-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
The NEW Post Your Campsite/gear/knife/hiking/anything Outdoorsy Pic Thread!
- Thread starter Esav Benyamin
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
BobSig, beautiful! Look at that sky and the lake! Absolutely pristine :thumbup: Great pic.
I had a little more time today to play around with my ID Siltarp2.
I tried incorporating running the rear pole through the rear center tie out like you did, RedSquid, it worked out ok for me. I like the added ventilation it provides at the foot. I staked the sides directly into the ground with this pitch.
I couldn't quite get the tarp as taut as I wanted with staking directly into the ground, so I added guylines which allowed me to fine tune the pitch and get it tighter.
Then I tried the etowah pitch with your center tie-out pulled out modification. I am really liking this pitch. Today was a good day to play around with pitching since it was a bit windy. The tarp is oriented with the back into the wind. I couldn't quite get as taut a pitch as I wanted though, just running the rear pole through the rear center tie-out, so I ended up clove hitching the rear center tie-out to the rear pole and running it to a stake in the ground. I could adjust the tautness better this way. My long lines are 8', and 8' is a bit short for guying out the center tie-out in this configuration, so I used one of my 3' pieces in loop-to-loop connection to extend the line (my triptease pre-cut kit: 6x8', 8x3ish', 1x25'). I added a taut-line hitch to pull the tucked-in rear corners together under the tarp, it helped keep the back/sides a little tighter and less prone to flapping. And, following you, I threw on a taut-line to close up the entrance a little :thumbup:
It's a nice pitch that did just fine in today's mildly windy weather (15mph, maybe gusting as high as 25, not too sure). Held perfectly, no noticeable flapping with gusts. I like it a lot and plan to use it more :thumbup:
I had to run some errands, but came back later in the afternoon to try something else I've been curious about. I pitched the tarp in the same configuration as above, perhaps with the foot a little lower this time.
Then I used my silponcho to create a vestible at the front, to block wind driven rain should it become an unexpected problem. It effectively turned the 3-sided half-pyramid protection into a 4-sided full-pyramid single wall tarp-tent. I can rig this up relatively quickly, if surprised, but the problem is that adding the poncho wall calls for 4 more stakes than I normally carry. Fashioning stakes in the field (assuming an adequately wooded area) shouldn't be a problem, but I'd have to make them before settling in for the night, "just in case." Otherwise I can improvise with rocks and whatever's at hand. It's little bit of a squeeze to get under the poncho wall and into cover. I used an alpine butterfly on the guyline from the poncho center; it allows me to just move the stake when entering/exiting. Probably the biggest potential problem I see is wind from the rear catching the poncho wall, filling it like a sail, and ripping stakes out. I didn't notice a problem with today's relatively minor wind, but I don't know how well it'd hold up to >20-30mph wind. I don't know how this would do with condensation, but it did seem to get good ventilation between the raised foot and sides. I'd take dealing with condensation over wind-driven rain.
Here's a vid showing entry and exit
[video=youtube;z9nJJ4wld-w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9nJJ4wld-w[/video]
I like the etowah pitch for the nice head-room, and it seems like with some care you can use it in stormy weather. The one thing I didn't have time to play with was simply lowering the front to make a beak and readjusting the front corners for a flatter/wider pitch. I'll try that next time. It'd be simpler than fiddling with adding the poncho wall, and wouldn't require additional stakes.
I still haven't decided which I want to use for stormy weather (low A-frame or buttoned-down etowah pitch), but I'm looking forward to trying them out on trips. I suspect that the low A-frame will be what I'll turn to if there's a chance of weather getting nasty. I don't mind sacrificing head-room for dry insulation, especially since I don't have a bivy.
I had a little more time today to play around with my ID Siltarp2.
I tried incorporating running the rear pole through the rear center tie out like you did, RedSquid, it worked out ok for me. I like the added ventilation it provides at the foot. I staked the sides directly into the ground with this pitch.
I couldn't quite get the tarp as taut as I wanted with staking directly into the ground, so I added guylines which allowed me to fine tune the pitch and get it tighter.
Then I tried the etowah pitch with your center tie-out pulled out modification. I am really liking this pitch. Today was a good day to play around with pitching since it was a bit windy. The tarp is oriented with the back into the wind. I couldn't quite get as taut a pitch as I wanted though, just running the rear pole through the rear center tie-out, so I ended up clove hitching the rear center tie-out to the rear pole and running it to a stake in the ground. I could adjust the tautness better this way. My long lines are 8', and 8' is a bit short for guying out the center tie-out in this configuration, so I used one of my 3' pieces in loop-to-loop connection to extend the line (my triptease pre-cut kit: 6x8', 8x3ish', 1x25'). I added a taut-line hitch to pull the tucked-in rear corners together under the tarp, it helped keep the back/sides a little tighter and less prone to flapping. And, following you, I threw on a taut-line to close up the entrance a little :thumbup:
It's a nice pitch that did just fine in today's mildly windy weather (15mph, maybe gusting as high as 25, not too sure). Held perfectly, no noticeable flapping with gusts. I like it a lot and plan to use it more :thumbup:
I had to run some errands, but came back later in the afternoon to try something else I've been curious about. I pitched the tarp in the same configuration as above, perhaps with the foot a little lower this time.
Then I used my silponcho to create a vestible at the front, to block wind driven rain should it become an unexpected problem. It effectively turned the 3-sided half-pyramid protection into a 4-sided full-pyramid single wall tarp-tent. I can rig this up relatively quickly, if surprised, but the problem is that adding the poncho wall calls for 4 more stakes than I normally carry. Fashioning stakes in the field (assuming an adequately wooded area) shouldn't be a problem, but I'd have to make them before settling in for the night, "just in case." Otherwise I can improvise with rocks and whatever's at hand. It's little bit of a squeeze to get under the poncho wall and into cover. I used an alpine butterfly on the guyline from the poncho center; it allows me to just move the stake when entering/exiting. Probably the biggest potential problem I see is wind from the rear catching the poncho wall, filling it like a sail, and ripping stakes out. I didn't notice a problem with today's relatively minor wind, but I don't know how well it'd hold up to >20-30mph wind. I don't know how this would do with condensation, but it did seem to get good ventilation between the raised foot and sides. I'd take dealing with condensation over wind-driven rain.
Here's a vid showing entry and exit
[video=youtube;z9nJJ4wld-w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9nJJ4wld-w[/video]
I like the etowah pitch for the nice head-room, and it seems like with some care you can use it in stormy weather. The one thing I didn't have time to play with was simply lowering the front to make a beak and readjusting the front corners for a flatter/wider pitch. I'll try that next time. It'd be simpler than fiddling with adding the poncho wall, and wouldn't require additional stakes.
I still haven't decided which I want to use for stormy weather (low A-frame or buttoned-down etowah pitch), but I'm looking forward to trying them out on trips. I suspect that the low A-frame will be what I'll turn to if there's a chance of weather getting nasty. I don't mind sacrificing head-room for dry insulation, especially since I don't have a bivy.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2000
- Messages
- 6,104
I like that Siltarp2.
