sawtooth ridge – Leor Pantilat's Adventures

Robinson & Lundy Canyons Fall Color

pantilat — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 04:21:07 +0000

Colorful Aspen in Robinson Canyon

Robinson Creek Canyon and Lundy Canyon are both prominent U-shaped glacier carved valleys in the Eastern Sierra. Robinson Creek Canyon spills into Twin Lakes outside of Bridgeport while Lundy Canyon is just north of Tioga Pass near Mono Lake. Both are favorite spots for viewing fall color in the Eastern Sierra. Of the two, Lundy Canyon is more well-known for fall color so if searching for more solitude Robinson Canyon would be your choice. When the golden aspen are combined with the dramatic peaks rising above the canyons, the fall color show is tough to beat. Photo album here.

Aspen grove at the base of Little Slide Canyon

Robinson Canyon is located in one of the most scenic regions of the Sierra. Sawtooth Ridge towers above the canyon, and despite being relatively lower in elevation than peaks to the south, it’s one of the most rugged segments of the High Sierra. The canyon is filled with aspen and the Barney Lake Trail passes through many of the groves between Twin Lakes and Barney Lake. If timed correctly (and timing is everything with fall color), the show is phenomenal and virtually unabated from Twin Lakes all the way to a mile beyond Barney Lake. In all, the Barney Lake Trail provides 5+ miles of hiking or trail running through amazing aspen. What I love about the fall color show here is the exceptionally rugged setting and the fact that the best stuff is not roadside. You’ve got to hike at least a couple miles to find the better groves and it only gets better the farther you go. The result is a peaceful experience without the tourists and without the tripod-toting shooting gallery.

Peaceful singe track within the aspen along the Barney Lake Trail

The most mature old-growth aspen stand is just before Barney Lake but some of the best colors can be found in the “fields” of stunted slide aspen. Perhaps my favorite grove is at the base of Little Slide Canyon (first picture below) where one can obtain a nicely framed shot of the aspen and the rugged backdrop of Little Slide Canyon including the Incredible Hulk and Kettle Peak. Access is via the Twin Lakes Road in Bridgeport. Simply drive to the end of the road at Annette’s Mono Village where day use parking is free. Find your way through the maze of campground roads to the Barney Lake Trailhead. After about a mile the trail emerges from conifer forest into the first of many aspen groves!

Lundy Canyon’s famous waterfall surrounded by golden aspen backlit in afternoon light

Lundy Canyon is a well-known fall color hot spot and there are some excellent groves along the access road. On the west side of Lundy Lake the pavement ends and a somewhat rugged dirt road takes one to the trailhead at the end of the road. These last couple miles are slow, particularly if there is any oncoming traffic. There are some rocks and large bumps that require extra caution for low profile vehicles. Consider hiking or running the dirt road if concerned; it’s not very long in terms of mileage, it only FEELS long because it takes so long to drive. The dirt road ends in single lane loop within a beautiful aspen grove that would be even better without the dust of a dirt road and the commotion of a trailhead. The Lundy Canyon Trail departs from here, and from the look of things, most of the visitation to this trailhead occurs during the fall color season. On a peak fall color weekend except to have challenges finding parking and a distinct lack of solitude for the first mile of the trail.

Aspen in Lundy Canyon

The reward for driving the beat-up road and dealing with a flock of tourists are immediate as the wide trail traverses through an extensive aspen grove. At peak color the immersive experience in this grove is incredible. The trail soon ascends up a rocky hillside to a famous view of the first falls of Mill Creek, only a little over a half mile from the trailhead. This falls is surrounded by aspen cascading down the hillside together with the water. When backlit by afternoon sun it’s as if the entire hillside is on fire. Beyond this falls, the trail ascends to a beaver pond with more aspen and then up to an amazing old growth grove of aspen with unusually large trunk and height. This grove is perfectly situated in a flat spot next to the creek that is sheltered from the hazards of the canyon.

