Modified JMT suggestions (back on after two years)

[MountainMinstrel]

Grammy is correct. The purpose of plan B is to avoid the Donohue quota.

[MountainMinstrel]

Well, since I have a two day window to catch a resupply at Roads End I have secured a permit for 8/17 from Mono/Walker Pass and exiting Cottonwood Lakes on 9/7.

[rightstar76]

Yay! Awesome!

Can't wait to hear about your adventure. Keep us posted.

[MountainMinstrel]

Well, I got permit for a Mono/Parker Pass entry om 8/17 with and exit at Cottonwood lakes on 9/7. As it turns out, It looks like I will be hitting Whitney after all as a good friend of mine has about his 10th 2-3 day permit for Whitney (why anyone would chose to do the same thing over and over again while Ignoring the rest of Sierra is beyond me but...HYOH) at any rate he will be summiting on 9/5 and I had planned to be in the Crabtree Meadows area on the 4th so we have set a lunch date at the top of Whitney. This may make my offtrail excursion into Miter basin impossible but friends are friends and there will be as many as 5 of them there. Also, since I will be day-hiking it, I think I will go for a sunrise summit. Still going to hit Langley on my way out though.

Now, if it would just stop snowing... :eeke

[paul]

Snow will be a boon for you - later wildflowers. I would bet you see lots of nice flowers on your trip. Could mean some later skeeters, too; so bring the juice!

[MountainMinstrel]

I'm a little nervous about the snow as I don't have a lot of experience with it. Mostly I'm worried about the first section from Mono over Koip as there is much less traffic on that trail.

[fishmonger]

I will be getting a walk up permit and will have limited time to hit the trail (my wife has Sundays and Mondays off so I have to be sure to hit RE on one of those days). This is where I have a question. if I can't get a permit from TM I noticed that about 3 miles East of TM I can hit the trail at Dana Creek (or is it Fork) and take it to Gem Lake and then cut over to catch the JTM at Rush Creek. This will take me around Donohue pass and it's quotas. It will add 3-6 miles (depending on a hitch to the TH from TM) and maybe 1000 ft of elevation gain, but it will give me a couple of days of solitude.

What are your thoughts?

The Mono Pass Trailhead - Parker Pass - Koip Peak Pass, Gem Pass, Gem Lake, Agnew Pass route is a great alternate. I have taken that route more often than Lyell Canyon/Donohue Pass and if I had a choice and no other reason to pick one over the other but pure preference, I'd always head out on Mono Pass Trailhead.

Things to know: the trail is much higher than Donohue. First camp must be beyond Parker Pass, because no camping in that watershed on the Yosemite side of the pass. If you start in the early afternoon, you can easily make it across the pass, even if hiking at a rather slow day 1 pace. Note that your camp will be over 11k feet for some good first night acclimation. If you sleep well up there, you won't have any altitude issues anywhere else. It literally is like sleeping on top of Donohue Pass. Very few hikers on this trail, views are IMO better than on the JMT. If you go in early season, you really need to check with the rangers about snow conditions on Koip Peak Pass. That pass gets rather dangerous if there is still a lot of snow on the ground.

There is a quota on that trail, but I never had an issue getting a permit even after noon.

Images are from north to south on that segment of trail


Parker Pass region, Yosemite


Mt. Lewis from the top of the switchbacks


Mono Lake from close to the top of Koip Peak Pass


View south to Alger Lakes and far beyond


Blacktop, Kuna and Koip Peaks to the northwest

[Wandering Daisy]

Fishmonger- What are the dates/year of those photos? As you can see on the photos the rock is darker. It actually melts off pretty quickly due the dark rock. I think by mid-August this year you should be fine. I just looked at the NWS long-term forecasts and they are predicting a warmer than normal conditions for June-July and August.

[rightstar76]

Fishmonger, those are awesome photos. The more I see of the area, the more I want to be there!

[MountainMinstrel]

Fishmonger- What are the dates/year of those photos? As you can see on the photos the rock is darker. It actually melts off pretty quickly due the dark rock. I think by mid-August this year you should be fine. I just looked at the NWS long-term forecasts and they are predicting a warmer than normal conditions for June-July and August.

Thank you Daisy! I was just coming here to ask about this exact thing. That long traverse to Koip Peak pass looks like it would be tough if burried in snow.

IS IT AUGUST YET?