High Sierra Topix

Hi,

I mentioned in another thread that we're seeking a 3-day, 2-night trip in the High Sierra.

We have settled on Tablelands.

Never been there, so naturally I have a lot of questions.

Obvious trailhead is Lodgepole. Right?

Our info:

Level 3-4 hikers,
Comfortable to Class 3 but prefer "pleasant" Class 1-3 (don't care for going 2000 feet up loose scree!),
Prefer no snow (should be doable this late in the season),
Average maybe 10 mi/day on trail, 6 mi/day off trail. But Tableland topo looks like easy walking (?), so could stretch that to 12 mi/day on trail, 8+ mi/day off.

Looking for big mountain scenery/alpine/high (10k+)/spectacular/long views/minimize time in the woods/maximize time above treeline/lakes are nice/we don't care about fishing.

Any particular lakes/meadows/passes you would be sure to (re)visit going to Tablelands?

Phil Arnot's High Sierra book recommends simply walking east/northeast up the creek from Pear Lake to Table Meadows and then another 1.5 miles east to Lake 11,200 (near Big Bird Lake). If you went that way, would you just turn around and retrace your steps; or come back a different route?

This would be in mid-September.

- Oleander

Haven't been there yet, but I can tell you that you'll probably want to hike out of Wolverton and not Lodgepole. One loop that I want to do in a three day, two night format is to continue past Pear to somewhere in the Tablelands on day 1 (dependent on figuring out whether any of those unnamed lakes have fish, but since you're not going to be fishing this won't be a factor for you), then on day 2 up to Lake 10559 at the head of the Kaweah before heading south past Moose to the little lake at 9520+ overlooking Buck Canyon (looks like it has a spectacular sightline), and then on the third day contouring over to Alta Meadow before taking the trail back to Wolverton. I think a few people on this board have done this loop before, and they can comment on it with much more detail than my topo-wandering.

Matt

You mention Phil Arnot, and in his book he has a hike to an overlook in the
"Tablelands" section that is well worth doing!
Moose Lake is a cool lake, and both the lake, and especially the overlook have great
views.
Travel is easy, and you can hike on to Alta, but do not get stuck out here during a
thunderstorm, there is no real cover to talk about, and it can be quite dangerous.