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| | | North Lake/ South Lake via Lamarck Col, CA | | | |
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North Lake/ South Lake via Lamarck Col, CA
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| Backpack | 35.00 Miles |
8,500 AEG |
| | Backpack | 35.00 Miles | 4 Days | | |
| 8,500 ft AEG | | 23 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | I was pleasantly surprised to see that California wasn't smoked out by mid-late August so I made this pitstop on my drive back to Arizona. What perfect conditions! No nasty storms, snow hazards, bugs, or smoke!
Day 1: North Lake to Darwin Bench. Lamarck Lakes trail is much less travelled than its neighbor, Piute Pass. I also think the lakes were nicer - big mountains towering over Lower Lamarck and calm teal Upper Lamarck. The route to Lamarck Col is well-traveled and the bootpath is clear until the final ~200 vert scramble which is usually snow-covered. There were no running creeks above upper Lamarck - just drips directly from the few remaining snow patches. Coming from sea level, I wasn't surprised to be feeling very slow by 11.5k. I continued on to Lamarck Col at 12.9k despite feeling increasingly lousy. By the final push, I was sitting down every 10-20 steps to manage nausea and a pounding head. I kept close tabs on my condition because I knew it'd take a lot of effort to descend below Darwin Bench on the far side if things went south. I met a climber on the col who was planning to solo the entire Evolution Traverse the next day - damn.
The lakes in Darwin Bench are stunning. The lake below Mendel Glacier was a wonderful teal-green. The lakes all in are clear, but there's a slight teal tint in the highest one. I found a lovely sheltered camp between some lakes with no wind and excellent sunset/ sunrise views.
Day 2: Darwin Bench to Wanda Lake. I got an early start around the lakes and my illusion of solitude from the previous day was broken as I encountered several other parties before even reaching the JMT. But silver lining - I'd forgotten my toothpaste and backpackers are generous folks. Lots of fish were jumping out of the lakes in the early morning.
I picked a nice slabby route down before rediscovering the use trail that links to JMT below Evolution Lake. Evolution Lake is definitely my favorite in that basin - just the right amount of trees and meadow. From here I took my sweet time ascending to Wanda Lake. There were stretches that I recognized for being particularly frustrating during the hellish postholing on my May trip. I had a little laugh to myself about how much easier things were when the trail was visible and my feet were dry.
Clouds rolled in around noon so I hustled to find a campsite along Wanda Lake by 2pm. I ended up being rained on for about 10 minutes after 4pm, but apparently the south side of Muir Pass got dumped on. Somehow I missed the obvious huge camping area near the head of Wanda in favor of an obscure (though sheltered) nook invisible from more than 20ft away. I visited some JMTers at the nearby site in the evening then left to watch sunset over Lake McDermond.
Day 3: Wanda Lake to upper Dusy Basin: I thought climbing the gradual 500 vert to Muir Pass first thing in the morning would be a piece of cake after spending two nights near 11.5k - I was wrong! But while I was slow at least I wasn't still getting sick. The descent past more lakes was gorgeous in the morning light and I almost wish I'd camped at Helen Lake. Here too, I remembered the false summits and frustration with snow.
This was my longest mileage day and I made a point to take care of my feet. My arches have been protesting at long (not even that long!) hikes so I massaged and stretched them every couple miles. Descending into Le Conte canyon on the JMT is as impressive as the decent from Dusy Basin - the walls are just so dramatic! I had a nice refuel beside the river and watched small fish swimming around a logjam.
I was anticipating a tough climb into Dusy Basin and for once I over-psyched myself. It was hot and uphill and at altitude, but really, it was tolerable. There are some big isolated junipers a few hundred feet above the trail jct and they look really majestic. At the bridge over the waterfall a mule train passed me headed down. They were much smaller and cleaner than canyon mules - adorable. I learned later that they were likely resupplying a trail crew below the Le Conte Ranger Station.
The lowest lake in Dusy basin was much more overgrown and less charming in late summer than in May. I took a snack break and sadly spilled a bunch of my crackers into the lake. I camped at the lake at ~11.3k. This lake was gorgeous and crowded for good reason. I chatted with my neighbors (again with the toothpaste quest) and we had a bit of a hoot when we realized we'd both taken part in heli rescues in the canyon, and likely seen the same pilot.
Day 4: Dusy Basin to South Lake: Finally I crossed a pass at 12k with some momentum. I was hustling on this last day because I expected a hitch back to North Lake to take a while. The trail was crowded with Saturday hikers and the lakes on this side were unimpressive after being so spoiled so I only stopped to baby my poor arches. I spent nearly 2 hours at the trailhead before getting a ride with 4 other hikers who'd done the tradition North/ South lake loop. |
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