Mono Creek Advice

[kpeter]

In a couple of weeks, I am taking my daughter and her boyfriend on a packtrip up Mono Creek. We will take the Lake Edison ferry in the afternoon and arrive at the east end of the lake after 4pm. My plans are to hike just far enough to get to a nice campsite and then begin the trip in earnest the next day.

My daughter has packed with me before half a dozen times but is not hard core, and her boyfriend--while athletic--will be on his very first trip.

I thought perhaps we would set as a destination (not necessarily in one day) a stream side camp up near 4th recess, and then take a day hike to Pioneer Basin, another day hike to Mono Pass, etc. We will have 5 nights in addition to that first after-the-ferry night.

I've never been up Mono Creek before. I know there are reputedly many gorgeous cross-country hikes up the various recesses, but I am not sure whether or not someone on his first trip should try them. I'm looking for general advice from people familiar with the area, including

1) Do you remember good campsites in Quail Meadows or otherwise close to the reservoir, reachable in about an hour of hiking?

2) Which recesses and hikes from Mono Creek would be most accessible for a newbie like my daughter's boyfriend? What are the relative difficulties, for example, of Laurel Lake, Lower Hopkins lake, Pioneer Basin, and Third Recess Lake? I could see trying one fairly easy cross-x route with a lot of bang-for-the-buck, but I don't want to chase this young man away from backpacking either.

3) How in general do you find stream side camping in this canyon? I'm wondering if we should make the effort to head up a recess to camp each night, or whether we might camp on Mono Creek and day hike more, to keep the difficulty levels down.

[balzaccom]

First of all, if he's athletic, you might find that he will leave you both behind! My adult daughters now do that to me...

There are campsite all along Mono Creek, and yes, even down at the bottom. But you should be able to get a few miles up the trail before you nee to make camp.

My advice would be to play it by ear. There are plenty of campsites along Mono Creek. If you an get across the creek, Second Recess is also great. And there is an easy to follow use trail up to Laurel and Grinnell lakes...Fourth Recess Lake and Pioneer Basin are both cakewalks...and each offers a different kind of delight. I suggest that you explain all the options, and then let the kids help you decide how far you hike each day, and where you camp. Giving them input into the process will engage them more in the activity, and that's a sure way to make sure they have a better time.

And you may want to decide where to camp based on the mosquitoes, as they can vary a lot depending on your elevation.

[wildhiker]

On my one trip from Lake Edison in 1998, we also took the late afternoon ferry and then, with our heavy packs laden for a week, decided to camp close up the creek. We found an excellent spot by taking the Muir Trail south over the bridge over Mono Creek and then walking a few hundred yards downstream.
-Phil

[SSSdave]

Mid July, grassy, marshy Quail Meadows is certain to remain a reservoir of mosquitoes and stay so into August. River canyons with trails running through them are certain to have endless both previously well-used campsites as well as myriad natural spots if one looks in bedrock zones. Directly above the reservoir, campsites are abundant due to non-backpacking types hand carrying gear taking the ferry to that end just to go upstream a bit.

First evening will recommend just east of Quail Meadows where the JMT/PCT crosses the creek on the bridge, has used camp spots everywhere. For more seclusion, after crossing the bridge, go upstream along the trail-less south creek that with Google Earth one can see numerous gruss flat spots in the bedrock. Generally the canyon with its steep U-shaped walls and few views, has tree clearing avalanche paths all along its walls that can be rather brushy without shade. Use GE to survey the rest of the canyon for bedrock zones. For instance 8120+ 8240+ 8260+ 9120. Once above the Second Recess junction, the forest due to even more avalanche paths becomes more open with more campsite possibilities. Beware where convenient aspen colonized side streams cross because they are likely to be more buggy with greenery too.

Although your daughter's friend may be athletic, it often takes more than that for never-evers to hike even with a light pack more than a few miles due to issues like boot foot soreness, waist belt rubbing, or shoulder strap soreness that may have happened with your brother on your recent Emigrant trip. You also tend to easily hike further daily distances than many would be comfortable with. So best to not set a pre-planned destination the first couple days while letting that decision reside with the two others as to how they feel and what they like. Give new unfamiliar others several hours to enjoy the end of a day at a camp zone versus hiking all day.

