Baxter Pass report - September 2017
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 7:43 pm
An overdue report
I find this board very useful; I just wish I had more time to spend in the Sierra.
If you pack heavy, need other people around, touch the stinging nettle, don’t like excessive elevation gain, hate bushwhacking, don’t like heat, don’t like burn areas, don’t like swift stream crossings, or get lost then I can see Baxter being about the most miserable backpacking experience possible barring an injury. Other than that, Baxter isn’t too bad.
In 2017 it was becoming clear to me that one of the only weekends available for a High Sierra trip would be Labor Day weekend. I backpack solo and enjoy solitude and had always wanted to try one of the more difficult eastern passes. I pack light and bag desert peaks locally so I was not concerned with the elevation gain of Baxter, losing the trail or the heat.
Day 1 – Trailhead to Baxter Lakes
Friday I left my sea level home at 3:00 am and got to the Eastern Sierra Interagency center about 7:45am. There was quite the line at the permit station in Lone Pine at 7:45am due to the holiday weekend. Permit in hand I started hiking a little after 9:30am.
The heat really was not that bad and I gained altitude quickly enough that it wasn’t a problem. I enjoyed the views going up.
The stream crossings were a little treacherous even late in the season due to it being a high snow year. They were just above the knee going up, and thigh high coming back four days later due to rain. The crossings were very swift.
The trail was gone in a few places due to avalanche, rock slides, or plants obscuring the path. There was never a danger of getting lost. By following the path of least resistance the trail always reappeared eventually.
I topped out on Baxter Pass a little after lunch. The pass is very scenic, but I was disappointed not to see any sheep.
I purposefully lost the trail on the way down and meandered through the Baxter Lakes checking out all of them. I spent the night at one of the lower Baxter lakes.
Day 2 –Baxter Lakes to Sixty Lakes Basin
I picked up the Baxter trail for the descent to Dollar Lake. From Dollar Lake I followed the PCT for a very short while and went over Basin Notch to Sixty Lakes Basin. Despite the holiday weekend I only saw one other party in the basin. I scrapped my plans for Gardiner Basin and just meandered throughout the entire Sixty Lakes Basin instead.
Uppermost lake still partially frozen over in September:
Day 3 –Sixty Lakes Basin to upper Baxter lake
Too many people at Rae Lakes as expected. I checked out Dragon Lake and quickly made my way down the PCT to the Baxter turnoff and headed back up to Baxter Lakes. This time I followed the trail through the whole basin. The only tough part was finding the Baxter trail from the PCT. I got rained on mid-day before witnessing a good sunset at upper Baxter Lake that didn’t come out in pictures. It rained and hailed at times during the night.
Day 4 – Baxter Lakes to trailhead
Uneventful trip out. Stream crossings were higher due to rain during the night. Views down canyon in early morning light were nice. I surprisingly saw some other parties coming up Baxter Pass.
Final thoughts:
I didn’t think Baxter was that bad, although 6k of elevation gain is a lot. I actually found it easier to deal with the altitude on Baxter Pass than New Army Pass. Due to Baxter starting at 6k, I didn’t really start to feel any altitude affects until about the last 2 miles before the pass. New Army Pass I feel the altitude as soon as I get out of the car at 10k if not acclimated.
I find this board very useful; I just wish I had more time to spend in the Sierra.
If you pack heavy, need other people around, touch the stinging nettle, don’t like excessive elevation gain, hate bushwhacking, don’t like heat, don’t like burn areas, don’t like swift stream crossings, or get lost then I can see Baxter being about the most miserable backpacking experience possible barring an injury. Other than that, Baxter isn’t too bad.
In 2017 it was becoming clear to me that one of the only weekends available for a High Sierra trip would be Labor Day weekend. I backpack solo and enjoy solitude and had always wanted to try one of the more difficult eastern passes. I pack light and bag desert peaks locally so I was not concerned with the elevation gain of Baxter, losing the trail or the heat.
Day 1 – Trailhead to Baxter Lakes
Friday I left my sea level home at 3:00 am and got to the Eastern Sierra Interagency center about 7:45am. There was quite the line at the permit station in Lone Pine at 7:45am due to the holiday weekend. Permit in hand I started hiking a little after 9:30am.
The heat really was not that bad and I gained altitude quickly enough that it wasn’t a problem. I enjoyed the views going up.
The stream crossings were a little treacherous even late in the season due to it being a high snow year. They were just above the knee going up, and thigh high coming back four days later due to rain. The crossings were very swift.
The trail was gone in a few places due to avalanche, rock slides, or plants obscuring the path. There was never a danger of getting lost. By following the path of least resistance the trail always reappeared eventually.
I topped out on Baxter Pass a little after lunch. The pass is very scenic, but I was disappointed not to see any sheep.
I purposefully lost the trail on the way down and meandered through the Baxter Lakes checking out all of them. I spent the night at one of the lower Baxter lakes.
Day 2 –Baxter Lakes to Sixty Lakes Basin
I picked up the Baxter trail for the descent to Dollar Lake. From Dollar Lake I followed the PCT for a very short while and went over Basin Notch to Sixty Lakes Basin. Despite the holiday weekend I only saw one other party in the basin. I scrapped my plans for Gardiner Basin and just meandered throughout the entire Sixty Lakes Basin instead.
Uppermost lake still partially frozen over in September:
Day 3 –Sixty Lakes Basin to upper Baxter lake
Too many people at Rae Lakes as expected. I checked out Dragon Lake and quickly made my way down the PCT to the Baxter turnoff and headed back up to Baxter Lakes. This time I followed the trail through the whole basin. The only tough part was finding the Baxter trail from the PCT. I got rained on mid-day before witnessing a good sunset at upper Baxter Lake that didn’t come out in pictures. It rained and hailed at times during the night.
Day 4 – Baxter Lakes to trailhead
Uneventful trip out. Stream crossings were higher due to rain during the night. Views down canyon in early morning light were nice. I surprisingly saw some other parties coming up Baxter Pass.
Final thoughts:
I didn’t think Baxter was that bad, although 6k of elevation gain is a lot. I actually found it easier to deal with the altitude on Baxter Pass than New Army Pass. Due to Baxter starting at 6k, I didn’t really start to feel any altitude affects until about the last 2 miles before the pass. New Army Pass I feel the altitude as soon as I get out of the car at 10k if not acclimated.
Thanks for the trip report and photos.