TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

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milkfish
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TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

Post by milkfish »

Just returned from a nice trip. The first loop of Skurka's KCHBR, Colby Pass, PCT to Wright Lakes Basin, then back down to exit via Whitney MT to portal. Here's how it went.

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Silliman Meadow in the rain. Not an ideal start but no thunder and lightning at least.

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Bottom of the slabs, heading up, a little wet.

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Top of the slabs, starting to dry out!

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Silliman Lake, some sun popping out finally!

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Camp for night 1, looking to where I'm headed tomorrow morning.

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A nice sunset as a reward for all that work.

Day 2
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Heading up Unnamed Pass. A little snow but nothing too bad.

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Looking west down Unnamed Pass

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Looking east down Unnamed Pass. Horse Creek is down there somewhere.

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Looking down into Horse Creek.

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Lake W10410T where I stopped to dry out gear and lunch. Only a few mosquitoes!

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Heading out on Tablelands, some ominous looking clouds around peak 11225.

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In and out of the clouds on Tablelands.

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Camped at the highest lake on Tablelands around 11200

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Looking east over Deadman Canyon.

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Clouds rolling in and out

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Looking down onto lake WL10402T

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A preview of where I'm headed, Horn Col in the distance.

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Looking south from Pterodactyl Pass

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Contouring around to Lonely Lake and Horn Col.

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Heading up to Horn Col.

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Looking east from Horn Col.

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Contouring around and looking north down Deadman Canyon.

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Pushing up to Coppermine Pass. A good amount of snow to kick through.

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Looking south to Lone Pine Lake from Coppermine Pass.

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Lion Lake from Coppermine.

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Heading north down into Cloud Canyon from Coppermine Pass.

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Looking back south while descending Cloud Canyon. Lots of snow!

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Colby Lake stop for breakfast and sock washing.

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About to head up Colby Pass.

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After some snow and scree finally reaching the top!

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Looking south to the Kaweahs and Picket Basin from Colby Pass.

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A nice view of possibly the most photogenic range in the Sierra!

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Descending down Colby, heading to Junction Meadows.

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Gallats Lake. A nice spot to stop.

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I was going to head up into Picket Basin but I wasn't entirely sure which point to aim for. Also I was completely cooked, so I opted to stay on trail and drop down to Junction Meadow. It'll have to wait till next time!

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Gorgeous view of the Kaweahs while heading up to Wright Creek Basin.

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A horse train while ascending to Bighorn Plateau!

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Looking down into Wright Creek Basin from Bighorn Plateau.

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Wright Creek Basin - some prime camping!

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But it did get a little cold at night.

I didn't shoot much between here and Whitney, as I'd done that section before. It's spectacular and crowded.

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Looking down on Lone Pine. Freezing cold!
Last edited by milkfish on Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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thegib
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Re: TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

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Sweet trip, great photos! Going next week - psyched.
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sekihiker
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Re: TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

Post by sekihiker »

Impressive trip. Thanks for posting.
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bobby49
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Re: TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

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Some of the compass directions did not make sense.
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maverick
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Re: TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

Post by maverick »

Fun trip, nice pic’s, thanks for sharing, and yes, some of your compass directions are off, for example Colby Pass, the lake is on the northern side of the pass.🙂
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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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davidsheridan
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Re: TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

Post by davidsheridan »

Excellent Photos and epic trip! Thanks for sharing!
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milkfish
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Re: TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

Post by milkfish »

maverick wrote: Tue Sep 17, 2019 7:44 am Fun trip, nice pic’s, thanks for sharing, and yes, some of your compass directions are off, for example Colby Pass, the lake is on the northern side of the pass.🙂
Lol - it's amazing I didn't get lost out there :wink:. I think I fixed em all!
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Re: TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

Post by cgundersen »

Is it just me, or did the last couple dozen photos disappear? If there's a trick to bring them back, please let me know! Thanks, Cameron
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milkfish
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Re: TR KCHBR, Colby Pass, Wright Creek Basin, Whitney exit

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cgundersen wrote: Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:08 pm Is it just me, or did the last couple dozen photos disappear? If there's a trick to bring them back, please let me know! Thanks, Cameron
Are you still having an issue? They load for me.
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