Thousand Island and Minaret in one day

[atodor]

I have in my mind to hike to Thousand Island lake, Ediza, Cecile, Iceberg and Minaret lakes in one day, starting at Agnew Meadows and ending at Devil's Postpile, hopefully catching the last shuttle from Postpile to Agnew. This would be July 19. By my calculations this would be 28 miles. The longest day hike I did was last year, 36 miles in 15 hours, on the Mount Assiniboine Pass - Wonder Pass loop near Banff. I realize this might be more difficult, because of elevation if nothing else, but maybe still doable.
I welcome input from those familiar with the area and long hikes/trail running on whether this is reasonable or not, and potential hazards, like route (particularly from Cecile to Minaret), thunderstorms, dangerous wildlife, show patches etc.

[FrankPS]

I'd suggest you have a plan if you miss the last shuttle.

[sbennett3705]

This is so far out of my league I have little to offer except the off-trail stuff is talus scrambling, which much consumes much time (i.e., Iceberg Lk. to Minaret Lk.)

[The Other Tom]

28 miles in one day is what the PCT thru hikers do after they get their trail legs. You know your condition better than anyone else, but most people wouldn't attempt that unless they're in really good shape.
It's been a while since I've been that way, but I remember it was a slog when hiking on the trail beside the river. Lots of sand which requires extra effort to hike.
If you decide to do this and are running close on time, you could cut your trip short and stop at Agnew on the way back.

[RiseToADry]

A couple thoughts.. I think this route is doable in a day, but perhaps not within the constraints of Friday, July 19th. The problem with Friday is you can't drive your car down early and the first shuttle down isn't until 9AM and you're definitely not catching the last shuttle starting at 9:30. You'd be better off driving down in the dark Saturday morning and starting from Agnew at first light so you can definitely catch the last shuttle from the Postpile back to Agnew. Alternatively you could park at the Postpile and catch the first shuttle to Agnew and not have to worry about catching the shuttle back, but you'd be starting from Agnew around 8AM instead of 5AM. It comes down to a personal preference of starting/finishing times, IMO.

Aside from the logistics piece, the crux of the entire route is what you have pointed out already... around Iceberg and Cecile. Iceberg was still 50% frozen on July 4th and Cecile 30%. It's been hot in Mammoth so they're likely to be ice free by now, but the snowfields on the southeast shore of Iceberg and western shore of Cecile are likely to remain for a while. There are many posts on HST about the Iceberg snowfield, I would suggest reading those and assess whether you can or want to traverse it.

Overall its a great route and I hope you can pull it off.

[atodor]

That road closure is new to me. Last year I canceled this trip because of snow, two years ago because of family emergency, and now the road is closed. Fortunately I can go on Saturday. Thanks, RiseToADry

[c9h13no3]

Hike the loop in the uphill direction (Minaret to Agnew) and then close the loop with a "gravity shuttle" using a bike/roller skates or whatever. I think I'd prefer this direction slightly anyways since I remember the trail to Minaret Lake being hot and I missed the trail getting down from Cecile.

The snowfield on the south side of Iceberg is no joke. Bringing an ice axe for that bit is probably smart. In dry conditions it goes really fast.

Most of this forum is old folks carrying heavy packs. Given you've hiked further, it sounds like pace isn't an issue. I'd leave the running vest behind tho, the only really runnable parts are short lived. Send it, it is an incredible loop.

[Harlen]

Old fart with heavy pack here, but I have done both of the trips you mention. You ask about "dangerous wildlife." We only ran into one huge Moose, and loooong runs of Buffalo-berry-Bear **** on that route in Banff. As for this area, in the 90's, Thousand Island area to Rush Creek had a big male Black Bear named by the "Broody" by the rangers, and he was an infamous food thief. Even broke into the rangers own bear box. Broody specialized in lurking near folks and stealing their day packs for the lunch inside. My ex-partner was a bc ranger there, and Broody was also suspected of many of the ill-fated hung food incidents. That bear is gone now, but you get the idea Atodor-- there are likely Bears that are habituated to people, and therefore more dangerous than the usual "tolerant Black Bear."*

But last I heard, honey bees and wasps kill far more people per year than bears ever have, so watch out for bees.

Atodor, you have at least 3 trail options, and 1 off-trail option for your route. What is your route-- up the River Trail and then back south on the JMT, then off trail to Minaret Lake? Have you considered the high route? I highly recommend the rambling around up high under the Ritter Range, though it would increase the difficulty a bit. E.g., up the River Trail (faster than the JMT) to 1000 IL, then half-circle the lake and hit one of several high routes that would take you south to Lake Ediza, and then on to Cecile, to Minaret Lake, and back down and around. You would likely come out in the dark, but take a good head lamp for both your start and your finish, which are in the least scenic parts of your trip. You can add some miles by jogging the road back to your car at Agnew- why not?! (you're young and pack-free)

I think the highlight of the trip is the view of Clyde Minaret from Minaret Lake, and I'd prefer to have time to just stare at that view for an hour or so, but then I also took a week to do your Mt Assiniboine-Wonder Pass trip. You must have some fine legs under you. Good luck, and please let us all know how it goes. Cheers, Ian.


*the title of a fascinating chapter in Canadian biologist Stephen Herrero's classic book on bear-human interactions-- Bear Attacks, Their Causes and Avoidance.

[Gazelle]

I have done all of what you want to do but in different trips. I think you would be fine to drive down EARLY to agnew, got to thousand island, over the pass to nydiver lakes down to ediza up to iceberg on trail dont try to short cut…ask me how I know. the traverse up to cecile might need ice axe etc, to cecile at end of cecile just get on trail to mineret lake and then to devils, would be a fun day but I would rather get some peaks! Some really fun ones you can do in a day in that area.

[Wandering Daisy]

It is hard to be 100% certain that over 28 miles everything will go as planned. You may have to walk the road in the dark. There are campgrounds down there, so perhaps you could beg a ride (bring cash $20- for a bribe). If Reds Meadow is open, perhaps you could buy a ride back to your car. Or just be prepared (light weight bivy sack?) to hunker down/ hide in the bushes, if you get out late. Obviously bring a good head lamp.

I have done High Trail (PCT) and River Trail. River Trail will be cooler in the shade, if it is a hot day. I recall that as you near Thousand Island Lake, there is a junction that goes to Garnet Lake- be sure to take the proper trail. High Trial is very straight-forward, but some of the water sources may be dry. The crux is Iceberg Lake to Minaret Lake. Getting around Cecile Lake is talus hopping, a bit slow. But you can bail out via Shadow Lake if needed. Then there is the weather factor- if a big storm brews, you will want to bail out and not go to Cecile Lake.