High Sierra Topix

I'm leading a group of 12 to Backpack up to Midnight Lake next weekend. Is this the best place to camp or would Hungry Packer or another lake in the area be better??

Thanks

campsites are pretty sparse around Midnight lake.. there is a small exposed area on the Northwest shore I camped at 2 years ago that could work (if nobody's already there). Otherwise I think you can look below the lake? Supposedly lots of spots on the way up to Midnight but I missed them. Hungry Packer to Moonlight to Echo is a spectacular day hike.

Sabrina Basin is awesome, but campsites can be a tight fit for a large group if the prime spots are taken. My last trip up I was planning on Hungry Packer Lake, but after checking things out I decided to camp near Moonlight Lake for better access and views.
There are some really great campsites at Hungry Packer, but I felt a little restricted in that upper canyon. The prime camping spot is at Sailor Lake, between Hungry Packer and Moonlight Lake, awesome views and access, but it sometime has a tent city going on.
Moonlight lake is really nice and may have the least crowds, but you may have spread your
group out for smaller campsites. If you do take the Hungry Packer trail, most of your
options are pretty close together at the trail split between HPL and Moonlight Lake.

Trip Photos:
http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=631604

http://dmphotography.smugmug.com/

In terms of lots of elbow room to camp I think the best options are actually from Moonlight Lake (quite a bit of room to camp and not feel crowded) and downstream. I've had a base near Topsy Turvy Lake before (on the eastern side of a lake known as Pee Wee Lake) which was certainly off the beaten path and spots like that are not that hard to come by if one looks at the topo map in advance, then does the ground truthing on arrival. From the lower base all of the higher destinations in the basin (lakes such asEcho, Blue Heaven, Hungry Packer, Moonlight; and the peaks should one want to climb) are still within easy dayhike range.

Thanks for the excellent info everyone. Great photos Doug!!

I'll second with what's already been said. Its been a while since I've visited, but I recall the camping slim in many areas (Hungry Packer where we stayed seemed to have very few spaces). Moonlight seemed to be the best choice for a large group.

We camped near Moonlight Lake which was not crowded at all except for the mosquitos. Fishing was good but mostly small brown trout.
Pics at link below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/l23product ... 323509728/

calvin23 wrote:We camped near Moonlight Lake which was not crowded at all except for the mosquitos. Fishing was good but mostly small brown trout.
Pics at link below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/l23product ... 323509728/

Looks like a great time. Beautiful pictures

Thanks Greg