Annotated view of Le Conte Canyon from Black Giant (click for large version): The route starts with a run through Sabrina Basin, including one of my favorite views in the High Sierra at Sailor Lake with aptly-named Picture Peak towering above. Continue off trail beyond Sailor Lake to Moonlight Lake and then up easy terrain to Echo Lake, situated in a bowl beneath the Clyde Spires, Mount Wallace and Mount Powell. Travel becomes more arduous along a traverse above Echo Lake and the final glacial moraine slopes up to Echo Col. The south of side of Echo Col includes a spectacular view of Lake 11,428 with Black Giant’s rugged east face dominating the background. Traverse the west shore of Lake 11,428 and descend slabs to the JMT. Ascend the JMT northbound toward Muir Pass, but leave the trail just past Helen Lake and ascend talus fields toward Black Giant’s summit which is rather nondescript from a western perspective. What Black Giant lack’s in quality scrambling it makes up with fantastic views in all directions. From Black Giant, descend directly to “Black Giant Pass” which leads into the Ionian Basin. It may be tempting to descend toward Lake 11,828 before reaching the pass, but hidden cliffs likely make this more time consuming than the more circuitous route all the way down to the pass. Charbydis is the most prominent peak as viewed on the descent from Black Giant and the Northeast ridge route is obvious. From Lake 11,828 the ridge starts out as granite slabs but transitions to talus and rock near the top. The rock is loose in spots but the scrambling is straightforward. After a false summit is reached there is a tricky sequence of third class descent moves that from my experience is much easier on the return as an ascent. The actual summit is just a couple minutes beyond this section.
From Charbydis retrace steps over Black Giant Pass and either return to Sabrina Basin via Echo Col or make a loop by traversing to Muir Pass and taking the JMT through gorgeous Evolution Basin. Numerous routes exist from Evolution Basin over the crest and back to the Lake Sabrina including Haeckel-Wallace Col, Haeckel Col and Lamarck Col. Lamarck Col is the easiest but also the longest option by a significant margin. On this day I wanted to run alongside Sapphire Lake and Evolution Lake so I selected Lamarck Col. Evolution Basin is spectacular and often the favorite section of the JMT for thru-hikers. The route to Lamarck Col leaves the JMT at the first switchback below Evolution Lake. A use path leads to Darwin Bench and Darwin Canyon where a series of lakes are passed. The ascent up to Lamarck col is arduous but fairly straightforward. However, I do not recommend travel over the pass at night. Unfortunately, I had lost daylight and the ridge upon which Lamarck Col is located is nondescript with sand and rock throughout. After wandering and scrambling the ridge for over an hour I was able to finally locate Lamarck Col. The path on the other side is in the sand and difficult to follow at night resulting in further delay. While it was probably not as important to be on the trail in the upper part, I needed to follow the path in order to make sure that I was on the trail when it cuts over a ridge and begins it’s descent to Upper Lamarck Lake. All of this is straightforward in the daylight, but not in the dark! The descent to Lamarck Lakes and North Lake is not a scenic as the prior sections, but it’s an efficient way up and over the crest provided there is daylight. The loop is completed by walking the gravel road from North Lake to Hwy 168. The alternative cols – Haeckel and Haeckel-Wallace – entail substantial off-trail travel along with steep terrain with loose rocks and talus fields. I have yet to cross these cols, but look forward to checking them out on my next routes over the crest from Lake Sabrina.