Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

A forum to initiate member meet-up. Looking for a hiking/climbing/fishing/skiing/etc. partner, or are you planning a trip where you wouldn't mind having some company? Last minute invites can be just as fun as a well-planned group trip (sometimes even better) so don't be shy! And be sure to post a trip report to the appropriate forum when you get back.
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maverick
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Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by maverick »

If you are traveling thru Dusy Basin, on any of the above dates, come by and say hi, a couple of us HST types, will be chilling around Lake 11388. :)
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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by tomba »

I should arrive there late afternoon, Saturday 9/9.
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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by maverick »

Cool, will be great to see you again Tomba. :)
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by Ashery »

Aww, and here I was looking forward to the amusement of a sort of stealth meetup, where there was little foreknowledge of who all'd be there, :p
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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by SSSdave »

Looking at today's weather radar, can imagine you all this afternoon are tent bound. On the 9-day trip I emerged from Wednesday out of North Lake, all days had pm clouds and 7 days at least some rain including one whooper lightning storm with heavy rains.

David
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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by Jimr »

You nailed it Dave. Mav and his friend Jill hit the trail a few hours before Oleander and I. They made it over Bishop Pass, but had to set-up fast before reaching the desired lake and take shelter. They moved to the second highest lake in the basin, I believe, the next morning. Lisa and I got to Bishop Lake and got pounded with heavy rain, so we quick set-up there for the evening and moseyed over the Pass the next day to meet up with Mav and Jill. Quite unexpectedly, Ashery showed up later that day to complete a mini-meetup. We got hammered every afternoon with rain, hail and a sprinkling of light snow. Clouds started to form earlier each day, so it was difficult to gauge when the deluge would hit.

Lisa and I were considering going on to Barrett Lakes or Ladder Lake, but opted to stay in Dusy Basin with friends rather than head deeper in. We all had a great time, but it was colder than heck during the rain. Saturday's storm had a very cold wind pushing behind it. We all hauled out Sunday morning and headed to Mountain Rambler Brewery for a well deserved lunch and a few of us partook in a glass of one of their artisan ales. Three of them went home from there, but Lisa and I stayed a couple of nights in Bishop. In fact, I just got home.

We went to Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest yesterday and did the Methuselah trail. We had enough rain to bring the luster out of the old snags and downed wood. It made for some good photography. We toured the visitors center at the end of the loop and got hit with a fairly strong round of rain, hail and lightning, so we went back into the visitors center and watched a short documentary to let the storm pass.

Last night, Bishop got hit with quite a lightning storm, so we sat outside of our motel room to watch the show. At one point, the lightning and thunder got to within about 8 seconds apart, so I unlocked the door to our room so we could dive into it if our hair started to stand on end. The forecast is for more lightning storms this evening and perhaps into Thursday. The Sierra stayed mostly shrouded with storm clouds these last two days.
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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by SSSdave »

Jim. likewise here, good time overall, thanks for your report. Stingy Dusy Basin has always been like that with me too. But also disappointing because the weather prevented working on numbers of strong photography subjects. And by trip end with so many hours tent bound, my prized snack food and candy went on a daily quota that I am not used to. But since my trip was 9 days, I did experience at least a couple decent days and made the most of them.

Like you 4, before my last couple trips, t-storms were generally forecast so I knew what to expect. However one needs to roll the dice because sometimes good things happen as that is always part of the game. And I am already leaning to lead a 9-day group trip up there next summer that will offer another chance. With all the weather this summer, one has to wonder what october is queuing up?

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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by Hobbes »

We were 20 miles north & walked out Sat at 5:30. The weather forecast (via my DeLorme) was very accurate. We got going at 9, fishing & generally dilly dallying along the way, but keeping a careful eye on the clouds quickly building in the east. This is what the view of Four gables (far left) from Pine creek pass looked like around noon:

Image

Since my main objective was to get to the Owens' side of the pass, I was able to fully relax after we arrived. We hung out for awhile eating lunch and talking to two ladies carrying small nets (they were doing a field study for frog eggs). After that, we slowed down even more, hanging out, fishing and chit chatting with other hikers @ Honeymoon.

We finally got going around 2:30, and took our time checking out the rock formations and general canyon views. Looking back up the canyon from Pine lake, this is what Royce pass (far right) looked like:

Image

About an hour from the car, there was a loud peel of thunder - I laughed and was glad I wasn't camping. By the time we reached the car, it was lightly sprinkling on us with the temp falling fast. We jumped in the car, hit Bishop and made our getaway complete.
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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by Harlen »

Do any of you feel that Maverick lured you into this sort of lightningy weather- just to keep him company as he suffers, while shooting his favorite sort of skies?

He's famous for foul weather photography isn't he? You guys were had! :nod:
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Re: Dusy Basin 9/7-9/9

Post by Jimr »

Harlen, the trip was planned months in advance with the goal of searching for Bob (Pops) Woodie who went missing in Oct of 2016. He was found by PCT hikers near Bishop pass early the following summer.
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