Which pass for an early season pack mule trip?

[muleaaron]

My brother is an amputee who I backpacked and fished with a lot when he was younger, but his current mobility is limited to a mile or two a day without a heavy pack. I thought that a mule trip/drop camp might be a way to get him into the backcountry where we could do some fishing together. Ideally, we’d go early season, late June or early July, and I figured the Humphreys Basin or French Creek area would fit the bill. For those familiar with the trails, do you think it would be easier to get over Pine Creek Pass or Piute Pass with mules in the early season?

[Wandering Daisy]

Humphreys Basin, either route is pretty high altitude. Contact each outfitter and see what they say. Having done Pine Creek Pass early, there was a huge snowbank that blocked the pass on the north side. Also ask if they cover your permit or if you still have to get your own. In the past I think that if you went with a packer, you were covered under their permit.

You could aim for lower elevations, such as in Emigrant Wilderness. The problem with Emigrant is more river crossings, which are not as much a problem with horses. Emigrant also has good fishing, but scenery is less "alpine". If you are OK with less ideal fishing but good scenery, Big McGee Lake works.

Hard to say at this point because snowpack can vary significantly. Sometimes the southern Sierra opens to horses earlier in spite of high elevation. If it ends up a low snowpack year, there probably would be few problems with a late June-Early July trip, except mosquitoes.