The first thing that always occurs to people when you mention Mineral King is the ever present threat the marmots pose to vehicles left at the trailhead.  So when I say we ended up with a vehicle dead in the water and having to be towed down you (and my Facebook feed) would probably assume marmot damage.  Aaaand you'd be wrong...

This trip was heading in specifically to climb Vandever Mountain which Kristen and I previously attempted in 2014 and failed when we couldn't find a route up the northern ridge.  This time we were planning to do the allegedly 3rd class (it's not) northwestern ridge and use the approach as an excuse to look at the White Chief Cave system.  I wasn't expecting too much there but it ended up being the highlight of the trip!

July 28th to 30th, 2017

Vandever Mountain (11,947')
Cirque Cave
White Chief Cave
Day 1: 4.5 miles, 1,900'
Day 2: 5.48 miles, 2,700'
Day 3: 2.85 miles, 0'

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map]

After last weekend's mosquito fest of an attempt on Stanford North was turned back by snow I was just a bit concerned for this weekend's trip to Warren.   But not enough to do something drastic like not go to the mountains of course.

Mount Warren seems to be done more popularly as a dayhike from Tioga but there's a route up from Lundy that climbs Lakes Canyon past a really nice lake called Oneida.  Even better the trailhead is non quota and you're allowed to have campfires.  Mileage was extremely reasonably making it seem like an ideal candidate to make a two day WTC Experience Trip.

July 22nd & 23rd, 2017

Mount Warren (12,327')

Warren Fin (12,160')
Day 1: 3.9 miles and 1,950'
Day 2: 10.06 miles and 3,000'

[Pics] [Caltopo] [Map]

Once a month a group of us get together and paddle Newport Harbor after work. We launch from the beach next to the Newport Aquatic Center and paddle over to Pizza Nova in the main harbor in a combination of kayaks and SUPs. There we dock our boats, partake in feast of pizza and beer, and then paddling back to the cars. We do this all year round and in pretty much all conditions. Light, dark, rain, and the dead of SoCal winter where you're tempted to put a sweater on with your flip flops.

You can find writeups of other pizza paddles here. For notifications on when we're doing the next one see our facebook group Pizza Paddle Associates. (Send me a message so I know you're not a spam bot!)

It's prime time for after work paddling right now since we get to launch in the light and enjoy a sunset on the way to pizza.  It's also prime time for Sierra backpacks so everyone seems extra busy!

[Pics] [Map]

Thanks to the heavy snow year regular backpacking trips to the Sierra had been pushed back a bit.  But here we were in the middle of July which is when I'd conservatively hoped the snow would be manageable and it was time to finally start climbing high!

This was also a Sierra Club I provisional for Gracia Plascencia.  I was here to eval which is why I was attempting this peak for a third time.

The first time I turned back 200 ft from the summit with some students who were really struggling and ended up not getting them back to the trailhead until midnight and not getting back to Orange County until 6 am.  The second time I made the summit only to be nailed by a rainstorm which proceeded to soak us for the entire 5 hour hike out.  Then there was this trip where the mosquitos were epic, we nearly lost someone during a stream crossing, and we couldn't summit due to a section of steep snow.

I'm really starting to think this area is just bad luck for me...

July 15th & 16th, 2017

Mount Stanford (Attempt) (12,838')

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map]

This was the fifth and final day of our big 4th of July road trip where we visited Trinity Alps, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and Adams Peak which is the furthest north of the Sierra Peak Section list.  Writeups of the other days can be found here.

July 4th, 2017

Adams Peak (8,197')
5.75 miles, 1800'

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map]

Adams is the green dot north of Reno and as you can see it's waaaay up there and kind of on it's own.  We'd originally planned to do several of the SPS peaks up here before deciding Trinity Alps and Lassen NP sounded a bit more exciting.  But this one being all by itself and not that long or challenging it made sense to grab it on the last day so it wasn't just all driving.

This was the fourth day of a big 4th of July road trip where we visited Trinity Alps, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and the furthest north of the Sierra Peak Section list.  Writeups of the other days can be found here.

After yesterdays climb of Brokeoff Mountain the plan for today was to get an early start and climb Lassen Peak and then relocating to get set up for Adams Peak the following day.

July 3rd, 2017

Lassen Peak (10,457')
6.5 miles, 2500'

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map]

This was the third day of a big 4th of July road trip where we visited Trinity Alps, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and the furthest north of the Sierra Peak Section list.  Writeups of the other days can be found here.

After spending a really pleasant night near the top of the road leading to the Weaver Bally Fire Lookout we packed up in the morning and headed for Lassen.  (Fortunately driving down the dirt road in a passenger car was a lot easier than getting up it.)

July 2nd, 2017

Brokeoff Mountain (9,235')

Broke Off Mountain NW Summit (9,200')
7 miles, 2700'

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map]

Today the main goal was Monument Peak in a nearby area of Trinity Alps.  And since it was an easier day we finally had a chance to catch up after two very long days with very little sleep.

July 1st, 2017

Weaver Bally Lookout (6,988')

Weaver Bally (7,493')

Monument Peak (7,762')

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map]

This was the second day of a longer 4th of July trip which visited Trinity Alps, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and the furthest north of the Sierra Peak Section list.  Writeups of the other days can be found here.