Bwahahahahaaa, I came home this afternoon to a Tarptent Notch on the porch, and a Zpacks "Solo" cuben floor in the mailbox. Decided I had enough of changing clothes in the bivy, and getting rain or snow in it during entry and exit. Plus the 9oz inner can be pitched independently as a bug shelter. The cuben floor is for using it as a tarp shelter when I don't need bug protection(total wt. 19.7oz with stakes like that, too). If it wasn't storming here, I'd be out in the yard seam sealing it. I've had a flurry of extra shifts resulting in a gear whore shopping spree that I'm having a hard time even keeping track of at the moment. Replaced the rest of my 12-15 year old stuff(got Ti?), and hopefully this will hold me for the next decade, since I'm out of excuses for buying more backpacking gear, now!
My "weekends" are on weekdays, so I just got home a little while ago. No hiking this week. Went to Destin, FL with a friend. We got out in the water at the beach on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and spent the first part of Wednesday fishing. It was one of those "party boats" with a bunch of people, but the crew was great, the people were friendly, and the fishing was good(apparently not for everyone, but we did pretty well). Storms in the area, but we had great weather-cloudy, and relatively cool. It was my first time deep-sea fishing, and I really enjoyed it.
We lost count, but Greg caught about 6 or 7 fish, and I caught 5-6. Some went back due to size or being out of season, and some got kept for use as bait or whatever, but we came home with a few pounds each of red snapper filets.
Briefly sighting dolphins a few times, some right next to the boat, and a few Navy fighters off in the distance added to the fun a little, too.
I had a great spot on the upper deck.
My first catch:
Greg thought he had a big one, but it was two on the same line, which was pretty cool, too:
I should have won some kind of prize for "coolest gear", or "most exceptionally prepared client"
I was though...had a rain jacket for the storms we didn't hit, binoculars, first aid kit(that came out for the captain's cut up finger), snacks, water, etc. Best anybody else had was a cooler that had to be stashed below.
From the day before. Crap. Forgot I need a new camera. Some seal somewhere on my Pentax gave up, and it got salt water in it. The pics above were from my cell phone
Most everybody was staying out of the water. In case it...rained? There were a couple of lightning strikes, but they were way over there where the storm was hitting.
'Course the waves did get a little bigger than some of the pics convey:
One got me while taking a pic of myself. Glamour shot alert!
Bwahahahahaaa, I came home this afternoon to a Tarptent Notch on the porch, and a Zpacks "Solo" cuben floor in the mailbox. Decided I had enough of changing clothes in the bivy, and getting rain or snow in it during entry and exit. Plus the 9oz inner can be pitched independently as a bug shelter. The cuben floor is for using it as a tarp shelter when I don't need bug protection(total wt. 19.7oz with stakes like that, too). If it wasn't storming here, I'd be out in the yard seam sealing it. I've had a flurry of extra shifts resulting in a gear whore shopping spree that I'm having a hard time even keeping track of at the moment. Replaced the rest of my 12-15 year old stuff(got Ti?), and hopefully this will hold me for the next decade, since I'm out of excuses for buying more backpacking gear, now!
Fantastic pic:thumbup:
My "weekends" are on weekdays, so I just got home a little while ago. No hiking this week. Went to Destin, FL with a friend. We got out in the water at the beach on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and spent the first part of Wednesday fishing. It was one of those "party boats" with a bunch of people, but the crew was great, the people were friendly, and the fishing was good(apparently not for everyone, but we did pretty well). Storms in the area, but we had great weather-cloudy, and relatively cool. It was my first time deep-sea fishing, and I really enjoyed it.
We lost count, but Greg caught about 6 or 7 fish, and I caught 5-6. Some went back due to size or being out of season, and some got kept for use as bait or whatever, but we came home with a few pounds each of red snapper filets.
Briefly sighting dolphins a few times, some right next to the boat, and a few Navy fighters off in the distance added to the fun a little, too.
I had a great spot on the upper deck.
My first catch:
Greg thought he had a big one, but it was two on the same line, which was pretty cool, too:
I should have won some kind of prize for "coolest gear", or "most exceptionally prepared client"
I was though...had a rain jacket for the storms we didn't hit, binoculars, first aid kit(that came out for the captain's cut up finger), snacks, water, etc. Best anybody else had was a cooler that had to be stashed below.
From the day before. Crap. Forgot I need a new camera. Some seal somewhere on my Pentax gave up, and it got salt water in it. The pics above were from my cell phone
Most everybody was staying out of the water. In case it...rained? There were a couple of lightning strikes, but they were way over there where the storm was hitting.
'Course the waves did get a little bigger than some of the pics convey:
One got me while taking a pic of myself. Glamour shot alert!
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,090
Mano, thanks for posting all the pics!
You know how you take those two flaps near the foot, and connect them with the cord? I do that. It makes sense, or maybe we're just neat freaks.
Regarding raising the foot: did you use a clove hitch? Did it stay up?
What is the make and model of your poncho? If you find yourself using that configuration on the trail, I would be interested to know how it works out.
I think you can't go wrong with an a-frame if the weather gets bad; you can always hunker it down more and more, depending on conditions.
Alpine butterfly! Your knot tying knowledge puts me to shame.
OwenM: looks like a great fishing adventure.
Glamour shot -- LOL!
Can't wait for a field report on the Tarptent Notch.
You know how you take those two flaps near the foot, and connect them with the cord? I do that. It makes sense, or maybe we're just neat freaks.
Regarding raising the foot: did you use a clove hitch? Did it stay up?
What is the make and model of your poncho? If you find yourself using that configuration on the trail, I would be interested to know how it works out.
I think you can't go wrong with an a-frame if the weather gets bad; you can always hunker it down more and more, depending on conditions.
Alpine butterfly! Your knot tying knowledge puts me to shame.
OwenM: looks like a great fishing adventure.
Glamour shot -- LOL!
Can't wait for a field report on the Tarptent Notch.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2010
- Messages
- 4,256
@HikingMano: man, you are patient! some interesting pitches there for sure, i might give some a go next time
@OwenM: i've been eye'ng those zpacks cuben tarps for awhile but the price to durability factor is keeping me away...please update us on long term use.
@OwenM: i've been eye'ng those zpacks cuben tarps for awhile but the price to durability factor is keeping me away...please update us on long term use.
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2000
- Messages
- 6,104
I'm anxious to try it out, and liking the idea that I can use this setup 3 different ways. I wasn't familiar with the Tarptent Stratospire 1 and 2, but was being tempted by the Six Moon Designs Haven, which, if you really look at it, is basically a larger version of the Notch, too. It's a bigger shelter than I need, though, with a huge footprint. When I saw the Notch was so similar, but with all the size I really need, lighter, and with a more simplified setup, I couldn't resist.
I share that concern, but people seem to love the stuff, since it's all the craze nowadays. It seems so thin. I've never even seen anything made of cuben before, so it's kind of amazing that this ground sheet/floor is twice as thick as the material used for a lot of shelters at 1.0oz/sqyd vs .51!
I haven't even started trying to wrap my mind around the fact I bought a freaking $100 ground cloth, yet, but I just bought it for vacations out West, and around here it will probably only be used in the coldest part of winter, so hopefully it'll last a loooonnnnggg time.
It's small. Very small. If it weren't for the vestibules, it would have less space than my bivy. That's what I wanted, though. I only use a shelter for sleeping.
I like it a lot better with just the cuben floor. It has loops to tie off with, so I'll add some cord and hooks to attach it to the fly just like the bugnet does.
