We celebrate freedom at Burnside Lake.
- July 3-5, 2021
- Team: Dave
- Peak
- Teardrop Peak, 8642'
- Class 2
- Teardrop Peak, 8642'
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
I had spent the day working on an ITA (Idaho Trails Association) project, so Dave, with Ruby, met us on the Duck Lake trail. We then transfered to the Summit Lake pullout where I did a quick repack and we were off. 4pm on a heat wave with uphill bushwacking. Should be interesting. |
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We were making pretty good progress, but that necessitated us enjoying the luxury of about the only shady spot. |
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Finally, Burnside III. |
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Burnside II When we got to Burnside Lake (Burnside I, if you prefer) we were shocked: there was someone camped at 'our' lake. So after a distant wave 'hello" to this mystery family we sort of hid our tent and went about the business of re-hydrating. Poofer dust in camp. Not much shade. And we spent a few minutes planning out the next day. |
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| The next morning, we were on our feet about 7am, chased out of camp by the relentless skeeters. If you click on the photo, the bigger version shows a red line of our route above the lake. |  |
From up on the route, looking the opposite direction, that's Burnside Lake with Burnside Peak behind. Not much wind.... advantage skeeters. |
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Another view, this time showing the hillside we were climbing. |
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After ascending our steep gully, we got a look south into the basin we had wanted to explore since being near here last fall. Not so steep now. And the highpoint here is Teardrop Peak, which I had climbed in the snow with Julie back in 2015. Also note the cool Sierra-like ridge on the right. We'll talk more about that later. |
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| Here is is zoomed in a bit. Our proposed route would simply lace together the green sections. |  |
| But first we wandered across the basin investigating the many small tarns and meadows. Cool country. |  |
| As we started our ascent, we were still mesmerized by the basin. And the obvious notch in the mountains formed by Lick Creek. A little smoky today, but not too bad, and it adds a little mystery, don't you think? |  |
| Summit shot. |  |
| Summit views. That's Beaverdam to the south in the early morning light. One (the only) advantage to being chased out of camp by mosquitoes. |  |
The view west with Brush Lake. Just above and right of Brush Lake, Brush Peak. |
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To the east, still admiring the basin below. |
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| And to the north, Burnside Peak and all sorts of other stuff. But our immediate interest lay in traversing the ridge in the center foreground. |  |
| On our way off the summit, heading for the ridgetop. |  |
| Ruby, our highly-skilled scout and guide. |  |
| This ridge is really cool. "Slabalicious" |  |
We mostly followed the crest, with slabs tilting in either direction. |
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And sometimes hardly tilting at all. The plan was to traverse around this shady bump to its left, go through the saddle, and head back down to our camp on the lake. |
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Some of the slabs along the traverse were a little steeper. These days, Dave has no problem stopping in such precarious postions just to capture an image. |
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And the view through the saddle. This was the only snow on our route, which is way less than there should be. In contrast, check out the conditions where we were last year on this date. |
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| Ruby surveys for possible routes. Or squirrels. For safety's sake, have to clear the route of squirrels. |  |
| Coming down from the saddle. |  |
There's camp! And the other campers had departed. |
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So we had the lake to ourselves. Swimming, napping, a little fishing. Some more swimming. We got up early the next morning and tried unsuccessfully to find the old trail. Bits and pieces, at best. And we cut off 2/10s of a mile from our ascent route, but with about the same time. |
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Map |
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Overview At this point, we've done a pretty good job surveying this basin. But I still don't know where the old trail is. |
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