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Onion Valley is my favorite which could have something to do with the fact that it was the first trailhead I ever used into the Sierra (our first trip was Onion Valley to Whitney Portal)
I love everything about using Onion Valley as my gateway to the Sierras:
--The drive along 395 is awesome, as someone said earlier it is truly part of the journey, and the final leg to Onion Valley from 395 is just gorgeous and fun.
--The hike from Onion Valley to Kearsarge is perfect - a beautiful strings of lakes, 2,600 ft of elevation gain (not too much, not too little), several little anomalies - the boulder field just a mile or two up the trail, the avalanche zone and the parking lot (from above) looks like an onion from Super Mario 2
--The view from Kearsarge Pass - how could you not be inspired? Look at all there is to do!!!
To me, the junction pictured below feels like the crossroads of the Sierra Nevada. Endless possibilities in every direction. I love it.
P8290221.jpg
Happy Hiking,
Shannon
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I forgot Vidette Lake (s). I neither caught nor saw any fish but had the feeling there were a few fish in the lake. I only day hiked it with Mike from Bubbs Creek.
I agree with Cross Country that Roads End is good, however coming from Pasadena I prefer Onion Valley/Kearsarge Pass which allows me to access all the spots that he's listed in a shorter amount of time. I can be at the Onion Valley parking lot in 5ish hours from my door and that includes stopping at the Lone Pine Ranger Station for a BC Permit.
Bravefan
TehipiteTom wrote: the Dinkey Lakes trailhead is one I will not do again. The condition of the "road" is just too horrible, and there are too many places where anyone with a normal vehicle risks major damage.
It never occurred to me that anyone would get their vehicle damaged on that road, so I would think you were driving too fast for conditions. I see cars at that trailhead every time I go there. Drive the road accordingly, and don't expect to be able to drive it like a highway, and you should be fine.
Last edited by Big Ed on Fri Jan 23, 2015 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
When I first read the thread title I thought I don't have a favorite trailhead. I do a lot of point to point trips, so I think more of what's between the points than what I can get to from the trailhead. My trips also take me past junctions for other trail heads along the way, so I'm seeing things without using the nearby trailhead. Then I started thinking about what trail heads I've used the most,
Florence Lake 5
Roads End 4
Mono Creek 5
Maxson Dome 10 (this is a misleading number), I've walked through Dusy Ershim 4WD trail 5 times scouting conditions for the 4WD club. Did one out and back trip into Red Mountain Basin. Three trips three miles in, helping Back Country Horsemen with projects. And ended one trip that started near Lake Edison.
Other trail heads I've only used once or twice, I've also entered the wilderness from non trail heads.
TehipiteTom wrote: the Dinkey Lakes trailhead is one I will not do again. The condition of the "road" is just too horrible, and there are too many places where anyone with a normal vehicle risks major damage.
It never occurred to me that anyone would get their vehicle damaged on that road, so I would think you were driving too fast for conditions. I see cars at that trailhead every time I go there. Drive the road accordingly, and don't expect to be able to drive it like a highway, and you should be fine.
Um...no. I wasn't.
(Though there are some nasty surprise potholes--pot-trenches?--in the first mile or so, where the initially good pavement goes suddenly terrible, and I imagine some folks run into trouble there.)
I'm talking about the last couple miles in particular, where the road deteriorates pretty significantly and there are a couple big outcrops that take some maneuvering to avoid. Maybe someone with a high-clearance vehicle wouldn't worry about that, but I'm talking normal vehicles like my Honda Fit.
TehipiteTom wrote: the Dinkey Lakes trailhead is one I will not do again. The condition of the "road" is just too horrible, and there are too many places where anyone with a normal vehicle risks major damage.
It never occurred to me that anyone would get their vehicle damaged on that road, so I would think you were driving too fast for conditions. I see cars at that trailhead every time I go there. Drive the road accordingly, and don't expect to be able to drive it like a highway, and you should be fine.
Um...no. I wasn't.
(Though there are some nasty surprise potholes--pot-trenches?--in the first mile or so, where the initially good pavement goes suddenly terrible, and I imagine some folks run into trouble there.)
I'm talking about the last couple miles in particular, where the road deteriorates pretty significantly and there are a couple big outcrops that take some maneuvering to avoid. Maybe someone with a high-clearance vehicle wouldn't worry about that, but I'm talking normal vehicles like my Honda Fit.
I agree that that road is usually in bad enough shape to be potentially damaging to a passenger car regardless of the level of driver care and skill. That condition of the last part of road can also vary tremendously from year to year and during the course of a single season. In the late 80's and early 90's I successfully drove low-clearance passenger cars to the trailhead, but even then that required some serious finesse. I do think that it was generally much less rough back then. What makes it difficult for a 2WD low-clearance passenger car is that there are a few spots where you need to get up sufficient momentum to overcome a fairly steep slope, whereas you have to finesse it so as not to hit a rock or high-center. With 4WD and high clearance one can take the steep stuff much more slowly. More recently I have driven our 4WD Pathfinder on that road and it has always been in a condition that looked pretty sketchy for a low-clearance passenger car. Twice in the late 80's and early 90's I had to get my vehicle (passenger car: either '79 Corolla or '87 Celica) aligned after a Dinkey's trip, either from tweaking something on that last part or (what we suspect) by hitting one of those monstrous potholes of the lower semi-paved section at excessive speed.
TehipiteTom wrote: the Dinkey Lakes trailhead is one I will not do again. The condition of the "road" is just too horrible, and there are too many places where anyone with a normal vehicle risks major damage.
It never occurred to me that anyone would get their vehicle damaged on that road, so I would think you were driving too fast for conditions. I see cars at that trailhead every time I go there. Drive the road accordingly, and don't expect to be able to drive it like a highway, and you should be fine.
Um...no. I wasn't.
(Though there are some nasty surprise potholes--pot-trenches?--in the first mile or so, where the initially good pavement goes suddenly terrible, and I imagine some folks run into trouble there.)
I'm talking about the last couple miles in particular, where the road deteriorates pretty significantly and there are a couple big outcrops that take some maneuvering to avoid. Maybe someone with a high-clearance vehicle wouldn't worry about that, but I'm talking normal vehicles like my Honda Fit.
Do you go in from Dinkey Creek road, or HWY 168 Tamarack Ridge?
TehipiteTom wrote: the Dinkey Lakes trailhead is one I will not do again. The condition of the "road" is just too horrible, and there are too many places where anyone with a normal vehicle risks major damage.
It never occurred to me that anyone would get their vehicle damaged on that road, so I would think you were driving too fast for conditions. I see cars at that trailhead every time I go there. Drive the road accordingly, and don't expect to be able to drive it like a highway, and you should be fine.
Um...no. I wasn't.
(Though there are some nasty surprise potholes--pot-trenches?--in the first mile or so, where the initially good pavement goes suddenly terrible, and I imagine some folks run into trouble there.)
I'm talking about the last couple miles in particular, where the road deteriorates pretty significantly and there are a couple big outcrops that take some maneuvering to avoid. Maybe someone with a high-clearance vehicle wouldn't worry about that, but I'm talking normal vehicles like my Honda Fit.
Do you go in from Dinkey Creek road, or HWY 168 Tamarack Ridge?