Too bad the bugnet is a necessity around here
Last edited:
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
Owen, looks like a good time in Fl! Fishing, new Manta pack in preparedness use, swimming (with shades!
), and tons of new backpacking gear :thumbup: Epic glamour shot! 
I've been wanting to see how the new Notch is working out for people as well. I like the versatility. It's sort of funny that it's basically my Moment, but using poles instead of a pole for the support. I want a cuben tarp...but the price is a bit out of my reach at the moment. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your thoughts after you've used it :thumbup:
JV3, haha, no I'm not that patient. The pitches are actually pretty quick to set up. Once you get your favorite, you pretty much work out the most efficient and quick way to pitch it. Practicing a bunch on a nice lawn helps you get the process down so you can just tweak it when you're outside on more natural terrain.
RedSquid: I did use a clove hitch at the foot, and it stays up well if you wrap it tight :thumbup: I never had a problem with it moving on that windy day. The poncho is an Integral Designs Silponcho. They discontinued that item, but apparently GoLite is still making a similar product. I'll let you know if I ever end up putting it to the test in real weather.... If there's a chance of weather getting bad though, I'll probably just use an A-frame if tarping it. As for knots, haha, I know only basic ones...I really only use a few regularly (bowline, tautline or adjustable grip hitch, clove hitch, buntline hitch or siberian/evenk hitch, trucker's hitch, girth hitch or loop-to-loop connections).
I just got back today from a backpacking overnighter with Lambertiana in the Mineral King area of Sequoia National Park. AWESOME trip, I'll post some pics after sifting through em. Had a great time with Lambertiana and his group, plain ole fun :thumbup: After all the tarp practicing though, I ended up taking my Tarptent Moment because I thought there might be a possibility mosquitoes would be a bother at the lake we stayed at. 
), and tons of new backpacking gear :thumbup: Epic glamour shot! I've been wanting to see how the new Notch is working out for people as well. I like the versatility. It's sort of funny that it's basically my Moment, but using poles instead of a pole for the support. I want a cuben tarp...but the price is a bit out of my reach at the moment. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your thoughts after you've used it :thumbup:
JV3, haha, no I'm not that patient. The pitches are actually pretty quick to set up. Once you get your favorite, you pretty much work out the most efficient and quick way to pitch it. Practicing a bunch on a nice lawn helps you get the process down so you can just tweak it when you're outside on more natural terrain.
RedSquid: I did use a clove hitch at the foot, and it stays up well if you wrap it tight :thumbup: I never had a problem with it moving on that windy day. The poncho is an Integral Designs Silponcho. They discontinued that item, but apparently GoLite is still making a similar product. I'll let you know if I ever end up putting it to the test in real weather.... If there's a chance of weather getting bad though, I'll probably just use an A-frame if tarping it. As for knots, haha, I know only basic ones...I really only use a few regularly (bowline, tautline or adjustable grip hitch, clove hitch, buntline hitch or siberian/evenk hitch, trucker's hitch, girth hitch or loop-to-loop connections).
I just got back today from a backpacking overnighter with Lambertiana in the Mineral King area of Sequoia National Park. AWESOME trip, I'll post some pics after sifting through em. Had a great time with Lambertiana and his group, plain ole fun :thumbup:
After all the tarp practicing though, I ended up taking my Tarptent Moment because I thought there might be a possibility mosquitoes would be a bother at the lake we stayed at.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
Sifted through my pics from my trip last weekend in Mineral King, Sequoia NP, with Lambertiana and his crew. I'll warn you in advance, it's going to be pic and vid heavy
To begin, I arrived at Mineral King in Sequoia National Park after 5-6 hours on the road. The last 25 miles or so of the drive was up the 1.5 lane wide Mineral King Road with its 698 curves. Kinda fun drive, but you can't blaze through it because it's so narrow; you have to be wary of vehicles coming the other way. I pulled into Cold Springs campground and got my pick of a few nice sites with it being a Thursday. Scored a nice site with a big ole granite rock to reflect the morning sun. Once I self-registered, I was off to day hike to Mosquito Lakes. I had asked John about day hikes for Thursday, since I would be meeting up with them on Friday. It was down to Franklin or Mosquito Lakes, decided on Mosquito for the more guaranteed solitude.
Mineral King Ranger Station, on way up to Mosquito Lakes trailhead. Elevation: 7580'.
Driving up to trailhead. Sawtooth Peak is the sharp one in the back, it's the one we climbed two days later.
Trailhead to Eagle and Mosquito Lakes, in Mineral King Valley. Elevation about 8000' I think.
Some of the relics in the "Honeymoon / Point Cabin" you see in the previous pic. Cabin was built in 1914.
Looking up Mineral King Valley towards Farewell Canyon. The day was overcast, with a little bit of drizzle at the higher elevations.
Views along valley as the trail ascends.
Crystal Creek, flowing from Crystal Lake. Mineral Peak is the sharp peak just to right of tree.
Trail split. I went to Mosquito Lakes, but it'd be cool to check out the old mines in White Chief Canyon next time.
The first of many deer I came across on the trail.
Wildflowers along the trail. There was a nice little meadow section on the ascent to the Eagle Lake and Mosquito Lakes split.
Looking northwest back towards Mineral King.
Trail scenery.
Marmots. They were everywhere. More timid than the deer though.
Trail scenery.
I'm pretty sure this is Eagle Sinkhole. Eagle Creek, draining Eagle Lake, drops into this sinkhole into a marble cave system. The creek emerges further down and crosses the trail, didn't get to snap a picture of where it crossed the trail earlier.
Mixed rock composition. I'm no geologist, but I thought I was looking at a mixture of granite, marble, and metamorphic. John would know.
Eagle Creek. Low snowpack this year = not much flow.
Eagle and Mosquito split.
Onwards to Mosquito Lakes. Encountered one small group that was bound for Eagle before split; didn't see another soul the whole way to Mosquito Lakes and back out to shared trailhead.
View up Miners Ridge. Trail climbs over the northern slope to get to Mosquito Lakes.
View west towards Crystal Lake (in next basin) and Amphitheater Lake (beyond last pair of ridges). Mineral Peak is on the left.
Another view west from trail while crossing over Miners Ridge.
Trail scenery.
Looking back up trail as I came down, liked the trees adjusting to the slope. This is coming down the western slope of Miners Ridge now.
Trail scenery
The first Mosquito Lake (of four) is peeking through the trees.
First Mosquito Lake. Elevation about 9100'. The maintained trail ends here. If you want to explore the more scenic second, third, and fourth lakes, you have to find the use-trails or cross country it up the drainages.
View along north and western shores of first Mosquito Lake.
Second Mosquito Lake is beyond trees on top of slope.
Mosquito Lakes are aptly named, at least in mid-July this year. Tons of mosquitoes; I was swarmed. It was a good thing I brought along a mosquito net. I had some 20% Picaridin too, but didn't use it. I should have though, they were still biting my hands and right through my shirt at the contact spots. I didn't think I'd stick around long enough to warrant repellant, so I ended up throwing on my windshirt. I didn't take many pictures at Mosquito Lakes because the skeeters were so bad.