Huge old growth aspen above the first falls in Lundy Canyon

After this mature grove, the aspen beyond become more scrubby and small in nature as the bottom of the canyon is very exposed to avalanches and rockfall. Ultimately the vegetation transitions to willows before petering out entirely at the headwall of the canyon. An unmaintained path switchbacks steeply to the Twenty Lakes Basin next to an impressive waterfall, but at this point the aspen are long in the rearview. Compared to the Barney Lake Trail in Robinson Canyon, the duration of the aspen hike at Lundy Canyon is much shorter as it’s probably only about 2 miles from the trailhead before the aspen end.

Barney Lake

Along Barney Lake Trail

The Incredible Hulk from Robinson Canyon

Barney Lake Trail

Lundy Canyon

White trunks

Robinson Slide Loop

pantilat — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 22:57:17 +0000

Robinson Creek canyon is a prominent U-shaped glacier carved valley spilling into Twin Lakes outside of Bridgeport. Sawtooth Ridge towers above the canyon, and despite being relatively lower in elevation than peaks to the south, it’s one of the most rugged segments of the High Sierra. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I also appreciate the comparatively lush environment including extensive stands of mountain hemlock. It’s no wonder I’m a regular visitor to this corner of Sierra. On my several visits to the region I made note of the aspen groves in the canyon and a point to return during fall color. Last year was a drought year and while there was some color, I knew that it wasn’t near its potential as there was extensive leaf spot caused by winter drought and then a very rainy summer. This year was much more normal with average snowpack and a drier summer. The result was a phenomenal fall color show that was virtually unabated from just outside the Twin Lakes trailhead all the way to a mile beyond Barney Lake. That’s 5+ miles of virtually non-stop fall color. What I love about the fall color show here is the exceptionally rugged setting and the fact that the best stuff is not roadside. You’ve got hike at least a couple miles to find the better groves and it only gets better the farther you go. The result is a peaceful experience without the tourists and without the tripod-toting shooting gallery. The most mature old-growth aspen stand is just before Barney Lake but some of the best colors can be found in the “fields” of stunted slide aspen. Unlike many other regions where aspen are usually very straight in stature, the aspen in the Sierra Nevada are often contorted due to the harsh growing environment with high winds, deep snowfall, and in this location, avalanches. When combined with the dramatic peaks rising above the canyon and the wilderness character, this fall color show is tough to beat. Perhaps my favorite grove is at the base of Little Slide Canyon (first picture below) where one can obtain a nicely framed shot of the aspen and the rugged backdrop of Little Slide Canyon including the Incredible Hulk and Kettle Peak. GPS route here. The focus of this trip was the outstanding fall color in Robinson Creek canyon but I also found the loop of Robinson and Little Slide canyons to be an excellent run or hike any time of the year with scenery including several charming lakes and panoramic views. In addition, there are opportunities to scramble many nearby peaks including Crown Point, Eocene Peak and Kettle Peak. I chose to make the quick trip up Slide Mountain this time as I had never been there before. At the head of the valley beyond Barney Lake, the trail leaves the aspen and switchbacks up a slope toward Peeler Lake. Shortly before Peeler Lake is a junction: veer left to head toward Rock Island Pass. The trail climbs through an old-growth Mountain Hemlock forest before reaching a magical emerald tarn with hemlocks surrounding and Crown Point looming above. Right after the tarn are the Robinson Lakes nestled within the granite rocks. The incredible scenery continues at Crown Lake with granite buttresses descending into the water and picturesque mountain hemlocks and whitebark pines sprinkled about the lakeshore. The trail climbs once again above Crown Lake before reaching a pleasant meadow and another trail junction. Head left to take the trail to Mule Pass. This stretch of trail switchbacks up a north facing slope and often holds snow until well into summer on a normal snow year. In fact, it might be one of the latest melting stretches of trail in the high Sierra. The terrain flattens out next to a tarn with a thick krummholz stand of Whitebark Pines. From this tarn it’s a fairly gradual finish to Mule Pass. While Mule Pass has an excellent view in its own right, the quality of the vista improves greatly if one ascends to Slide Mountain, which is the high point above a distinct feature known as “The Slide.” Slide Mountain is a fairly nondescript summit with several rock outcroppings vying for the highpoint, but the grand view is essentially the same and includes the Incredible Hulk, Sawtooth Ridge, Finger Peaks, Whorl Mountain and Mount Conness. One can reach Slide Mountain directly from the tarn below Mule Pass by taking a steep rock and snow gully or the more moderate route ascends sand and granite slabs from Mule Pass. Back at Mule Pass follow the trail down as it traverses through lovely parkland with meadows mixed with granite slabs. At a flat area, leave the trail and walk through meadows and tarns toward Ice Lake Pass. Ice Lake can be traversed either on its west or east side, but both sides require some climbing to get up and around granite cliffs that descend into the lake. While the eastern traverse may be easier, my preference is the west side traverse since from this route one obtains a breathtaking view of Maltby Lake nestled among reddish slabs that precipitously descend into its waters with Kettle Peak to the left, the Incredible Hulk to the right and Little Slide Canyon below. On the north side of Ice Lake a use path appears in the sand and can be followed toward the base of the Incredible Hulk with some intermittent talus fields to cross. The Incredible Hulk is one of the most amazing rock features in the high Sierra. Words and photographs do not do this gleaming 1,200 ft face justice. Every time I pass underneath the cliffs I’m in awe of the striking white cliffs contrasting with the deep blue Sierra skies. Below the Hulk, the use path descends into Little Slide Canyon utilizing small gullies and then crossing some talus fields. While there is a path that is followable, it’s a fairly rugged descent all the way to the base of Little Slide Canyon where it crosses Robinson Creek. On the north of Robinson Creek the climbers path quickly joins the Barney Lake Trail and from there it’s only a couple miles back to Twin Lakes. This post describes only one potential loop and it’s impossible to go wrong in this region, but I feel like this loop does a great job hitting many of the scenic highlights in the area. When combined with fall color at its peak it was one of my most memorable days in the Sierra all year.

