Has anyone gone over Sixty Lakes Col, in Gardiner Basin?

In Gardiner Basin, you are in a nice area, surrounded by very crowded trails such as Bubb's Creek Trail, but the trail in Gardiner is a dead end. So, this could be really nice area AND no one comes in there.

However, you can get out of Gardiner Basin via "Sixty Lakes Col", which is marked on Caltopo. Now the countours look doable to go up and over... pretty much. What I don't actually know is if you can make it cross-country following the creek NE around a lake at 10846'. The contours around the lake are fairly steep. In this case, sometimes you can make it go, and sometimes it's really really nasty and tough. sometimes it's too steep, sometimes is so thick with Willows it's totally miserable.

After the lake I would just continue NE until I hit the trail that heads back tot the middle of Rae Lakes.

So, any advice based on experience would be really helpful!

Thanks,

TPC

Scott M. wrote:Quite doable with no particular issues.

Dear Scott M.: So you have done this yourself recently? Can you tell me your complete route?

I actually just found a couple posts recently describing the Gardiner basin as hours and hours of bushwacking hell.
https://www.goldenstateofminds.com/blog ... u998zeohw7
and
https://hikingtales.com/sierra-nevada/s ... kes-basin/

Thanks!

-TPC

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#greenourride https://sites.google.com/view/electricb ... adventurer

Scott M. wrote:Been over ten years since I did it. Lots of drama in those posts you listed. I can't give you a GPS route since I don't use one. I am a relic who still just uses a topo map, compass, altimeter, and experience.
Briefly:
Day One - Left Onion Valley over Kearsarge and the normal trails to Charlotte Lake proceeding with a spotty trail but follow-able to Gardiner Pass. I descended the pass to the drainage below at about 10,500' and followed that drainage eastbound over a small pass/saddle NW of Mt. Gardiner. I contoured down to the large lake in Gardiner Basin at about 11,400'. Camped there.
Day Two - Took a fairly direct route from the lake at 11,400' over what you have called Sixty Lakes Col. It was xc until connecting with the actual trail in Sixty Lakes Basin which connected me to the JMT north of Glen Pass. Then JMT to Kearsarge Pass trail out to Onion Valley.
Hope that helps.

Dear Scott M: OK, that is SUPER helpful and REALLY interesting. There is a nominal Gardiner Basin Trail shown on caltopo that goes WAY around, starting by going NW for like 2 miles until it curves around East. It looks like the point where there is some green shading on the map is the "dumpster fire hell" of bushwacking. It looks like your route avoids all that and is rather clever! It looks like you went over Gardiner Pass, then quickly turned East and went over Gardiner Pass East to get to Gardiner Lakes. Then over 60 lakes col, around the lake at 10,840 and back to the trail.

I think this is pretty understandable - again thanks! I think all the misery is for anyone trying to follow the (not maintained) Gardiner Basin Trail, which seems to be under 6 feet of willow in places. A pity, that looks like gorgeous country, but I'm no fan of bushwhacking.

Again thanks,

-TPC
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#greenourride https://sites.google.com/view/electricb ... adventurer

pirate wrote:

Scott M. wrote:Been over ten years since I did it. Lots of drama in those posts you listed. I can't give you a GPS route since I don't use one. I am a relic who still just uses a topo map, compass, altimeter, and experience.
Briefly:
Day One - Left Onion Valley over Kearsarge and the normal trails to Charlotte Lake proceeding with a spotty trail but follow-able to Gardiner Pass. I descended the pass to the drainage below at about 10,500' and followed that drainage eastbound over a small pass/saddle NW of Mt. Gardiner. I contoured down to the large lake in Gardiner Basin at about 11,400'. Camped there.
Day Two - Took a fairly direct route from the lake at 11,400' over what you have called Sixty Lakes Col. It was xc until connecting with the actual trail in Sixty Lakes Basin which connected me to the JMT north of Glen Pass. Then JMT to Kearsarge Pass trail out to Onion Valley.
Hope that helps.