Pioneer Basin and Fourth Recess are a long ways while Hopkins and Third Recess nearly as much. Mills Creek up buggy Second Recess is an adventurous and sometimes tedious off trail effort to reach its magnificent headwaters basin. Both NF Mono Creek and Laural Creek with strong scenery have good trails with plenty of options once their upper lake basins are reached. Laural Creek canyon and Grinnel Lake are spectacular and mid July ought be peaking with wildflowers. One has the option to loop via Bighorn Pass.

[Love the Sierra]

I have never come up from Edison. However, I tend to agree with Balzaccom, engage the kids in the decision. Show them pictures and explain mileage. Pioneer is so very pretty and not very hard. You could make camp at the first lake and then day hike all the way up the basin. It could be an awful lot of RT mileage for a day hike.
Also, you have no idea how the altitude may affect her boyfriend. I would play it by ear, day by day. However, show them the pictures ahead of the trip so that they can decide what is a goal.

[Wandering Daisy]

The trail up the canyon is not that spectacular because you really cannot see much from it. I think picking one Recess and exploring from there is a better choice than camping down at Mono Creek and day-hiking.

I agree that Laurel Creek headwaters fits the bill. You can day-hike to Rosy Finch and Grinnell or even camp at each. Lots of territory to explore and fish. You will not get bored. The trail is strenuous- very steep with little water for the first 1000 feet. It has little shade so best done in morning. I did it last year in the afternoon at the end of a long day and was miserable. It flattens in a big meadow where it is easy to lose the trail, but you cannot get lost. Best to find it though because it is the easiest route through the cliffy lip to the next meadow. In spite of all this, it is worth the effort; just go a slow steady pace and plan plenty of time.

If I were to go to Pioneer Basin, I would go in Mono Pass from Rock Creek and spend at least 2 days in the basin. It also offers lots of territory to explore and fishing is good.

I was not impressed with Hopkins when I did it last year. Mills Creek may even top Laurel for scenery but there are less options to explore and it is harder with more off-trail and route-finding issues. Third Recess end at one nice lake with fish, but not much else.

[kpeter]

Thanks so much balzacom, wildhiker, SSSDave, Love the Sierra, and WD. This is exactly the advice I needed. You folks are always so accommodating with your advice!

[Love the Sierra]

@kpeter Following a weekend of hauling my own 45 lb pack around our local mountains for the last training hikes before a trip next week and musing over conversations with my daughter about her friend’s boyfriend who she is “gentling easing into backpacking” I have some more thoughts. My daughter’s friend was an AT through hiker and wilderness guide. She and her boyfriend run several miles every day. She takes him on longer and longer car camps but is afraid to take him to the Sierra and turn him off altogether on the idea of backpacking.
With that in mind, has your daughter’s boyfriend camped at all? Does he like the outdoors, being dirty and sleeping and pooping on the ground? I would ease him into the altitude also. How high has he ever been and how well did he handle it? Maybe a dispersed car camp in the buttermilks or SEKI is a better first option?
If he has camped before, I would do the easiest, prettiest hike possible. Maybe, on the east side, 20 lake basin? Another easier, not easy, one is mono pass to Pioneer Basin with a first night at Trail Lake? Also, some of the easier SEKI trips may be a better option. Finally, insanely crowded but reasonably easy is Thousand Island lake and Ediza on the East side. North Fork Big Pine Creek is also an easy, very beautiful first backpack, especially when it is blooming!

These are just a few thoughts you may have considered already but I hope they are helpful if you and your daughter have not. We are so addicted to the Sierra that we just want the views and beauty and everythign magnificent that comes with it and we are willing to pay that very high price of admission. (Discomfort, to say the least, and hauling that pack!) I would make sure that her boyfriend’s addiction to the Sierra is strong enough to enjoy the trip. I cannot understand it, but some people REALLY like and need their comfort!

[Wandering Daisy]

A 5-day trip does not have to involve "heavy" pack, misery, etc. I seriously doubt an athletic young man would be put off by a bit of hard work, pooping in the woods, and no showers. No reason you cannot rinse off sweat at the end of each day. Just be sure he has fairly good equipment for a comfortable night sleep. No reason he cannot wear trail runners that are not much different from other athletic shoes. Since your daughter is not "hard-core" herself, a trip planned for her should be just fine for the young man. And if he is put off with backpacking better learned now than later.

[Love the Sierra]

@Wandering Daisy you would be surprised by some of the college aged, city slickers my kids are friends with. They are appalled and amazed that my daughter and I backpack, and all of these kids run or participate in some sort of sport.
For that matter, most of my friends think that I am crazy too!