Early June 5 day Backpack Ideas?

[Tonydavid]

Hi. I need some advice...My 14-year old son and I are looking to backpack the first week in June. We are looking at 4-5 night trip sometime in the period of June 4-13. I am wondering if there are places we can go that are scenic and would not require special equipment. We would like to hike 5-7 miles a day, take photos, camp by lakes. We have a sedan or Subaru Outback to access the trailhead.

I have received such great advice here...couple years ago we did Agnew Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows and it was great! Thank you in advance for your expertise and suggestions.

[kpeter]

June backpacking is very tricky. Go too soon and the runoff and snow will stop you. Go too late and you will be eaten alive by mosquitoes. You want to camp at snowline to stay above the mosquitoes and bring lots of mosquito gear so you can hike through the bands of bugs at lower elevations to get past their hatch zones.

I am planning to do a trip about then too, but so much depends upon the snow and the snowmelt. In extremely dry years there are many places available that early in June, in wet years very few. This year was looking extremely dry but I think we will be up to 60% of normal snowfall by the end of this weekend. If it is all melting in that week than the creeks will all be impassable.

I can tell you where I am looking: NW Yosemite and Emigrant are lower in elevation and melt out earlier than the really high Sierra. I have gone on trips from the 1st to the 3rd week of June in those destinations. Here are a few ideas.

You can hike all the way from Hetch Hetchy to Lake Vernon without any major stream crossing.
Similarly, you can hike from Shingle Springs trailhead to Boundary Lake without a major stream crossing.
In Western Emigrant you can usually get from Crabree trailhead as far as West Fork Cherry Creek--Lily Creek and Piute Creek are not usually as serious as Cherry Creek. If you can cross Cherry Creek then there are many wonderful loops to be done. But it is a big IF and that early in June it could well be very dicey.

You will need to watch the snow gauges though and see how fast these areas melt out.

[Tonydavid]

Kpeter....thanks for the very helpful response and suggestions! Tremendously appreciated!

[balzaccom]

The North Rim of Yosemite Valley is often an option early. From Rockslide to Snow Creek. And yes, Hetch-hetchy can work---but beware the Tiltill Valley, which can be a real mushy mess early on. Emigrant is also an option, but we've had mixed luck with the creeks there. They can be really high.

You might also consider something on the East side like Buckeye Valley. We did that last year, and you can hike for quite a ways before you get stuck. Admittedly, it's an in-and-out,

[Wandering Daisy]

Good thing about Yosemite is that there are bridges so you do not have to worry about dangerous crossings!

If Tioga Pass is open and it remains a low-snow year, you could consider Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. Drop down from White Wolf and then go upstream to Tuolumne. Because the busses do not run until later, you would have to hitch back to your car. I have looped by taking the trail from Glen Aulin past 10 Lakes and back to White Wolf, but that is a pretty long trip; requires some long miles per day to do in 4-5 nights.

Another good loop is starting at Glacier Point, to Little Yosemite, Merced Lake, cut over to JMT, climb Cloud's Rest, back down Mist Trail, spend night at backpacker's campground and walk up the Four Mile Trail back to Glacier Point.

Not totally a wilderness experience, but you can also park at the Tunnels, take the Pohono Trail to Glacier Point, Panorama Trail to Little Yosemite, Mist Trail to Happy Isles, stay in the BP camground, walk the Valley trail to Bridalveil, and up an old road to a junction with the Pohono trail and then drop back to the Tunnels. Actually, walking down the Valley in June is really quite scenic.

Again, depending on snow-melt, the southern part of the eastern Sierra melts quite early. A loop through First Lake to Sixth Lake is good, but you would have to walk on snow for the upper lakes. The snow is usually consolidated and enough people have been up the trails, that you would not need special equipment. Even if you have to walk on snow, by June you can usually find dry spots to camp.

Not in the Sierra, but this is a good time to do the Lost Coast.

[rlown]

Not in the Sierra, but this is a good time to do the Lost Coast.

Not sure about that with the kind of storms that have been rolling through lately. If one goes now, expect wet work. Plan multiple options and get ready for a selection close to your date.

As for Tioga pass, it is still snowing up there and there was 64" at the last CDEC update. Hope the snow continues.

[Flamingo]

+1 to the great ideas listed above from kpeter, Wandering Daisy, rlown, and balzaccom.

I would add: the High Sierra trail from Crescent Meadow to Hamilton Lakes is usually melted-out by June. You can add length to this trip by spending a night at Tamarck Lakes as a side-trip. If you start from Wolverton rather than Crescent Meadow, you could summit Alta Peak (which may still have snow). Overall, I love this area in early season because snow remains on the high summits and it makes for very scenic vistas of the Great Western Divide.

[mkbgdns]

in early june, south (SEKI) is a better bet than Yosemite.

[Wandering Daisy]

Rlown- by "this" I meant the early June time frame is a good time for Lost Coast. Did not mean NOW!

The SEKI route does involve some stream crossings, below Hamilton Lake and Pine Creek, that are quite difficult at peak melt. Otherwise, good.

[balzaccom]

Daisy, June is fog time on the Lost Coast. The fall is lovely, but if you hike that trail in June you are going to spend most of the time wet. from experience...sigh.