High Sierra Topix

I have a permit from Agnew Meadows (Shadow Creek) starting Tuesday for 7 nights. I put Ediza for first night but did not specify camping location for other nights. Can we use that permit to go over Donahue Pass and end up at Tuolumne. I saw there were permit quotas on Donahue. Can we go over Donahue or do we need permit for that? I want to make this a great father/son trip with my 13 year old! Thanks so much for your help! I appreciate this forum so much!

You're fine. The permit for Donahue does not apply to your situation. Southbound only. It's an exit permit whereas you're entering. See here: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/jmtfaq.htm

It's a wonderful trip. Lots of places to explore just off of the JMT too. Don't be afraid to explore a bit.

Yes you can, but make sure you decide where your planning to go beforehand and leave a detailed itinerary back home or even better use our ReConn Trip Form for your safety please: http://reconn.org/

Lots of beautiful places between Ediza Lake and Tuolumne Meadows. Post your tentative itinerary and I'm sure many here can suggest good camp spots and side trips. I'd say be sure to spend lots of time at Ediza, Garnet, and Thousand Island Lakes. As you head up to Donohue Pass, you can leave the trail at about 10,500 feet and walk eastward through easy open forest and meadows to great secluded camping at the tarns scattered around points 10569 - some of them are great for swimming, although I don't know if they've warmed enough yet - we went through in August.

-Phil

Thank you FeetFirst, Maverick and Wildhiker. I appreciate your feedback. Keep the suggestions on route, campsites and side trips coming. I am looking at trip reports too. I certainly will post upon return.

Hi…looking at topo….are these the tarns you are referring to and is this route to them? Is there a reason not to head over to them at a higher elevation along the trail say….10,640?

Hi Tonydavid,

Don't know anything about your tarns. Here are the ones I was talking about, all around the campsite symbol east of the John Muir Trail:
Oh, and I forgot to mention - they have a great view of Mt Ritter and Banner Peak.

-Phil

Phil….Ah Ha…Thank you Bro! This is great! I definitely want to get there with my son! Thanks for the map! We have 6 nights what do you think would be good itinerary so that we can explore and rest along the way? We leave from Shadow Creek at Agnew Meadows….

What map would you bring? Would you buy one (and where?) or try to print one off caltopo or something?

I appreciate your advice.

I did this exact trip with my 14 year old in 2010. This was our itinerary, based on his very limited backpacking experience.
1) Agnew Meadows to (legal) camp along Shadow Creek upstream from Shadow Lake, just shy of the Ediza turnoff junction.
2) Dayhiking to explore Ediza, Iceberg, etc. while not moving camp.
3) Move camp from Shadow Creek to Thousand Island Lake. A hard day for a neophyte going over two passes.
4) Dayhike around Thousand Island and Garnet lakes, explore towards Glacier pass, etc.
5) Move camp over Island and Donahue Passes to Lyell Fork. Don't go too far--can't camp within a certain mileage of the Tuolumne trailhead.
6) Out to Tuolumne Meadows.

Frankly, it is hard to go wrong in this, the most classic area in the Sierra. But I tried to prevent us from having to pack up and set up camp everyday and it worked for us. The dayhikes were highlights of the trip.

Regarding maps, I like Tom Harrison's Ansel Adams Wilderness trail map (it's scaled at 1:79,200, 1 inch represents 1.25 miles, and contour intervals set at 80 feet) as a great overview & quick reference map and supplement with prints from Caltopo (scaled at 1:24,000) for areas that I'd like more detail (xcountry passes, peaks, etc.).

https://www.amazon.com/Ansel-Adams-Wild ... 981834426/