2016 High Sierra Adventure Ideas

I had a great winter and spring compiling 116 waterfalls (as of May 28th) in the Big Sur Waterfall Project visiting as many nooks and crannies in the northern Santa Lucia Mountains as I could find. There will always be more waterfalls to chase in the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness, but as the calendar flips to June most days are now uncomfortably hot and buggy (ravenous biting flies 😦 ) in the Santa Lucias and I find myself thinking about the cool breezes and alpine lakes of the high country (but not so  much the mosquitoes 🙂 ).  Last year I didn’t get around to putting my ideas list into a blog post but I’m back to the tradition for 2016. These ideas are in no particular order and they all involve substantial off-trail travel and scrambling. I hope to get to many of these, but there will certainly be a few that will have to wait for future years, and at the same time, other adventure ideas will likely come to mind and supersede these ideas. In addition, I hope to do some more adventures in the Trinity Alps and maybe a trip up to the North Cascades to revisit some favorite spots.

1. Glacier Ridge and Whaleback: It’s been five years since I climbed Whaleback, one of the cooler peaks in the High Seirra, especially when viewed from Big Wet Meadow. I’ve yet to stand atop Glacier Ridge and see the excellent view of the Great Western Divide from its lofty perch.
2. Centennial Peak and Colby Lake: Perhaps I’ll find my way up to Centennial Peak and the shores of Colby Lake as part of a two day fastpack including Glacier Ridge and Whaleback.
3. Deerhorn and West/East Vidette: Deerhorn is a fine looking mountain at the head of Vidette Creek with an excellent perspective on the Ericsson Crags. The Videttes are well positioned for spectacular 360 degree vistas. For access I’ll likely make the familiar run up Bubbs Creek from Road’s End, which was closed for the second half of the summer last year due to the Rough Fire.
4. Dumbell Basin and Lake Basin: I enjoyed the fastpack through Lake Basin last year and look forward to exploring Dumbell Basin and the remote lakes west of Observation Peak.
5. Scylla and Solomons: Some remote peaks above Ionian Basin that I still have not climbed. It’s always fun passing through Evolution Basin and exploring the desolate lakes of Ionian Basin.
6. Tunemah Lake and Finger Peak: Tunemah Lake and nearby Lake 10548 are some of the most remote lakes in the Sierra which in itself is intriguing to me. It helps that the lakes have a beautiful view overlooking the Middle Fork Kings Canyon. This seldom-visited area is definitely worthy of fastpack.
7. Glacier Divide, Goethe and Pavillion Dome: Glacier Divide has a nice position for views into Evolution Basin on one side and Humpreys Basin on the other. Pavillion Dome is at the end of the divide and promises to have excellent views looking down at Piute Canyon and Goddard Canyon.
8. State Peak: I was hoping to climb State Peak on my return from Marion Peak in 2014 but ran out of time. State Peak should have an excellent vista looking down the Murro Blanco and the peaks of the Cirque Crest. The route to the peak should also give me a refresher on the climb out of Road’s End which is the start of the Sierra High Route.
9. Fiske, Warlow and Spencer – Evolution Basin: A collection of peaks to do in Evolution Basin that I haven’t done yet.
10. Hooper and Senger: When I did the JMT I passed by this area in the dark, but it looked really pretty from Gemini and Seven Gables.
11. Feather, Merriam, Royce: One of my first climbs in the Sierra back in 2007 so it’s time to return to this beautiful link-up.
12. Pettite and Volunteer via the Northern Yosemite 50: The Northern Yosemite 50 is an outstanding loop I did in 2011. I have some ideas to modify it and add some new features to motivate me to do it again, including an ascent of Pettite Peak and visiting Rodgers Lake.
13. Mount Francis Farquhar: With excellent views and a solid 1,000 vertical scramble, this peak is a gem and has begged to be climbed each time I’ve passed it on the way to Mount Brewer and the Guards.
14. Big Kid: This mountain is nothing more than a colossal pile of rubble, but what it lakes in aesthetics it more than compensates with an outrageous view of the Palisades. It’s basically the sister vista of Sky Haven, which focuses on the North Fork Big Pine Peaks while Big Kid’s focuses on the South Fork Big Pine Peaks.
15. The Thumb: I’ve been wanting to climb the Thumb for awhile! It’s a beautiful peak with an excellent view of the Palisades.
16. Mount McGee: Another remote peak with great views of the many surrounding lakes.
17. Eisen and Lippincott: Likely for the fall when the crazy marmots at the Mineral King parking lot are getting ready to hibernate and not interested in eating my car!
18. Sierra High Route: The big route that passes through some of the best terrain the Sierra has to offer. The route comes in at over 195 miles with close to 60,000 feet of elevation gain, the majority of which is off trail. I’ve been on most sections of the Sierra High Route over the years so hopefully my accumulated knowledge will allow me to be dialed in on the route. I look forward to refining my fastpacking setup and getting accustomed to long, successive days in the mountains. It should be fun!