[video=youtube;GebzwuTIFiI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GebzwuTIFiI[/video] (watch this and all of my other vids in 720 :thumbu
I couldn't find the use-trail from the first to second lake, so I ended up bushwacking it. Really annoying to cross country while being swarmed by mosquitoes.
Oooo ahhh... sepia...
[video=youtube;AQf1Q6LqPAU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQf1Q6LqPAU[/video]
Continued in next post.
To begin, I arrived at Mineral King in Sequoia National Park after 5-6 hours on the road. The last 25 miles or so of the drive was up the 1.5 lane wide Mineral King Road with its 698 curves. Kinda fun drive, but you can't blaze through it because it's so narrow; you have to be wary of vehicles coming the other way. I pulled into Cold Springs campground and got my pick of a few nice sites with it being a Thursday. Scored a nice site with a big ole granite rock to reflect the morning sun. Once I self-registered, I was off to day hike to Mosquito Lakes. I had asked John about day hikes for Thursday, since I would be meeting up with them on Friday. It was down to Franklin or Mosquito Lakes, decided on Mosquito for the more guaranteed solitude.
Mineral King Ranger Station, on way up to Mosquito Lakes trailhead. Elevation: 7580'.
Driving up to trailhead. Sawtooth Peak is the sharp one in the back, it's the one we climbed two days later.
Trailhead to Eagle and Mosquito Lakes, in Mineral King Valley. Elevation about 8000' I think.
Some of the relics in the "Honeymoon / Point Cabin" you see in the previous pic. Cabin was built in 1914.
Looking up Mineral King Valley towards Farewell Canyon. The day was overcast, with a little bit of drizzle at the higher elevations.
Views along valley as the trail ascends.
Crystal Creek, flowing from Crystal Lake. Mineral Peak is the sharp peak just to right of tree.
Trail split. I went to Mosquito Lakes, but it'd be cool to check out the old mines in White Chief Canyon next time.
The first of many deer I came across on the trail.
Wildflowers along the trail. There was a nice little meadow section on the ascent to the Eagle Lake and Mosquito Lakes split.
Looking northwest back towards Mineral King.
Trail scenery.
Marmots. They were everywhere. More timid than the deer though.
Trail scenery.
I'm pretty sure this is Eagle Sinkhole. Eagle Creek, draining Eagle Lake, drops into this sinkhole into a marble cave system. The creek emerges further down and crosses the trail, didn't get to snap a picture of where it crossed the trail earlier.
Mixed rock composition. I'm no geologist, but I thought I was looking at a mixture of granite, marble, and metamorphic. John would know.
Eagle Creek. Low snowpack this year = not much flow.
Eagle and Mosquito split.
Onwards to Mosquito Lakes. Encountered one small group that was bound for Eagle before split; didn't see another soul the whole way to Mosquito Lakes and back out to shared trailhead.
View up Miners Ridge. Trail climbs over the northern slope to get to Mosquito Lakes.
View west towards Crystal Lake (in next basin) and Amphitheater Lake (beyond last pair of ridges). Mineral Peak is on the left.
Another view west from trail while crossing over Miners Ridge.
Trail scenery.
Looking back up trail as I came down, liked the trees adjusting to the slope. This is coming down the western slope of Miners Ridge now.
Trail scenery
The first Mosquito Lake (of four) is peeking through the trees.
First Mosquito Lake. Elevation about 9100'. The maintained trail ends here. If you want to explore the more scenic second, third, and fourth lakes, you have to find the use-trails or cross country it up the drainages.
View along north and western shores of first Mosquito Lake.
Second Mosquito Lake is beyond trees on top of slope.
Mosquito Lakes are aptly named, at least in mid-July this year. Tons of mosquitoes; I was swarmed. It was a good thing I brought along a mosquito net. I had some 20% Picaridin too, but didn't use it. I should have though, they were still biting my hands and right through my shirt at the contact spots. I didn't think I'd stick around long enough to warrant repellant, so I ended up throwing on my windshirt. I didn't take many pictures at Mosquito Lakes because the skeeters were so bad.
[video=youtube;GebzwuTIFiI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GebzwuTIFiI[/video] (watch this and all of my other vids in 720 :thumbu
I couldn't find the use-trail from the first to second lake, so I ended up bushwacking it. Really annoying to cross country while being swarmed by mosquitoes.
Oooo ahhh... sepia...
[video=youtube;AQf1Q6LqPAU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQf1Q6LqPAU[/video]
Continued in next post.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
After battling the mosquitoes and finding my way up the drainage, I came to the second lake. Elevation is about 9,600'. It is much more picturesque than the first lake. More breezy there too, so the mosquitoes weren't as bad up. It'd make a nice place to camp, after mosquito season. John has experienced the upper lakes in and out of mosquito season.
Second lake views.
Looking across second lake, towards third and fourth lake. There's an island in the middle of the second lake. Next time I'll have more time to explore the second lake more, and head up to check out the third and fourth lakes. Decided to turn around and head back because it started to rain and I wanted to leave myself lots of daylight to get back to camp and get settled. Also didn't fancy making off-trail return to first lake on slippery-when-wet granite.
[video=youtube;-Hj38RqnhD8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hj38RqnhD8[/video]
Heading back down.
Midway down I think, looking up the way I came.
Looking down towards first lake, still a little ways to go.
Made it back down to first lake. This is looking up slope I just came down.
View of first lake from southeastern shore.
Views while coming back down Miners Ridge. Looking towards Crystal Lake again.
Just another deer. This one just wouldn't pose.
[video=youtube;XbsnlodnM2c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbsnlodnM2c[/video]
Looking out towards Crystal and Amphitheater Lakes again from Miners Ridge.
Looking towards Monarch Lakes. Sawtooth Peak is behind and to left of Mineral Peak, (two sharp peaks in this pic).
Trail scenery alongside Eagle Creek.
Deer.
Sun was peeking out a little bit by the time I was making my return. Looking up Crystal Creek towards Crystal Lake.
That flowery meadow switchback section I mentioned earlier, with afternoon lighting.
[video=youtube;R7MAoudN10k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7MAoudN10k[/video]
Looking back along valley towards Mineral King.
Trail scenery.
Crystal Creek and Mineral Peak with afternoon light.
Heading back down towards trailhead.
Cool trees. I'm no dendrologist either, so I leave it to John to tell us what they are.
Looking back along Mineral King Valley / Farewell Canyon as I'm heading out.
Can you spot the deer? These were near the Farewell Gap - Franklin Lakes Trail on the opposite side of the valley.
Snapped on the drive back to Cold Springs: vehicle protection against marmots while on the trail. Apparently, in spring and early summer, the marmots emerge and love to dine on radiator hoses, brakes, and wiring. It wouldn't be fun to return from a backpacking trip to a disabled vehicle.... The rangers there also tell you to check under your hood before driving away for marmot stowaways. I also learned from John that the marmots will munch on yummy salted gear too (e.g. trekking pole grips, pack belts and straps), so one needs to be careful.
View from my campsite at Cold Springs as the sun was setting.
My home for the trip. Tarptent Moment. There were too many flying bugs and mosquitoes to just go with a tarp. I get annoyed with things buzzing in my ears, let alone mosquito bites.
Nicely colored sunset-lit sky to top off a fun day.
Slept at Cold Springs that night. No bears made themselves known to me. Will continue with the next day in the next post.
Second lake views.
