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Eve
100
  • Fall foliage

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Quick trip report! We took the Foggy Dew Creek trail to Merchants Basin. Trail is in fantastic shape, very well maintained. From Merchants Basin we took a detour to Sunrise Lake, which is definitely a must-see if it's larch season. There are not many larches in Merchants Basin, so we decided to carry on our way and camp at Cooney Lake. The trail from Merchants Basin up to the pass next to Cooney Peak is also very well maintained. It splits into two at the pass, one cuts across Cooney Peak (aka Switchback Peak) and heads towards Angels' Staircase, the other drops down to Cooney Lake, which is where we decided to camp after bagging Cooney (which, despite being a Bulger, is apparently not listed on WTA). Cooney was an easy talus walk from the pass. Cooney Lake is larch heaven and a great jumping off point for Martin Peak as well. There are huge campsites, a brand new backcountry toilet (score!) and of course a stunning lake. It was about 45 minutes to get from the lake to the summit of Martin Peak, another Bulger that isn't on WTA (am I missing something here?) that's basically a walk up/talus hop. We took the trail towards Martin Lakes to the fork that heads to Foggy Dew Creek, and followed that to the intersection of the Foggy Dew Ridge trail which stays high instead of dropping back to Foggy Dew Creek. Actually we missed the intersection, but it was a quick bushwhack up to the trail, which is maybe 100 vertical feet higher than the maps all claim. We bagged the high points on Foggy Dew Ridge on the way back. This trail is not as well maintained but still clear due to mountain bike traffic and quite dusty. Maybe bring a breathing mask or a helicopter to spray the trails down. Or hold your breath for 3 hours. It's worth it though :) Larch heaven! More pics and details on the blog.