Welcome to the next edition of

California Mountain Adventures!

On this adventure we spent three days in the spectacular area of the High Sierra known as

Dusy Basin!!

So my buddy Larry(@csusbgeochem1) and I got our gear packed up and jumped in my truck and headed up route 395 to Bishop, CA where we met my other friends Mike and Chris. From there we left town and drove up into the mountains. Up Bishop creek passed all the little cabins and campgrounds to the trailhead at South Lake. We parked the trucks, threw on our packs, and started hiking up the Bishop pass trail. The trail climbed up above South lake into the drainage between the Inconsolable range and Hurd peak. We hiked by Long lake, Spearhead lake, Saddlerock lake, and Bishop lake. And then made the final climb up to Bishop Pass. As we made our way up it began to rain lightly. I got to the pass first and got my rain coat and pants on and waited for the others to arrive.

Starting the climb up above South lake

Long lake and Hurd peak

Overlooking Spearhead lake and Long lake

Arriving at a gloomy Bishop Pass

As we headed down the back side of the pass into Dusy Basin the rain stopped and the the clouds started to break up a little. We dropped down the trail into the basin and then left the trail and headed cross country to a beautiful little lake that sits right at the base of Columbine peak. We made our camp by the lake and spent the rest of the day relaxing at camp, fishing for trout in the lake, watching the Marmot's run around, talking with each other about peaks we've climbed and peaks we still want to climb. Then after a little dinner we all headed to our tents for the night.

Our camp in Dusy basin

Mike trying some fishing

Me and Larry at camp

The next day was the big day of the trip. We planned on making the climb up to the summit of Columbine peak(12,662')!! We left our camp at the lake and made the climb up to the pass just west of the peak, Knapsack pass. I took the higher more direct rout and got into a bunch of huge talus while the others took a lower route and avoided it. Once we were all at the pass we started working our way up the west ridge. With a little bit of easy route finding we kept the climb class 2.

Approaching Knapsack pass

Views from Knapsack pass

Starting to work our way up the southwest ridge

Climbing the southwest ridge

We made our way up the southwest ridge and onto the summit!! The views from the top were awesome! The huge peaks of the Palisades range to our east, and to our west across LeConte Canyon and out to the Black Divide! As well as great views directly overlooking Dusy basin and Palisade basin! The summit block is really cool too. It sticks out like a big diving board! This was my second time to this summit, but it was a first for the rest of the crew. We hung out for awhile and enjoyed the views and got our pictures out on the "diving board". Chris was especially having fun on the diving board, standing on one foot and jumping up and down. He had Mike and I watching on edge, Larry couldn't even watch! It was a bit hair raising, but Chris is a mountain goat like me so I wasn't to worried.

Me, Chris, and Mike on the diving board

Overlooking Palisade basin from the summit

Overlooking Dusy basin from the summit

After enjoying the summit for awhile Larry and I said goodbye to Mike and Chris. They headed back down the southwest ridge to Knapsack pass and then down into Palisade basin where they planned to spend a few days. Larry and I headed down the northeast ridge to Isosceles pass. This ridge had some big talus and some steep drop offs, but we got to the pass no problem. We had a little bit of easy class 3 down climbing to get off the top of the pass. But after that it was an easy hike back down into Dusy basin and back to our camp. Once back at camp we got a light sprinkling of rain again, but not much. I still took a quick swim in the lake! We did a bit more fishing too but mostly we just hung out and enjoyed our last night camping in Dusy basin.

Larry looking down Isosceles pass

Sunset from camp

The next day we woke up to an absolutely beautiful morning. But with the clouds already building we knew it wasn't going to stay that way for long. So we got packed up and started hiking early. We got back to the trail and up and over the pass. We moved quick, dropping down passed all the lakes and meadows and eventually back to our trailhead at South Lake. And just as we got back to my truck it started to rain. Perfect timing! We loaded up our stuff and made the drive home. On the drive we reminisced about how amazing the trip was, and also thought about our buddies who were still out there in the storm.

Morning time at camp

Leaving our camp in Dusy basin

Dusy Basin

The Palisades, Isosceles peak, and Columbine peak from Dusy basin

Overlooking Bishop lake and Saddlerock lake on our way down Bishop pass

Making our way back down the trail

And that's gonna be it for this California Mountain Adventure! Thanks for reading! And if you enjoyed it be sure to follow me for more adventures!

*all photos by @derekrichardson

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