Eastern Sierra passes - mid July
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:01 am
Thanks for all the great information on this awesome forum. I love high mountain backpacking and fishing - it's nice to see others that share my passion. I recently became a scoutmaster (working with 14-15 yr-olds) and I was disheartened to hear that none of them had ever been backpacking before. Just a lot of car camp overnighters and summers at structured scout camps.
I decided that that just won't do, so we're doing a 5 day trip to the eastern sierra (for proximity to Socal, ruggedness, and scenery) the second week in July (7-12 to be exact, dictated by the confluence of everyone's schedules).
I am an avid map reader and trip researcher, and I'm having a blast planning this out. I've done numerous backpacking trips, including 3 to the eastern sierra - Cottonwood lakes, Moonlight lake out of Sabrina, and Whitney. Per the guidelines for trip requests, I'd say I'm a level 3+, as are the other 2 leaders, but since the boys (we'll have 4-6) have never been, they're more like a 2. They're athletic (and teenagers w/ energy to burn), so they should do fine, but I should probably stay away from difficult x/c travel or snow traverses.
Since it's their 1st trip I'd like to keep it easy and fun - not a death march. I'm thinking 4-7 miles a day, two days in, layover day, then two days out (15-25 mi). So mostly Class 1 hiking. My prime concern would be to keep it safe. I don't mind if it's hard/steep, just no exposure or potential for broken legs. I've also told them I'd teach them to fish, so I'm looking to camp near a fishable lake each night. (Main interests: lakes, fishing, big mountain scenery).
We plan on car camping at the trailhead the night before to acclimate. We probably won't do a shuttle unless it's really easy to set up. Loops are great if they're available, but out and back is fine. I'd like to leave the afternoons mostly free to fish, explore, and visit nearby lakes and small peaks. I'm limiting my search from Horseshoe Meadow to North Lake, unless there's a compelling reason to make the longer drive further north.
On a normal year we could go virtually anywhere, but with the high snow pack this year (I've been monitoring the other threads) it makes mid July more like late June. Most trips go over >11k' passes that are likely to have snow. My concern is that we'd run in to something that is impassible, dangerous, or just miserable for first-timers. I've narrowed it down to 5 choices and I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions on which ones might be doable and/or recommended in our time frame. Probably need to get permits ASAP.
1) Cottonwood lakes TH - South Fork L., over New Army (probably not doable), to Lower Soldier, and back. (I'd do Cottonwood pass but I hear Chickenspring is fishless)
2) Onion Valley TH - over Kearsarge pass to Kearsarge L. or Charlotte L.
3) South Lake TH - over Bishop Pass to Dusy Basin - may require some x/c
4) North Lake TH - over Piute Pass to Humphrey's Basin, possibly to Desolation L. (lots of >11k travel, potentially lots of snow)
5) Big Pines TH - partial loop through the Big Pine Lakes. (this is the safest bet b/c it doesn't go over a pass, but we'd be relatively confined to a small basin for 5 days)
Side question: which of these require bear canisters?
Thanks for all your help.
I decided that that just won't do, so we're doing a 5 day trip to the eastern sierra (for proximity to Socal, ruggedness, and scenery) the second week in July (7-12 to be exact, dictated by the confluence of everyone's schedules).
I am an avid map reader and trip researcher, and I'm having a blast planning this out. I've done numerous backpacking trips, including 3 to the eastern sierra - Cottonwood lakes, Moonlight lake out of Sabrina, and Whitney. Per the guidelines for trip requests, I'd say I'm a level 3+, as are the other 2 leaders, but since the boys (we'll have 4-6) have never been, they're more like a 2. They're athletic (and teenagers w/ energy to burn), so they should do fine, but I should probably stay away from difficult x/c travel or snow traverses.
Since it's their 1st trip I'd like to keep it easy and fun - not a death march. I'm thinking 4-7 miles a day, two days in, layover day, then two days out (15-25 mi). So mostly Class 1 hiking. My prime concern would be to keep it safe. I don't mind if it's hard/steep, just no exposure or potential for broken legs. I've also told them I'd teach them to fish, so I'm looking to camp near a fishable lake each night. (Main interests: lakes, fishing, big mountain scenery).
We plan on car camping at the trailhead the night before to acclimate. We probably won't do a shuttle unless it's really easy to set up. Loops are great if they're available, but out and back is fine. I'd like to leave the afternoons mostly free to fish, explore, and visit nearby lakes and small peaks. I'm limiting my search from Horseshoe Meadow to North Lake, unless there's a compelling reason to make the longer drive further north.
On a normal year we could go virtually anywhere, but with the high snow pack this year (I've been monitoring the other threads) it makes mid July more like late June. Most trips go over >11k' passes that are likely to have snow. My concern is that we'd run in to something that is impassible, dangerous, or just miserable for first-timers. I've narrowed it down to 5 choices and I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions on which ones might be doable and/or recommended in our time frame. Probably need to get permits ASAP.
1) Cottonwood lakes TH - South Fork L., over New Army (probably not doable), to Lower Soldier, and back. (I'd do Cottonwood pass but I hear Chickenspring is fishless)
2) Onion Valley TH - over Kearsarge pass to Kearsarge L. or Charlotte L.
3) South Lake TH - over Bishop Pass to Dusy Basin - may require some x/c
4) North Lake TH - over Piute Pass to Humphrey's Basin, possibly to Desolation L. (lots of >11k travel, potentially lots of snow)
5) Big Pines TH - partial loop through the Big Pine Lakes. (this is the safest bet b/c it doesn't go over a pass, but we'd be relatively confined to a small basin for 5 days)
Side question: which of these require bear canisters?
Thanks for all your help.