A Solo Hike Along the Silver Divide

Not the best montage, but it clearly shows the range of peaks to be seen from Goodale Pass. To the left, the Minarets. To the right, the Sierra Crest.

Goodale Pass

Silver Divide Trip from Edison Lake Trailhead, August-September 2001

I stepped off onward and the trail swooped down a little bit and finally climbed the last ways to the pass, passing through a notch to the broad level pass summit. I walked over to some friendly rocks, slammed down my pack, took out my chair and sat down. It had been a brutal climb, although not near as bad as Blackrock Pass. It was not yet noon.

After drinking my fill and having something to eat, I was finally ready to face the views. I probably have gone over every trail pass in the Sierra and think this pass was one of the more interesting passes. It was harder that Silver and Selden passes, and sitting here writing this after having done Silver and Goodale Pass I would have to say that Goodale was the harder pass. It was also one of the more interesting Sierra passes due to the unexpected convolutions of the pass and the entertaining views. While limited, the views from the pass back down the canyon to the SW offer a study in glacier canyon forming, particularly with the cirque at the head of the canyon with its flat-bottomed meadows and the classic "U" shape of the canyon itself.

Directly to the South presented a ridgeline with a multitude of named and un-named peaks peeking above. In the distance I could see the ridge that Kaiser Pass crossed.

The pass at last! Not much summit sign left. I wonder what it looks like now? This is looking south from the way I came.

The wooden summit sign looked whittled down and defaced, probably by marmots when the sign was sticking above the snow. It is the only thing to chew on for miles.

To the North the Sierra Crest could be seen along with the Minarets in the distance. Ritter and Banner peaks could be readily picked out, and when the light was right you could even see Clyde Minaret. Maybe. The trench of the San Joaquin began somewhere below and marched north. The peaks in the vicinity of and beyond Silver Pass were most impressive, many of them named and climbed on a somewhat regular basis.

The summit of the pass itself is a broad hard packed sandy platform studded with weathered granite. If one had the energy, there are opportunities to explore and climb.