Best 5-night backpacking trip?

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adornowest
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Re: Best 5-night backpacking trip?

Post by adornowest »

Yes, I will post a TR with photos once the official photographer sends me some photos.

Incidentally, how much more difficult is a class 3 pass then the Cyclamen to Columbine portion? We met the ranger as we descended Black Rock, and if I understood her correctly, she seemed to imply that Glacier Pass was easier than Spring to Columbine (maybe she meant less effort than Spring to Sawtooth?). For Cyclamen to Columbine, we climbed straight up a seem on the NE side, and then just contoured around. The only tough part was crossing a large boulder field right before the pass to Columbine, much of which was covered with snow, which meant only the huge boulders were above snow line, necessitating some taking packs off and the like to wedge ourselves up them.

I ask because I'm trying to calibrate what I am willing to do on future trips. This was no problem -- I never felt my life was in danger.
Last edited by adornowest on Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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maverick
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Re: Best 5-night backpacking trip?

Post by maverick »

The Cyclamen to Columbine is a low class 2 route.
Some cross country passes are rated right on, and some are off, but at least
you'll know the approx difficulty level when planning.
Some are difficult because of steep icy, some for steep/endless talus, others
steep/endless scree, some a mix of the two, others for there endless boulder
fields, and then there are those that you need very good route finding skills to
avoid cliffs and drop offs with a mix of the above thrown to spice up your life.
If you have a particular route in mind, ask about it, and I am sure you will get
some feed back on this site that will help you plan a safe trip.
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giovanni
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Re: Best 5-night backpacking trip?

Post by giovanni »

maverick, i'm considering a trip from mineral king but settling for a shorter loop due to time constraints. which of these two loops would give me more interesting scenery?

1. timber gap to pinto lake, little five lakes and then looping around to columbine lake and sawtooth pass

or

2. starting by going down towards franklin lakes/pass and again looping again through the columbine lake and sawtooth pass section
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adornowest
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Re: Best 5-night backpacking trip?

Post by adornowest »

Franklin Lake was the only campsite we shared with others, and it was quite a crowd. It also struck me as in a way the least impressive of the lakes, partly because it is formed by a man-made dam. Perhaps the higher lake is a better place to camp if you don't mind even higher elevation your first night. Little Claire is a beautiful lake with great camping, but much of the route on either side of it is routine. I'd opt for the greater diversity of the Little and Big Five. The country around the Little Five (for instance, on the way to Lake 10410) definitely deserves exploration -- I thought it was the best of the trip.
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maverick
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Re: Best 5-night backpacking trip?

Post by maverick »

Hi Giovanni

Number 1, but doing Black Rock Pass from the west is a long drawn out hike so
get an early start that day.
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diesel
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Re: Best 5-night backpacking trip?

Post by diesel »

To maverick and adrnowest, how difficult is the route finding for the black rock pass/spring lake/columbine cross country section? The pictures from the top of black rock pass, make it seem intuitive, but of course it's hard to make any firm judgements when looking from such a scale.

I've found I can handle class 2 terrain and obstacles just fine, but dont have prior experience finding my own way off trail (except for a few experiences where we'd accidentally lost the trail and had to wander back to it hah).
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adornowest
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Re: Best 5-night backpacking trip?

Post by adornowest »

We almost never found a reliable use trail, but we still found the trip very intuitive. Blackrock Pass to Spring Lake is just a matter of deciding when to cut in toward the lake rather than continuing down the switchbacks that take you away from it. From Spring Lake to Cyclamen, the second lake, we went up the boulder field by the stream that connects them. Cyclamen to Columbine is a bit trickier as the preferred route isn't quite as obvious, but as with the other segments, you'll never feel lost or unsure where your next lake-destination is. The sight lines are excellent.

(I should say we did this in mid-to-late August, and there was a snowfield between Cyclamen and Columbine. Earlier in the season this might make things considerably more involved?)
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maverick
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Re: Best 5-night backpacking trip?

Post by maverick »

Hi Diesel

Not difficult at all, and if your comfy with class 2 passes than you should have no
problems finding your way up from Spring to Columbine.
Adornowest, there is no use trail to be followed since this is not a regularly used
route.
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