Trip Report Hoover-Toiyabe/North Yosemite 10/14/20 to 10/19/20

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robertseeburger
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Re: Trip Report Hoover-Toiyabe/North Yosemite 10/14/20 to 10/19/20

Post by robertseeburger »

giantbrookie wrote: Wed Oct 28, 2020 5:47 pm Great trip to get in there that deep in mid October. I've always chickened out and headed for the N Sierra this late in the year. I'm glad you got to Tower Pk, too. I very much enjoyed that summit back in the day (late 80s). The route it neat because it ends up being a lot less hairy than it looks from a distance (say when you look up from the ridge below)--those ledges are super wide, so it's like this big staircase with extra wide steps. I think that's the way it was described in the early climber's guides a "staircase gully". It was my undergraduate mentor, the great Clyde Wahrhaftig, who assured me that Tower was not as difficult as it looked---I always think of him when I think of Tower Peak and the old Tower Pk 15' quad because that was "his" quad. Yours and Harlen's report are cementing the position of Emigrant-N Yosemite as my no. 1 choice for my big 2021 trip. I hope to combine some of the highlights of both and enter from Leavitt Lake. We'll see. The summer of 2021 is a far away and 2020 isn't over yet. Thanks again for the report.
GB, you are correct on climbing Tower Peak. It looks much harder from below than it turns out to be. My friend Gary is not a real climber, and I sort of coerced him into this. As is often the case, when you get to the hard part, it turns out to be easier than anticipated.
Still, it does have a little bit of spice to it.. You and I love to think about the old 15' quads.. I still do as well.. the special ones, Mount Goddard, Mount Abbott. I guess Mount Whitney third..
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tahoefoothills
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Re: Trip Report Hoover-Toiyabe/North Yosemite 10/14/20 to 10/19/20

Post by tahoefoothills »

So, in late October 2012 I set off solo at Leavitt Meadows on a Friday afternoon intending to go over the pass adjacent to Tower Peak and head to Helen Lake and then get back on trail back to Leavitt Meadows. I read about this route in the Sierra North guide book. Seemed very doable. Spent Friday night just beyond Piute cabin. Got up on Saturday went over the pass at Tower Lake and saw what I thought was Helen Lake. Hours later after I had gone past Tilden Lake and hit the PCT, I figured out it was Mary Lake that I had seen at the top of the pass above Tower Lake. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon and I scampered as fast as I could to Dorothy Lake, arriving after dark with the wind howling and the weather turning quite a bit colder. The next morning I hiked out in beautiful weather back to the Leavitt Meadows trailhead. Embarassing map reading and route finding on my part, but it turned out fine and a great time was had by all. I did not see another hiker out there that weekend.
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RiseToADry
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Re: Trip Report Hoover-Toiyabe/North Yosemite 10/14/20 to 10/19/20

Post by RiseToADry »

Harlen wrote: Wed Oct 28, 2020 10:07 pm Hey Rise, thanks a lot for that submission-- the pictures are great, and I have only ever seen them in their stony cases.
The special thing about the ones Bob saw are the shear size of them. The October Caddis can grow from 1-1.25" in length, while typical caddis pupa are more in the 0.25-0.75" in length. There are quite a few lakes that have normal size Caddis in them, however I only know of 2 lakes that have October Caddis, which generally speaking means the water quality is very good. I hope one day to visit a lake when a Caddis hatch goes off, I imagine it would be a cool experience watching fish vacuuming up emergers or spent adults.
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Dwwd
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Re: Trip Report Hoover-Toiyabe/North Yosemite 10/14/20 to 10/19/20

Post by Dwwd »

RiseToADry
Also thank you for the great pointer and primer on October Caddis. I have read with interest the posts by RobertSeeburger with caddis images. As, I am struggling to tie the best flies/nymphs for high alpine lakes and waterfalls. My thesis is: "Motion is Life". Whereas "movement" is what twigs and leaves do to get from A to B. I have had a small modicum of success with my flies beyond what I could get from purchased flies. Now I will be sure to include some with yellow body color just in case I stumble upon one of those rarified lakes with October Caddis. While I have never seen a caddis hatch, by standing still, I once saw a chironomid hatch near shore in clear water. The golden trout were dancing as if their tails were on fire, and completely ignoring any fly I sent in their direction. But it was fun to watch.
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