High Sierra Topix

Anybody ever done the so-called "circle of solitude" as described by Mike White? Roaring River, Colby Pass, Forester Pass, Roads End.

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Have done most of it in a couple different loops. Love that area!!!!!! Colby pass is wonderful!

Hi.
I did this loop in the seventies with one exception: If you have an extra day or so, and you really want some solitude, I recommend skipping Forester Pass and taking the Shepherd Pass/ Junction Pass detour. Although considered a cross country route, Junction still has enough of the old JMT intact to make it a relatively easy crossing. Following the remnants of this trail down through beautiful Center Basin to Bubbs is something that any Sierra traveller shouldn't miss.

...and speaking of 'solitude', my personal record for the longest amount of time without seeing another human while backpacking is 5 days. I set this same record twice- one time was on another trip in the upper Kern Basin within the realm of the 'circle of solitude'. (The other time was during a trip up the Middle Fork of the Kings.) The kicker was this: I met a small group of hikers near Tyndall Creek. They were friendly and we talked for a while before going our separate ways. Five days later after having spent my time wandering around the upper Kern and Milestone Basin without meeting a soul, I crossed Harrison Pass and near the end of that fifth day I finally met some hikers near Lake Reflection and... yep, you guessed it... they were the same group of hikers that I'd met near Tyndall Creek five days earlier. At the time I thought that was a rather interesting coincidence.