Convict-McGee to the SAR, to Minaret Lake- TR

[Harlen]

Bearzy and I enjoyed a 9 day trip that began on August 31st.  We connected Convict Creek to an easy section of the SHR, and then joined the HST Matthew Greene search and recovery effort for the second half of the trip.  I've separated the trip into 2 parts, and have already included my 2nd set of photos and notes to the existing Post: "4th Matthew Green Search." 
 
With no permit reservation, I was lucky to get my second choice of Convict Creek instead of McGee Cr. itself.  This meant that to cross McGee Pass, I  would first get to experience the 11,620'- "Corridor Pass,"  As I neared the ridge dividing Convict from McGee Creeks, I was tempted by a higher pass at ~12.000, which would have dropped down very near to McGee Pass.  This pass is about a half mile due west of Corridor Pass, and less than half a mile due north of McGee Pass.  Does anyone know this route?  (WD, did you consider it on your trip in there?)  I decided against using it as I didn't know the south side, and I was happy to use Corridor Pass for the first time.  It turned out that the higher pass was dead easy on the south side, the difficulty would be the steepish snowfield on the north side.  Here is a photo showing the 2 passes.

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Corridor Pass on the left, the untried higher route on the right, with a prospective route shown in black. Photo taken from the tarn above Lake Constance.

Before crossing into the McGee Creek Basin, Bearzy and I really enjoyed our time in Convict Creek.  The far side of Mildred Lake is a paradise, with shallow lakeshore, and meadowland all around.  Walking and lying around for a couple hours was great fun, and in places, we stirred up small clouds of grasshoppers.  This is surely one of the very most colorful areas in all the Sierra.  The gray rock is metamorphic limestone, (Dolomite?) and the red is oxidized blue slate.  There are many other colors mixed in, including a bright white ridge on the north side of Red Slate Mountain, and many brilliant blue lakes, such as "Bright Dot," and giant "Lake Dorothy."  Below are a few photos from Convict Creek:

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This is part of the Sevehah Cliff.

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Bearzy had a great time roaming around the Mildred Lake meadow, and swimming in the lake.

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Here is Bearzy on Corridor Pass.  The view is south to Silver Divide, with the higher peaks of Mono Divide beyond. Above Bear's back are Mts. Abbott and Gabb, bracketing "Gabbot Pass."


A couple views from the upper basin of McGee Creek:

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Here's Bearzy amid perfect pennyroyal flowers, which had about 100 bumblebees both sleeping and feeding in them.

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Bearzy a mile from McGee Pass.

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On McGee Pass looking west at Silver Divide.

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Bear in the paintbrush-filled meadows to the west of McGee Pass

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Gentian flowers


A few miles down from McGee Pass we reached the SHR in one of its tamest, lowest, and most trail-ridden sections.  It began at Tully Hole, which is 9,600' elevation. I enjoyed the route, but why not send it up along the nice ridge northwest of Red Slate Mt., over "Pretty Pass," through 3+ miles of really wild high country country, to one of the saddles above Duck Lake?  I was not the only one wondering; I met up with a wild climbing duo, who were doing the whole route, and they were calling it: "Roper's Medium-High Route."  Also, this part of the route is continuous trail throughout, all the way from Tully Hole to Superior Lake, west of Red's Meadow.  I read that it has been trailed up since its early years due to its popularity, and perhaps it's for the best that higher and wilder routes can still be created through one's own efforts. 

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On my 3rd day I made it to this beautiful camp just west of Duck Lake. 

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Finally some off-trail hiking above Duck Lake. But as I neared the saddle a 1/2 mile west of Duck Pass, I intersected a very clear trail, which continued all the way to Red's Meadow. Here is that "off-trail trail" seen from the saddle.


From this saddle we wandered through a fascinating high and dry plateau, and then dropped down to Deer Lakes. Beautiful country, but I was really looking forward to getting up onto Mammoth Crest. Roper intrigues us with this description of the Crest: "The panorama from Mammoth Crest rivals any of the entire High Route." I hoped for a distant view of the Minarets and the Ritter Range, which I would then walk right into.

[Harlen]

Mammoth Crest did provide a very airy feeling, and some incredible views both near and far.

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The first of the idyllic Deer Lakes.

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Up on the stark crest with great long views in all directions. To the northwest there's Ritter and Banner, with the Koip and Kuna Crest to the right, and Mammoth Mountain right of that.

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To the east all the way to the White Mts., with Crystal Crag near, and the reddish crest I think is called the "Sherwins."

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Bear walking the volcanic trail, with the Minarets now included in the view.

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The charred history of the Mammoth Fire makes for some interesting landscapes. Besides the history of fire all around, Bear and I were experiencing a tremendous drought! There is no water anywhere between the last Deer Lake and Red's Meadow. I gave Bear the little I carried, and by the end of the ridge, he was moving from shade to shade, and I hope not suffering too much. We tanked up at the first creek, and then added a cream soda, and treats for Bear at the R.M. Store.

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On the 5th day we hiked the rest of the SHR trail to Superior Lake, and then off-trail over Nancy Pass and on to Minaret Lake to meet up with Mav's SAR (Recovery) Team. It was a fantastic first stage of a trip that just got better when the HST folks were added to it.

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Superior Lake with Nancy Pass somewhere up there on the ridge. I went up the central forested path, and made my own crossing... where is the proper route?

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Bearzy ecstatic to find snow again!

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Finally down from my poorly chosen route down Nancy Pass. The
SHR path to Minaret Lake heads through that gap with Banner in the middle of it.

