On August 24-September 2, 1963, myself, Bill Paine, Meldon Merrill, John Butler, Mike Smith and Mike Warren set out to climbe Mt. Brewer.
At the end of the Explorer Post 360 trek the previous week we hiked down to the trailhead at Onion Valley to get supplies for this trip and then camped at Gilbert Lake.
The next day, Sunday, August 25, 1963, we backpacked over Kearsarge Pass and down the 'new' trail above the Kearsarge lakes and Bullfrog Lake to the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail and then down to Lower Vidette Meadow on Bubbs Creek. See map at end of page.
Bullfrog Lake and Mount Brewer from 'new' trail
Kings Canyon National Park Aug 25 1963
Vidette Creek from 'new' trail - Kings Canyon National Park 25 Aug 1963
Junction Peak, Forester Pass, Bubbs Creek from 'new' trail
Kings Canyon National Park 25 Aug 1963
Kearsarge Pass, University Peak from 'new' trail
Kings Canyon National Park 25 Aug 1963
Vidette Meadow - Kings Canyon National Park 25 Aug 1963
Bubbs Creek at camp - Kings Canyon National Park 25 Aug 1963
Bubbs Creek at camp - Kings Canyon National Park 25 Aug 1963
Don Deck cooking at Bubbs Creek camp - Kings Canyon National Park 25 Aug 1963
Monday we backpacked down Bubbs Creek to Junction Meadow, then headed up the steep East Creek trail to a nice camp at East Lake.
Bubbs Creek - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Bubbs Creek - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Bubbs Creek - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Bubbs Creek - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Bubbs Creek - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Bubbs Creek - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Crossing Bubbs Creek enroute to East Lake - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Mt. Brewer from East Lake - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Milly's Footpath over East Lake - Kings Canyon National Park 26 Aug 1963
Approach to Mt. Brewer - Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
Tuesday we Climbed 13,576' Mt. Brewer. A 4,000' gain and 4 mile round trip from East Lake which took 4 hours going up. Wonderful views.
Mount Brewer is on the Great Western Divide, a sub-range of the Sierra Nevada in California. It is located in Kings Canyon National Park.
Because it is off the Sierra Crest, its summit provides expansive views in all directions. It is not a difficult peak to climb, having several class 2 routes, but the vertical gain from the nearest trailhead (8,500ft+ above Roads End) makes it a strenuous undertaking. [Our route from East Lake after backpacking in from Onion Valley trailhead was a 4,000ft gain]
The highpoint of the peak is not at the eastern edge of the summit where the register is located, but towards the middle of the large summit plateau where a class 3 summit block can be found.
The peak was named for William Henry Brewer who worked on the first California Geological Survey and was the first Chair of Agriculture at Yale University's Sheffield Scientific School. He was chief of the field party that explored the central High Sierra in 1864.
Mt. Brewer was first climbed on July 2, 1864 by its namesake William H. Brewer and Charles F. Hoffmann. From the summit, Brewer's Whitney Survey party was the first to identify the highest peak in the range, Mt. Whitney.
Mt. Brewer (left) and North Guard (right) - Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
Meldon Merrill checking out the notch south of Mt. Brewer
Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
Mt. Brewer - Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
East Lake (lower right) and East Creek valley from Mt. Brewer route
Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
East Lake (top center) from south slope approach to Mt. Brewer
Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
John Butler, Meldon Merrill, Don Deck, Mike Warren, Bill Paine on top of Mt. Brewer
Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
View east from Mt. Brewer, East Lake lower left - Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
Bill Paine photographing view southeast toward Mt. Whitney (right skyline)
from Mt. Brewer - Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
South Guard Lake, Coppermine Pass area from Mt. Brewer
Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
View west-northwest over summit block from Mt. Brewer
Kings Canyon National Park 27 Aug 1963
Breaking camp at East Lake - Kings Canyon National Park - 28 Aug 1963
On Wednesday we moved to Lake Reflection. John Butler and Mike Smith scouted Millie's Foot Pass while myself and Meldon Merrill hiked old trail part way to Longley Pass. Our original plans had been to loop from East Lake via South Guard Lake and Longley Pass to Lake Reflection and then cross Millie's Foot Pass to Lake South America and then north over Harrison Pass to Vidette Lakes. We changed our plans and skipped that loop, taking a more direct route to Vidette Lakes.
Cascades below Lake Reflection - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Mountain above Lake Reflection - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Lake Reflection - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Lake Reflection - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Lake Reflection from Longley Pass Trail - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Lake Reflection - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Milly's Foot Path from Lake Reflection - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Meldon Merrill photographs Lake Reflection from Longley Pass Trail
Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Longley Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Peaks east of Longley Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 28 Aug 1963
Lucy's Foot Path - Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Lucy's Foot Path - Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
On Thursday we moved to lakes below Harrison Pass. Myself, Meldon Merrill and Bill Paine climbed Harrison Pass - some ice.
Trail to lakes below Harrison Pass, Meldon Merrill
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Trail to lakes below Harrison Pass, Meldon Merrill
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Looking back on way to lakes below Harrison Pass
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Mt. Ericsson from trail to lakes below Harrison Pass, Don Deck and Meldon Merrill
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
South Guard, Mt. Brewer, North Guard from lakes below Harrison Pass
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Harrison Pass from lakes below Harrison Pass
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Ericsson Crags from Harrison Pass trail, Meldon Merrill, Bill Paine
Kings Canyon National Park - 29 Aug 1963
Dearhorn Pass from Harrison Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Lake South America and Kern Canyon from Harrison Pass
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
View southwest from Harrison Pass, Don Deck - Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
The Minster (left center) and Dearhorn Mountain (right) from Harrison Pass
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Snow on Harrison Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Descending snow on Harrison Pass, Bill Paine and Meldon Merrill
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Descending Harrison Pass, Bill Paine and Meldon Merrill
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Descending Harrison Pass, Bill Paine and Meldon Merrill
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
John Butler cooking supper at Harrison Pass camp
Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Mt. Brewer and North Guard from near camp - Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Dusk from near camp - Kings Canyon National Park 29 Aug 1963
Sunrise from Harrison Pass lakes camp - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Friday be backpacked over Deerhorn Pass to upper Vidette Meadow in cloudy weather - rained from 3:30 on.
Climbing Deerborn Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Harrison Pass from Deerhorn Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Mt. Ericsson and Crags from Deerhorn Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Descending snow from Dearhorn Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Vidette Valley from Deerhorn Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Descending snow from Dearhorn Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Descending snow from Dearhorn Pass - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Upper Vidette Lake - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Lower Vidette Lake - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Cascade on Vidette Creek - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
Vidette Meadow camp - Kings Canyon National Park 30 Aug 1963
On Saturday, a clear day, we backpacked to Charlton Lake were we enjoyed a swim.
Fresh snow on Center Peak - Kings Canyon National Park - 31 Aug 1963
Fresh snow on Deerhorn Pass - Kings Canyon National Park - 31 Aug 1963
Kearsarge Pass from 'new' trail - Kings Canyon National Park - 31 Aug 1963
John Butler admiring Charlotte Lake - Kings Canyon National Park 31 Aug 1963
On Sunday we backpacked out to Onion Valley in good shape and drove home. Didn't take temperatures - Frost most nights.
The RED line is the backpacking route. The BLUE line is the approximate climbing route to Mt. Brewer.