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gallery:20060910 Mount Tom
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Mount Tom (13,652ft) - 10th September 2006
Mount Tom looms over Bishop, taunting peak baggers with its
presence. As our neighbor, Joe, said, since we live here, we have to
hike it at least once. Robin and I made an attempt on Mount Tom in
May, but were turned back by steep and unstable snow. This time
around, we knew there would be no snow to stop us. The only obstacle
would be managing to actually get an almost alpine start so we would
be back in time to have a large dinner at Imperial Gourmet, the local
chinese restaurant. This we accomplished with aplomb.
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Mount Tom
A snowy Mount Tom as seen from the Tungsten Hills area. From here, it rises 8,000' to the summit.
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Sunrise
Since we actually did get an alpine start this time, we were treated to a very nice sunrise above the White/Inyo Mountains about an hour and a half into our journey. Before the sun came up, we were walking by the light of the almost full moon.
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Four Gables and Peak 12,805
The sunrise really lit things up in a pleasant way. Four Gables is the nondescript peak in the middle of the photo. Peak 12,805 is the nice looking pyramid on the right.
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Horton Lakes Valley
This is the valley we walked through while approaching Mount Tom. At the head of the valley (off to the right of the photo) is Horton Lake.
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Alien Landing Marker
At the top of the endless switchbacks above Horton Lake, there was this strange metal pole sticking into a boulder. Is it an artifact from an ancient civilisation? Is it a marker for an alien landing strip? Most likely it's a claim corner marker for one of the many mines up here.
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First View of our Route
After slogging our way up the endless switchbacks above Horton Lake, we finally crested the ridge into Hanging Valley, and were rewarded with our first view of our route up the west side. The route is in shade, just below the left-hand ridge on the mountain.
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Hanging Valley
Hanging Valley is a large, desolate looking place, complete with the remains of old mines. Robin pointed out, though, that it would be a lot of fun to ski up here in the winter, just difficult to get to.
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Snow?!
"There won't be any snow this time of year." Sure. So what was this patch of icy snow doing blocking our way along the road to the Tungstar Mine? At least it was fairly easy to get around.
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Tramway Debris
There is an old tramway from the Tungstar Mine on Mount Tom all the way down 6,000 feet to the Tungsten Mill in Pine Creek. These are some of the remains of the engine that moved the trams.
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Slogging up the Slope
The last mile or so gained almost 2,000'. As if that wasn't already strenuous enough, the whole slope was amazingly loose. Not as bad as the Slope of Doom on Cloudripper, but bad enough. It took us about two hours to get up this thing and another two on our way down.
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Doodads on the Summit
These items were sitting on a boulder on the summit. Robin added a small quartz crystal we found on the way up to the collection.
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Old Summit Plaque
This lead plate was left on the summit to mark the ascent of Deston Clelan (if I'm reading it right) back in 1933. It's amazing that this has been up there for 73 years.
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Summit Bubbles
There was a bottle of bubbles in the summit register can. Robin made some bubbles and we watched as they floated waaaay away.
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Awww
Robin and I on the summit with the Owens Valley behind us.
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Obligatory Summit Shot
That's me with Mount Humphreys behind me to the left.
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Shooting a USGS Summit Marker
There were two brass summit markers on Mount Tom. Robin got this shot as I was trying to get one of my own.
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Slogging down the Slope
You'd think that going down would be easier than going up. Well, with Mount Tom, the slope was so unstable that going down took as long as going up, and was even more strenuous.
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More Tramway Debris
These are relics of the engines that moved the trams up and down the tramway.
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Looking down the Tramway
This is what the old tramway looks like now. This photo was taken at the Tungstar Mine, looking down into Pine Creek Canyon.
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Alpenglow Jon
Robin got this nice shot of me with the sunrise lighting everything up in gold.
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Robin in the Sunrise
We had just taken a break and were about to continue on our way along the trail.
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Looking West from the Summit
Mount Merriam, Mount Royce, and Feather Peak are clustered together in the center on the horizon. Part of Hanging Valley and Hanging Valley Mine are in the foreground.
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Looking Southwest from the Summit
Southern Hanging Valley with the approach road is in the foreground. The impressive wall in the midground is the East Face of Four Gables. Horton Lake is at the bottom on the left.
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Looking South from the Summit
Basin Mountain is the closest peak here, and Mount Humphreys is just behind and to the right of it.
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Looking Northwest from the Summit
Mount Julius Caesar, Bear Creek Spire, Ruby Peak (and Ruby Wall), Mount Starr, Mount Morgan, and Broken Finger Peak are all visible here. The canyon in the center with the road is Morgan Creek Canyon, home to the Adamson Mine, which, at 13,000', was probably one of the highest mines in the world. The canyon which heads left is Pine Creek Canyon.
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Looking East from the Summit
Looking down in the Owens Valley. Bishop is the big green blob, and the Owens River can be seen snaking along the base of the Volcanic Tablelands on the left. The Tungsten Hills are the low, reddish hills in the center.
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