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High in the Minarets again!

[wildhiker]

Great photos from a truly colorful area!
-Phil

[Wandering Daisy]

Great photos. How did Bearzy's paws fare on the sharp rocks on Corridor Pass?

I was planning on going up Convict Creek this summer but it did not happen-next year. I did Corridor Pass early season and having little snow gear, I looked at those other passes but decided not to attempt them without crampons. I believe someone put up a trip report last year describing the pass from Convict Creek to Ram Lakes, that was a nice way to go.

In Roper's book introduction he says that his "High Route" does not attempt to stay high just for the sake of staying high. Remember that his book sub-title is; Traversing Timberline Country. He probably deemed the trail route section from Tully Hole to Duck Lake more in line with "timberline". As stated on page 11 the route is a "195 mile route that remains in close proximity to timberline, avoids major trails when possible, and yet requires no particular mountaineering skills." And on page 14, "My chief concern while laying out the course of the High Route was to avoid excessively troublesome terrain." Roper really wanted people to figure out their own details and do variations too.

Unfortunately, now everyone seems to think the High Route is set in stone resulting in an unintended use-trail and too many cairns. Skurka popularized the High Route on the internet, so most people do not even look at the original guidebook. I am not blaming Skurka (bringing the route onto the internet would have been done anyway) - it is just that people are lazy and want to follow a dot-to-dot GPS track instead of figuring out their own details. There have been a lot of unintended consequences as a result. I did bits and pieces of the High Routes in the late 1990's simply as parts of other trips and climbs, and was amazed when I actually did the entire route in 2010 that so many cairns had been placed. Every year the route becomes more of a use-trail.

[bobby49]

That's a good-looking dog you have there. No collar for tags?

[SSSdave]

I also quite like the colorful, lush, geologically fascinating basin above Mildred Lake and in the future maybe early August will base camp maybe a half mile south of Mildred. Quite varied flora with interesting rock substrates makes it an exceptional zone for locating plant close-ups.

Looking at the topo, it is obvious the snowfield at the saddle west of Red Slate would have a cornice into most summers and is steep enough to require ice axe/crampons.

Note Convict Creek canyon is so unworldly that it was used in scenes of Star Trek Insurrection.

The short paintbrush one finds on high elevation meadows is Peirson's paintbrush, castilleja peirsonii.

Pika to Ram Lakes and Cecil to Franklin besides excessive talus also would have to negotiate ridge line steeps with cornicing snow fields. Rogue went through there. Rather obvious, the PCT trail will always be more efficient and the current routes to the Ram Basin are easily accessed class 1 from Purple and Virginia.

There is also a second deteriorating faint trail that starts just west of Duck Pass and traverses southwest to cross the knob at 3340+ that avoids the snowfield below. WD went around that knob earlier this summer when it blocked the trail. Last month we were up there in the afternoon as it has the best pm view of the lake and surrounding peaks.

I've planned to do some work on Mammoth Crest in order to capture morning red foreground geology with the Ritter Range behind but that section is more easily reached from the Lake George trailhead.

A less steep route with less talus is through the saddle northeast of Red Top. Best view of Minarets also.
https://www.summitpost.org/minarets-fro ... 3/c-150625

[Harlen]

Wandering Daisy wrote:

How did Bearzy's paws fare on the sharp rocks on Corridor Pass?

He did suffer a slight tear under the pad of his dew claw, and a second under a toe pad. The first I was able to protect using first bandaids on the wound, then tape around the leg to hold them on.

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See right front lower leg. Surprisingly, neither wound worsened, through the 45 mile trip to the Minarets, nor during our mountaineering around there- such as traveling up and over South Notch seen here. Jimr's gift of old medical tape greatly improved the bandage, though he said it was an ancient piece of his little-used med-kit.

bobby49 writes:

That's a good-looking dog you have there. No collar for tags?

Bear's collar and tags are in his pack. I love the wilder look of a dog sans collar. I did once have an experience that questioned this choice. Bear and I got separated during a climb in Deso, and when I called him in he came up from a different side of the ridge I was ascending. So he might have looked for me all the way down to Tahoe! Bear is not at all a runner, but even so, he might have been lost!!???

[freestone]

Unfortunately, now everyone seems to think the High Route is set in stone resulting in an unintended use-trail and too many cairns. Skurka popularized the High Route on the internet, so most people do not even look at the original guidebook. I am not blaming Skurka (bringing the route onto the internet would have been done anyway)

Not sure Skurka has done much with Roper's route, but he did develop another High Route south of Roper's (I think) and his latest creation in Yosemite.

[davidsheridan]

Thanks for sharing Harlen. you have had an incredible year of adventures. Thanks for sharing on HST so folks like me can enjoy and daydream and get inspiration!

[Harlen]

sssDave wrote:

Looking at the topo, it is obvious the snowfield at the saddle west of Red Slate would have a cornice into most summers and is steep enough to require ice axe/crampons.

Nope. Now I don't mean to contradict you just because you are such an amazing member, but I've rambled around up there quite a bit- circled Red Slate twice on the way to the summit with 2 dogs, 4 kids, and adults including once with 2 newcomers, and never with any tools atall. I'm sure a cornice could form, but hard to predict. One time I stayed high on the divide all the way north to "Pretty Pass," and went from there on down past Franklin and Ram Lakes, through what to this person, was an amazing, stark, and rocky country, and two lovely coyotes hiked ahead of me down to Purple Lake.