Looking across second lake, towards third and fourth lake. There's an island in the middle of the second lake. Next time I'll have more time to explore the second lake more, and head up to check out the third and fourth lakes. Decided to turn around and head back because it started to rain and I wanted to leave myself lots of daylight to get back to camp and get settled. Also didn't fancy making off-trail return to first lake on slippery-when-wet granite.
[video=youtube;-Hj38RqnhD8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hj38RqnhD8[/video]
Heading back down.
Midway down I think, looking up the way I came.
Looking down towards first lake, still a little ways to go.
Made it back down to first lake. This is looking up slope I just came down.
View of first lake from southeastern shore.
Views while coming back down Miners Ridge. Looking towards Crystal Lake again.
Just another deer. This one just wouldn't pose.
[video=youtube;XbsnlodnM2c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbsnlodnM2c[/video]
Looking out towards Crystal and Amphitheater Lakes again from Miners Ridge.
Looking towards Monarch Lakes. Sawtooth Peak is behind and to left of Mineral Peak, (two sharp peaks in this pic).
Trail scenery alongside Eagle Creek.
Deer.
Sun was peeking out a little bit by the time I was making my return. Looking up Crystal Creek towards Crystal Lake.
That flowery meadow switchback section I mentioned earlier, with afternoon lighting.
[video=youtube;R7MAoudN10k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7MAoudN10k[/video]
Looking back along valley towards Mineral King.
Trail scenery.
Crystal Creek and Mineral Peak with afternoon light.
Heading back down towards trailhead.
Cool trees. I'm no dendrologist either, so I leave it to John to tell us what they are.
Looking back along Mineral King Valley / Farewell Canyon as I'm heading out.
Can you spot the deer? These were near the Farewell Gap - Franklin Lakes Trail on the opposite side of the valley.
Snapped on the drive back to Cold Springs: vehicle protection against marmots while on the trail. Apparently, in spring and early summer, the marmots emerge and love to dine on radiator hoses, brakes, and wiring. It wouldn't be fun to return from a backpacking trip to a disabled vehicle.... The rangers there also tell you to check under your hood before driving away for marmot stowaways. I also learned from John that the marmots will munch on yummy salted gear too (e.g. trekking pole grips, pack belts and straps), so one needs to be careful.
View from my campsite at Cold Springs as the sun was setting.
My home for the trip. Tarptent Moment. There were too many flying bugs and mosquitoes to just go with a tarp. I get annoyed with things buzzing in my ears, let alone mosquito bites.
Nicely colored sunset-lit sky to top off a fun day.
Slept at Cold Springs that night. No bears made themselves known to me. Will continue with the next day in the next post.
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,090
Mano, I envy you. And I am so glad national parks exist.
At Berg Lake, in Canada, a woman told me an interesting story. She decided to go sit in the middle of the meadow and soak up the sun. Right after she sat down, a marmot started ambling directly toward her. This is a very open "meadow" -- more like a gravelly drainage, without much vegetation. So the marmot went right up and started licking her leg. She yelled at it, and it ambled off.
I grew up in Oklahoma, and I live in Chicago, so I have never gotten close to a marmot. Are they predictable? Do they bite?
At Berg Lake, in Canada, a woman told me an interesting story. She decided to go sit in the middle of the meadow and soak up the sun. Right after she sat down, a marmot started ambling directly toward her. This is a very open "meadow" -- more like a gravelly drainage, without much vegetation. So the marmot went right up and started licking her leg. She yelled at it, and it ambled off.
I grew up in Oklahoma, and I live in Chicago, so I have never gotten close to a marmot. Are they predictable? Do they bite?
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
I'm glad too
That woman was a living salt lick! The marmots I saw are pretty predictable. They'll usually try to sneak up just to check things out, even if you're in plain sight. But if you make a move towards them, they'll scamper away. I've never seen any aggressive behavior. John (Lambertiana) says they're incredibly persistent when it comes to eating your salty gear though... If you leave things unattended, don't be surprised to find them chewed on unless you take precautions.
I'll post the rest of the pics and vids from days 2 and 3 later this afternoon or evening.
That woman was a living salt lick!
The marmots I saw are pretty predictable. They'll usually try to sneak up just to check things out, even if you're in plain sight. But if you make a move towards them, they'll scamper away. I've never seen any aggressive behavior. John (Lambertiana) says they're incredibly persistent when it comes to eating your salty gear though... If you leave things unattended, don't be surprised to find them chewed on unless you take precautions.I'll post the rest of the pics and vids from days 2 and 3 later this afternoon or evening.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
Onto Day 2.
Friday morning, I woke up in time to watch this young buck stroll into my camp to break his fast.
[video=youtube;F7SP07mqtDc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7SP07mqtDc[/video] (Don't know what's up with the noise in this video...)
[video=youtube;2wEI9DBhyWY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wEI9DBhyWY[/video]
Nothing attacked my rinsed bandana and sock liners in the night...success.
Morning view from camp.
Headed back up into Mineral Valley after breaking camp to kill time. I was to meet up with John and his group at 3pm, and Cold Springs sites are vacated by 12pm, so I had a little time to chill.
I strolled down the Franklin Lakes / Farewell Gap Trail just to check it out.
Ubiquitous marmots.
Bear scat I guessed.
B&W of Farewell Canyon / Mineral King Valley
Found a nice flat boulder opposite Tuffa Falls to sit and read upon. Gotta love the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. There are few things quite as enjoyable as sitting outside in a beautiful place reading a good story next to a waterfall....
[video=youtube;XsJ2nZH_8MU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsJ2nZH_8MU[/video]
Heading back towards car after an hour or so of reading.
Pretty sure this is the east fork of the Kaweah River.
After meeting up with John and company, we set off for Monarch Lakes from the Sawtooth Trailhead (Elevation about 7800'). The initial climb to Groundhog Meadow is the steepest part of the trail to Monarch Lakes. This is the view down the valley towards Farewell Gap.
Onwards to Monarch Lakes.
There's Sawtooth Peak in the background, the peak we'd bag the next day.
Trail scenery on the way to Groundhog Meadow.
Onwards towards Sawtooth Pass.
I believe this is a view of Empire Mountain, as we're ascending from Groundhog Meadow.
Trail scenery. View towards the White Chief area I think.
Keep rollin on to Monarch Lakes.
I thought I saw a big ole buck poking his head over this ridge....
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a tree...
Tree shot. Foxtail Pine, perhaps?
Views looking down Monarch Lakes drainage.
Almost to the lakes now. Traversing along the slope of Mineral Peak to get to the Monarch Lake basin. Sawtooth Peak is being swallowed by clouds in the background.
Mineral Peak.
Monarch Creek with Sawtooth Peak on high.
Wildflower accents.
The sun tried to peak through a little more.
Sawtooth Peak framed through this old stump.
Arrival at lower Monarch Lake (Elevation about 10400'). Upper Monarch Lake is in the next basin (Elevation about 10600'). We camped here, at the lower lake.
View west. The setting sun was struggling to poke through the afternoon cloud cover.
Got my Moment pitched, added more guylines in case it got windy in the night. I'm glad I brought the Moment vs the 8x10 ID Siltarp2, both for protection against mosquitoes (few at this lake though, nothing like Mosquito Lakes the day before) and for the smaller footprint and privacy.
