Milk creek

[mtn_mouse]

We had a great trip up the upper dungeness river last year. We jogged, with packs, up the trail from the royal basin trailhead. Along the way we ran into a troop of boy scouts, who looked behind them, and decided to try to beat our pace. As scout after scout dropped out in exhaustion, we sprinted by their gasping leader. Went past camp handy, and up the no longer existant milk creek way trail. After some bushwacking at its wackiest, we reached the upper milk cr basin, and went up Mt.Fricaba. We wanted to go over one of the upper cols, and down into upper royal basin. Anyone do that? Is there a route that would connect those two drainages without too much difficulty?

[Norman_Clyde]

Milk Creek to Royal Creek basin I haven't done, but I have gone from the head of Heather Creek into upper Deception Basin, which was class 3 snow and messy talus, not technically difficult. On the topo, it looks like Milk Creek and the other side of Fricaba are less steep than Heather Creek or Deception Basin, so you'll probably have no trouble.

[mtn_mouse]

Good, I'll have to try it then. I would like to do it as a day hike, going out royal basin trail, because that is the easy part and could be done with flashlights.

Did you drop down into deception basin between Mystery and Hal Foss? And does that look like a possible day hike?

[Fairweather]

There are two easy routes down to Royal Basin from the summit of Fricaba. The most straightforward is to drop into Deception Basin and climb to the notch between Deception and Fricaba, then descend the gully and swing right into upper Royal Basin.

 

We have also descended from the summit of Fricaba down toward the smaller sub-summit just to the east. A spur ridge drops directly down from here to a little valley just above Royal Basin. Just some minor downclimbing, 2nd or 3rd class. (Early season, anyhow.) I'll post a picture of a huge avalanche here.

 

[Rich_Sheffield]

I've been to the summit of El Picacho Del Diablo 3 times.