High Sierra Topix

Gunny, I'm a certified fanatic, so I was out there again this weekend. The now is melting FAST! The trail was way easier than last week. I think you'll still have some snow on the 4th, but it won't be bad.

As for creeks -- I could rock hop across both Rock Creek and the other outlet stream WD mentioned. If you come up the Miter Basin Trail (as opposed to going in from Soldier Lake, which I vastly prefer) you will have to deal with that stream. Oddly enough, you'd also have to wade to go across the Siberian Outpost (good to know in case you're sent to a Gulag).

Temperatures: last weekend it went down to 20, but this weekend I'm not even sure it got down to freezing. The days were lovely. (Seriously, you aren't really thinking 80's at 11,000 feet?)

Finally, I would skip Rocky Basin Lakes (unless you're x-c' from the Boreal Plateau). Big Whitney Meadow looked like a swamp from the PCT.

Resurrecting this thread for any last minute advice y'all might have.

It looks like we're going with Cottonwood Pass, although I remain a bit tempted by the Tuolumne / Donahue / Thousand Island option. From what I've seen here and elsewhere, it looks like there should be plenty of places to explore-- Cirque Peak, Langley, Miter Basin, Boreal Plateau, etc. Maybe even Crabtree and Whitney, although that seems like it might be getting greedy with nature.

If anybody feels like sharing any tips-- places not to miss, places to avoid, great campsites, recent snow/water experiences in the area-- I would be appreciative.

Thanks for being a great resource, HST. If I get any useful info out of the trip, I'll report back in two weeks.