TR 2006 Loop from Road's End

[Harlen]

Great hike! What a fine route you've created for yourself. Thanks for the advice and photos of the route over Picket Guard, never knew that option.
There are some great images in your report- too many to name them all, but my very favorites are: View from Pyra-Queen Pass; Kaweah Queen and Lawson; and Near My Cloud Canyon Camp[ for that latter photo, I would have "enhanced" the shite out of it!... and probably overdone it- your image is pure and nice.

NIce, nice trip, but what do you on all those days without a dog? Cry I guess?

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[Wandering Daisy]

Bear looks like a wolf! Alas, I did not have a dog in 2006! Pyra Queen Col would have been a real paw ripper.

For some reason I thought that pass I did was called Picket Guard Pass, but I cannot now find any mention of it in guidebooks. I was still big into technical climbing in those days, so the cliffy stuff did not bother me. I always carried a short line to lower my pack. I have also read somewhere that you can get into Picket Creek from the west (top of the drainage), from the lake southwest of Pants Pass. For the Meetup, since I was approaching from the Kern River, I left the Kern-Keweah at about 9730, crossed and then did an upward traverse over slabs to the lowest lake on Picket Creek; that route was easier but the route finding was tricky.

[Harlen]

WD write:

Bear looks like a wolf! Alas, I did not have a dog in 2006!

You must have suffered a lot! I believe that Bear looks more like the modern Alaskan sled-dog mixed breeds, with his shorter stature, and relatively broader chest per size. Closer inspection rules him out, as he lacks the essential inner layer of fur.

Back to your route, I have now studied your maps, and I want to compliment you again on your creative route- a lesson to be learned in these days of following the standards. You have inspired me to finally put together the wild 8-10 day high route of my dreams through, among other unvisited areas- Lakes Basin and Blue Canyon. Thanks for your inspiration Nancy.

[Bishop_Bob]

Nice report. Entertaining as always. Two questions:

1) What is the model of the bear-proof canister that the ranger told you was unacceptable?

2) Why have you stopped using your bivy in recent years? (just curious)

[balzaccom]

Great report. Daisy. One of my first backpacking trips was over Avalanche Pass. I remember all too well how deceptive it was...and how beautiful Colby Lake was--full of nice Goldens.

[kursavwilage]

Loved the report and the route. Thank you for sharing with us. I have been to most of those areas except Picket Creek, Lion Rock and Lion Lake pass. Your first day must have been a bear. Just curious, what was your starting day pack weight?

[Wandering Daisy]

My starting pack weight was 36 pounds.

The MSR basic bivy weighs 1.4 pounds. My current tent weighs about 2 pounds- the added weight is minimal considering the comfort. I now only use the bivy if I will be really short on space in my pack because the bivy is much more compact. There still are many advantages of a bivy once mosquito season is done. There is no set-up, fits about anywhere, you can cook breakfast while in your sleeping bag, really performs better than a tent in wind, and I can see the stars at night! I have spent 24 hours in a bivy stuck in rain, no fun, but still well protected. If it rains a lot you really need a small tarp to cover the head part of a bivy but then you are carrying same weight as a tent. I sleep fine in a bivy; some people just cannot stand them.

The first BearVaults had lids that bears were able to remove; the old lids were just designated "not legal" when I did this trip. BearVault then came out with the new lids. I eventually bought a new lid but never used it much because it was really hard for me to operate. After using the Bearikade, I really loved it so got one and have been using it ever since.

Harlen- there are so many creative routes one can do in the Sierra that I seldom follow any standard route. The only route I pretty much followed was Roper's High Route. Planning the route is half the fun of the trip! To me there is nothing more fun than playing with routes on those cold wintery days.

[sekihiker]

What an ambitious and creative hike through some of the most scenic parts of the range.

I found some of the close-up scenes in the upper Kaweah Basin, like your shot of the angular blocks of granite, were a surprise bonus when I visited there. The Kaweah Peaks are spectacular from anywhere, but there are many other beautiful scenes in the basin below the ridge.

Some passes, like Pyra-Queen, are under-rated simply because the approach and descent take so long.

One time, I tried going around Lake Reflection on its south side. Needless to say, I had to back track and lost a lot of time. The "trail" down to East Lake has always been sketchy in places, at least since the early 70's.

In one trip, you managed to visit half a dozen places that are great trips on their own: Colby Lake and Pass; Kaweah Basin and Peaks; Nine Lakes Basin; Lion Lakes and Passes; Cloud and Deadman Canyons; Cunningham Creek; and Lake Reflection. It was fun following you through these special areas.

I enjoyed hiking for half a dozen years with a bivvy sack and spent a few comfortable nights in the rain (sometimes heavy). Nowadays, modern tents don't weight much more than a good bivvy and are a lot more comfortable.

PS: Your apology for your photos reminded me of a comment Julia (*Save the liver!) Child made - “You should never apologize at the table. People will think, ‘Yes, it’s really not so good.'" *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSxv6IGBgFQ
I thought your photos were just fine.

[LMBSGV]

As sierrahiker said, what an ambitious and creative hike. This brought back a lot of wonderful memories, having hiked over Avalanche Pass, up Cloud Canyon, over Colby Pass, Picket Creek and Kaweah Basins, 9 Lakes Basin, and Lake Reflection. But I never did anything as creative and difficult as your route, which was fascinating to vicarious follow with you. Thanks for sharing.