High Sierra Topix

Hobbes wrote:...This kind of trip violates a lot of conditions set forth by others on this thread, the most obvious being it's definitely a 4 day (minimum) hike in/out. (To add insult to injury, it's straight up Shepherd and across Tyndall.) However, rather than initiate a debate about a single best location, why not embrace diverging interests with a cafeteria plan offering 2+ choices?...

Hobbes that pretty much what I related in my early post with snippet below so would encourage others to put their two cents herein on any other ways we might meet up including the road camping ideas.

david >>> I think the board has enough mass to bring people together in the backcountry in different ways than just what I've leaned towards here and it is nice we can each make inputs in this Internet era. Knowing what each of us has some interest in or not, putting out some ideas and opinions, has value at this stage in moving towards what is possible and how we might go about it. Heck a few of our high mileage long distance types could even end up on their own small group trip out to the remote eastern Kaweah basin.

What you say Mike is quite true to some extent. Those who camp at popular lakeside locations ought to expect others groups nearby and in fact some probably prefer so. There have always been fair numbers of backpacking groups that ironically always seem to site at well used popular often lakeside campspots even though they may have just hiked 8 miles through areas virtually empty of people. However one would expect not a few of even those folks might prefer not to be next to groups with near legal numbers of occupants.

My comment was not to promote a strategy of bringing groups out to remote offtrail areas where indeed that is likely to annoy those who seek such destinations. Worthwhile lake destinations one day in and out from trailheads are likely to be popular and relatively heavily used. But rather when a destination is one of those places there are usually peripheral locations to site that are further away more hidden from lake edges and trails if one bothers to consider what might be possible on a topo and hunt around some instead of just plunking down at the "village" where a trail meets a lake. One strategy we often use is to look on a map for relatively level terrain that requires climbing up more than 50 feet above trails along lakeshores when there are otherwise lakeside camp sites level walking to lake edges.

Hobbes, I'm in for Milestone, but I plan on starting at Onion Valley and doing Kearsarge and Forester, then over. Maybe out Harrison pass to Onion Valley, but it sounds like a sand/talus slog. If I can get a partner/shuttle, I may exit Shepherd. I'm not much for the JMT, but I plan on blasting through, then settling in.

I like the idea of two meetups as well. I'd be inclined to do both. Perhaps bring my son on the shorter of the two.

I believe the best idea would be a front country first day. From a large group, several smaller groups could go to various destinations in the back country. I believe this would accomodate almost everyone.

Jim, I'm thinking of trying to convince Andy to come along over Crabtree, then down the Whitney creek watershed (Steve C @ the Whitney Zone has a great route description), then straight outta Compton; oops, I meant Shepherd.

I did Kearsarge/Forrester/LSA/Shepherd a few years ago; Harrison would really add to the excitement. Maybe you could get to Oleander to go that way - she could return directly to Road's End.

If this group decided on something like Honeymoon/Royce, I'd be there. It would be an easy side trip to hit the Bears or go fish Rlown's "secret" lake. Wouldn't matter going up Pine Crk or via N Lake.

well, as we have no one signing up to coordinate such a trip, I guess my "secret" lake is still safe.

I actually don't like the big meet up plan. I like the impromptu meet-ups. Like i did at Mesa with Herm. It lasted a short time and that was fine, and very refreshing to meet someone and see what lure he was throwing at Mesa as he was doing quite well!. Much better than I was.

I don't want to see 18 people at the "secret" lake at one time. all will be disappointed other than with the scenery. It's at least a 2 day fest to get something depending on what you present and time of year.

It's almost best to talk to those that you know in your genre' (bagging, fishing, hiking), and team up that way. beyond that it'll be luck.

SSSdave wrote:

LMBSGV wrote:

I would think a front country location would be much more appropriate for a large HST gathering. Just my pov

Also my pov.

Sure car camping could work too and just 3 days would fit. The issue is sure to be finding a car camping location that would be interesting enough for people to actually bother to make all the effort for?

Florence Lake, Courtright Lake, or even Tahoe area have all the hiking and fishing you could pack into three days.

I might as well chime in....staying at a campground, or only backpacking in a few miles, so the group that meets can be really large is not appealing to me. Something like Milestone Basin/Kaweah that was mentioned, or a location that is not where the average person would travel to in 1-2 days is much more attractive to me. When I look at the trip report from last year's meetup, man, I really missed something by not going on that trip. Trips close to the end of a road- not so much(my opinion). I think Maverick's suggestion of Pioneer Basin is a good one. Tough one day trip for many people, doable in 2, and seems about right for a 5 day meetup of HST. Graveyard Lakes seems ok for 5 days also, even though that road to Edison is a long, slow drive from anywhere.

The only way to have east and west side access, as well as an ability to start at the crest is via a trans-Sierra highway. Of those roads, the closest to the center on the N-S axis is CA 120, which happens to be the southernmost of those trans-Sierra highways, but also in Yosemite-excellent high country, but also crowds of people as well as NP regulations to consider. The next closest for these parameters is CA 108 with entry at Leavitt Lake. Some will have 4WD vehicles and others not, but if a loop were taken from the lake, people could arrange to ride share from 108 up the FS road to the lake and back down.

The map below shows a 24 mile loop from Leavitt. This is about the shortest possible loop and goes by Chain of Lakes. There are many other ways to make or modify the loop, but all will be longer. Heading down to Emigrant Lake might be a popular option.

http://caltopo.com/map?id=6M7I" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Leavitt Lake itself is a sizable and attractive area where a large group could congregate and socialize. There are plenty of places to park trucks and set up a base camp sized large tents. Those with truck campers could sleep in those rigs at base camp. On the map linked above, you can switch to satellite view and zoom in on the NE corner of the lake and see how much area there is for vehicle camping. In that it's 4WD access, it's not usually overly crowded either.

This is by no means the crown jewel of the Sierra, but in terms of accessibility from all corners, back country access, time to destination, reasonable beauty, fishing, solitude, etc., it might be a good compromise.

Tom H
Do you like North of these 2 CAs or in the Bay Area?