Evolution ~ February 2016
Lamarck Col – Darwin Canyon – Darwin Bench – Evolution Basin
A few years ago I started embracing the fourth season. I started solo but after a few seasons a small group of us began to meetup for an annual spring snowshoe trip in the Sierra. One year I arrived a day early to break trail through deep powder to our first camp. . . but last year I struggled to keep up after barely getting over a nasty cold right before the trip. I watched from behind as everyone else strolled up the 2,000 foot climb the first day. (TR here: Four Days in the Minarets in Winter )
So this year I resolved not to let the gluttonous trifecta of Thanksgiving – Christmas – New Years get the best of me. I spent hours on the local coastal trails building my cardio base and after a few overnights at altitude in the local mountains I felt ready to conquer the High Sierra again.
This trip was a training hike for the annual snowshoe trip this spring, but since schedules didn’t align this year I’m posting this one for anyone interested in taking the plunge into winter/spring backpacking in the Sierra. Due to some late season storms this year there is still full snow coverage above 10,000 feet right now, so it’s not too late to get out there in May.
After camping in the Buttermilks the night before we (Alpine Mike from HST & I) got started for a four day trip over Lamarck Col and as far into Evolution Basin as possible. We started at the North Lake area:
Soon we climbed to Grass Lake:
And camped just below the winter route to Lamarck Col:
The next day we started the final climb to Lamarck Col. After climbing a series of steep chutes and braving wind blown snow we made it to Lamarck Col.
The climb up the final wall of Lamarck Col was steep and I was a little concerned that we might destabilize the 30 degree slope. Fortunately it held and we made it to the top!
Lamarck Col:
The heavy winds must have cleared the snow off of the boulders near the top because we were able to follow the well constructed use trail for a while on the way down. Soon the slope was mostly snow which made for easy plunge-stepping to the canyon below.
After six hours we made it to Darwin Bench and setup a base camp for the next two days. We relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful views across Evolution Valley while melting snow for dinner. Alpine Mike generously shared tales of his summer adventures with Rogue Photonic (another member of High Sierra Topix. Check out his adventures here: 111 Days in the Sierra ).
I created a simple winter stove setup that is used mainly to melt snow for water and make a few hot meals. This year I have been using a Trail Designs Fissure Ti-Tri titanium windscreen/pot holder with an Evernew 750 ml titanium mug/pot, Ruta Locura carbon fiber lid and a remote canister stove made up of parts from two different Fire Maple stoves. The stove is made so it is possible to invert the canister for use in very cold temperatures. Total weight for the winter kitchen setup is about 6 ozs and everything fits neatly inside the mug.
The next morning we had the chance to explore Evolution Basin in the snow. Although the day started cloudy and cold the weather eventually cleared and we got some epic views of the Evolution peaks.
Mt. Darwin from Evolution Basin:
Mts. Fiske & Huxley from Evolution Basin:
Outlet of Evo Lake:
Back to camp for dinner:
MLD well represented:
The last day I woke to Alpine Mike saying, “it’s 10!”. It took a while for me to realize what he was talking about. Eventually the fog of restful sleep cleared and I realized he was talking about the temperature. I was relieved to know my winter gear was warm enough to stay comfortable down to 10 F. I had slept like a baby and actually slept through the three alarms I set the night before.
The reason for my relief was that I had removed about 4 ozs of down from the upper half of my homemade winter quilt before this trip. Since I brought a Montbell Mirage to wear around camp I figured the extra down wasn’t necessary if I used the jacket as part of my sleep system. Fortunately the experiment worked. Gear details here: Winter Sierra Gear List 2016
We had agreed to get an early start to allow for plenty of time to get back to our cars before dark. We had about 12 miles to cover, which under normal conditions is a nice half day of hiking, but in the variable snow conditions 12 miles could take 12 hours.
After thawing out my shoes (they were frozen solid each morning) and quickly packing up we set out to cover some easy ground over the frozen lakes in Darwin Canyon.
Sunrise on Darwin Bench:
Walking over frozen Darwin Lakes:
After reaching Lamarck Col the rest of the day was downhill. We took advantage of the steep slopes and glissaded much of the way back down the east side winter route.
Glissading down Lamarck Col:
Most of the way down was easy, but by the end of the 10 hour day we were feeling beat. The last few miles through slushy unstable snow made for some challenging ankle twisting moments.
Many thanks to Alpine Mike for breaking trail and helping to make this a memorable adventure.
Thanks for reading.
For route details, map, more photos and videos check out the whole story here:
Evolution ~ February 2016
Gear list here:
