Sept 13 - Exploring Thunderbolt Pass Area

Six of us intended to summit Mt. Sill, in the Palisade area of the Sierra Nevada. It took longer than we anticipated to reach this from South Lake and we were unable to see Mt. Sill. We had a great overnight trip, hiking from South Lake, over Bishop Pass, behind Mt. Agassiz, boulder hopping above the Dusy Basin, crossing Thunderbolt Pass and camping on the flanks of Mt. Thunderbolt. We were exhausted by 6PM on Saturday and it was all we could do to set up camp.

Thunderbolt Pass

We originally talked about getting up early and doing a recon of the Mt Sill area but no-one, including me, made any attempt on Sunday morning to do this. Our camp did not receive direct sun until after 8AM, it was cold, and the area was not photogenic. We all stayed in bed late.

We crossed Thunderbolt Pass on the way back, and descended into Dusy Basin, both to avoid the boulder hopping if we stayed on the flanks of Mt Winchell and Mt Agassiz and to obtain more water. The hike out was much easier than our boulder hopping adventure on Saturday. We made it to the cars by 3:30PM and made good time on the way back to the bay area.