Carson Pass Trip Report

[Harlen]

bobby 49 wrote:

I see that you and the dog roped up toward the top. Who was leading and who was belaying?

You could get that dog some Microspikes, but I don't know how you would keep them on.

I've seen some mountaineers treat their dogs right with dog booties that have a few Microspikes on the bottom.

Bear seems to do fine, though I have seen a friend's softer-living dog with the outer layer of her pads beginning to separate- didn't seem to cause her pain, but it was near the end of the trip with nothing but nice trail to go. We made a small front-pack (adapted from one of our baby packs) for our other canine pal "Wolfie" the Mountain Pom. We have only used it to help get him over big, blocky rockfields on mountains and passes. The dog booties we've tried have not stayed on well, and so far, just don't seem necessary.

As for the short rope, sometimes he leads, sometimes I do. It is in part to keep Bear from chasing a wily marmot off the edge of a cliff- I just don't know if I could call him off if a marmot popped up real close.

Wandering Daisy wrote:

Dogs have built-in micro-spikes! I do not think spring snow hurts dog's paws if they are used to it. Of course, each dog is a unique case. Different story if it were mid-winter. This trip looks like it had plenty of dry ground to camp on. We always take booties for our dog, but her paws have become pretty tough, so the booties are only for emergency if she cuts a paw. We have actually never used them.

So far so good with the dog's paws in mid-winter too. They've been mostly short trips with Bear, but recall the longish, hardish trip we did over from Kearsarge to Shepherd.... he did fine then too, but that was spring not winter. I ran dogs north of Fairbanks in some very cold weather- both skijour and with dogsleds, and those dogs of many mixed breeds also did fine without booties. I never did more than day trips though. We want to do more with the dogs in winter, and so are keen to learn whatever we can. WD, do you have experience with dogs in cold Wyoming weather?

Thanks for the comments and advice, Harlen.

[Harlen]

apeman45 wrote:

I love watching these loud birds do their thing. They get up at dawn and are very loud. I call them the roosters of the high Sierra.

Indeed, I love watching them, but what a hell of a thing to have to listen to. They must be the most unmusical bird in the Sierra.
Apeman, have you ever come across a big Clarkie chick pestering its parents to feed him? We came across that scene in the forest of the Kern one spring, and it was a hilarious racket- just incessant squawking for food! The chick was big enough to fly after the parent birds to demand ever more food. We love all the birds, musical or not. I saw nutcrackers on this trip, and juncos, and one really striking white-breasted nuthatch.

[SNOOOOW]

I just want to say that Bear is very photogenic lol. Beautiful dog. Awesome photos. Those tracks definitely were not mine, all my backcountry skiing this winter was mostly done around Bridgeport and June Lake and the South side of Carson Pass. There is a parking area for Red Lake just east of Carson Pass on 88 that does not require a Sno Park permit so we usually go there and lap our little run. In your photo with the peaks Pyramid is the white pointy guy on the top left side of your screen followed by Jack's Dick's and Tallac moving to the right with Tallac popping up right above Lake Tahoe (I could be wrong as I am terrible at pointing out peaks from a distance, but I am confident in my identification of these). Another awesome trip, at least 1 of us is getting out and enjoying the Spring!

[Harlen]

Well, next time JB, glad you've been getting out, what do you do around Bridgeport? I've long wanted to ski in via Buckeye Creek, or perhaps better yet just 3-4 miles up Robinson Creek to a vantage point beneath the big wild peaks at the north end of the Sawtooth Ridge- "The Hulk" and others.

SNOOOOW wrote:

In your photo with the peaks Pyramid is the white pointy guy on the top left side of your screen followed by Jack's Dick's and Tallac moving to the right with Tallac popping up right above Lake Tahoe (I could be wrong as I am terrible at pointing out peaks from a distance, but I am confident in my identification of these).

I assume you and Gazelle are correct, my problem is figuring out how you can see Pyramid Peak, seemingly without Ralston- of your recent ascent- in front of it? Is Ralston to the west of Pyramid more? (see photos below) All the best, Harlen.

100_0248.jpg

So your saying that Mt. Tallac is the darker, rock and snow peak to the far right in both of these photos, (just visible at the left in the second) and then Dicks, then Jacks moving to the left in the first pic., both just right of Little Round Top? And then which is Pyramid? The biggest conical white peak to the left of the others, with one smaller white peak just to its right?

100_0138.jpg

And finally, for anyone, what is that very distant snowy range of mountains north of Tahoe, seen in the second photo with Bear's right ear pointing to it? And now that I've expanded the view, I see another distant range behind Tallac; what might that be? Thanks for the geography lessons, Harlen.

[wildhiker]

The "distant range behind Tallac" is simply the continuation of the Sierra Crest around the Donner Pass area.
The "distant snowy range of mountains north of Tahoe" is the northern end of the Carson Range around Mount Rose.
-Phil

[Harlen]

Wildhiker wrote:

The "distant range behind Tallac" is simply the continuation of the Sierra Crest around the Donner Pass area.
The "distant snowy range of mountains north of Tahoe" is the northern end of the Carson Range around Mount Rose.
-Phil

Got it. Thanks Phil.

[DAVELA]

Great pics and trip report as usual!Thanks!

[Harlen]

While we're on the subject of the Sierra geography in this region, I thought I would figure out a few more peaks of the Ebbetts Pass- East Fork of the Carson area. This viewpoint (looking south-east) is near the saddle above the Meiss TH, 1 mile NW of Carson Pass.

100_0035.jpg

On the farther ridge in the photo above, the first dominant peak, with the two-humped summit is Silver Peak (10,772); moving right you see a lower peak with a continuous snowfield on the left side, this is an eastern spur (~10,550) off from Highland Peak, which is the next one to the right, and the highest in the area at (10,935). Connected to Highland Peak by a saddle is Peak 10,824.
I have yet to climb these, but I would sure love to! They can be reached from the Ebbetts Pass TH (8,680), and also from the east via Wolf Creek TH (6,570). It looks like a great scrambling climb along the ridge from the south, perhaps breaking off the PCT at Noble Lake to reach the foot of the ridge below Peak 10,824? What's it like SNOOOW?, Vaca Russ, "Wandering Everywhere Daisy"? It looks like it might be nice to drop down into the Dixon Creek Canyon due east of Silver Peak after reaching that summit- all the way down to your car JB, with the cooler of beer waiting for us there?
In front of those peaks, you can see the long hump of Raymond Peak(10,014) just to the right, and forward of Silver Peak, then- superimposed on Peak 10.824- is the severe pinnacle that I lost my nerve on, and right of that- on the skyline- is the very nice rocky summit of Reynolds Peak. All the latter peaks are easily reached from the PCT, beginning at Ebbetts Pass, or from the west via Tamarack Road- starting out at either Sunset Lakes, or Wet Meadow Reservoir. It's a really colorful and interesting geologic area.

[Gazelle]

When I did Highland/silver went in Ebbetts pass to Noble lake up to 10824 then along ridge to Highland/silver then dropped down to Noble creek trail where we had left a car. It was a long day cause I was sick as a dog, but awesome! Take water once past the lake!
Kristine

[sekihiker]

Wonderful trip report with excellent photos - just like I was there. Thanks.