Wildcat Point & Cold Mountain

pantilat — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 02:43:47 +0000

Wildcat Point and Cold Mountain are two fairly remote and obscure destinations north of Tuolumne Meadows between the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne and canyon country of northeast Yosemite. The scenery at both locations is stunning. Wildcat Point is to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne what Clouds Rest is to Tenaya Canyon; a lofty viewpoint perched thousands of feet above a rugged granitic canyon. The primary difference between the two is that Wildcat Point does not have a trail and it’s rarely visited. Meanwhile, Cold Mountain is not a high or remarkable summit by most standards, but its isolated and central position surrounded by deep canyons provides a spectacular 360 degree view, especially into northerneast Yosemite’s canyon country to Sawtooth Ridge. Just to the north of Cold Mountain is a subsidiary peaklet I dubbed “Cold Point” which contains an amazing view of rarely seen Virginia Lake with a sea of granite peaks and domes in the background. Starting at Tuolumne Meadows I started by taking the trail to Glen Aulin. I ran into quite a bit of snow and ice covering the trail which slowed things down; it was November after all. From Glen Aulin I started down the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne but soon turned off the trail to head up beautiful smooth granite slabs toward Wildcat Point. Views of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne opened up with each step. About halfway up the side of the canyon I took a shallow gully with a little bit of brush to the upper granitic slopes that were more moderately sloped with easy terrain leading to the base of Wildcat Point, which is more of a dome. After some brief scrambling I was at the top marveling at the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne several thousand feet below. The views are excellent from the top of the dome, but the best views of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne are further down the ridge at a point where the gentle granite slabs end and a sheer drop into the canyon begins. From this point one can gaze from Tuolumne Meadows to all the way down the Canyon to Pate Valley. Wildcat View provides perhaps the best view of Tuolumne Peak as it rises impressively on the south side of the canyon with cliffs and buttresses leading all the way down to the canyon bottom. From Wildcat Point I traversed a pleasant alpine basin to Cold Mountain, which included beautiful Mattie Lake and another unnamed alpine lake directly below Cold Mountain. The final ascent to Cold Mountain was on friendly granite slabs. Ironically, the summit of Cold Mountain was warm for November. I enjoyed the view over lunch with calm winds and blazing sunshine. Gazing over miles of wilderness in all directions I experienced true solitude as the snowy trail conditions and late season meant that I was the only human around for miles. After my summit break I explored the area, including a visit to a peaklet north of the summit I dubbed “Cold Point.” This spot had perhaps my favorite view of the day with a spectacular vantage of rarely seen Virginia Lake and a sea of granite domes in the background culminating in rugged Sawtooth Ridge and Whorl Mountain above Matterhnorn Canyon. From Cold Mountain I descended forested slopes to Cold Canyon where I found the trail back to Glen Aulin. On the way back from Glen Aulin, instead of returning by trail, I visited a number of domes with excellent views of Tuolumne Meadows and the Cathedral Range. The day finished with an delightful sunset from Olmstead Point (the actual point, not the parking lot). Full album here and GPS route here.

