High Sierra Topix

So my summer plans have been drastically curtailed by my work situation. My firm got bought out by another firm, and rather than make employment continuous they had it end at the old firm and begin over at the new one...which meant cashing out my nearly 6 weeks of accrued vacation. I'll have more coming to me by summer, but it's all earmarked for a 3-week trip to France with my sweetheart, which we planned long before the buyout was ever contemplated.

So any backpacking I do is going to be limited to a) overnight trips or b) July 4 or Labor Day.

Now, most overnight destinations aren't particularly desirable to me, given my misanthropic tendencies. But today I got to thinking about some trips I've done to off-trail destinations that were lovely, unpopulated, and accessible in a reasonable day's hike. (And I'm talking reasonable by the standards of normal schlubs like me--not what, say, maverick or Rogue Photonic would do in a day.) Places like:

--Wegner Lake (Yosemite NP, Yosemite Creek trailhead): classic mid-elevation granite lake
--Recess Peak Lakes (John Muir Wilderness, Bear Ridge TH): excellent views, great alpenglow
--One-Halfth Recess Lakes (JMW, Bear Ridge TH): spectacular views of Mono Creek canyon & the Silver Divide
--Mt. Shinn Lake (John Muir Wilderness, Florence Lake TH): this is a long tough climb for a single day, but pays off in beauty & isolation
--Evergreen Lake or Devil's Corral (Mokelumne Wilderness, Blue Lakes TH): by far the easiest on this list (~2 miles in), these aren't exactly undiscovered, but they do offer a lot more solitude than nearby Granite Lake

So...what are your suggestions for isolated, beautiful single-day destinations? (They don't have to be lakes, although lakes are my ideal.) Help me salvage what little I can from my mostly-ruined backpacking season!

Thanks in advance,
Tom

For solitude, I'd suggest Ruby Lake from Little Lakes Valley trailhead. Not far, and beautiful. I haven't camped there but considered it once on a short two-night backpack. I don't think many camp there as most are headed for the pass. Maybe someone's who's been there can comment on the camping spots or lack thereof there. Mmm, I like Graveyard Lakes as a one-day in destination. I can't offer much for off-trail off the top of my head. I'm sorry your backpacking got so foreshortened this year.

Happens every time when we working peons change jobs. Having worked for 8 hi tech companies over the years, have gone through that cycle each time. A strong reason not to change jobs as it takes a lot of working time to accrue a few weeks of PTO aka vacation/sick pay time off.

Decades ago most USA companies separated paid vacation and sick time with 2 weeks being common and often that was limited to the end of August as whole companies shut down. And then a few companies began offering 3 weeks usually 4 or 5 years into a job. Of course now in this era workers time off benefits are much better though the many stuck in contract jobs are often skewered.

When the economy collapsed August 2008, I started the job I now hold with PTO back to zero so once again suffered through three years without much backpacking. But yet those were 3 very productive years for this photographer in the spring on road trips. So don't put all your marbles into backpacking as there is a lot that can be done by day hiking to places you might normally do 2 or 3 day backpacks to especially if one is comfortable fudging the getaways from pre-dawn wee hours. With no permit issues, just go. There are a lot more worthwhile short off trail destinations from non trailheads than conventional wisdom would expect. One ought considered what is possible looking at topos thinking out of the box. For instance in your area since you mentioned Recess:

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.37221,-118.94137&z=15&t=T" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is bound to be a flat spot somewhere around ruby....there's gotta...there's just gotta!! Not exactly off trail though...

When it comes to weekends, sometimes I will start hiking friday night.

The Matlock Lake area out of onion valley. Short easy hike, fishless, and I have never seen anyone at those lakes. Decent scrambling potential. Can loop to either Robinson Lake, Kearsarge Lakes, or summit/scramble around University.

Not obscure by any means, but overlooked I would say.

Regarding Ruby lake, there's a real nice spot off the left of the trail just before you reach the lake. You can't miss it, it's well used. Every time I've been there it was occupied, so not sure how isolated it would be. I haven't really seen any other good spots, but haven't really looked, either.

Who said I do crazy stuff in a day?

I have always found my day to day miles to be on the average side. I really have no idea how people can do 30 miles on cross country terrain.

Maybe Echo Lake from the Cathedral Lakes TH
Nelson Lake from Elizabeth Lake TH

Those all that come to mind off hand. I don't know all that much about day hiking since I do almost none.

I camped at Ruby lake last year on the way out from 4th recess. There were several others camped there but still pretty nice although over used. the only camp sites were by the outlet as every where else was rocky. What campsites there were were relatively close together. What about Treasure lakes out of Rock Creek, slightly off trail and still in that beautiful valley. I got a late start over Bishop pass last year and decided to camp at chocolate lakes the first night. Great little lakes with lots of small fish and no one there. another lake in that basin that looks like a nice easy day hike is ledge lake behind saddler rock lake. It looks like a great area and off trail enough to get some solitude.

There is an overnight loop I planned to do last year and never got to it by linking treasure lakes to margret lake via hopping the ridge south of hurd. I imagined camping up on the ridge somewhere if possible

Where would you be driving from, Tom?

First of all, a caveat. My experience with some of these locations goes back to when my son was young so it’s the late 1980s-early 1990s. So they may no longer offer the solitude we found. Some are on trail and some off, but we saw no one when camped there even if there were people on the trail while we were hiking. Also, except for Townsley, they are all east side trailheads so the driving time may curtail doing them as an overnight. Here they are, north to south:

Summit Lake out of Virginia Lakes
20 Lakes Basin out of Saddlebag Lake (just go to one of the lakes off the trail)
Townsley Lake above Fletcher Lake out of Rafferty Creek Trail
Muriel Lake and any location north of the trail in Humphrey’s Basin. Along with Tomahawk, Mesa, and Lower Desolation and Desolation, there are lovely scattered tarns and creeks with wonderful views of Humphreys and the Glacier Divide)
Any of the lakes in Sabrina Basin.
Wonder Lakes above Lower Lamarck Lake.
Treasure Lakes (already mentioned).