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Rocky Canyon. The
hike up Rocky Canyon climbs around 4,000' in three
short miles. It is the quickest route to Pyramid
Peak, but steep. The route starts at the
spot where the creek flowing out of Rocky Canyon runs
under US 50. Climb up the east side of the
creek, through a maze of above-ground water pipes,
until you get to a good use trail. After hiking
steeply up the canyon for 1.5 miles, it levels off
somewhat, presenting this view south across Sayles
Canyon to Round Top and the Carson Pass area. |
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Pyramid Peak. After
crossing over the creek to the west side, I hiked for
another 20 minutes before getting my first view of the
blocky summit of Pyramid Peak. The route follows
the obvious ridge in the foreground. |
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Approaching the summit. Nearing the top
of the peak, the sand and brush yields to large talus.
The final 400 feet or so to the summit consists of
hiking over these granite blocks. As you get
higher, the views expand in all directions. This
shot looks west down the Lyons Creek drainage.
Lake Sylvia rests out of sight just to the right of
the little peaklet in the lower corner of the photo. |
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Desolation High Point.
By a matter of a few feet, Pyramid Peak is the highest
point in the Desolation Wilderness. I made it on
top by 12:30, just in time for a quick lunch snack.
this shot looks east over Lake Aloha to Mount Tallac
on the horizon. I would be standing atop that
peak in about 24 hours. |
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Descending the SE Ridge.
I ran into three hikers on the summit, up on a day
trip from their camp at American Lake. Here they
are descending the upper portion of the SE ridge,
heading the long way back to camp. Round Top and
the Sisters rise in the background. Also visible
down in valley of the South Fork of the American River
is the great rock wall of
Lovers Leap. |
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Crystal Range.
Pyramid Peak caps the Crystal Range, a north-south
crest just west of the main Sierra Crest. My
goal from here would be to traverse the higher
southern half of the range, bagging Mt. Agassiz and
Mt. Price along the way (pictured here). |
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On to Peak 9,686'.
Before getting to Agassiz and Price, I had to
negotiate my way down the steep NE face of Pyramid,
and then hug the ridgetop over to Peak 9,686' (which I
call "Aarons
Peak"). As a general rule, the west side of the
Crystal Range is more forgiving than the east side.
One exception, however, is the NW face of Pyramid,
which drops off in a sheer cliff into the Lyons Creek
drainage. As a result, I had to drop down
slightly below the crest on the east side here. |
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