(John's pic)
Beginnings of alpenglow.
Changing lighting.
Beautiful lighting as the sun set. Didn't get a shot of the lake that did it justice. Next time.
Sun is going...
Sun is gone. Made and ate dinner, hung out with John and his crew, watched the Milky Way brighten as the night progressed, and noted flashes of lightning coming from somewhere out east. It was so far away that we heard no thunder. Hit the sack relatively early, so I could bag Sawtooth Peak in the morning with the others. You want to get up to Sawtooth Pass before the sun hits the sandy slope you have to slog up, and you want to be coming back down from the summit of Sawtooth Peak before any afternoon weather.
Last day continued in next post or two.
Friday morning, I woke up in time to watch this young buck stroll into my camp to break his fast.
[video=youtube;F7SP07mqtDc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7SP07mqtDc[/video] (Don't know what's up with the noise in this video...)
[video=youtube;2wEI9DBhyWY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wEI9DBhyWY[/video]
Nothing attacked my rinsed bandana and sock liners in the night...success.
Morning view from camp.
Headed back up into Mineral Valley after breaking camp to kill time. I was to meet up with John and his group at 3pm, and Cold Springs sites are vacated by 12pm, so I had a little time to chill.
I strolled down the Franklin Lakes / Farewell Gap Trail just to check it out.
Ubiquitous marmots.
Bear scat I guessed.
B&W of Farewell Canyon / Mineral King Valley
Found a nice flat boulder opposite Tuffa Falls to sit and read upon. Gotta love the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. There are few things quite as enjoyable as sitting outside in a beautiful place reading a good story next to a waterfall....
[video=youtube;XsJ2nZH_8MU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsJ2nZH_8MU[/video]
Heading back towards car after an hour or so of reading.
Pretty sure this is the east fork of the Kaweah River.
After meeting up with John and company, we set off for Monarch Lakes from the Sawtooth Trailhead (Elevation about 7800'). The initial climb to Groundhog Meadow is the steepest part of the trail to Monarch Lakes. This is the view down the valley towards Farewell Gap.
Onwards to Monarch Lakes.
There's Sawtooth Peak in the background, the peak we'd bag the next day.
Trail scenery on the way to Groundhog Meadow.
Onwards towards Sawtooth Pass.
I believe this is a view of Empire Mountain, as we're ascending from Groundhog Meadow.
Trail scenery. View towards the White Chief area I think.
Keep rollin on to Monarch Lakes.
I thought I saw a big ole buck poking his head over this ridge....
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a tree...
Tree shot. Foxtail Pine, perhaps?
Views looking down Monarch Lakes drainage.
Almost to the lakes now. Traversing along the slope of Mineral Peak to get to the Monarch Lake basin. Sawtooth Peak is being swallowed by clouds in the background.
Mineral Peak.
Monarch Creek with Sawtooth Peak on high.
Wildflower accents.
The sun tried to peak through a little more.
Sawtooth Peak framed through this old stump.
Arrival at lower Monarch Lake (Elevation about 10400'). Upper Monarch Lake is in the next basin (Elevation about 10600'). We camped here, at the lower lake.
View west. The setting sun was struggling to poke through the afternoon cloud cover.
Got my Moment pitched, added more guylines in case it got windy in the night. I'm glad I brought the Moment vs the 8x10 ID Siltarp2, both for protection against mosquitoes (few at this lake though, nothing like Mosquito Lakes the day before) and for the smaller footprint and privacy.
Beginnings of alpenglow.
Changing lighting.
Beautiful lighting as the sun set. Didn't get a shot of the lake that did it justice. Next time.
Sun is going...
Sun is gone. Made and ate dinner, hung out with John and his crew, watched the Milky Way brighten as the night progressed, and noted flashes of lightning coming from somewhere out east. It was so far away that we heard no thunder. Hit the sack relatively early, so I could bag Sawtooth Peak in the morning with the others. You want to get up to Sawtooth Pass before the sun hits the sandy slope you have to slog up, and you want to be coming back down from the summit of Sawtooth Peak before any afternoon weather.
Last day continued in next post or two.
lambertiana
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 9,590
I think you need to check out Crystal Lakes some time. I have only been there once, and it is very nice. Not a lot of people go there, either.
Some of your pictures are looking toward Franklin Lake.
Here are a few of the third and fourth lakes in Mosquito Lakes drainage, plus a couple views looking down
In this one you can see Sawtooth on the right
And a picture taken from the opposite shore of the second lake
I'm off tomorrow for a nine day trip, a few days of it off trail. The primary goal is the lowest lake on Picket Creek and then to Kaweah Basin.
Some of your pictures are looking toward Franklin Lake.
Here are a few of the third and fourth lakes in Mosquito Lakes drainage, plus a couple views looking down
In this one you can see Sawtooth on the right
And a picture taken from the opposite shore of the second lake
I'm off tomorrow for a nine day trip, a few days of it off trail. The primary goal is the lowest lake on Picket Creek and then to Kaweah Basin.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
Last day: Summiting Sawtooth Peak and leaving Mineral King.
Didn't sleep much on Friday night between a little wood-sawing going on nearbyD) and the moon rising to light up the basin. It was probably just excitement for the morning and climbing Sawtooth Peak though. The moon rose sometime between 4 and 5am, dawn followed soon after, a little before 6. The moon was only a quarter or less, but it really lit up night. I can only imagine trying to sleep up there under a full moon.... I bet the views from the summit are stunning under a full moon as well. I had a good view of the summit from my tent : )
Love my pack, Osprey Talon 44.
Western view with the rising sun brightening the sky.
First rays of light hitting Mineral Peak.
After getting dressed, doing a quick breakfast, and packing some snacks, water, gear, we began our ascent to the summit of Sawtooth Peak. John advised us on getting up the tiring sand/scree slope leading to Sawtooth Pass before the sun hit that southwestern slope. It was tiring enough in the shade, doing it under full sunlight must suck. John's ready to roll
View of Mineral Peak as we ascended the scree slope. Keeping track of the use-trail proved to be a bit difficult, and we often ended up just making our way up off-trail.
View south past Mineral Peak.
Pretty much cross-countrying it up.
Empire Mountain, I think. West of Sawtooth Pass.
Yay, we're a little higher Slogging uphill in sand/scree at that elevation is pretty fatiguing. I would not particularly enjoy doing it with a full pack....
View southwest towards Mineral King.
Finally! Sawtooth Pass greeted us with a magnificent view of Sawtooth Peak. Boom!
Beautiful.
Ethereal. That's Columbine Lake, btw, with Needham Mountain in the right background.
We took a break at the pass. Had some snacks, took some pics, put on sunscreen.
I usually opt to layer up.
View south from Sawtooth Pass.
Southwest view from pass.
Let's take in the eastern view from the pass again
[video=youtube;bfzgiQFWd4E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfzgiQFWd4E[/video]
Alright, time to move on. The knife ridge is too dangerous to traverse without technical gear, so we tried to follow the use-trail which traverses the slope just below the ridge on the southern side. When it wasn't obvious, John was an excellent guide.
One of the less steep traverse sections.
Some parts get fun, with a thin layer of scree covering rock. If you slipped and fell in some of those areas, I could see rolling down to some nice cliffy sections just below.... In this pic, although blown-out, you can make out both upper and lower Monarch Lakes.
