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This was an awesome weeklong loop in some lesser traveled parts of the central Sierra Nevada Range. It was about half cross country (no-trail) and on-trail. Starting and ending at the Pine Creek Trailhead, the loop itself begins at Honeymoon Lake. From there I beelined Royce Pass to the Royce Lakes basin / plateau which is a total moonscape. Then I headed back down to pine creek pass and hit French Canyon to L Lakes as a diversion. Next up was Merriam Lake - a stunning alpine lake I had entirely to myself.
From Merriam I went cross country via the Sierra High Route up some steep granite to La Salle Lake and over Feather Pass... Feather proved to be the most challenging pass of the trip (it is actually quite easy if you have good route finding skills) - but the elevation kicked my butt. This is where things got dramatic - bad weather rolled in as I descended into the Bear Lakes Basin. This was probably the highlight of the trip for me. Bear Lakes is this rugged, moonscaped lake pockmarked almost Iceland like looking otherworldly place. This area was entirely off-trail to Vee Lake - another stunning campsite with a view of the Seven Gables. Finally I connected to east fork Bear Creek which proved to be the most challenging route finding despite there being an actual trail with cairns (just goes to show how cairns can sometimes be a hindrance rather than a help).
Bear creek took me to the JMT, which was honestly crowded with people. I didn't hang out long there and made my way up Italy pass in a severe Thunderstorm. Eventually back down into Granite Park and Honeymoon Lake to complete the loop. Spectacular trip. Thank you for watching!
Caltopo map link: caltopo.com/m/...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Intro
(3:16) Pine Creek to Honeymoon Lake
(17:31) Honeymoon to Royce Lakes
(25:45) Royce to L Lakes
(37:32) L Lakes to French Canyon
(44:35) Climb to Merriam Lake
(53:49) Merriam to Feather Pass
(1:02:57) Feather Pass to Bear Lakes Basin / Vee Lake
(1:17:20) Vee Lake to Hilgard Branch
(1:39:41) Hilgard to Italy Lake
(1:47:12) Italy Lake to Italy Pass
(1:53:21) Italy Pass to Granite Park
(1:57:09) Conclusion