Route and itinerary: Who, when, where, and what we did!

An easy morning hike with light packs (thanks to packer support) takes us past a lush string of lakes to a cozy campsite near timberline. With the afternoon free and the fish biting in a nearby lake, our resident fishing experts Cherie and Jeannie catch us a wonderfully tasty dinner of fresh trout, while the energetic ones among us eye the nearby peaks...

A free afternoon on our first day, and we can't let a nearby peak go unclimbed! Doug, Mitch, Jan and I scramble up Mt. Goode for a taste of the thin air at 13,085'.

A short climb over Bishop Pass (again with light packs, yeah!) and we're on our way across Dusy Basin to a nice campsite among the trees. The free afternoon gives us a chance to refresh our climbing and rope skills with some playing on a short technical pitch across the valley.

Doug, Tina, Jan, Mitch, Jeannie, Anne and I tackle the first class 4 peak of the trip, with a rewarding day's climb up the northeast ridge of Giraud Peak (12,608'). Margi, Cherie and Al choose the option to attempt Columbine peak, while Ken & Billy enjoy a casual day exploring around Dusy Basin.

We hop over Knapsack Pass into the Palisades Basin and set up camp at the foot of the Palisades Range - with lots of challenging peaks to set our sights on for the three days. Light packs again have let us conserve our energy for the climbs ahead...

Acclimatized and enthused, the climbing team gets an early start on a classic peak in the Palisades, and our first 14-er of the trip. Doug, Tina, Jan, Mitch, Margi and I climb Thunderbolt Peak (14,003') in grand style, with everyone displaying their unique personal technique for surmounting the class 5.8 summit block!

While part of the group makes a quick run on nearby Columbine Peak, and Tina runs up Mt. Sill, I stay around camp with Cherie to take advantage of the chance to photograph the abundant and colorful wildflowers in the area.

The prize of the Palisades is our target today. North Pal, at 14,242 ft., is the highest peak in the Palisades Range, and proves a worthy challenge as Doug, Tina, Jan, Margi and I spend 13-1/2 hours on the round trip to the top and back. Several class 5 pitches make it feel like real mountaineering!

Margi picks the shortcut route out over Isosceles Pass back into Upper Dusy Basin. It's a short 2 miles, but the class 3 section on the backside takes a bit of time to descend since we individually lower our packs. The next day is an easy retreat out over Bishop Pass and back to South Lake.

You can never get too much of those gorgeous Sierra wildflowers!