Trip/Route advice (Mineral King / Other?)

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Wandering Daisy
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Re: Trip/Route advice (Mineral King / Other?)

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I think 4 nights is a bit short for that route. Not that it cannot be done, but you would not be able to spend much time really enjoying the area and you would be pushed if the weather went bad. Is there any way you can squeeze one more day in? The "trail" on Sawtooth Pass is not a trail. It is off trail, and requires route finding. If your GF has not done a bit of off-trail travel, with a pack, she may not enjoy the trip. By the way, the road to Mineral King is really slow driving. And then you have to deal with the marmot issue when you park your car.

Next week I am going on my first trip with someone I hope to backpack with in the future too. My destination is Little Five Lakes, but I am going in from Crescent Meadow (or Wolverton if we cannot get a permit from Crescent), over Keweah Gap and then return basically the same route (7 day route). It is longer, and still has much elevation gain, but the trail is in good condition and well graded - really a nice smooth trail for the most part. I chose not to go in Mineral King because although the gal I am going with is in great shape, I have not ever done off-trail with her and I do not want her to hate the trip (and me) so much that she will not consider going with me again!
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SSSdave
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Re: Trip/Route advice (Mineral King / Other?)

Post by SSSdave »

Would not recommend that route over just 4 days for introducing an average fit person to backpacking. Simply too strenuous to the point one would likely not have much energy each day to do anything more than rest and veg in camp after arriving at each destinations.

A key goal when introducing a new person to backpacking one hopes will be interested in future backpacking is to reduce the unpleasant facets of the activity so the general overall experience is on balance quite positive, inspiring, and exciting. That is probably the number one reason why many men will never get their wives to ever backpack with them again. They had one chance the first time and blew it. Stories of such are many forever sentenced to future motel "camping" or public campgrounds. Probably the most common way they failed was because of ambitious over strenuous trips with long mileage and much uphill vertical where each day ended up being all about the effort. And of course it is more than just the strenuous effort. Probably next most common failure is going to places where mosquitoes are bad without having the experience to cope with them. Or having poor gear where a person gets sore shoulders where straps press in, or blisters on feet, or sunburn. And then there is the terror of going to a place where bears come at night and put deep primal fears into a person's mind. Or being too rigid if foul weather strikes and not having a plan B out of the backcountry. Thus you ought to work on an itinerary and plan that guarantees the negatives are minimal.

With 4 days, a much better idea on west slopes of the Southern Sierra is Graveyard Lakes out of T.A. Edison Reservoir. Hike leisurely stopping frequently in no hurry, the 5 miles from the trailhead at 7700 feet to just below Upper Graveyard Meadow at 9250 feet or 1600 feet up. Sure you could go all the way to the lakes but that would be pushing the effort. Spending at least one day down in the canyon bottom is worthwhile and interesting. More wildflowers, birds, bees, and little creatures creek side on a day one probably just wants to take it easy after the effort.

The next morning get up early at sunrise and when fresh hike in shadows up 800 feet and 1.5 miles to the beautiful third lake at 10030 feet. Ought to get there by mid morning when the aesthetic is best and have the whole day to set up a nice camp then enjoy the area. And then a layover day to explore the several other nearby lakes. On the last day its all downhill.
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oleander
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Re: Trip/Route advice (Mineral King / Other?)

Post by oleander »

You could do Wandering Daisy's suggested trip from any of three trailheads: Crescent Meadow, Wolverton, or Alta. That would increase your likelihood of snagging a permit, on such a busy weekend.
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chufi
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Re: Trip/Route advice (Mineral King / Other?)

Post by chufi »

I suspect permitting will be an issue as they haven't gotten back to me yet.

If we go it is really 5 nights: 1 at the trailhead, 1 pinto, 2 five lakes area, 1 columbine.

Test hike w/ packs did have ~2k elevation gain (and same descent), and while there was soreness it was more along the lines of "yes I was not in the office yesterday" not anything terrible (I foolishly walked 15 miles barefoot in the sand once and couldn't make my calves work for like 3 days afterward, oops.) Have some more test day hikes lined up including 13 mile +3900' elevation gain one.

But yes, with no permit then we'll have to do some alternate planning. I will hopefully hear from them soon. Other spots in Kings Canyon, Hoover, Desolation Wilderness all are on the possible list. Really anything high sierra. Which of course is why I'm here. :) Will definitely be looking up peoples suggestions and I appreciate them! Thanks!
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macchiolives
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Re: Trip/Route advice (Mineral King / Other?)

Post by macchiolives »

Have you checked the availability on the website?

http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/r ... bility.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm waiting on my confirmation right now for June 29th-July 5.
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AlmostThere
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Re: Trip/Route advice (Mineral King / Other?)

Post by AlmostThere »

It took more than two weeks before I called, and they had not received my app yet. I had to submit a second one, which I thought I got a response from - they finally opened and processed the first one and contacted me about it a week after I sent the second.

So don't be surprised if you don't hear back soon. For some reason they are slammed with requests this year. Don't remember ever having a problem with this in SEKI before...
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chufi
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Re: Trip/Route advice (Mineral King / Other?)

Post by chufi »

A very belated follow up - we ended up not doing the trip out of Mineral King as we had concerns about getting permits and timing which seemed like they would be problematic. Of course we cleverly decided to do a different longer route which ended up being more challenging. We did the 50 mile loop out of Hoover Wilderness into Yosemite and back. Twin lakes -> Peeler Lake -> Benson Lake -> Matterhorn Canyon Junction (more or less) -> Crown Lake -> out. Was a fantastic trip, though we both agreed it was more strenuous than our ideal. Incredibly scenic wonders around every corner. I think our sweet spot is hitting camp an hour or two after lunch so there is time to do more local exploration, vs the macro exploration of putting on the miles. Not that we had any problems, it was just quite tiring with all the elevation change. I have some GPS tracks for a few days somewhere on my phone but the up down of the trail plus general elevation changes was pretty big. Trekking poles were a big win!

For photos here is a short 'best of'
http://chufi.500px.com/2014_hoover_yosemite" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And here is the more extensive day by day if people are interested.
https://500px.com/chufi/sets/2014_07_03 ... mite_day_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://500px.com/chufi/sets/2014_07_04 ... mite_day_2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://500px.com/chufi/sets/2014_07_05 ... mite_day_3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://500px.com/chufi/sets/2014_07_06 ... mite_day_4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://500px.com/chufi/sets/2014_07_07 ... mite_day_5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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