8-05-2023, We hiked out of Saddlebag Lake starting at 6 am. There were some long sections of hard snow to cross but there were enough footsteps that traction devices weren't needed (although I appreciated having trekking poles). After that there were some swampy and wet sections and some more snow before we went up a bit and across a meadow where we had to cross a stream. I barely managed to jump across with my poles. Then we headed uphill on rocks and snow past some scenic lakes. At this point it was time to head uphill in earnest towards the saddle between N Peak and Conness. Up we went up snow and talus with some steep snow at the top. People either used crampons for this or avoided it on rocks to the side.
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From the saddle we took a long descending traverse across a bowl and then turned the slope and cut across a steeper snowfield (with crampons) before descending to the saddle between N Peak and McCabe. Kristine wanted to climb McCabe even though it probably wouldn't qualify as a bonus peak (not enough prominence or an official name on the topo map). Up we went past some krumholtz trees and blocks to a satisfying summit with great views.
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Next up were the Roosevelt Pinnacles - we got one bonus point for every 3 we climbed and maybe there were 6. It was a little hard to tell exactly which ones were actual pinnacles and which were just rocky bumps on the ridge - expecially after I got to the top of the first one and tried to tag it on the Peakbagger app and they all disappeared from the map. sigh. I climbed at least 6 of them, mostly with class 3 on ok rock, but a few harder moves and a few that required going up and down the same way instead of traversing up one side and down the other. We met Chris near the top of the last one - he had skipped McCabe and all the others, but had plans for the rest of the day. Then we headed on towards Sheep Peak passing Clement who was going the other way towards the pinnacles. From Sheep Peak we headed down the ridge and on towards West Sheep Peak - the days challenge peak. We passed a number of people heading back from the peak.
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After West Sheep Peak Chris headed on towards a number of more peaks and to pick up his car that was getting moved to Tuolumne. Kristine and I headed back the way we came and then dropped down off the shoulder of Sheep Peak to a snowy bench far below. I took a steep route down the rocks to a snowfield and Kristine took a less steep path in a shallow gully. We followed that down and across a big snow field before climbing back up to the plateau between N Peak and Conness. We passed Iris and a number of others who took a less direct line. I decided to go up the recently added to Peakbagger "Conness Lakes Peak" because it was there and to allow Iris et al. to catch up before the descent - except they ended up heading up the higher N Peak. So we descended down some steep snow and rock and scree back to the lake and then back along the seemingly endless trail past Saddlebag Lake to the parking area. There I took a quick dip into the lake before packing up and heading down the hill to meet up with others at the Mobil. After dinner I drove to Mammoth to get some sleep. The plan was to start early for the long hike to Piscator.
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Total for the day 4 peaks, 2 of which counted and a bunch of pinnacles. Strava said 12.97 mi (moto gpower) and 6293 ft of elevation gain in 11 hours.