High Sierra Topix

hi everyone,
planning my trip from Crabtree to Gem Lake and wanted to hear from you folks about the stream crossings along the way...I'm going with my girlfriend and i'm pretty sure she's not going to be into any waist high crossings since this is her second trip ever...
according to my Tom Harrison map there's crossings at:
1. the outlet to Bear Lake approx .3 miles after leaving Camp Lake
2. Piute Creek in Piute Meadow
3. west Cherry Creek between Piute Lake and Gem Lake

how high can i expect the water to be around the 4th of july???

experience wise, i've been backpacking for about 12 years and average about 3 trips per season. however, i am not an experienced at compass navigation and always (with one or two exceptions) stay on-trail. our intent is to see some nice scenery and do a bit of trout fishing. we're both in reasonable shape and will be carrying loads of around 40 lbs (me) and 35 (her).

thanks so much for sharing your experiences and saving me from an uncomfortable conversation on the trail!!!!

al

well. think waist high, and you have to go upstream on some of those streams to find a suitable place to cross.

I haven't been there for at least 15 years, but we did a July 4th trip out of Gianelli to avoid the stream crossings. We ended up coming out via crabtree. We passed a horseback rider coming in who said, "you're gonna get wet".. we looked up, like is it going to rain? :retard:

We ran into a river. We had to hike up a half mile in one of those drainages to find a thigh-deep place to cross. We did the lock arm with walking stick approach to get across. I'd hate to do that again, esp late in the day as we did.

thanks, fellow petaluman!
based on those comments, i think i'll look at an alternate area to enter. the girlfriend is NOT going to be down with said conditions.

We went from Crabtree to Bear Lake, then continued to Granite Lake...and it looked pretty easy to get to YMeadow lake from there. And then you have the meadows and the high country beyond that. That might be a better choice than trying to get across Piute and CHerry Creeks...

although we were there in Mid-September last year and worried about water the whole trip. Both of those creeks were DRY then!

Start at Gianelli - no stream crossing problems that way