramas and live photos. I would have to stitch panoramas from multiple photos later, using Hugin.


The main lake:
I got to the lakes in this valley and traversed to a small valley northwest, with a lone lake at about 10220’.


The outlet creek of that lake was dry.

After a break, I went back to the main valley.


I crossed the creek and climbed to a pass to the valley north of King Col. Good view from the top of the ridge.


The eastern side of the pass turned out to be not too hard. I got down to the lowest lake, went south along the three lakes, and camped near the outlet of the lower of the two lakes under Mount Clarence King.

Day 7

Morning:
I climbed northeast to a small tarn. It turned out to have only a little water, with no surface water flowing in or out. The water was clean, though, perhaps filtered by flowing underground.


I took a careful look at King Col. See viewtopic.php?p=187858#p187858 for my photos. I wonder if it’s possible to bypass the worst parts on the rocks to the west.

I didn’t cross to the valley north at this point. Instead, I walked down along the lakes and along the creek in a glacially polished, flat granite valley bottom.


The original plan was to continue down partway to Woods Creek, around a steep ridge, and east to the next valley with one lake with an island.

View toward Woods Creek and Castle Domes:
Instead, after a break where the valley slope became steeper, I climbed the ridge to the east.

View from the top of the ridge along the JMT toward Mt. Perkins with a diagonal rusty swath:
The western side turned out to be too steep, so I went south on top of the ridge.


I pushed through some pine tree branches. I found that near my waist, my pants and shirt got covered in a fresh, sticky sap. A lot of it! I used some rocks to scrape it off. After just one scrape, it’s better to throw away the rock and pick another rock, to avoid spreading the sap.

When the slope became gentler, I got down to the single lake in that valley. It was windy. I stopped to eat. I cleaned off more of the sap with some rocks, sand, and dirt. What I couldn’t clean got covered in fine powder, so it was less sticky.

I went southeast to cross King Spur. See viewtopic.php?p=187860#p187860 for more information and more photos.

On the way up to the pass, I was going to go a bit further south for an easier way. However, something inside me took over, and I climbed straight up some class 3 rocks. Sometimes it was not easy. I was wondering what I was doing, but the route stayed safe and I didn’t have to backtrack down.

The east side was quite steep. The location of the col marked on the map (not the lowest point) is exactly where one should go down on the east side.

I camped at the bench just below 3500 m with a good view of the two lakes below.


There was a pond of water nearby.