High Sierra Topix

Hi, first time poster here. Hate to start out by asking a bunch of questions, but here goes.

My wife and I did Happy Isles to Tuolumne earlier this month and we fell in love with the Sierra. We also went to the Mono Hot Springs Resort afterwards. We really enjoyed staying there and we are thinking of starting a 3 or 4 day trip from there next early September. This is the route I'm considering:

We would stay a night or two at the resort to acclimatize then get a ride to the Florence Lake trailhead. From there it would go:

Florence Lake Trail>Cutoff Trail>JMT/PCT>Mono Creek Trail (or possibly the water taxi if we are feeling lazy)>and back to the resort.

Do you think that this hike would have about the same difficulty level (I know it is about 12 miles longer) as the trip from Yosemite Valley to TM? Are the trail junctions as well marked as on the JMT?

This seems like a nice way to spend a few days at the resort and get a great hike in while only taking a week off of work.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

I hate to be a spoil sport, but I don't think that trip would begin to compare to your Yosemite trip. Marie Lake is gorgeous, but to my mind it's the only must-see on that route. Particularly dreadful (by JMT standards) is the part from the Muir Ranch up to, say, the Sally Keyes Lakes (just before Selden Pass). Of course, I tend to be biased against trips starting from the west, so take this with a grain of salt!

Unless you want to hike up to the hot springs, which will be the highlight
of your trip, then I would not recommend doing this trip, especially if your
trying to equal your Yosemite trip.
If you really want to stay at the Resort for some reason then do the
Dutchcrater Trail up to Dutch Lake and Crater Lake, which are quite pretty.
Do you need to stay at a Resort , or would you consider backpacking to base camp
from where you could do some side trips?
Little Lakes Valley and 20 Lakes Basin are great intros to backpacking novices with
great mountain views at a minimal effort.

No, we don't need to stay at the resort. I didn't realize it was such a crappy section of the JMT. Maybe we should just stay linear and do the TM to Red's Meadow section....

Now that section is one of the highlights of the JMT.

maverick wrote:Now that section is one of the highlights of the JMT.

I have to agree with maverick on this one. The hike up and over Donahue Pass is gorgeous.
JMat

On the other hand, if you're not set on doing a section of the John Muir Freeway, there are trips out of the Edison/Florence area that would nicer than that section of the JMF. You could do a Silver Divide loop, for example--over Silver Pass and back via Goodale Pass. You could do an out-and-back up Mono Creek to Pioneer Basin.

Of course, I'm prejudiced against eastside trips--too many damn SoCalistas.

Just for another 2 cents of agreement: TM to Agnew Meadows will leave you breathless, repeatedly, literally and figuratively!
Cg

TehipiteTom wrote: Of course, I'm prejudiced against eastside trips--too many damn SoCalistas.

I know -- we bring our trashy Hollywood culture with us. But on the other hand, we get up to the high country much faster than you more sophisticated Northern Californians do!

(I second your recommendation of the Silver Pass area.)