Gambler's Special Peak and Trailmaster Peak

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Snow Nymph
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Gambler's Special Peak and Trailmaster Peak

Post by Snow Nymph »

Saturday, 9 September 2006
Gambler's Special Peak photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/553904794LQRKCi


The day started out with a bear cub stealing Trailtrekkers pack as she reached in the truck to get something. A late start, Mtflyer didn't have it in him after getting the pack back, and I was dehydrated. We only got to the unnamed lake below Gamblers Special Peak. This peak is not named on the maps. Bob Rockwell has been here and had photos of his trip. I'll try this one again sometime.
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


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wingding

Post by wingding »

Are Gambler's Special Peak and Trailmaster Peak in the same area ?
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Post by Snow Nymph »

Gambler's Special Peak starts at Whitney Portal. Trailmaster Peak is out of Cottonwood Pass.
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


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Post by Snow Nymph »

Now I'm confused. The peak I labeled Gamblers is actually the east face of the Cleaver. I have to relabel the photos when I figure out which peak is Gamblers. :dontknow
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


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Post by Snow Nymph »

Sunday, 10 September 2006
Trailmaster Peak photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/554020904QYWNne


BobR did some peaks along the ridge from Cottonwood Pass. I only got Trailmaster Pk (12,336'). I wasn't sure I was on the right peak, no register & not named on the map, so I went for the next peak (tried two high points). Spent too much time looking for registers and ran out of time. I took a shortcut and followed footprints all the way down, then hiked 1.25 miles back on the main trail. I found out later the first peak was Trailmaster Peak.
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


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Post by gcj »

Snow Nymph wrote:Now I'm confused. The peak I labeled Gamblers is actually the east face of the Cleaver. I have to relabel the photos when I figure out which peak is Gamblers. :dontknow
If it's true, it's not the first time: Clarence King climbed Mt. Langley thinking it was Mt. Whitney... He still wrote a great story, though. ...and pictures you took are still outstanding. :)
-gordon
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Post by Snow Nymph »

Thanks, gcj!

The original peak I had labeled on my GPS is Gamblers. I copied BobR's thumbnail page and the ones on the right side of the page got cut off, so I didn't see where it said "Carillon Cleaver Saddle", I only saw the next photo (in the next row) that said "the route". :lol:

I think two of us weren't up for the next part of the hike, but we'll be back!
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


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Post by madeintahoe »

SN..Beautiful pictures! I wonder how that blue tent or tarp got into that lake? To bad...maybe some brave soul will dive in and fish it out one day!

That one picture of Chicken Spring Lake is really neat so see from that direction..It shows the ridge you hike along...thats a neat section of that trail I remember it well, cool looking down into Big Whitney Meadows.
Thank you for sharing :)
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Post by Snow Nymph »

here's a story about diving in Tulainyo Lake: http://www.sportdiver.com/article.jsp?ID=10047



Lake Tulainyo
By Peter Hemming
(more by this author)


I followed my dive partner, David Moore, from one handhold and foothold to another - a single slip meant a 200-foot fall to the trees below. We reached a long horizontal ledge and followed it east until we had to start climbing upward again. Another longer ledge, and we were back on the main trail and headed to Lower Boy Scout Lake and some rest. It was a hell of a way to get to a dive.

I'd wanted to dive Tulainyo Lake in California's eastern Sierras since hearing about it 20 years ago. Tulainyo is the highest lake (of lakes with more than one-tenth square mile of water) in the Continental U.S. At 12,818 feet, it's nearly 300 feet higher than Peru's Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. Icy-cold and deep sapphire in color, Tulainyo lies in a crater-like depression between two mountain peaks near Mount Whitney. It is a jewel set in a lonely and desolate place.

Uphill to Water

We started from the town of Lone Pine in the Sierra foothills and arrived late at night at Whitney Portal, the gateway to the Mount Whitney trail. A bright and crisp morning greeted us at 8,000 feet where the trailhead began - Tulainyo was a mile above us. Along with traditional mountain-hiking gear we also carried masks, fins, exposure suits, regulators and twin pony bottles holding our air supply. Our packs weighed 80 pounds each - heavy at sea level, so we could only wonder what they were going to feel like at 13,000 feet.

Leaving the trailhead, we followed a well-maintained trail that snaked its way upward along a canyon wall. Then it was on to a more primitive trail along Lone Pine Creek. Once off the trail, we encountered the Eberbacher Ledges, a series of ledges glued to a granite face that led to Lower Boy Scout Lake.

As we rested there we took in the vista - Mount Whitney and its satellites, the Keeler Needles - and answered the questions of several parties of climbers who noticed the strange gear we carried.

You want to dive Tulainyo?! A shake of the head, some unspoken questioning our sanity, and they'd be gone.

Twelve hours of foot-burning, back-breaking hiking later, we set up for a good night's rest. We'd need it; 1,500 feet above us loomed the wall of Mount Carillian and the waters of Tulainyo.

We broke camp under a Technicolor sky the next morning, left all our equipment except our dive gear, tanks, a bottle of water and an energy bar each, and then we headed out.

The Dive

A natural basin spread out some 3,000 feet in length below us, its far shore lined with glacial ice, a crescent of white reflecting in the indigo-blue water. Excited, we descended to the lake's shore and started the gear-up process. We were using high-altitude dive tables, but Tulainyo was way off the chart, so we decided to limit our dive to 30 feet. Our air supply would only hold us about 15 minutes - enough time for this first exploration. David stuffed his drysuit pockets with stones; I loaded an old shot belt with rocks and grabbed my Nikonos, and we were off.

There was no beach, and the bottom dropped just a few feet from shore. We floated as we adjusted gear, then made the dive. The water was incredibly clear, unlike most mountain lakes that are green from high algae content. Tulainyo seemed devoid of vegetation as well as fish, amphibians or insects.

We spotted no life in the lake, and as David and I swam 30 feet below the surface we felt like Armstrong and Aldrin with our Tranquility Base. I bailed after we returned to the surface to fix our bearings, freezing in my surf suit, but David continued to dive as I made my way to shore. While soaking up the powerful rays of sun, I looked down and saw something move - a tiny fish the size and shape of a toothpick. I reached down to try to scoop it out, but it headed for deep water. Tulainyo wasn't a sterile environment, and I wondered what other mysteries were to be found in the depths.

After the dive Dave and I packed our dive gear and began the long climb back down to civilization. But before I did, I carved our initials into a quarter and tossed it into the lake to commemorate our dive. The highest scuba dive in the Continental U.S. was ours.


Originally Published: Sept/Oct 1998
© 2006 World Publications, LLC [quote][/quote]
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


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Post by Rosabella »

Interesting article on the dive!! As I started reading I was wondering if they had carried weights..... the "rocks in the pockets" was a good idea, but they're not going to be as heavy as lead.... they must've had some pretty bulky pockets :) .

Oh well... being that they've already got the record for the "highest SCUBA dive in the Continental U.S." I guess I won't be needing to drag my gear up there! :D
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