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| Sierra Wave over the crest |
Early season in the alpine Sierra can be tricky, but this past winter the snow was mild, so in we went. This trip got us up and over Piute Pass for a cross-country exploration of the north side of the Glacier Divide. There are many hanging valleys with lake basins along this divide, most of which we'd never seen.
Day 1 was up and over Piute Pass, down the west side to Golden Trout Lakes, then over a ridge to the Packsaddle Lake basin. After we passed Golden Trout we wouldn't see another trail until returning to Piute Pass three days later. Since snow is just melting out at these elevations (mostly above 10,500 feet), flowers and birds were in short supply. But the remaining snow added to the challenge and scenic wonders. A passing cold front made for breezy and cool conditions at the start, but it was supposed to improve!
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| Piute Pass (11,400 feet) in the low saddle |
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| Piute Pass with its last remnants of snow |
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| It's been cold! |
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| West from Piute Pass |
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| The trail is a bit wet in places |
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| Glacier Divide |
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| Golden Trout Lake |
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| Cold! |
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| Packsaddle Lake on a blustery afternoon |
On day 2 we did a relatively short day hike to check out Lobe Lakes and another small basin of unnamed lakes further west. Route-finding was a little tricky but that only adds to the fun.
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| A bluebird day! |
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| Traversing to Lobe Lakes, looking down into Piute Canyon |
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| Lobe Lakes basin |
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| Large lake in Lobe Lakes basin |
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| The unnamed lakes west of Lobe Lakes, with Pilot Knob and Piute Canyon beyond |
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| Back at Packsaddle Lake for the evening, and a nice evening it was |
Day 3 had us moving camp and traveling back to the east toward the pass. But we stayed high, way above the trail in the valley below. Leaving Packsaddle lake we climbed a steep talus slope to get up to Paine Lake just below the Divide, well above treeline. From there we navigated a tricky route over to Wahoo Lakes by early afternoon. Unexpectedly the wind returned and we spent an afternoon in camp hiding from it. A bonus was the sunset "Sierra Wave" that appeared over the Sierra Crest. We've seen this famous lenticular cloud formation many times from the east side as it comes over the crest. But this would be our first time looking at it from the west, just a couple miles from the crest. Wow!
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| Starting our scramble to Paine Lake |
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| Packsaddle Lake, where we camped the previous two evenings |
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| Approaching Paine Lake |
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| Paine Lake at 11,200 feet |
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| Paine Lake panorama |
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| Moving on toward Wahoo Lakes. We traversed a lot of snowfields. |
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| Not your typical "hiking" |
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| Getting closer to Wahoo Lakes. Mt Humphreys in the distance on the far left |
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| One of the Wahoo Lakes |
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| Mt Humphreys view from camp |
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| As sunset approaches, the Sierra Wave starts to form over Mt Humphreys and Piute Pass |
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| Mt Humphreys |
Day 4 was get out day, but there's no use making it easy. We continued high, stringing together a route to Goethe Lakes and on to Muriel Lake, just west of Piute Pass. From there it was an easy jaunt to the pass, and a quick 5 miles down the hill to the trailhead.
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| Leaving Wahoo Lakes basin |
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| One of the few alpine bloomers right now, Granite draba |
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| More snow to cross |
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| Goethe Lakes basin |
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| Muriel Lake |
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| Mt Humphreys |
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| Saying goodbye to the west side, for this trip |