Whorl Mountain & Sawtooth Loop

pantilat — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 02:00:30 +0000

Continuing with the focus on Northeast Yosemite’s Canyon Country, this post describes a climb of Whorl Mountain, which is immediately across Spiller Canyon from Virginia Peak, and a tour of the Sawtooth Ridge region including Matterhorn Pass, Burro Pass and Ice Lakes Pass. I had done a similar Sawtooth Loop last year including climbs of Matterhorn Peak, Finger Peaks and Kettle Peak. It’s such a fantastically scenic area I have no qualms about returning here year after year or even multiple times in the same year. Whorl Mountain is an impressive granite massif composed of three summits (the middle being the highest) sharply dividing Mattherhorn Canyon and Spiller Canyon. The rugged ridgeline reminds me of the Matthes Crest in the Tuolumne Meadows area with similar rock patterns, spectacularly steep relief and awesome scenery. The main difference is Whorl sees a small fraction of the visitors when compared with the popular and easily accessible rock climb on the Matthes Crest. From a distance, it looks like technical rock climbing is required to reach Whorl’s summit, but a fairly straightforward, albeit convoluted, scrambling route exists. My route finding was spot on and the crux for me was passage underneath the chockstone, which surprisingly still contained snow and ice in mid-summer (beware in a high snow year). After contemplating turning around, I decided to give it a try. To make space for me to crawl through I needed to remove some snow and ice. Using my hand turned out to be a bloody mess, but bashing the icy snow with a rock proved effective. Once past the chockstone it was a matter of minutes before I was on the summit. Any earlier in the season and the passage underneath the chockstone would have been completely choked and the alternatives are exposed. After Whorl Mountain I went over Matterhorn Pass and traversed the upper portions of Matterhorn Canyon and Slide Canyon. This is one of my favorite spots in all of the High Sierra with amazing rugged scenery of Sawtooth Ridge. I completed the loop by going over Ice Lake Pass to the foot of the Incredible Hulk with amazing views to Ice Lake and Maltby Lake, and then down the climbers use path in Little Slide Canyon to the Barney Lake Trail. GPS route here.

