High Sierra Topix

I promise this will be one of my last posts..that is until i post some trip reports

I realize I've been asking a lot of questions and y'all have been so helpful! I'm sure I could just wing it and still have an incredible trip, but I think what I've learned and gathered from everyone will make this an even greater trip. Just having some kind of game plan (areas to focus on and what to expect) is gonna make things that much easier.

With that said, if you had to pick (with scenery the main priority; with fishing an added bonus):
1) Horseshoe Meadows or Onion Valley
We'll likely be only doing day hikes for this segment of the trip...either dispersed camping or finding a campground. We'd likely spend 2 nights, with 2 day hikes in the 10 mile range.

2) Shadow Creek to Ediza Lake (1 overnight) or Saddlebag>Upper McCabe Lake>Roosevelt Lake>Young Lakes>Tuolumne (2 overnights)
We ended up getting an overnight permit for Saturday night out of Shadow Creek TH. If we do this I'd like to grab the permit on Friday, with hopes of finding a spot at a campground along Minaret Summit Rd? What would be the chances of finding a spot on a Friday night (after 7pm)? Otherwise we'd just camp somewhere around Mammoth Lakes. From what I have read, Mammoth Lakes area is crazy crowded and we'd be there on the weekend. I imagine Saddlebag would also be crowded (at least around the lake), but it sounds as though we'd lose the crowds once we hike up towards Steelhead Lake.

Thanks in advance! and if anyone is ever visiting western NC I'd be happy to offer some suggestions..or if you'd like a place to crash and visit the insane new Sierra Nevada brewery (just down the road)

These are very different options, but for Horseshoe vs Onion Valley the latter gets you into super alpine scenery earlier, whereas, the former gets you to better fishing earlier

For no.2, the scenery to Ediza is unbeatable, but the fishing is better for the Saddlebag option but there is a key difference is the Saddlebag option requires off trail travel which the other options you mention do not. Note that Roosevelt Lake is now fishless (has been gillnetted).

Ah yes, SNBC in North Carolina. Yes I imagine their brewery is pretty spectacular given all the thought that went into. The original Chico one is a shrine to the American craft beer movement and it is one of my favorite places (and SN is in fact my favorite brewing company on Earth).

Friends don't let friends give up hard-earned permits to Lake Ediza.

There is a reason the word "legendary" is frequently appended to that lake.

My hiking partner and I are fond of saying that we drive through Yosemite only to get to points eastside. By the time we're done hiking a place like the Ritter Range, the return drive through an ordinary place like Tuolumne barely warrants a glance.

- Elizabeth

oleander wrote: My hiking partner and I are fond of saying that we drive through Yosemite only to get to points eastside. By the time we're done hiking a place like the Ritter Range, the return drive through an ordinary place like Tuolumne barely warrants a glance.

- Elizabeth

Wow.. way too harsh, or you must mean a different Tuolumne Or, you don't fish.

Thanks for all the replies! Yeah, I'm definitely hesitant about giving up the permit for Shadow Creek. From what I've read and the images I've seen that area looks spectacular. Just a little worried about the logistics with the weekend crowd..maybe I'll try to get there earlier and do some day hikes? Does anyone know how hard it is to get a spot at any of the first come/first serve campsites? Or dispersed camping nearby?

rlown wrote:

oleander wrote: My hiking partner and I are fond of saying that we drive through Yosemite only to get to points eastside. By the time we're done hiking a place like the Ritter Range, the return drive through an ordinary place like Tuolumne barely warrants a glance.

- Elizabeth

Wow.. way too harsh, or you must mean a different Tuolumne Or, you don't fish.

We will also be stopping through Tuolumne as well on our way over to Yosemite.

giantbrookie wrote:These are very different options, but for Horseshoe vs Onion Valley the latter gets you into super alpine scenery earlier, whereas, the former gets you to better fishing earlier.

Thanks! We may just skip horseshoe on go straight on to Onion Valley. While I'll be bringing along a fishing rod, scenery trumps that!

Markley,

There is a ton of dispersed camping in the Mammoth area. The Scenic Loop between Mammoth Lakes and 395 is great for that. Or drive up 395 a bit to the Deadman Summit area.

Markley wrote:

I promise this will be one of my last posts..that is until i post some trip reports

You promise.

Free campgrounds around June Lake, like Big Springs, Deadman, Glass Creek, and Hartley Springs to the south are really nice.

Don't you dare give up your Shadow Creek permit, you will regret it for the rest of your life!
The Minarets has a well-deserved reputation for being the prettiest, but also one of the easiest/quickest areas to reach in the Sierra, which is why it gets the heavy traffic (also the JMT), but that should not dissuade you from visiting beautiful Ediza Lake!

Oleander wrote:

My hiking partner and I are fond of saying that we drive through Yosemite only to get to points eastside. By the time we're done hiking a place like the Ritter Range, the return drive through an ordinary place like Tuolumne barely warrants a glance.

Russ wrote:

Wow.. way too harsh, or you must mean a different Tuolumne Or, you don't fish.

Sorry Russ, though I will look around when going thru TM, it definitely does not tug at my soul the same way after coming through it, especially after a trip to the Minaret Range.

maverick wrote:You promise.

Ha..i know, i know...though i did say "one" of my last posts

Thanks much for the info on the camp spots!! And I've definitely decided that we're gonna do Ediza Lake Our original intention was to go up the east side the first week then back down the west side the second week. I'm starting to think we may come back down the east side as well..after heading over for a stay in Yosemite Valley for a night (gotta see that at least once right).

The Valley will be a zoo, but get up really early, before sunrise, find a spot in one of the meadows, maybe near El Cap, dress warm, take chairs if you have them, but some pads will do, and experience the solitude while everyone else is still sleeping, and watch as the sun slowly rises, and bathes all the cold granite around you with its warm golden rays.