Local knowedge needed - 1000 Island, Ediza, Minaret, Rosalie loop from Agnew Meadow

[sbennett3705]

I'm 65 this year and giving myself a treat with an August visit to 1000 Island, Ediza, Minaret, Rosalie out of Agnew Meadows. Any advice appreciate about best campsites (maybe Iceberg instead of Ediza?), what to avoid, bugs, snow, the Iceberg Lk to Minaret Lk off-trail section, etc. I'm 65 this year and giving myself a treat.

[c9h13no3]

Cool treat!

The Iceberg to Cecile section is pretty treacherous with snow. I'd bring axe & crampons if snow covered.

Nydiver Lakes are worth a visit, and hike up towards Banner-Ritter saddle on the climbers trail, it's a nice area.

It's a heavily used area. Ediza gets a lot of use, but also has a lot of timber & flat ground on the west side of the lake, so you can spread out a bit. There's not a lot of flat spots up around Cecile, only a few around Iceberg. But those lakes are less crowded.

[sbennett3705]

Thanks c9h13no3, not much snow by late August, right? I was planning on poles, microspikes and no axe.

[c9h13no3]

Thanks c9h13no3, not much snow by late August, right? I was planning on poles, microspikes and no axe.

Should be fine. Late August it's rare to need spikes. Your worry in late August will be wildfires & air quality.

[narc1370]

Keep in mind the road to Agnew Meadows is most likely going to be closed for the entire season, so you will have to either walk down the hill to AM's from the top or hoof it in from Mammoth Pass.

[sbennett3705]

"Keep in mind the road to Agnew Meadows is most likely going to be closed for the entire season". I was planning on dropping the car in Bishop, shuttle to Mammouth Lodge, then the shuttle to stop 1 (Agnew). Seems thier website says it's possible?

[kpeter]

It is a heavily used area but spectacular, so it is worth whatever effort is needed to see it. One question is how much of a cross-country hiker are you? Your itinerary will vary a lot depending on whether you will take a cross country pass like Whitebark or stick to the well groomed trails.

I think I read on another thread that the road into Devil's Postpile is closed all next summer and that this also affected the shuttles, but I am not sure--others here will chime in with more definitive information on that. If the trailheads there are all blocked, then I would do the trip from the Silver Lake trailhead in the north. The main disadvantage is that the trailhead is 1100 feet lower than Agnew Meadows, but the distances are not much different--approaching the area from the north as opposed to the south.

The use trail from Iceberg up to Cecile can indeed have snow on it into August in a very wet year (and we don't yet know how this one will turn out), and people have different tolerances for crossing it. Also a bit of a skittery scramble over the hump up top even when dry. For some it is no big deal. Cecile Lake is interesting to me mainly because it sits at the very base of the Minarets.

There are many trail reports here discussing the merits and camping preferences throughout this area. Here are a few ideas:

For Iceberg, there is a single camp on a little knoll near the outlet, that I am aware of. It is usually taken. Of course there may be other sites but none registered on me. I prefer Ediza, anyway. It is not difficult, by the way, to climb up out of Iceberg directly west to emerge into the meadows above Ediza.

For Ediza the best camps are well away from the lake, uphill on the inlet stream to the SW. Some of these camps have great views of the lake, running water, attractive meadows, views of the peaks, etc. As I recall, camping on the east side of the lake is prohibited but people do it anyway, unfortunately. In other words, make the extra effort to go uphill and away from the lake and you will be happy.

You may come the other way--over Whitebark Pass. If so, after seeing Nydiver Lakes head west to pick up the stream that courses ESE to form the inlet to Ediza. As you come down this stream you will see many delightful meadows and come to many potential campsites overlooking Ediza.

For both Garnet and Thousand Island there is a conundrum. To camp, I prefer the western ends--as far away from the JMT and through hikers as you can get. However, the best views are across the lakes toward Banner and Ritter, and these views are from the eastern ends. So you have to pick your priority.

Neither Ruby not Emerald Lakes struck me as my favorite places to camp. If you are backpacking in this area you are doing it for the classic Ansel Adams views, and you need the sweeping vistas you get at Gem, Thousand Island, Ediza, etc.

[sbennett3705]

Thanks all for the great advice.

If Agnew/Postpile has unknwon shuttle access, is there any reason I couldn't start from the Rush Creek trailhead? Seems it's around 9 miles to 1000 Island Lake and +1000 ft elevation gain vs. Agnew, but doable. Any thoughts?

[balzaccom]

No reason you can't take the Rush Creek trailhead. It works fine. And you can make a loop, going up through Waugh Lake and back down via Clark Lakes... Thousand Island Pass between Waugh and TIL, has wonderful views.

[Wandering Daisy]

There are several established campsites near the outlet of Iceberg Lake and all along the left* shore *facing the pass to Cecile Lake). There are a few sites about quarter mile down the trail from the outlet on the right* side (*if going up the trail). These are tight spots but with good timber wind protection. If you look around there are even more, but maybe not with a view of the lake. Ediza Lake can have horrible mosquitoes- the inlet area is a swamp. Iceberg usually has a nice breeze and not as swampy and fewer mosquitoes.

I have walked the road to Agnew TH from the parking area by the entry Kisok. It is three miles, downhill on the way in and only took an hour. Coming out with a lighter pack, it still was easy to do, maybe an hour and half at most. I am not sure if they will restrict foot use on the road - maybe times when they do not allow walking depending on the construction.

There is great camping out on the peninsula half-way down Garnet Lake. Garnet also has good fishing. I really prefer to walk the trail between Thousand Island and Garnet and then walk the north shore of Garnet (use-trail) and then up Whitebark Pass.

I have never had difficulty finding a nice campsite anywhere in the Minarets. You just have to look harder. It helps to have a small tent as a lot of sites are tight.

If you go in Rush Creek, it works better to just do loop the northern part of Minarets and then add a night or two at Marie Lakes or Davis Lakes. You could then do the southern Minaret Lakes next year when the road is open.