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Mineral King: Black Rock Pass & Sawtooth Pass


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Home Forums Campfire Member Trip Reports Mineral King: Black Rock Pass & Sawtooth Pass

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Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #1304308
    Jay Wilkerson
    BPL Member

    @creachen

    Locale: East Bay

    011
    Timber Gap
    042
    GLOW!
    040
    Black Rock Pass 11,600 ft.

    I have more pictures but the SYSTEM is not letting me down load the picture size? I will research and post later.

    #1997478
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA

    Did you do the loop around big 5 and little 5 lakes?

    #1997486
    Jay Wilkerson
    BPL Member

    @creachen

    Locale: East Bay

    I did Justin and then connected the Big Arroyo trail to the Lost Canyon trail up to Sawtooth Pass. That is truly some High Country!

    #1997491
    Chris S
    BPL Member

    @bigsea

    Locale: Truckee, CA

    Nice, Jay. I need to get down to that area soon. Looking forward to some more pictures.

    Any issues with the altitude? Bugs?

    #1997499
    Jay Wilkerson
    BPL Member

    @creachen

    Locale: East Bay

    Hey Chris, I definitely had some issues with altitude on the first day. Going up Black Rock Pass I was stopping every 10-15 minutes to rest and I mean really "REST" going up and over the last mile. The mosquitoes were there but not completely overwhelming. I used DEET and a head net and just walked fast. I think the lack of snow this year has truly impacted the mosquitoes numbers. I look forward to the SUL trip.

    #1997505
    Dave T
    Member

    @davet

    Nice trip Jay! When I hiked from Mineral King to Road's End, I recall that hike up Black Rock Pass as being a true slog. I was feeling a little funky, and that whole side of the pass was fully shrouded in fog. It felt like the switchbacks would never end. And then we got to the top, the mists disappeared, and the view east was huge. It's nice out there.

    –B.R.–

    #1997552
    Jay Wilkerson
    BPL Member

    @creachen

    Locale: East Bay

    MK:

    036
    Spring Lake

    043
    Five lakes

    058
    MLD Patrol Shelter w/ Yama Mountain Gear 1.25 Bug Shelter

    048

    081
    Sawtooth Pass

    087

    001

    #1997557
    Nico .
    BPL Member

    @nickb

    Locale: Los Padres National Forest

    Looks like a beautiful early season trip. Nice and green, little snow. Hard to beat.

    Interested in the last photo… is that your marmot avoidance technique for trailhead parking? To keep them from chewing up hoses, etc?

    #1997560
    Jay Wilkerson
    BPL Member

    @creachen

    Locale: East Bay

    Yes the last picture was recommended by the ranger. The marmots chew through hoses and drink anti-freeze but will not chew through a blue tarp? Go figure! I was very happy my car was in good condition after a long trek.

    #1997731
    Andy Duncan
    BPL Member

    @bluewater

    Locale: SoCal

    Thanks for posting Jay. The Glow photo is beautiful, classic high Sierra. It's interesting to see how little snow there is so early in the season.

    #1997734
    Andrew F
    Member

    @andrew-f

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Nice pics Jay. Looks like there is even less snow down south than up by Yosemite. Did you have to walk on any snow to get across the passes?

    #1997740
    Jay Wilkerson
    BPL Member

    @creachen

    Locale: East Bay

    Andrew, I did walk through a "few" snow patches and that snow was very thin. Mineral King is definitely HIGH country and it was kind of alarming because of the lack of snow at two 11,600+ passes in June. Climate Change— Andrew how was Yosemite?

    #1997790
    Ken Helwig
    BPL Member

    @kennyhel77

    Locale: Scotts Valley CA via San Jose, CA

    great pics Jay! This really has my juices flowing to visit this area….too many east side entries over the last few years have made me neglect this area

    #1999234
    Adan Lopez
    Spectator

    @lopez

    Locale: San Gabriel Valley

    Great photos Jay, as usual. You gotta have one of the best collections of images, seriously. glad i found this report, snow will likely not be an issue for me next week.

    #2000307
    Sharon J.
    BPL Member

    @squark

    Locale: SF Bay area
    #2000322
    Jay Wilkerson
    BPL Member

    @creachen

    Locale: East Bay

    064
    Lost Canyon
    046
    Little Five Lakes
    059
    080

    Thanks, Adan!

    #2000328
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA

    Apparently if you go past glacier pass and spring lake there is a chute of some sort on the tail end of the big 5 lakes basin that you can climb over. Or so I've heard. I could be wrong.
    It would be a huge shortcut around lost canyon.

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