High Sierra Topix

Good morning all. After lurking on here for many weeks I finally signed up for an account. I wanted to thank you all for the wisdom I've gained already. I'm planning my first backpacking trip for late July/early August, let me know what you think: Day 1-Arrive late on a Thursday night and camp at Horseshoe Meadows. Day 2- Cross Cottonwood Pass and camp at Lower Soldier Lake. Day 3- Dayhike into Miter Basin and maybe summit Pickering (also practice off trail hiking, routefinding). Day 4- Summit Langley via New Army Pass, camp at Cottonwood Lakes (or go to the car if we're feeling great). Day 5- Back to the car, then home. Is this too much for first timers? Thanks for your help!

What level of backpacking experience do you have? Level 1- Minimal hiking- I've never been backpacking but dayhiked quite a bit. My 2 friends and I that are planning to backpack are all in pretty good shape though, if that makes a difference.
What terrain are you comfortable/uncomfortable with? - Class 1 terrain/trail hiking. If possible, I'd love to try some simple off trail stuff to get some practice.
What is your main interest? Scenery, lakes
How many days/nights is your trip, not including travel to trailhead? 4-5 days
How many miles did you want to do a day, any layovers? Not more than 12 miles per day
Do you have a route logistics preference: loop, out and back, point to point (whichmay require 2 vehicles or hitchhiking)? Loop or lollipop preferably
Is there a particular area in the Sierra that your most interested in(Yosemite, SEKIwestern sierra start or eastern start ect.)? Not particularly. I'm from San Diego, so closer to that is helpful
Will you be hiking with a dog? No.

Sleeping at trailhead is great idea given the elevations you will be heading up to. If you are too late there may be a permit issue.

Mike

Hi Brian, welcome to High Sierra Topix

Your plan would be too ambitious for me. Emphasis on me. I need a couple of days to acclimate to altitude. Do you know how your body will respond to altitude ? If not, you might want to make a test hike prior to your late summer trip. Also it's a good idea to do a test hike to check your gear, etc to make sure everything is working. Just my 2 cents.

Also agree about your plan being a tad ambitious...Having done what you intend, your plans are certainly do-able, but another day or two added would make your route much more enjoyable.

New Sierra hikers fail to understand the debilitating effects of high altitude, and the recuperating value of a layover day mid-trip, especially for a novice backpacker. Having that "extra day" somewhere, sans backpack, can make a difficult trip memorable.
No reason you have to hike every waking hour...soak up the ambiance a bit?
BTW, are you doing any fishing?

Yes, your plan is do-able as you do some longer hikes with a bit of weight on your back before the trip.
A few months before your trip start to carry extra weight on your day hikes and do hikes that are similar in miles/elevation gain to what you'll be doing out on the trip. If you carry 25 to 35 pounds on your back on day hikes, you'll get an idea what it will be like out there. There is no way to know how you will handle the higher elevations without going out and experiencing it.

If you have time, a better approach would be to do an overnighter about 5 or 6 miles in. Perhaps in SD area. This would be to familiarize yourself with packing, carrying and using your gear. If you could fit in a second local weekend trip, perhaps in the San Bernardino or San Jacinto area for more elevation and make it an 8 to 10 mile first day, all the better. This focus would be on 1) training for longer first day trail and 2) feel the elevation and how your body reacts and 3) more experience with your packing, carrying and using your gear.

I believe it's about 9 miles to Lower Soldier Lk. a long first day if you've never carried a fully loaded pack. Miter Basin is a great place to day hike around and if your itinerary is a bit ambitious, it's easily modified on the fly because you are day hiking.

If you can manage an elevation hike weekend before the trip, I would highly recommend the Fish Creek trail out of Barton Flats in San Bernardino Mtns. It's about 7 or 8 miles from trailhead to the head of whitewater gorge right up against Mt. San Gorgonio. During normal snow years, the creek is running and there is water. In dry years, you're bringing all of your water. It's a nice day hike from basecamp to the top of Mt. San Gorgonio 11,500ft.

I would not try your first attempt at off-trail travel the same time as your first time backpacking. I did not find the off-trail travel to Miter Basin as something that is appropriate for a beginning backpacker. Different if you have already done a bit of off-trail orienteering on day hikes. Does not sound like you have. If you want to do this trip, I would do quite a bit of off-trail day hiking and really learn to read a map to prepare for this trip, in addition to getting some experience at altitude. A good little trip to test out altitude is White Mountain. You walk a road but it is all above 12,000 feet. You can camp at one of the lower campgrounds the night before. And I agree with others that your time frame is too short for this trip.

Hey everybody, thanks for the advice.

As far as altitude goes, I dayhiked Whitney and San Gorgonio last year and caught the sierras bug then. Camped 2 days, 1 night at the portal before climbing Whitney. Me and my friends all responded really well and only one of my friends felt minor headache on Whitney. I will definitely try to do a shakedown hike and do some training carrying weight. El Cajon Mtn down here should be a good test (12 mi round trip, 4k vertical gain).

As for cutting down the trip, what would you recommend? Skipping Langley, or trying for a different trip entirely? Wandering Daisy, do you think it's likely I'd get lost heading to miter basin? Looking at the topo, it looks pretty straightforward, but I realize the topo doesn't tell the whole story.

Not a fisherman. Yet!
Thanks again!

Are you and your friends of average weight (or less) and active by nature? Are you fairly young (less than 35 yr old)? I am guessing yes.

In that case with some study in how to use a topo map and compass you should be able to negotiate Miter Basin OK. If it were me I would save Langley for another trip and I would plan to camp in the Miter Basin for at least one night -- two would be better. Miter Basin has lots of nooks and crannies to explore, and if you choose to climb Mt Pickering or another peak, then that will take more time and effort than most beginners estimate. If you don't do a peak the climb up to Crabtree Pass to peer over it is worthwhile.

Go in over Cottonwood Pass and exit New Army Pass. That makes a nice loop. Currently the Forest Service is restoring the area around Lower Solder Lake due to overuse so the camping has moved but is still nearby.

I'd skip Pickering and do Langley. Drop the packs at the top of the trail up near Army Pass, up Langley and back to the packs, then over NAP and stay at Cottonwood lakes for the night.

A nice day loop in Miter would be to hike up to Irridescent lake, then over the shoulder just south of The Major General to Sky Blue Lake, then down the outlet following the creek back down the basin. It's hard to get lost in Miter Basin if you follow the drainage up and down. It's quite wide open.