View south to Mineral Peak and beyond.
View of lower Monarch Lake from slope traverse. Can you see our camp?
How about now?
Upper Monarch Lake. You can see the manmade dam (1903) and drainage to the lower Monarch Lake. Apparently the dam was built to aid water retention in the glacially carved lake.
[video=youtube;CKSii_tpSkc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKSii_tpSkc[/video]
Once we traversed the ridge far enough to put us directly under the summit, we had to boulder to the actual summit. Supposedly it's class 2 terrain, but John thinks it borders on class 3 in some spots. I needed my hands free for climbing, so I didn't take any pics during the bouldering ascent. When we finally made the summit (Elevation: 12343'), the views were breathtaking. This is the first shot, looking north pass Columbine Lake to the Kaweahs. Subsequent shots are panning left.
For some reason I don't have shots looking out East towards Mt. Whitney and Mt. Langley, but you can see it in John's thread here.
This is looking straight down from the rock I was sitting on. It's something like a 1200' or 1400' vertical drop to the Columbine Lake basin.
Up on the summit, Kaweahs in the background.
[video=youtube;oOzzZ96oLQA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOzzZ96oLQA[/video]
Continued in next post.
Didn't sleep much on Friday night between a little wood-sawing going on nearby
D) and the moon rising to light up the basin. It was probably just excitement for the morning and climbing Sawtooth Peak though. The moon rose sometime between 4 and 5am, dawn followed soon after, a little before 6. The moon was only a quarter or less, but it really lit up night. I can only imagine trying to sleep up there under a full moon.... I bet the views from the summit are stunning under a full moon as well. I had a good view of the summit from my tent : )
Love my pack, Osprey Talon 44.
Western view with the rising sun brightening the sky.
First rays of light hitting Mineral Peak.
After getting dressed, doing a quick breakfast, and packing some snacks, water, gear, we began our ascent to the summit of Sawtooth Peak. John advised us on getting up the tiring sand/scree slope leading to Sawtooth Pass before the sun hit that southwestern slope. It was tiring enough in the shade, doing it under full sunlight must suck. John's ready to roll
View of Mineral Peak as we ascended the scree slope. Keeping track of the use-trail proved to be a bit difficult, and we often ended up just making our way up off-trail.
View south past Mineral Peak.
Pretty much cross-countrying it up.
Empire Mountain, I think. West of Sawtooth Pass.
Yay, we're a little higher
Slogging uphill in sand/scree at that elevation is pretty fatiguing. I would not particularly enjoy doing it with a full pack....
View southwest towards Mineral King.
Finally! Sawtooth Pass greeted us with a magnificent view of Sawtooth Peak. Boom!
Beautiful.
Ethereal. That's Columbine Lake, btw, with Needham Mountain in the right background.
We took a break at the pass. Had some snacks, took some pics, put on sunscreen.
I usually opt to layer up.
View south from Sawtooth Pass.
Southwest view from pass.
Let's take in the eastern view from the pass again
[video=youtube;bfzgiQFWd4E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfzgiQFWd4E[/video]
Alright, time to move on. The knife ridge is too dangerous to traverse without technical gear, so we tried to follow the use-trail which traverses the slope just below the ridge on the southern side. When it wasn't obvious, John was an excellent guide.
One of the less steep traverse sections.
Some parts get fun, with a thin layer of scree covering rock. If you slipped and fell in some of those areas, I could see rolling down to some nice cliffy sections just below.... In this pic, although blown-out, you can make out both upper and lower Monarch Lakes.
View south to Mineral Peak and beyond.
View of lower Monarch Lake from slope traverse. Can you see our camp?
How about now?
Upper Monarch Lake. You can see the manmade dam (1903) and drainage to the lower Monarch Lake. Apparently the dam was built to aid water retention in the glacially carved lake.
[video=youtube;CKSii_tpSkc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKSii_tpSkc[/video]
Once we traversed the ridge far enough to put us directly under the summit, we had to boulder to the actual summit. Supposedly it's class 2 terrain, but John thinks it borders on class 3 in some spots. I needed my hands free for climbing, so I didn't take any pics during the bouldering ascent. When we finally made the summit (Elevation: 12343'), the views were breathtaking. This is the first shot, looking north pass Columbine Lake to the Kaweahs. Subsequent shots are panning left.
For some reason I don't have shots looking out East towards Mt. Whitney and Mt. Langley, but you can see it in John's thread here.
This is looking straight down from the rock I was sitting on. It's something like a 1200' or 1400' vertical drop to the Columbine Lake basin.
Up on the summit, Kaweahs in the background.
[video=youtube;oOzzZ96oLQA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOzzZ96oLQA[/video]
Continued in next post.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
After signing the summit log and enjoying the views for a bit, we started the descent back to lower Monarch Lakes. Going up is always the easy part...it's coming down that's often more scary Bouldering down looked much worse than it turned out to be, but it still required a fair amount of care and concentration. I don't know if Sawtooth Peak has a USGS benchmark. I completely forgot to check. I'll have to look the next time I'm up there.
After the bouldering section, we came down the south slope of Sawtooth Peak so we could check out upper Monarch Lakes on our way back down to the lower lake. Descending on the sandy scree proved to be immensely more fun than the ascent. You can pretty much surf (carefully) your way down, or take big moon-walking lunges down the slope. Needless to say the descent was MUCH quicker than the ascent.
Looking back up, from lower on the slope.
Getting near the base of the slope and Upper Monarch Lake.
Mineral Peak from a lower vantage, with the upper lake at its base.
I'm guessing the Monarch Lakes are fed by this spring creek.
I found the upper Monarch Lake way more picturesque than the lower Monarch Lake. The water in that one is crystal clear and absolutely gorgeous.
Mineral Peak. It's just so iconic in that area, along with Sawtooth Peak.
Ferns and granite. I hadn't actually thought ferns would be growing up at that altitude.
Getting closer to the lake, after a careful descent.
Mineral Peak and upper Monarch Lake. Beautiful!
Pristine water.
Talus shore.
A nice splotch of color.
Simply gorgeous.
Looking back up along the northern shore, towards where our descent took us.
There were trout happily cruisin Monarch Lakes. I snapped a shot of a one here at the Upper Lake.
Crystal water. You could probably drink it straight to no ill effect, but I used Micropur MP1 tabs the whole trip just to be safe.
Looking southeast. I'm thinking Amphitheater Lake is just over the rise.
[video=youtube;-oC_WsH8HTw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oC_WsH8HTw[/video]
[video=youtube;rbdxRxu25Ds]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbdxRxu25Ds[/video]
After strolling down the northern shore of the upper lake, we made our way over the drainage and down the use-trail to lower Monarch Lakes. Can you see the camp?
Zoomed in to help ya out
[video=youtube;XdKis1CI4KM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdKis1CI4KM[/video]
Continued in next post.
Bouldering down looked much worse than it turned out to be, but it still required a fair amount of care and concentration. I don't know if Sawtooth Peak has a USGS benchmark. I completely forgot to check. I'll have to look the next time I'm up there.
After the bouldering section, we came down the south slope of Sawtooth Peak so we could check out upper Monarch Lakes on our way back down to the lower lake. Descending on the sandy scree proved to be immensely more fun than the ascent. You can pretty much surf (carefully) your way down, or take big moon-walking lunges down the slope. Needless to say the descent was MUCH quicker than the ascent.
