Advice for Mono Pass Trail, Pioneer Basin, Laurel Creek, Fourth Recess

[Gogd]

+1 on @ wandering Daisy's suggestion to hike on the drive day to Ruby Lake. Its just long enough to stretch your legs and a rest to get acclimated before the slog over the pass. As for the rest of the trip; surf the web for images of your destinies, plenty our there to review. There is considerable variation in the draw each venue poses, from forest lined lakes to alpine tarn tucked beneath high cirques - different strike for different folks. My vote for a 5 day outing is Ruby to Fourth Recess Lake, XC up to Snow Lakes, then cross over into Third Recess to Third Recess lake, then rejoining the trail out, back to the car. Alas as a level 3 hiker you may consider otherwise. So many other options, nevertheless.

BTW: when are you planning to do this trip? Consider that the first big storm of the season can occur anytime now, and going over high passes this time of year is not advised unless you have very solid snow camping/travel skills.

Ed

[kpeter]

I also liked Ruby Lake, which my daughter and I were forced to camp at when we got hit with a storm. It is an hour or two up the trail from the trailhead. Whether it is a good option for you will depend on when you start.

And I was presuming you were asking about a trip you are planning for next summer. Going in November, as Gogd notes, is quite a risk. Not only do you have a serious risk of weather, but you are down to only about 10 1/2 hours of daylight.

[sbennett3705]

BTW: when are you planning to do this trip? Consider that the first big storm of the season can occur anytime now, and going over high passes this time of year is not advised unless you have very solid snow camping/travel skills.

Next summer for sure! My Sierra season is over, moving to San Gabriel and desert hiking in SoCal.

[Carne_DelMuerto]

Very cool campsite. Is it legal from a distance standpoint?

Oh yes. The photo is taken from the edge of the campsite, which is well away and uphill from the shore. I would not advise camping on the grassy shore — too easily damaged.

[uncommonloon]

]For first night camping, I had luck coming down off the pass and taking the Golden Lake trail maybe 0.2 miles east from the junction (towards the lake) and then going south across the stream to an obvious flat spot, a little raised above the river with a few trees around. Nice quiet spot with moderate use.

If you can make it, the Snow Lakes, approached from fourth recess lake, are worth a visit. The ascent from the lake takes a little figuring. I've put a little sketch below of the approximate route I took.

4th recess lake to snow lakes.jpg

There are two Snow Lakes, upper and lower. They are both fed by a glacier and have variations of that distinctive blue color you get from glacial silt. Here's a couple shots of lower Snow Lake

Lower Snow Lake s.jpg

IMG_0161s.jpg

Here's a view looking down on upper and lower lakes from the route to the glacier

IMG_0147s.jpg

Good luck on your trip

-Mark

ps. Can someone tell me why my vertical pictures won't stay vertical? I've tried inserting them with different rotations but the interface seems hell bent on tipping the pic over regardless !

[thegib]

+1 on Snow lakes. I find the unnamed lakes at 11k very peaceful and more open/spacious than the more severe higher ground at 11.4k.

[Gogd]

ps. Can someone tell me why my vertical pictures won't stay vertical? I've tried inserting them with different rotations but the interface seems hell bent on tipping the pic over regardless !

@ uncommonloon: I'd try rotating them vertical in the source file, saving them there, in that orientation, then importing the modified file to HST.
Ed