The easiest approach to Whorl is via the Horse Creek drainage to Horse Creek Pass. This is a direct and straightforward route and if you are able to find and utilize little use paths it will help expedite passage through the talus fields in the upper portion of the drainage. Most times a snow tongue remains near the narrow pass which is an extension of a relic ice patch, but this likely disappears by late season. Travel across upper Spiller Canyon is a pleasure with beautiful meadows, gradual terrain and awesome scenery. Continue along a prominent bench below Whorl to its end and then make an ascending traverse across Whorl’s east face. There are several shallow chutes along the face, but the key is continue farther than you think and beyond a couple patches of small pine trees (see annotated photo above). Once in the correct chute, it’s a pretty straightforward ascent up class 2 and 3 slabs and talus. Near the top of this first chute, move climber’s right into a second chute. Once in the second chute ascend 3rd class blocks about 100 vertical feet to find a convenient ledge that provides relatively easy access to a third chute. The third chute contains an impressive chockstone that must be climbed underneath and through. As described above, the chockstone is likely chocked with snow and ice until well into the summer season and the alternatives to get around the chockstone entails some exposed 4th class scrambling. Once through the chockstone there is a little more scrambling before an obvious wide ledge is found that cuts across the entire west face of the middle peak and emerges near the summit. This ledge is quite miraculous since the face is otherwise nearly vertical granite and without it this would surely be a technical climb. At the end of the ledge, a few more class 3 moves deposits one on the summit. As Whorl is essentially a giant granite wedge between Spiller Canyon and Matterhorn Canyon, the views are stellar and include the Sawtooth Ridge, Virginia Peak, Mount Conness and the Roof of Yosemite at Mount Lyell and Mount Maclure. The fun does not need to end with Whorl. On the way back to Horse Creek Pass, turn uphill and ascend to Matterhorn Pass to make a loop including Burro Pass and Ice Lakes Pass. Matterhorn Pass is a little tricky to approach from the south as you must ascend a gully to a point above the pass before exiting the gully and descending the ridge back to the low point at the pass. The north side of Matterhorn Pass is easy and the descent into upper Matterhorn Canyon is gorgeous. Once in the canyon, intersect the trail and soon after reach spectacular Burro Pass. The views of Sawtooth Ridge only improve as one descends into the upper reaches of Slide Canyon. The meadows here are among my favorite in all of the High Sierra. Instead of ascending up to Mule Pass, head cross country to Ice Lakes Pass to get close-up views of Ice Lake, Maltby Lake, and the granite monolith of the Incredible Hulk. This is really an amazing area! The descent through Little Slide Canyon is arduous and takes some time, but once on the Barney Lake Trail it’s smooth sailing back to Twin Lakes. Alternatively, keeping to the maintained trail out of Slide Canyon includes an ascent to Mule Pass with fantastic views and pretty lakes. You really can’t go wrong in this region! GPS route here.

Robinson Peak

pantilat — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 21:19:04 +0000

The Sawtooth Ridge region is one of the most scenic in all of the Sierra. I visited this area earlier in the summer climbing Matterhorn Peak, Finger Peaks and Kettle Peak in an aesthetic loop – the “Sawtooth Loop.” The highlight view was from Finger Peaks with a complete panorama of impressive Sawtooth Ridge from the south. On this outing I ascended infrequently visited Robinson Peak (10,793 ft) which features the mirror panorama of Sawtooth Ridge from the north. This trip was all about the views and it’s truly a staggering vista with over 5,000 vertical feet of rugged terrain across the Robinson Creek valley. The climb itself is not aesthetic, but it’s a great workout. I started from a small RV park on the east side of Twin Lakes (~7,100 ft) and took an old 4wd road into a canyon until it ended (~1 mile). From here I continued up the canyon to its head and then up steep slopes with prickly sage and other high desert vegetation. This 3,000+ foot climb over only 2 miles from the start finally deposited me onto Sawmill Ridge where the tremendous views opened up. From Sawmill Ridge, it’s another couple miles of easy cross country hiking along the ridge through grass, sage and patches of pine forest to the foot of Robinson Peak. A final 600 foot climb and I was at the top gazing over Robinson Creek and the jagged crest of Sawtooth Ridge, including Matterhorn Peak, Dragtooth Peak, The Doodad, Three Peaks, the Sawblade, Cleaver Peak, Blacksmith Peak, Eocene Peak, and the Incredible Hulk. There was also some pretty fall color on the mountainsides and in the Robinson Creek drainage. In all, it’s only a bit over 4 miles to the summit of Robinson Peak and took me about 1h40m. After 30 minutes admiring the staggering panorama, I headed down the ridge. On the way back, I took a variation staying on the ridge longer and dropping down the entry canyon on it’s east side. While a bit longer, it was a good descent route and I was back to the car in a little over an hour after departing the summit. Strava route here.

Not to be confused with Robinson Peak, the next day I climbed Mount Robinson (12,967 ft) as part of a trip up the North Fork Big Pine Creek to Sam Mack Lake and Mount Winchell. Mount Robinson has an amazing view of the Palisades from Sill to Agassiz. Both Robinsons are among the finest viewpoints in the High Sierra and it was pleasure to visit both of them on the same weekend. The photo immediately below compares the view from the Robinson summits. More on the North Fork Big Pine trip in a future blog post.