Ostrander/Buena Vista Crest Trip Report

[Grzldvt]

Last week, my hiking partner and I went to Ostrander to further look at the X-country across the Buena Vista Crest as a route to stay out of the Illiloutte Canyon and keep the hike to Red Peak with big views versus 2 days of being down in a viewless canyon. We left Ostrander and hiked out to Horizon Ridge and then went up a very narrow, straight up slot to get on top of Horse Ridge. From there we went X-country over the to Buena Vista Trail and headed over to the Buena Vista Lake for lunch and water. From the Lake we took the trail until it went away from the crest, and went across a meadow to a spot we though would give us a real vantage point of the entire X-country route.
As it turns out the route is much more difficult than anticipated. No doubt taking more time to get from Ostrander to Red Peak than going through Illiloutte Canyon, or around the backside via Johnson Lake, etc. However the extra time might just be a blast, but very difficult. The terrain is pretty rough.
So here are a few pics from our trip
Half Dome from the back with Hoffman in the distance


The back country


Horse Ridge and the Buena Vista Crest

Buena Vista Crest


Sunset and the Clark Range


The moon over Ostrander

[orion]

nice trip, man. i'll probably not make that one myself, but always appreciate the x-country to see what's there. looks like you saw something, for sure.

[Grzldvt]

Yes, well worth the effort. Funny how the Buena Vista Crest looks so easy from Washburn Point, but when you get up close and personal it is very rough country. The ranger we got our permit from was a wealth of information. Unofficially, helped us and told us feedback from others that thought this would be an easy X-country trek. They came back to report it was extremely difficult.

[ckm554]

I did a similar trip back in July and crossed the Buena Vista Crest. I also thought it would be an interesting alternative to the hike along Illilouette Creek. Honestly I found that the hike from Mono Meadow to Buena Vista Lake was about as long and view less as the hike from Mono Meadow to Ottoway. The Buena Vista Crest was harder than I thought it would be as well, a lot more boulder hopping than I expected. But navigation is easy and views are good so its not the end of the world. It was definitely a relief when I hit the trail at Merced Pass though.

I actually don't mind the hike to Ottoway along Illilouette Creek and it usually ends up being around a 5 - 6 hour hike for me. I suppose I could split it up in to two days but it is do-able in one.

Chris

[Grzldvt]

I did a similar trip back in July and crossed the Buena Vista Crest. I also thought it would be an interesting alternative to the hike along Illilouette Creek. Honestly I found that the hike from Mono Meadow to Buena Vista Lake was about as long and view less as the hike from Mono Meadow to Ottoway. The Buena Vista Crest was harder than I thought it would be as well, a lot more boulder hopping than I expected. But navigation is easy and views are good so its not the end of the world. It was definitely a relief when I hit the trail at Merced Pass though.

I actually don't mind the hike to Ottoway along Illilouette Creek and it usually ends up being around a 5 - 6 hour hike for me. I suppose I could split it up in to two days but it is do-able in one.

Chris

Thanks, yes it is not out of the question, just a lot more difficult than anticipated. But after hiking trails for 20 years, the X-country is now the way to go for us.

[bill-e-g]

Not to give you any grief. But... you marked Clark Range as Cathedral Range.

I love Buena Vista Crest and Horse Ridge. Then again I say that about nearly all of the park.

Have fun (and yes, x-country is the only way)

[Grzldvt]

Not to give you any grief. But... you marked Clark Range as Cathedral Range.

I love Buena Vista Crest and Horse Ridge. Then again I say that about nearly all of the park.

Have fun (and yes, x-country is the only way)

It's Ok, you of all people can give me grief... (Compliment) Fixed... can't believe I did that, although I am in the process of uploading all my pics to Flickr and was putting up several sets from Toulumne based hikes. So everything in the park is the Cathedral range