Dear Scott M: OK, that is SUPER helpful and REALLY interesting. There is a nominal Gardiner Basin Trail shown on caltopo that goes WAY around, starting by going NW for like 2 miles until it curves around East. It looks like the point where there is some green shading on the map is the "dumpster fire hell" of bushwacking. It looks like your route avoids all that and is rather clever! ...

OK, here is a little map. I marked what I think is your more clever route. I tried to make the "Pirate/TB" route, BUT LOOKING AT CALTOPO I THINK IT"s TOO STEEP. So, I think your route remains best, but backtracking to the NW along the official "Gardiner Basin Trail" from the Gardiner lakes could still yield more sightseeing, longer trip.

Thanks again!

-TPC

#greenourride https://sites.google.com/view/electricb ... adventurer

AFTER TRIP REPORT:
On the top of Kearsarge, on the way in, we were discussing our route with someone else. When they asked how I knew it was possible, I said, well, there was a guy on the internet who said he had done it. Everyone within earshot started cracking up! "Guy on the internet" does't sound like a great reference!

When we actually set eyes on Gardiner Pass East, OMG, it looked impossible, and over and over I heard in my mind echoing, "but a guy on the internet said..."
-----> Turns out the pass was totally doable, and these doubting people missed a FANTATSTIC trip, and Scott M, my "guy on the internet" was BRILLIANT.

The scenery in Gardiner is fantastic, and we never saw a single person. We saw fantastic wildlife, lifetime memorable. We did it slow and easy, one pass/day. We finished around 2024 Aug. 24.

Some points here (referring to my map in previous posting, green line route; never found out if dashed blue line goes):

* We did it CCW, that is, coming in from 60 lakes col, because we heard that most of the passes were steeper in this direction, i.e. easier on the knees this way. Seems correct, especially Gardiner Pass E.

* Gardiner pass E looks ridiculously, absurdly difficult. From across the drainage, it looks like 70 degree slabs topped off by a 100' vertical cliff band. Up close, it is just a *tiny* bit steep, and there is maybe 50 feet of not-so-great scree dirt scrambling, leading into a couloir of same, but in the couloir you can grab the rocky sides for good security. (BTW you can't miss the pass, it has all kindsa funny gendarme-like rocks on top, one of which looks like a crooked thumb, described elsewhere as a "Rabbit's foot". )

My partner hates big boulders. By ruthlessly, unforgivingly heading for any piece of grass or slab at all times, you would be amazed how many boulders you can avoid on the decent. One other piece of info on the internet says to "move N on the ridge then descend to avoid most boulders", and references something about the only tree on the slope. There were no trees at all on the slope, and we found moving slightly N and picking was successful for us.

Gardiner Pass is supposed to have a use trail, cairns, etc. It does - in sections - but they are impossible to follow. Impossible. They just stop, you do your best, and can't pick up the next one. There are lots of cairns at the start and end, but just not enough in between. We ended up way too high, in fact, and had to descend considerably to get to the actual pass, the low point on the ridge. This was probably more difficult - but never terrible- compared to Gardiner Pass E. Check your altitude often, or your GPS if you have it.

(BTW as you approach the pass, you can't see it, you see what looks like a 70 deg. "dirt avalanche cone" which looks like the worst pass in the entire sierras. That's NOT it. Don't freak out.)

In this direction, you come over the pass, have a mostly obscured view of Charlotte Dome, then turn L or roughly E toward Charlotte Lake. On the map this is a very easy, very slight uphill. In practice, there is something about winding through the manzanita (there is a trail, pretty much, but...) not so steep, but constantly up and up, that is pretty tiring and morale-sapping. Just be ready for this. (Charlotte lake is really pretty, but on the JMT and predictably, crowded - crazily so, after the solitude of Gardiner). (Now consider that people who climb Charlotte's dome are doing this with ropes and racks - OMG this must be a horrible slog.)

So, in conclusion, I *highly* recommend the Scott M cutoff route, very highly recommend Gardiner Basin, don't freak out until you are actually at each pass, they are much easier than they look from a distance. I again thank Scott M, and this forum for the help.

-TPC