High Sierra Topix

Xshift28x wrote:

Where would I go from there to be back at Agnew Meadows by Monday morning?

1000 Is Lake>High Trail>Agnew Meadows

If you visit 1000 Island Lake on the Aug 5-8 weekend, and can post trail and lake area conditions just the very moment you get back , that would be great! I am considering a walk-in permit to hike out and stay at 1000 Isle a few days later.

I did a dayhike from Agnew Meadows to Shadow/Ediza/Iceberg Lakes this past weekend (July 23rd). Hike to Shadow and Ediza are fine. Only patches closer to Ediza. The lake is beautiful. All snow entire hike up to Iceberg. Doable hike, but slow and careful. Lake is at least 98% frozen over. Very pretty and worth it. I wouldn't attempt the hike up to Cecile. I'm not proud - it's scary! And right now it's ALL snow! I head Garnet and Thousand were nice, so I'd consider that direction. Mosquitos weren't terrible. But, I have a feeling they're just getting started. Flowers just beginning to bloom. Each day will be spectacular from here on out. Enjoy.

Thanks for the conditions report. As for the snowfield from Iceberg to Cecil Lake, I think it actually gets more scarey as the season goes on. If the lake is frozen and covered with snow, a fall would send you sliding over the lake; once the lake thaws a slide will send you INTO the lake! I did this route last year mid-August, plenty of snow left, and the snow was so hard that I had to wait two hours for the sun to warm it up- and the sun does not hit the snow until about 9AM. That scarey snowfield is going to be there until well into September this year. Delaying your trip probably will not make a difference. Those wanting to do this route simply need to have experience on snow and take the appropriate snow gear. The long that snow stays, the harder it gets. This year is going to be a prime year for Sierra ice climbing!

unfortunately, the quota has been met for passes the weekend we plan to leave. Are there any other good 3-day treks for duck lake?

Xshift28x wrote:

Unfortunately, the quota has been met for passes the weekend we plan to leave. Are there any other good 3-day treks for duck lake?

Just get there early, before the wilderness office opens, and get a same day
permit which you can get during the week.
Trips starting Fri or Sat are more difficult since these permits are given out 11 am
the day before.
So in your case go there Thursday, before 11 am, and get a permit entering Friday.

Hello. Planning trip from east to west over ritter pass and then from Ediza, Iceberg, Cecil south. Any updates or words of wisdom. Thanks. Dave

Got wilderness passes approved for Duck Lake Trail. We will be hiking to Duck Lake our first day and staying (hopefully) near the outlet to do some fishing. Second day will take us on to Purple Lake and on to Ram Lake. Third day will be a trek back to Duck Lake and camping in between Duck Lake and Pika Lake. Last day will be the trek back out to our vehicle and home. Look to post some pictures and report when we return. Thank you all for your input.

So when all was said and done, our paperwork for our duck lake trip did not get submitted and we had to acquire walk up passes. We ended up aiming for Ediza, to Thousand Island, back to Ediza and then out. Let's just say as a first time trip it was quite a learning experience. All three of us had overly heavy packs and the trek up to thousand island lake on the second day was brutal and we ended up camping at Garnet Lake. The third day we decided to call it and head back to Agnew Meadows. We ended up taking the unmaintained trail off of the Northeast side of Garnet Lake which hooks up with the river trail at the base of the climb to Shadow Lake. All in all it was a great trip save for the mosquitoes. Definitely will learn to travel lighter and spend some money on a decent pack. Thank you all for your input, it definitely helped on the trip.

xshift28x:
Can you tell me what the overnight temperature at Garnet was like. Also, what areas of your trip did you find the most mosquitoes? I am heading up that way tomorrow, so that info would really help with getting our strategy set.

Cheers!
Jon