Hike Sierra Sept 2017 trip idea...

[Hillhikerz]

Mostly a lurker here; getting ready to submit my trip permit and was wondering about the hike I have outlined for early Sept. in caltopo (one can see what I did last year orange line); I have never been in this area before Kaiser, VVR, Goodale Pass, Fish valley nor Devils Post-pile just kind of want to make sure the trails connect not to hard to find nor to busy. Would appreciate any thoughts. I pulled this trip; sort of; from a Socal hiking forum about the Theodore Solomons Trail it would seem to be a suggested middle leg of it.

TIA Michael
Thanks M

https://caltopo.com/m/A1T3

[maverick]

Michael, your caltopo link/photo is not showing.

[giantbrookie]

So far as I am aware the trails connect and by early September the crowds have diminished.

Much of the early part of this route is in somewhat rolling wooded, upland, country without very long sight lines. I guess it depends on one's tastes, but those segments for many would be segments to hike through to get to the more alpine parts but perhaps not segments one would choose to camp in.

[AlmostThere]

The trails will connect. The question is whether you'll find the trails in some places. For example, that trail from Florence (resort end) is barely there -- it's what the Forest Services calls a level 2, rarely used, not maintained in years if ever. The one between Vermillion and Rattlesnake Crossing through to Sample Meadow - no idea if the bridge across the river is even there anymore, and the trail disappears into snarls of deadfall, or just vanishes in the pine needles.

And it will be H-O-T.

How do I know? I'm part of the trail crew that's been handed the task of clearing some of these. We're prioritizing the popular trails, but the Theodore Solomons is also high on the list and I'm supposed to go down to Rattlesnake Crossing to see about that bridge and take pictures so we know how many mules loaded with tools and water to bring with us. If we're going to stop and work for 3-4 hours at a time -- hard work, moving huge trees around after sawing them up -- we can't hike the 5-10 miles between streams like any other hiker can. Some of these areas are very dry and the smaller creeks are already gone.

I was out scouting the area around the Forebay, the trail system there will get us in to maintain the TST, and it was 90F. Not my ideal temp for backpacking!

The trail between Florence and Evolution Basin has a lot of sun exposed, HOT stretches, and the meadows are boggy late and buggy as heck, not just mosquitos but gnats and flies which are there after the mossies are gone. Easier to hike the other direction, to Florence, than out. Of course, I was carrying an additional 15 lbs of tools and stopping to sit in the dirt and sun whittling away at rotten logs with a saw, but when I scouted the trail a couple weeks ago it was also hotter than I have ever seen it up there -- went up there several years ago and had a much nicer time of it. All of the thru hikers going by us were telling us that it was the hottest part of the trail they had been on since hitting the Sierra -- that says something.