Frank and Stella are ready to try climbing Shepherd Crest.
Shepherd Crest is the whitish peak in the distance.
Bill and Stella head out across the Saddlebag Lake dam.
Water level is below the dam. Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
View up Hall Valley to the Mt. Conness east ridge notch from Saddlebag dam
Crossing the spillway
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Shepherd Crest and the McCabe headwall north of Saddlebag Lake
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill at the north end of Saddlebag Lake
North Peak (l) and Shepherd Crest (r)
Stella and Frank cross the outflow of Greenstone Lake.
Bill and Stella stand at the junction with the trail to McCabe Pass.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
McCabe Crest Panorama
North Peak is at the left, Shepherd Crest is at the right. Taken from the shore of Steelhead Lake. Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill presses up the grassy slope in front of North Peak.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill crosses a stream.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Frank and Stella scramble over a slab.
Bill gazes upon a small lake.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Frank and Stella begin the climb to Secret Lake.
Frank pauses to check his GPS.
Steelhead Lake is to the left.
Bill climbs up the grassy slope.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Frank and Stella climb the grassy slope above Steelhead Lake.
The north face of North Peak
Another hiker has arrived at the summit.
Bill gazes unhappily at the loose-rock approach to Shepherd Crest.
After our tedious scrambling in loose rock chutes on Lookout Peak, I decided to try a different approach over the head wall. Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill heads for the gentler end of McCabe headwall
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill looks for some passable ledges and chutes.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill heads through the talus.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Frank follows, but Stella decides to find a comfortable rock on which to wait and watch us.
I find a promising chute.
But, it's steep and does not go all the way to the top. Besides that I was unsure I could safely down-climb it. Exploring it might waste much time and energy. Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill finds a ledge that leads to a series of cairns marking a route to the top.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill radios our status to Stella.
North Peak is in the background. Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Frank follows along the ledge.
Shepherd Crest is in the background.
Bill makes a final push for the top.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Frank is not far behind.
Secret Lake is below.
McCabe Crest Panorama
(l to r): Steelhead Lake, Saddlebag Lake, Frank, North Peak, Upper McCabe Lake, Shepherd Crest
View of our route from Saddlebag Lake
Mt. Dana is in the background. Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill enjoys lunch with a view from McCabe Crest.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill starts down the ledges to rejoin Stella.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill and Stella begin the trek down from Secret Lake.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill heads down the well-worn use trail to Steelhead Lake.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Bill stops part-way down to Steelhead Lake.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Frank and Stella follow down the grassy slope.
Bill and Stella pause on slabs near the bottom of the descent.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Frank stops to photograph the water.
North Peak is in the background.
Greenstone Lake
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Stella and Bill enjoy a sit-down break beside Greenstone Lake.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
North Peak and Shepherd Crest from the east side of Saddlebag Lake
The Saddlebag Resort has been shuttered closed since 2016.
Photo courtesy of Frank Paysen.
Saddlebag Lake
View from the eastern shore
Frank on the final section of trail around the east side of Saddlebag Lake
A final visit to the toilet
