Little Five or Big Five?

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calipidder
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Re: Little Five or Big Five?

Post by calipidder »

Hey all - just wanted to resurrect this thread to report back that we had a great trip. Since one of the people who ended up joining us a bit later on this trip is a strong hiker but still relatively new to backpacking, we stuck with the on-trail trip (well, that, and the fact that I couldn't get any recent info on snow at Glacier). We had a great time, and it was a perfect warmup for a 9-day cross-country trip out of Pine Creek I'm leaving for in a few days.

One thing that was a bit unexpected was the incredible fishing - my husband got a 3lb rainbow in Little Five Lakes (fed all of us for lunch after the hike over Black Rock - mmmm), then later that day we had some great golden fishing at Big Five. Last night we were at Columbine and the brookies were biting anything we threw at them. Pretty sure there were some golden hybrids in the bunch too, but no pure goldens were caught. I brought home a ton of extra food on this trip since I kept getting fish for dinner. :)

Oh. The skeeters are still really bad out there. Booo.

Pictures and full trip report to be posted soon, hopefully before I head back out on Friday.
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Rockyroad
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Re: Little Five or Big Five?

Post by Rockyroad »

Hi All,
This seems like an opportune time to introduce myself. I came across this forum recently and find it to be full of great trip reports, awesome photos, and lots of good information. I'm hoping to share some of my own limited experiences.

I'm actually planning on doing the Mineral King, Timber Gap, Black Rock Pass, Little/Big Five Lakes, Lost Canyon, Sawtooth Pass loop starting this Friday. Since I've never been in the area but have read many accounts of the marmot problem at the trailhead, I was wondering what precautions are recommended for marmot-proofing my car?
1. I've seen photos of tarp but can't marmots just chew through the tarp?
2. I've also seen photos of chicken wire around cars. I was planning on putting wire mesh around my car but the wire openings are 2"x3". (Stupid question coming) What are the chances of a small marmot getting through? Should I get chicken wire instead?
I know it's crazy to have this great trip coming up and all I can think about is the trailhead. Anyways, thanks in advance for any input.

And Calipidder, way to put the pressure on for fishing. Now I'll really feel like a noob if I don't catch anything! :)
Last edited by Rockyroad on Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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windknot
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Re: Little Five or Big Five?

Post by windknot »

Calipidder,

Thanks for the recap and nice job on the fishing! Can't wait for the report and pictures.

Rockyroad,

Welcome to the board! I don't know much about marmot-proofing vehicles, except that Mineral King is definitely a place where people do it. I guess the tarp just dissuades the marmots from getting to your car, especially if it's a new tarp and doesn't have any salt or oil on it.

Matt
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oleander
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Re: Little Five or Big Five?

Post by oleander »

Hi,

I'm a new member too.

We just finished the Timber Gap - Blackrock Pass - Little 5 - Big 5 - Sawtooth loop ourselves, this past Monday.

Rockyroad: We too were concerned about marmots, but the rangers at Mineral King Ranger Station assured us that there have been no "marmot incidents" for 3.5 weeks (now 4.5 weeks). I guess it's more of an early-season problem.

Interesting, we (my friend and I) had different impressions/conclusions than some others stated here. Here's what we thought:

1. Cliff Creek (leading ultimately to Blackrock Pass) was by far our favorite part of the hike. You have to go up & down very tedious Timber Gap to get to Cliff Creek. But once you're there, Cliff Creek is a most gorgeous valley filled with spectacular reds & greens & waterfalls just like the Monarch Lakes basin, but with a lot more wildflowers and a lot more solitude. Lost Valley was our second-favorite spot; and a night at Columbine Lake (camping above the outlet) was spectacular.

2. Mosquitoes were very mild compared to some of our recent trips to more northerly destinations. We didn't put on the mosquito juice every day.

3. We liked Little Five Lakes basin better than Big Five Lakes basin. The uppermost Little Five Lakes (right under Blackrock Pass) would have been our preferred camping spot, had it not been kind of windy/exposed that day.

4. The only unpleasant parts of the trip, in our opinion, were the *trailed* sections between Little Five Lakes & Big Five Lakes, continuing to the bottom/start of Lost Valley. Those sections are just hot, mostly viewless slogs through the forest. Next time we will skip the first of those slogs (Little 5 to Big 5) by hopping over the very easy-looking Class 2 col from the upper Little 5 lake to the upper Big 5 basin.

5. Sawtooth Peak looks like an easy climb from Sawtooth Pass - next time we will make time to climb it.

6. I'm sure no one will disagree with me on *this* point: The entire area is Up and Down, All the Time. Even the maintained trails are steeper and more rugged than your usual, gentler Sierra switchbacks. You might want to pack lighter than usual; we saw a startling number of people with massive packs, and of course they all looked miserable going up those thousands and thousands of feet. Also, do not plan for your usual mileage...the steepness of the trails will affect your speed. We did more like 1-1.5 mph (!), and +6000 feet -4000 feet in the first 1.5 days meant we only made ~13 miles or so in that time.

Have fun!
Oleander
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calipidder
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Re: Little Five or Big Five?

Post by calipidder »

Oleander, so you were at Columbine Lake on Sunday night too? I think there were only two other groups there that night - one was a father and son (I think) who we chatted with at the lake, and then again at Sawtooth pass and at the trailhead. I think I recall seeing another two people camped above them too - maybe that was you? We were in the first set of campsites that you come to when getting to the lake from Lost Canyon - there were four of us and we spent most of the afternoon fishing. :) I also wandered down towards Cyclamen lake. One of my favorite places I think!

I agree about Big Five/Little Five, and the scenery. I didn't enjoy cliff creek as much though - we got a late start that day and were trying to make it to Pinto before dark. Didn't like the pinto area at all -buggy and smelly and crowded. If I'd had more time to explore I'm sure it would have been more enjoyable but we were pretty much done for the day when we rolled into camp. I actually enjoyed the climb up to Black Rock. I know it's a slog, but most of it was well graded and the views were incredible. The hike up Lost Canyon (once above tree line) is great as well.

I wanted to do Sawtooth Peak but was outvoted by my hiking partners who wanted to get home before dark. Turns out we would have had plenty of time to do it. Booo. Guess I'll have to go back!
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calipidder
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Re: Little Five or Big Five?

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P.S. Pics aren't posted yet, but here's a panorama video I took of the campsite at Columbine Lake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p65gTxQedeg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Rockyroad
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Re: Little Five or Big Five?

Post by Rockyroad »

Calipidder, great video! Looking forward to your pics. I can't wait to get out there this weekend.

Oleander, thanks for your impressions and advice. I'll try to reduce my usually hefty pack. I had also planned on heading towards Sawtooth Peak but will re-assess based on time and difficulty once I get there.

Matt, I appreciate your reply as well.

What a great community!
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oleander
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Re: Little Five or Big Five?

Post by oleander »

Actually, we were at Columbine Lake on Saturday night...on Sunday night, we stayed at the upper Crystal Lake (also recommended! - very pristine and untrammeled).

Earlier in the week we had the entire Pinto Lake area all to ourselves. Surprised to hear that it gets crowded!

Oleander
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