High Sierra Topix

Very helpful. Thank you.

I am thinking about going in from the Horseshoe Meadow area, and going thru Miter Basin, then over Crabtree Pass, down to the Kern and into Kaweah Basin. What would be great is if I could exit via Shepherd Pass, instead of backtracking to Horseshoe, leaving Kaweah and going north and east down to my car parked at Shepherd.....if someone would want to do that trip also, and shuttle cars with me. Leave one car at Shepherd(exit), and one car at Horseshoe(entry)....a bit of a drive to Horseshoe at the end of the trip, but no backtracking, solitude and great fishing most of the trip. anyone interested???

Hi Richlong, I have been thinking about entering/exiting the same way (HS Mdws-Shepherd) with a few more days after the meetup to go over PQ Col to Nine Lakes and eventually over Midway Col and out via Shepherds. Hobbes has posted about taking a similar route to Kaweah (HS Mdws-Miter-Crabtree etc) so maybe we can work out a group shuttle. BTW, if you are interested I attached a Google Earth link that shows the route to Island Lake with a little more detail than the map.

Sounds awesome. As long as we are entering and exiting the same days, same trailheads, everyone could still do their own variations, peaks, etc; I want to allow at least 10 days for this trip.

10 days is great, that's just what I was planning. I'll start loading up on extra calories now:).

richlong8 wrote:I am thinking about going in from the Horseshoe Meadow area, and going thru Miter Basin, then over Crabtree Pass, down to the Kern (via PCT/HST) ... be great is if I could exit via Shepherd Pass

With the exception of taking a left turn @ the HST junction with the PCT, that is the exact same route Jimr & Schmalz took for the 2014 meet-up @ Wales.

In their case, they ended up shuttling their cars @ each respective TH. That's got its advantages in terms of $ savings, but forces each party to take on having a new hiking partner for the duration of the trip.

IMO, a much better alternative is to meet in Lone Pine, and then split the cost of having someone follow you to park your cars @ Shepherd, and then drive each of you back to the Horseshoe TH.

My guess is that it would cost around $150-200 for the two of you, so say $75-100 for each person. If you're talking a 10 day trip, then the amortized cost is $10/day. I've said it many times: backpacking is still one of the least expensive adventures one can have.

For $10/day, you can choose to hike together, separate, meet-up @ different spots, or say adios. No need to stress out about meeting back at the right day/time, etc. That's a mighty cheap price to pay for independence and epitomizes the ethic of HYOH.

Besides, getting back up/down to/from HM from/to LP is a 1.5hr proposition (45 min each way). I don't know about you, but I can make Kramer Jct from LP in almost an hour and half. I'd rather be there than still driving winding hairpins while tired, dirty and looking forward to getting home.

Hobbes, I think that is a great idea also. I guess my thoughts were that if a couple of people would go to the same trailhead(Shepherd) on the same exit day, the hikers could still customize their trips, and not have to travel for 10 days in lockstep with another person. Not 100% foolproof, but probably doable.

I was looking at the Red Spur Lakes Basin that was mentioned. I would hate to miss going into that area since I am going to be in Kaweah Basin for the Meetup anyway. It looks like from the map that it would be easier to approach those lakes from Island lake by contouring around to the SE. Anyone go that way? Maverick, your photos of that area make it seem very appealing, fish, or no fish.

Hi Rich,

Going over the shoulder is the easiest way to gain access into Red Spur Lakes Basin,
and there are several lakes that deserve a photographers attention. If my schedule
allows, meaning getting 9 days off, then I plan on spending 2-3 days in RSLB, especially
if there is some weather disturbance or at least clouds in the area that can be
conducive to some quality light.
No fish in the lakes.

Thanks, it looked like going to the meetup lake first was the best approach. I will probably try to at least get one sundown and one sunrise there.