Palisade Traverse... Temple to Thunderbolt

After much discussion/planning/re-planning... possible wife issues, we got down to business. 8/15/09 Drove up to Big Pine Thursday evening and hiked into a nice spot next to Third Lake. Woke up at 5 a.m. and hit the trail by 6. A bit over half an hour later we were at the base of Venusian Blind to simul-climb it in one long pitch. Hit the summit of Temple and then over to Gayley. Climbed the Swiss Arete on Sill (simul in one pitch again) and had a bit of lunch on it's summit. We still had a lot of time left and the weather was agreeable so we kept on: Polemonium, North Pal, Starlight, and Thunderbolt. Descent was pretty lose and with no crampons/ice axe a bit interesting. Overall, an awesome day out in the mountains! After a rather long hike back to camp and some very sore feet we finally got into the bags and slept in a bit the next morning before hiking back out for a well deserved meal in Lone Pine.

Looking down....

Mt. Sill

Self-Portrait

One of the MANY notches we had to contend with.