Shepherd Crest

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Author

Allan_R

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Trail stats

Distance: 8.22 mi
Elevation gain: 2,238 ft
Technical difficulty: Moderate
Elevation loss: 2,228 ft
Max elevation: 11,894 ft
TrailRank: 35
Min elevation: 10,110 ft
Trail type: One Way

Coordinates: 481
Uploaded: August 3, 2016
Recorded: August 2016

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near Lundy, California (United States)

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Itinerary description

A hike/scramble to the high (east) point of Shepherd Crest. The trailhead is at Saddlebag Lake, although you can also climb this from Lundy Canyon. We turned this into a loop/tour of the Twenty Lakes Basin because the climb to the summit didn't take very long. Done in July, 2016, there was still some snow about. The normal Class 2 route up the cliffs to McCabe Pass was choked with snow, so we had to find another way up the cliffs. Turned into some decent Class 3 climbing with routefinding difficulties. If you do this climb later in the year, head to climber's right above the lake at 11,000'. You'll see the obvious break in the cliffs before the loose scree slope, which will make it easier.

Views from the top are pretty awesome! The Mt. Conness/North Peak area is one of my favorites in the Sierra, and climbing Shepherd Crest gives you a cool perspective of the sheer north face of both of these mountains. After summitting in just over 3 hours, we took an off-trail route directly back to the trails in the Twenty Lakes Basin area. From there it was a nice stroll about all the many lakes. Great views and many places to relax, a good day.

The track ends at the dock for the water taxi. We decided to spend the $8/person to ride back in style, and save our feet from the boring and painful walk across the loose rock along the shore of the lake.