Offtrail approaches to Branigan and Avonelle lakes Hetch Hetchy

[genetastic]

I’m spending a few days in Hetch Hetchy, coming in up Jack Main Canyon trail at the end of May. This is an area I’ve visited a number of times in the past and is one of my go-to early season backpack destinations. We’re thinking of starting to explore off-trail in this area, maybe to the Branigan and/or Avonelle lakes. Does anyone have tips on preferred approaches or other off-trail ideas? We are experienced backpackers, and some scrambling/bushwhacking is ok, but nothing technical.

This will be Memorial Day weekend, so it typically would be high water, but this year maybe not so much.

Thanks!

[Wandering Daisy]

I did a trip report (Oct 2011) of my approach to Branigan Lake. Comments to my trip report contain quite a few references of other ways to get there. I went directly up Tilltill Creek, only feasible at low water - it was an October trip. I do not think you can even go that way early season. On the way out I continued north and intersected the trail up on Jack Main Canyon. You may want to look at that report. 2011 was a high snow year so creeks were still flowing well into October.

Other ways appear to be feasible if you look at maps. You certainly could scramble up the low angel slabs from Vernon Lake if you are day hiking. There would be issues with stream crossings early season at peak flows. It also looks like you could drop down from the lower end of Jack Main, but still have to cross Falls Creek. Since I have not done these routes, I hesitate to recommend them. The map shows the route I did and other potential routes.

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[erutan]

I did Branigan as part of a short jack main loop from HH in October/November 2018 (exited to find the gate closure hours had jumped up to like 4-5pm oops). So can't speak on water crossings.

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The upper lake has GNARLY chest/head high manzanita on the western shore. The eastern shore can be done by a short easy class 3 chute to a widish ledge that'll take you across past the cliffs. I didn't drop down to the middle lake as it didn't look very inviting, and just stayed high and went for the little pass between the two notches SE of it. This traverse was midly annoying trying to avoid manzanita patches, micro cliffouts etc, but nothing really spicy, just a little tedious. It opened up after that and lower Branigan had a much pleasant shoreline and a truly gorgeous outlet. The drop down to Vernon was slabby and required some routefinding, but I don't remember much more than short mantle drops of easy 3.

I can zoom in on waypoints or dig through photos if there's more questions. [update, adding a few key photos]

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I've only done Avonelle from the north as part of a wandering dayhike from a basecamp at little otter, so can't comment connecting it on the south, but from the N it was straightforward.

[Wandering Daisy]

ertan- you jogged my memory! Yes, that bushwhack from Lower Branigan to Upper was intense! I recall doing some jungle moves.

Here are some photos. From the time on the photos it took me over an hour to get from the south to the north end of Middle Branigan Lake- I must have scrambled along one of the shores. Pretty miserable. Not the way to go.

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[erutan]

The western shore of middle was rough looking talus, the eastern shore had some hard cliff outs iirc as pictured in your last one. I'm glad I did it from above and was able to scope it out and just stay high (which got pretty pleasant open slabby).

Honestly the lower lake is the most scenic of the bunch (and those slabs to and from it, yum), and the least amount of hassle, but it makes a nice connecting loop to do them all. If you stay high above middle it's just that ledge on the upper that could pose some issues. The south end of it was rather gradual, the north involved some modest class 3 (upclimbing for me). Having the lower lake and it's outlet/descent as a reward for the upper ones might work better pyschologically hah.

[SSSdave]

1978 took 4 others on same route from Vernon to Brannigan past pond 7498 as WD. Highly not recommended due to ridiculous willow, chinquapin, and manzanita. This region has lots of awful brush in topo areas that would otherwise appear easy to navigate. Not a place for shorts and t-shirt fans. So in this era carefully look at Google Earth. Also despite being a low snow spring, much of what is there will still be melting about upper Falls Creek through May making fording difficult outside of the Vernon outlet bridge. Oh yeah...squeets squeets squeets.

[erutan]

There's patchy manzanita from the southern end of upper B throught the upper ~half of the high route above middle B that's annoying, but you can wiggle through most of it before it clears up. It does get unavoidably bushy again (aside from brief fins you can walk on) when you drop down from middle to cut west to lower B, but from the lower lake to Vernon it's clear.

Long pants would be a must, but if you don't mind some bushwhacking it's doable. I'm not sure I'd do it again, but I don't regret doing it, and there were some nice moments on it.

[genetastic]

Thanks all!

[kpeter]

The one time I tried to get around the south shore of Vernon to follow the outlet stream up to Branigan was early season. The flats ENE of Vernon were all under water--Vernon was basically joined with the ponds on the flats E and ENE of Vernon in one massive flooded plain. This took away the easy walking and forced me up the hillside. Much of it was broken granite with constant mini-cliffs and lots of brush which often concealed the mini-cliffs. It was miserably going and I never even made it to the inlet stream or the bottom of the granite slabs over which it runs. It was frustrating because the roaring stream can be seen for miles and it looks so inviting to climb up those slabs to its side, but I never reached it.

I resolved that next time I try to get to Branigan I will use WD's approach south of point 7438. If the flat area to the ENE of Vernon dries out such that one can easily walk straight to the slabs it might be a different story.

In general, I have found a LOT of the lakes in this region to be difficult to circumnavigate. Since the region is lower elevation than the high Sierra they tend to be brushy, and this is made worse early season when high water cuts off many of the waterline boot paths.

[genetastic]

Thanks for sharing, kpeter!