Mummy Info

Harlan W. Stockman
Sunday, July 31, 2005

OK, several people have asked about the "alternate" chute.

GPS trace for the route up the talus slope, then the 3^rd-class chute.	Close-up, showing the route up the 3^rd-class chute, and the traditional route (dotted magenta line) up the 2^nd-class chute.	View east, on the last switchback before the "M" tree.

Now we've turned the corner from the last photo, and we're looking WNW. A tree on the left of the trail is marked with an "M' where one should cut right (N) up the talus	At the top of the talus slope, head E; there is a faint trail. A short way up the trail, one can see the traditional 2^nd-class chute. The 3^rd-class chute is actually out of view.	Here's where the 3^rd-class chute takes off from the trail at the base of the ledges. View ~E.

This is the lower part of the 3^rd-class chute.	This is the upper part. I'm not really fond of (potentially) loose rock, so I went to the left.	At the top of the 3^rd-class chute, view SW to Charleston. Note the cairn marking the top of the chute.

Raven, almost showing the "wedge-shaped" tail.	The snow is almost gone from Charleston.	Ambiguous tail.

View to Big Mama and Mt Wilson.	Classic thick beak, ambiguous tail.	Classic ruffly neck, thick beak… over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.

I saw these small, shod footprints up the NLT. They remind me of mule prints, from USFS work in New Mexico. Are ponies or other equines allowed on the NLT, for the general public?

I went up Mummy early today to cache supplies on the peak for an upcoming trip, and to see how my knee would fare. I started on the trail at 8AM, and was on the peak by 9:58, which is OK for me. Rain started at 10:44, so I descended, but at that point the rain clouds were thin, not the lightning type. The lightning did come in a few hours.

I didn't hear a single "caw" -- all the raven vocalizations were the expected guttural sounds; more on that later. When I got on top, there were at least 50 birds in the air. Twice I saw the ravens chase away hawks, once I saw an aerial fight among ravens. They were totally disinterested in me and my food (except they would fly away if I got too close). Since ravens can take half their calories in live prey, I suspect they were watching elsewhere. None of the birds were big -- they were about the same size as eastern crows, far from "Labrador retrievers with wings"; but then, the Bristlecone pines on top of the peak are relatively small as well, so maybe small size is an adaptation to the climate.