NoBoHiker wrote:Horseshoe Meadows/Cottonwood to Tuolumne Meadows or Happy Isles. The permit includes Whitney and I want to make it up there for sure. I'll start late July so hopefully snow & creek crossings are not a major issue anymore. I am currently leading towards tent vs tarp not only because of mosquitos but also privacy.
That's a super-aggressive Sierra hike, perhaps in the realm of those in the fast, front pack doing the PCT from the border. Not to say you can't do it, or aren't in sufficient shape - especially if you have long trail experience - but there's a couple of reveals.
One, any PCTer hiking that far/fast each day is almost guaranteed to be purely cowboy camping; that is, they carry a (small) tarp for emergencies, but essentially just throw down and crash after hiking till dusk/dark. Also, PCTers wear trail runners, so they tend to just barge on through water crossings with their shoes on, since they're designed for exactly that: drain & dry while on-the-go.
Two, PCTers hiking that far/fast each day tend to starve; they take really light packs with limited food, and count on gorging at certain stops. For example, they would never carry enough food to get from Horseshoe to MTR/VVR. Rather, almost without exception, they all leave the trail @ Onion valley and head down to Indy/LP/Bishop to re-supply and gorge.
(This year, their permits also allow them to exit down the Whitney main trail and then re-enter. I would expect that will be utilized as well, since once you're on the peak, it's easy to hike down, and it's even easier to hitch a ride into LP. The deal killer in past years was they didn't have any priority getting back up, so the chance of getting stuck was too great a risk.)
Once resupplied and heading back over Kearsarge, their next objective is to maybe grab an (expensive) meal - or rifle the hiker box - @ MTR/VVR, with the intention of making it to Mammoth for their next re-supply/gorge festival just as they run out of food.
As you can see, it's really a different strategy and technique to hike the Sierra "PCT style". Hiking it "JMT style" tends to involve heavier packs and shorter days since who really wants to jump off trail @ Kearsarge (plus the extra 15 mile round-trip) right after you get started? Or go all the way into Mammoth rather than just get a few things @ Reds? So that means carrying a crap-ton of food so you only have to re-supply once @ VVR/MTR.
One last thing, you asked about potential crowds. The short answer is, you'll be coming across 35-50 people heading south each day. After awhile, you might get sick and tired of saying hi. Last year, on my way to the HST meet-up in the Kaweahs. I probably came across 20+ people just in the stretch from where I hit the JMT/PCT from Shepherd down to Junction meadow.