Taboose or Pine Creek?

[talleycat]

I'm weighing two (wildly different) options for a solo trip starting around 8/3. I have two-ish weeks to play with.

OPTION 1: Pine Creek TH —> French Canyon —> JMT (north) —> Hilgard Creek —> Italy Pass —> Pine Creek. I hope to detour up to Merriam Lake with the dream of getting over Feather Pass and into Bear Lakes Basin if there's a chance some of the lakes there will be open. I've soloed most of this route previously, with the exception of the stretch from Italy Lake over Italy Pass and back to Pine Creek. It feels short, especially in comparison with option #2—so I'm particularly curious about what side adventures others might suggest as addendums.

OPTION 2: Taboose Pass —> South Fork —> Cartridge Pass —> Lake Basin —> Cartridge Creek —> Simpson Meadow —> Tehipite, then reverse. (The reversal is due to bridges being out at Woods Creek and Palisade Creek . . . definitely would love to hear alternatives.) I've done this route all the way down Cartridge Creek but never the Simpson meadow to Tehipite portion, so wisdom re. the Simpson Meadow crossing and any other vital info about this stretch is particularly welcome.

For several years in a row I was able to spend a solid month soloing off-trail in the Sierra; then I had a two-year period where I was mostly limited to weekend trips. Really hoping this year to recapture that longer experience while (of course) respecting this year's unusual conditions. What would you suggest?

Follow-up questions welcome.

[wildhiker]

Are you checking snow coverage on Sentinel Hub? Still substantial snow everywhere above 9 to 10 thousand feet elevation, and your trip date is only a week away. Your option 1 looks much less snowy if you stay on trail - very snowy in the Bear Lakes Basin.
-Phil

[cgundersen]

talleycat,

Check the various posts in the thread Iluka started in the Backpacking forum. Several folk thought conditions around Lake Italy might be sketchy. But I agree with Phil that the Pine Creek entry is probably a better bet. By now, most snow crossings should be pretty well trampled. And if you do head up to Merriam, strongly consider "Feather-light" pass as an alternative to Feather for getting into Bear Lakes (see XC passes for a discussion of the pros/cons). And once in the Bear Lakes, to avoid Italy Lake, you could traverse over to Italy pass via Dancing Bear pass and exit that way. Cameron

[cgundersen]

Oh, and odd tiger has exactly what you need: photos from a recent trip up Pine Creek in the backcountry conditions reports! Cameron

[Spicer'sVet]

Regarding the Taboose route... I recently read the South Fork Kings is uncrossable and will stay that way until at least September. Can anyone confirm this? Also heard that Taboose Creek is pretty dicey as well.

I ask because my group had a plan to do Taboose Pass, over Cartridge Pass, and into Lake Basin in mid-August. But we are already making a Plan B because of the SF Kings issue and also not sure if we'll be able to get over Cartridge Pass due to all the snow. If anyone has any updates on this area that would be helpful.

[MaryProut]

We are thinking about that same loop from Pine Creek starting Aug. 10. One additional question we have is about the stream crossings to get up to the Pine Lakes and Honeymoon Lake. Ranger told us yesterday that the crossing below Pine Lakes is "impassable". Has anyone done it recently? Is it better early in the day? Thanks!

[michaelzim]

@Spicer'sVet...Ummmmmm, as far as I know PCT'ers have been dealing with the S. Fork of the Kings OK for some time now, especially if you stay on the east side to avoid crossing it twice ref. Upper Basin and just south of it.

[Spicer'sVet]

Wow ok, maybe the report I read was referring to a different section of the SF Kings. It was from a FB page on Sierra hiking conditions. We'd be crossing it at the south end of Upper Basin near the Bench Lake trail. I'm still a bit leery of Cartridge Pass (north side) and the Taboose Creek crossings. I know one can avoid crossing Taboose Creek by hiking off-trail on north, but we were planning to camp on the way up and the campsites are on south side. So many unkown variables this year!

[frozenintime]

i’d be leery of trusting someone who tells you what conditions will be like in september…

[talleycat]

Thanks to all! Some notes/responses:

Phil: Yes, I'm checking snow coverage. I am comfortable with traveling over snow, though my most recent jaunt (in Humphries basin, early July) has me thinking I'd rather tackle big elevation changes and varying snow coverage than stay high the whole time and plan my whole day around managing it.

Cameron: I did check out the Iluka thread and determined I'm comfortable with that level of sketch. But thank you for Feather-light and Dancing Bear as options! I fixated on the SHR as I know that route well; this is a welcome reminder to zoom out. I'll check out odd tiger promptly (MaryProut: sounds like this could be a good resource for you)

Spicer's Vet: Can't confirm anything about the South Fork crossing, but I did plan to use the JMT crossing—I figured no news was good news. Sorry I can't be helpful on Cartridge Pass . . . except to say that the trail up from the South Fork is flirtatious even without snow. Could be a case of "keep going up (safely) until you get to the next landmark" this year. FWIW, I can imagine the descent being easier on snow than it is on rock if your party is comfortable with glissades. I plan to do Taboose in one day. Hope you are able to resolve your concerns and/or find a good alternative route.

Thanks to all.