Seeking North/South Lake Loop Advice

[grap112ler]

Hi all, I've lurked for a few years but this is my first post! I'm relatively new to sierra backpacking. I grew up in far Norcal and have done most of my backpacking in the Marble Mountains and Trinity Alps. Hikes I've done in the sierra include the High Sierra Trail, Rae Lakes Loop, Yosemite North Rim Trail, and a quick out and back over Lamarck Col to Darwin Basin and into Evolution Basin and back (so there are still a TON of areas I have yet to explore).

My sister and I have plans to do the North/South Lake Loop in a few weeks, and I wanted to pick your brains about altering the loop from the traditional trail. We have 6 full days to do the hike. My sister has only done the High Sierra Trail, so has never seen anything like Evolution Basin. Would it be worth it to bypass Piute Canyon and Evolution Valley by taking the Alpine Col shortcut over the Glacier Divide and down onto the Darwin Bench to give us an extra day to explore some other basin? Potentials for exploring would be McGee Lakes, Ionian Basin or Dusy Basin. Or is the the trail through Piute Canyon and Evolution Valley sufficiently scenic that we should not skip it and save basin exploring for another time?

Thank you and happy hiking!

[khamike]

Alpine col is quite rugged, with lots of talus. If you haven't checked out the HST map and list of passes, see viewtopic.php?f=31&t=8583 for details. The keyhole and snow-tongue pass are other alternatives in the area but neither of them is much better. If you're looking to save some time, I would recommend camping near evolution lake then dayhiking down evolution valley, which is worth seeing. You can then exit via lamarck col.

[papercup]

If you're looking to shorten up the northern part of the hike, the more common way to do it would be to use Lamarck Col instead of Piute Pass. That's far shorter than doing the full trail hike, and it's quicker and easier than doing Piute Pass --> Alpine Col. But, that's also one of the hikes you've done before, so you may want to do something different. I haven't done Alpine Col myself, but my understanding of it is consistent with khamike's description -- it's doable, but rocky and rugged, so consider your comfort level.

The long trail route does have some benefits. The trail up Piute Pass is very well made, and Humphrey's Basin on the other side is very attractive. Piute Creek is beautiful and there are some really nice meadows and forest/stream combination areas that you'll pass on the way down. Plus you'll obviously hike through all of Evolution Valley, instead of catching only the basin. But it is a lot of trail miles in areas that don't have the same spectacular high country landscapes that you'll see in Evolution Basin and elsewhere.

As to some of your other proposed destinations: Ionian Basin is also very rugged. It's a unique and beautiful place, but not an easy side trip. Dusy Basin, on the other hand, is far less rugged and quite easy to explore. You could also do a trip through Palisade Basin, just south of Dusy Basin, if you wanted to get a bit farther off-trail -- there are two passes connecting Dusy to Palisade, so it's easy to loop in one and out the other.

[Gogd]

I concur, if you opt out of Piute Pass, then Lamarck is the most efficient use of time. As for side excursions: the basin due east of Saphire Lake requires minimal time commitment, and worth the visit on that basis alone. But Dusy Basin and the basins further south are a more popular choice - Just something about the the west side of the Palisades Escarpment that is fascinating. These two suggestions are the most affordable, time wise, as asides to the core N/S Lake loop.

Ed

[mkbgdns]

having done alpine col about 40 years ago, I vowed never to do it again. I kept my vow. mcgee lakes and dusy basin are both well worth a day. ionian basin was hard.

[grap112ler]

Thank you all for your knowledge! It seems like everyone advises against Alpine Col, so I'll save that for another time, if ever. We don't necessarily have a time crunch given that we have 6 days to do this hike, so it seems like seeing Piute Canyon and Evolution Valley is probably the way to go since we've never hiked them. I suspect the entire trail itself probably requires 4 or 4.5 days of comfortable hiking for us, so we should have 1.5 to 2 days to venture off the main trail and wander into one or more of the basins you all suggested.

Thanks again!

[Wandering Daisy]

I have done the trail route and it really does not add that much time, although much more miles. The trail down Piute Creek is well maintained and you can go fairly fast. It is hot as hell, so do it early in the morning. Perhaps camp at Upper Golden Trout Lake first day, then up early and down to the PCT trail junction and up towards Evolution and camp just after you get up into Evolution Valley.

Definitely no on Alpine Col with someone without a lot of off-trail experience. I was up at Muriel Lake a few days ago and a fellow "lost" his other two partners coming over Alpine Col. I have heard nothing, but there were two mornings of helicopters flying over searching- not sure if it was due to this group or another search. Nothing in the news about this. There still are snowfields on the north side.

[wildhiker]

having done alpine col about 40 years ago, I vowed never to do it again. I kept my vow.

I totally concur, except I did Alpine Col 22 years ago, so I still have many more years of vow-keeping to go!