Hutchings Creek

[Wandering Daisy]

I've been in Hutchings twice, once as a side trip while doing the SHR and the other as a trip to both Hutchings and the upper Lyell Fork lakes. I used Slugo Pass to go between the two basins. Made for a nice trip. You can go in from Tuolumne or from the Valley or from a number of trailheads south of Yosemite. One way to beat the permit issue is to go in from Glacier Point. I am amazed that people would not consider the Yosemite backcountry just because of the crowded trailheads. I have never had a problem getting a permit and the crowds thin out quickly.

I do not think there are any "secret" areas in the Sierra that you are obligated to "keep quiet" about. Anyone who can read a map can see that the upper lakes of Hutchings Creek would be a splendid area to visit. I have mentioned Hutchins Creek in two of my trip reports.

[cgundersen]

Hi Tom,
Basically, I agree with Mav that your projected path is not what was in the original report, but it does follow some of the route my wife & I took in a fabulous high "loop" around Lyell (a TR was posted several years ago). Anyway, we worked our way up into the basin south of Simmons peak to the pothole lake at the upper reaches of that basin. From there, we traversed the ridge just west of peak 12488. It's a substantial climb, but mostly the rock is solid and I've hit much worse angles in many other off trail ascents. In other words, the reality was better than it looks on topo maps. The south side of that ridge is no problem. If you're confident of your off trail capabilities and route-finding, it's a great area: as Daisy pointed out, you'll have few neighbors and you'll see very few signs of folks having been there. If you can stretch your trip around into the basin of the Lyell Fork of the Merced (via Sluggo Pass), there's even more magic to be found.
cg

[tomoverstreet]

Thanks so much for the info!

So, It looks like juscro followed the Sierra High Route until he got to Hutchings creek.

My plan is to do the portion of the Sierra High Route from Devils Post Pile to TM. After reading Wandering Daisy's wonderful TR I knew that I had to add the Lyell Fork basin and Hutchings Creek via Slugo Pass for sure.

I've read two reports (not on this forum) that went from the headwaters of Hutchings Creek to the headwaters of Lewis Creek, but the info was sketchy. If I can find out if this ridge/pass is not any harder than Class 3, it looks like a nice option.

Maverick, I'm not familiar with the Merced High Route and I don't know what an OP is. Sorry,... the new guy needs some help.

Tom

[TahoeJeff]

OP=original post or original poster

[maverick]

Tom wrote:
Maverick, I'm not familiar with the Merced High Route and I don't know what an OP is.

After going over Vogelsang Pass continue down Lewis Creek to the 8270ft level where
the trail branches off, one branch leads down to Merced Lake, the other is the High Trail
which leads to the point where the Lyell Fork crosses the trail and where you start
your cross-country section up Hutchings Creek. As others mention Suggo can be used to
access one basin from the other.