Overview
First climbed in 1894 by Theodore Solomons and Leigh Bierce, Seven Gables has long been praised as one of the grandest view points in ranges around Mount Hillgard/Lake Italy/Bear Lakes basin. Solomons, in Sierra Club Bulletin, was the first to exult about it : "I was too awed to shout. The ideas represented by such words as lovely, beautiful, wild or terrible, cold or desolate, fail to compass it. Words are puny things, and the language of description quite as impotent as the painter's brush. Roughly speaking, one might say that the sight was sublime an awful."
Seven Gables is the great peak in the Bear Lakes basin close to Lake Italy and Mount Hillgard. Having the most peaks lower than itself it has outstanding views from Mt Layell to Mt Whitney. The are is quite remote an seldomly visited and offers the great feeling of solitude and perfection.
Getting There
Access from East - Italy Pass Trail and down in to the creek towards the Seven Gables Lakes basin
Access from West - Seven Gables Lakes Trail:
Leave the JMT below Bear Creek Meadows and ascend the East Fork of Bear Creek. Leave JMT where it fords Bear Creek (9540 ft). The trail goes SE before turning east and ascending the north bank of the stream. The trail crosses to the south side of East Fork below the lowest of the Seven Gables Lakes (3 ml, 10720 ft). The trail ends at this lake, but the cross-country is easy in the basin above.
Red Tape
Backcountry camping requires a free permit in the John Muir Wilderness, which encompasses the entire area. No campfires are allowed. .
When To Climb
Summer, Automn. Winter approach can be hard and require a multiday travel.
Images
|
John Muir Wilderness
