Rick:
I'm relatively new to the trick of filling my water bottle without a filter, so I'm pretty careful where I fill up.
The four stream crossings on Symmes Creek are somewhat pointless, since they are so close to the trailhead. Horses occasionally use that trail, so I wouldn't trust the lower three crossings anyway.
There are two streams coming down from the right near the bottom of the 500-foot drop in the trail (between Mahogany Flat and Anvil Camp). The first one was dry. The second one didn't have much flow, but I got good water there. Carine's photos #8 and #9 show me getting some water there.
There is a campsite on the left several hundred feet below Anvil Camp. A trail goes a short distance down to the stream there.
There are several opportunities to get water between Anvil Camp and the point where the trail starts up the talus to the pass. We filled up near one spring on the way up and at a different one on the way down.
There is a small lake near the pass. People camp (and poop) around that lake, so I wouldn't use that water without filtering it.
The climb is pretty straightforward. Follow the trail to Shepherd Pass. Carine's photo #17 shows Tyndall from the pass. Just walk to the base of the rib on easy terrain and head up. The route is class 3, but most of it is easier than that. Route finding isn't tricky at all.
It took us about 6 hours to the pass and another 2 hours to the summit. With a long break on the summit, it took a bit under 15 hours, car to car.
Last edited by bobpickering; 09/18/12 04:44 PM.
