Mount Haeckel, Mount Wallace

21-Sep-91

By: Randy Danta, Bill Oliver

Five Hikers met at 6:30 at the Lake Sabrina trailhead. The cars were parked 1/4 mile east of the trailhead adjacent to the Sabrina Campground where a sign designated the end of overnight parking. The campgrounds and restrooms were locked for the winter, but the quota period had ended the previous Sunday, so this was the first weekend of self-issue permits. We got underway at 6:45 after running back for forgotten luxury items (food and water bottles). The hike in towards Midnight lake was briskly paced with discussions about the economy, jobs, and the decline in intelligent television programming. Some of the trail junctions were hard to follow, and we lost five minutes finding the cutoff to Hungry Packer Lake.. We left the Hungry Packer trail at Sailor Lake to travel cross country over slabs and talus to the outlet of Moonlight Lake. From there, we continued up canyon to camp midway between Moonlight Lake and Echo Lake. At about 11,200' there are two level camping areas with green trees and fine views.

We rested from 10:30 until 11:00, then grabbed our daypacks and started toward the peaks. Leaving the canyon floor at Echo Lake, we contoured to the right, moving northward up the draw to the depressed lake between Wallace and Haeckel. We elected to climb Haeckel first. Although not difficult, there was some slippery footing on moist dirt and loose stones the first 100 feet above the still-icy depressed lake. Higher up the talus was more solid, and the summit was reached at 1:40. At 2:10, after some lunch, we left Haeckel, down-climbed, and contoured around the cirque to the north-facing slopes of Wallace, just a few hundred feet below the summit. We gained the summit at 3:00 PM, snacked until 3:30, and descended by the east-facing scree run toward Echo lake.

We arrived in camp at 4:45 for a welcome dinner, with delightful hors d'ouvres and selections of merlot. After dark the moon appeared, adding light our evening but it still wasn't like a real campfire). In the morning, we slept in, started the hike out at 7:45, and returned to the cars at 10:45. Participants were Doug Mantle, Joe Stephens, and Bob Wyka.