Looking back up, from lower on the slope.
Getting near the base of the slope and Upper Monarch Lake.
Mineral Peak from a lower vantage, with the upper lake at its base.
I'm guessing the Monarch Lakes are fed by this spring creek.
I found the upper Monarch Lake way more picturesque than the lower Monarch Lake. The water in that one is crystal clear and absolutely gorgeous.
Mineral Peak. It's just so iconic in that area, along with Sawtooth Peak.
Ferns and granite. I hadn't actually thought ferns would be growing up at that altitude.
Getting closer to the lake, after a careful descent.
Mineral Peak and upper Monarch Lake. Beautiful!
Pristine water.
Talus shore.
A nice splotch of color.
Simply gorgeous.
Looking back up along the northern shore, towards where our descent took us.
There were trout happily cruisin Monarch Lakes. I snapped a shot of a one here at the Upper Lake.
Crystal water. You could probably drink it straight to no ill effect, but I used Micropur MP1 tabs the whole trip just to be safe.
Looking southeast. I'm thinking Amphitheater Lake is just over the rise.
[video=youtube;-oC_WsH8HTw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oC_WsH8HTw[/video]
[video=youtube;rbdxRxu25Ds]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbdxRxu25Ds[/video]
After strolling down the northern shore of the upper lake, we made our way over the drainage and down the use-trail to lower Monarch Lakes. Can you see the camp?
Zoomed in to help ya out
[video=youtube;XdKis1CI4KM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdKis1CI4KM[/video]
Continued in next post.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
Trail scenery.
Getting closer to the basin.
Another shot. Sawtooth Peak is above us on our right, so we've made a nice loop.
Looking up the upper lake drainage.
The view of the lower lake basin and Mineral Peak, taken upon returning to camp and my tent to have a snack and pack up.
Leaving Monarch Lakes. Looking back towards the lake basin and Sawtooth Peak.
On the trail back out.
View down Monarch Lakes drainage and out to Mineral King.
[video=youtube;PUcKZNI2bPA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUcKZNI2bPA[/video]
Gnarly, dude.
Standing tall.
View southwest. I'm thinking the peak on the left is White Chief Peak.
View north as we're heading down the trail. I think it's Empire Mountain towards the back.
Almost back down to the trailhead! You can see the road.
One last view southeast down the valley of Mineral King, towards Farewell Canyon and Farewell Gap. Soon after, we made it back to trailhead and went our separate ways. I had a 5 hour or so drive ahead of me, to get back to the bay area.
Snapped one last shot of Sawtooth Peak on the long, narrow, and windy drive out via Mineral King Road. It was pretty crazy to realize that just that morning I was standing on top of that summit
Thanks for your patience, and I hope I was able to convey at least a small bit of the magnificence to you folks I'm looking forward to doing more trips in Kings Canyon and Sequoia NPs. Thanks again, John, for inviting me to tag along on this wonderful trip. Wish I could make your 9 day trip this year! But it will have to wait until next year. Enjoy and be safe! :thumbup::thumbup: I look forward to your pics on your return!
ETA: John, thanks for the other pics of the upper Mosquito Lakes. I now know exactly what I'm looking at, haha. Next time I'm at Mineral King, I'll definitely check out Franklin and Crystal Lakes, and I want to get all the way up to the 3rd and 4th Mosquito Lakes...preferably just after mosquito season though
Getting closer to the basin.
Another shot. Sawtooth Peak is above us on our right, so we've made a nice loop.
Looking up the upper lake drainage.
The view of the lower lake basin and Mineral Peak, taken upon returning to camp and my tent to have a snack and pack up.
Leaving Monarch Lakes. Looking back towards the lake basin and Sawtooth Peak.
On the trail back out.
View down Monarch Lakes drainage and out to Mineral King.
[video=youtube;PUcKZNI2bPA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUcKZNI2bPA[/video]
Gnarly, dude.
Standing tall.
View southwest. I'm thinking the peak on the left is White Chief Peak.
View north as we're heading down the trail. I think it's Empire Mountain towards the back.
Almost back down to the trailhead! You can see the road.
One last view southeast down the valley of Mineral King, towards Farewell Canyon and Farewell Gap. Soon after, we made it back to trailhead and went our separate ways. I had a 5 hour or so drive ahead of me, to get back to the bay area.
Snapped one last shot of Sawtooth Peak on the long, narrow, and windy drive out via Mineral King Road. It was pretty crazy to realize that just that morning I was standing on top of that summit
Thanks for your patience, and I hope I was able to convey at least a small bit of the magnificence to you folks
I'm looking forward to doing more trips in Kings Canyon and Sequoia NPs. Thanks again, John, for inviting me to tag along on this wonderful trip. Wish I could make your 9 day trip this year! But it will have to wait until next year. Enjoy and be safe! :thumbup::thumbup: I look forward to your pics on your return!ETA: John, thanks for the other pics of the upper Mosquito Lakes. I now know exactly what I'm looking at, haha. Next time I'm at Mineral King, I'll definitely check out Franklin and Crystal Lakes, and I want to get all the way up to the 3rd and 4th Mosquito Lakes...preferably just after mosquito season though
- Joined
- May 21, 2011
- Messages
- 3,132
HM and Lambertiana, really amazing pictures and stories. Sounds like you guys had a great time out there.
I hope the weather will turn around over here, so that I'll be able to contribute to this topic a bit more often in the future.
Great stuff guys, I enjoy reading all your posts
I hope the weather will turn around over here, so that I'll be able to contribute to this topic a bit more often in the future.
Great stuff guys, I enjoy reading all your posts
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
Hope you get out soon GS!
mewolf1
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2005
- Messages
- 12,629
I hadn't been up to the BWCA for years, so when my boy wanted to go I told him to pull the permit and we'll make it happen.
At the put-it Burntside Lake.
It's a few miles of paddling to the Crab Portage 380 rods.(16feet to a rod)
Got on the camp site I wanted on Cummings
Found a bunch of Lobster mushrooms, most excellant fare,in camp
Some tools
Made a Peanutbutter knife. Wrapped the handle in Spruce root.
Lots of good fishing and relaxation
My sons girl pulled her weight and made the trip enjoyable
Fires in my camp are kept small. ALL camp sites are picked clean a long way around camp.
The large logs were let from the previous campers.
A tripod and trammel served better than the USFS grate.
Blue Gills on #7 Rappalas
More good food
Paddling and Portaging gets to your back at any age, so, I made some chairs , kinda
At the put-it Burntside Lake.
It's a few miles of paddling to the Crab Portage 380 rods.(16feet to a rod)
Got on the camp site I wanted on Cummings
Found a bunch of Lobster mushrooms, most excellant fare,in camp
Some tools
Made a Peanutbutter knife. Wrapped the handle in Spruce root.
Lots of good fishing and relaxation
My sons girl pulled her weight and made the trip enjoyable
Fires in my camp are kept small. ALL camp sites are picked clean a long way around camp.
The large logs were let from the previous campers.
A tripod and trammel served better than the USFS grate.
Blue Gills on #7 Rappalas
More good food
Paddling and Portaging gets to your back at any age, so, I made some chairs , kinda
Last edited: