R03/R04 TR: Little Lakes Valley to Pioneer Basin 6/30-7/3 2020

[giantbrookie]

Such beautiful photos of such enchanting country. I still haven't been to Pioneer Basin and this makes me realize what I've missed.

[SSSdave]

I tried to get a permit for PB but unfortunately recreation dot gov permits for Mono Pass and other popular quota trails along the Eastern Sierra have long been reserved away and am still not clear about how the walk up permit system actually works.

[astrogerly]

They manually load them on each Monday for the following week timeframe. We reserved ours for the upcoming weekend (July 10) last Monday (June 29) if that helps? The ones this coming Monday will be for July 20-26 if I look at the calendar correctly.

[Gazelle]

yep that would be me! Half moon pass isnt too bad dont it as a day hike and with a pack!

[Harlen]

gazelle writes:

yep that would be me! Half moon pass isn't too bad done it as a day hike and with a pack!

Hey Kristine, I am still wondering what climbs you would have made when accessing the range via Half-moon Pass. My guesses are that you climbed Stanford and Crocker, and perhaps Starr, but you might have traveled all the way into Silver Divide, and climbed Red and White and ??? Last possibility would be to traverse over to the unnamed peaks above 4th Recess + Mt Mills? Let us know your secret climbs

So you've crossed HMPass with a pack and w/o pack? I never have, yet I did once cross with a giant bucket of food strapped to my back. That was over 35 years ago, and so I don't think I can still get in trouble for it. My plan was to stash the bucket deep in a talus slope, and return to collect it when I reached Mono Creek a week after hiking in from the south, and then to carry on to the north where the next bucket of food was held for us at the Saddlebag Lake store. It worked out fine-- no bears found it.

[c9h13no3]

gazelle writes:

yep that would be me! Half moon pass isn't too bad done it as a day hike and with a pack!

Hey Kristine, I am still wondering what climbs you would have made when accessing the range via Half-moon Pass.

Here's at least one example.

[Carne_DelMuerto]

My crew is thinking of using the Backpackers Camp at Mosquito Flat the night before we head in. Inyo NF site shows it as open.

I imagine it won't be packed on a Wednesday night, but we'll be arriving late. Would anyone recommend not using it? (We'll do our best to be socially distant from any other group.)

[austex]

I haven't used it this yr but in yrs past usually pretty empty, especially midweek. I read somewhere recently (maybe Facebook) that people where sleeping in the backs of vehicles arriving late and leaving early on hikes. It's a whole new animal this year. I read it is open and IIRC there are about 8 designated spots and plenty of room in between. Harlan was through there recently.

[oleander]

Where in the world is this backpacker's campground at Mosquito Flat?

Somehow I managed to hike from that trailhead for the last two years in a row without ever noticing a backpacker's campground.

[SSSdave]

It right across the creek bridge from the end of the parking lot but one is supposed to have a permit for the following day as it would otherwise be overwhelmed by all the campground car campers in the canyon.

Did note the added Inyo permits on rec dot gov today versus blank spots Friday. Gives me a notion to base camp there this August.