Trip Advice: Rock Creek to Mcgee Creek

[mxoyez]

Hello,
I'm curious if anyone on here has done the rock creek to McGee creek point to point hike(over mono pass and then over Hopkins pass). I'm thinking of parking at McGee, then hitch hiking to rock creek where we'd do the point to point trail. Does anyone have a rough estimate of how long it is? How hard is it as a day hike? (compared to an out and back hike to McGee pass or some other metric). I'm hoping to stop at 4th recess lake on the way. How is Hopkins pass?
Thanks!

[cgundersen]

hi mx,
You'll get more folk chiming in if you (re-) post this in the backpacking section, but for now,I'll point out that many moons ago I did a trip going in at McGee Creek and over Hopkins and later used Cox col to reach Rock Creek basin before completing the loop via Hilton Lakes. Yes, the last bit was a long walk through chaparral, but it worked. Details regarding Hopkins pass are in the HST off-trail passes section. Briefly, there is a use trail that one can follow the whole way to Hopkins pass (from the McGee side). Should you be coming up Hopkins basin, there's a big stack of rocks on the expansive Hopkins ridge that leads you to the use trail. It can be a bit sketchy in big snow years, but will be a snooze this year. 4th recess lake has a huge waterfall at its south end and plenty of campsite options. Depending on your experience, 4th recess lake should be easy to reach in one day from Rock creek. Happy trails. Cameron

[mputt]

Ok, thank you Cameron! I was worried about Hopkins Pass mostly, so that easies my worries quite a bit. I'll repost this in backpacking!

[sukhoi_584th]

Was at Fourth Recess last summer for the first time, and IMHO it's vastly overrated for camping. Nice scenic lunch spot, but the camps suck. There are a couple near the outlet, but they're dirty and buried in the trees. We wasted a bunch of time going along the lakeshore on both sides to find something better but no luck. Our next night in lower Pioneer Basin was much nicer.

[lvray]

Hopkins is easy. Agree 4th Recess is overrated. But there is a very secluded (but small) campsite on the far SE corner of the lake with a nice few of the waterfall. Third Recess is nicer.

[gregw822]

I've been over Hopkins, starting from the McGee side. It's an easy pass.

[Love the Sierra]

I was just n the vicinity last week. Weather you make it to 4th in one day depends upon how strong and fast a hiker you are. We stayed at Trail Lake and then on to 1st in Pioneer Basin, but that was after a long drive to the TH and then fighting and waiting a long time for parking at Mosquito Flat, and that was on a Tuesday morning! We didn’t hit the trail until noon. The pass above the High Lakes in Pioneer Basin looked dry. Mono Pass still had snow with sun cups but easily avoidable. For what it may be worth, the east and south sides of Hopkins that we could see were totally dry.