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themountainwhispers Member
Joined: 18 Jul 2020 Posts: 22 | TRs | Pics
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this is a quick and dirty TR. forgot the camera device, so no pics.
chambers lake *is* a great empty place to camp night before, if you need it! no hassle, cute lake, what not to like?
climbing up was pretty quick and easy. snowgrass flat is nice enough, but emerging at true treeline was a revelation! utterly glorious up there!
snow is mostly gone, but there are a couple patches. on the PCT (which is currently chock-a-bloc with SNOBOs flipping down from canada after exiting before the sierras) quite a few people are skipping the lower traverse (stock trail) that cuts off the up-and-down most the way up big snowy, because of snow on the lower trail and not the upper. however, i watched a section hiker do the snow traverse in sandals, and then my 14 y-o and i did it on our way back from the knife and it was really fine. worst case: long run-out but no cliffs and gentle end.
my son and i did a cross-country traverse from near snowgrass trail to just before goat lake. we took a high line that definitely connects all the way around. we ended up dropping down before the end when we crossed the use trail that cuts off between goat lake and big snowy, but it would be just as easy/better to stay high. looking back, the lower traverse line also looks like it goes through very easily. pretty much class 2 with a couple slight class 3 spots.
atop big snowy met some folks looking at a cross country from mccall basin back over the saddle between ives and gilbert. looked doable to me! i wonder if they made it?
goat lake was almost snow/ice free. i "swam" in it, and it is gloriously frigid. there were three parties camped there (but largely out of sight of lake itself), and there were a bunch of tents in the alpine area near the intersection of PCT and snowgrass trail, but not too full, all things considered.
lots of people asked about mosquitos -- i'd say they were a "2.5" on the sierra high topix scale. if no wind, they found you when you stopped moving, but the swarm was fairly small. i ignored them, my son had longsleeves and a headnet.
really big props to the SNOBO thru-hiker on the PCT with the ukelele (and not a lot else) sauntering south on the trail-highway just past the knife. my son was badly suffering from lack of lip balm, and our "inverse trail angel" without hesitation gave him a little tube of it. i didn't catch his name, but it was a really special gift that not only saved the trip for a budding distance hiker, but offered a model of generosity of spirit.
what a wondrous time with the high places! thanks to the mountains...
ChrisSJI, Trailhead, Nancyann, mosey, rubywrangler, KascadeFlat, NWtrax
ChrisSJI, Trailhead, Nancyann, mosey, rubywrangler, KascadeFlat, NWtrax
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