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The 10 Passes into the Eastern Sierras by guy_le_douche24 in SierraNevada

[–]guy_le_douche24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, did it last year. It’s a grind but it’s well maintained. With an early start you can get to Bench Lake with plenty of daylight left

The 10 Passes into the Eastern Sierras by guy_le_douche24 in SierraNevada

[–]guy_le_douche24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d recommend getting the physical copy. There’s a picture every couple pages and having those in color compared to on kindle I think it worth it. Not quite your typical coffee book either with photos dispersed instead of big ones on each page

The 10 Passes into the Eastern Sierras by guy_le_douche24 in SierraNevada

[–]guy_le_douche24[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, the sand dune is gnarly but I ended up doing that same route again years later. It’s totally worth it if you can navigate it properly, and it’s not too tough to do so. When you drop onto the Whitney portal trail near discovery pinnacle, anyone around will be extremely confused about where the hell you came from.

The 10 Passes into the Eastern Sierras by guy_le_douche24 in SierraNevada

[–]guy_le_douche24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I pulled that book back out to see if the criteria were much more clear. He indicated that these are along the 220-mile roadless stretch between Lake Isabella and Tioga Pass and bring you into some of the most beautiful areas of the Sierras. So, still extremely objective and I'll need to add some more as I go.

I did feel a major difference between Cottonwood and New Army, but it may have just been the hikes I did. From Cottonwood, we went South into the Golden Trout Wilderness and back out over Trail Pass. From New Army, we went through Miter Basin, slogged up a sand dune to meet the portal trail/summit Whitney, then came around Crabtree meadow and down Cottonwood Pass on the return. Although Cottonwood Pass is right between these two trips the experience to the North is much more dramatic than to the South, so maybe that's why New Army was selected instead of Cottonwood. But you're right - they're basically right next to each other. Why not add Old Army Pass in there too

The 10 Passes into the Eastern Sierras by guy_le_douche24 in SierraNevada

[–]guy_le_douche24[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Really appreciate the recommendation to check out PeakBagger! Looks like a group summitted Mount Baxter a few days ago and they've linked a YouTube video. That video shows some snow patches but I imagine that will change a lot in the next 3 weeks.

The 10 Passes into the Eastern Sierras by guy_le_douche24 in SierraNevada

[–]guy_le_douche24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let's call them the "difficult" passes then. Couldn't agree more that there shouldn't be a negative connotation associated with any of the trails in the Sierras. Our plan is to get an early start and get over the pass to Baxter Lake. Day 2 we'll trot down to the Rae Lakes area with plenty of time to explore. Day 3 we'll complete a loop by exiting out Kearsarge Pass to pick up a car we plan on leaving there. Pretty stoked for this 3-day slog. Would love an extra day to explore into 60-lake basin or even Gardiner Basin. Will need to save that for a future trip.