So any backpacking I do is going to be limited to a) overnight trips or b) July 4 or Labor Day.
![frown :(](./images/smilies/frown.gif)
Now, most overnight destinations aren't particularly desirable to me, given my misanthropic tendencies. But today I got to thinking about some trips I've done to off-trail destinations that were lovely, unpopulated, and accessible in a reasonable day's hike. (And I'm talking reasonable by the standards of normal schlubs like me--not what, say, maverick or Rogue Photonic would do in a day.) Places like:
--Wegner Lake (Yosemite NP, Yosemite Creek trailhead): classic mid-elevation granite lake
--Recess Peak Lakes (John Muir Wilderness, Bear Ridge TH): excellent views, great alpenglow
--One-Halfth Recess Lakes (JMW, Bear Ridge TH): spectacular views of Mono Creek canyon & the Silver Divide
--Mt. Shinn Lake (John Muir Wilderness, Florence Lake TH): this is a long tough climb for a single day, but pays off in beauty & isolation
--Evergreen Lake or Devil's Corral (Mokelumne Wilderness, Blue Lakes TH): by far the easiest on this list (~2 miles in), these aren't exactly undiscovered, but they do offer a lot more solitude than nearby Granite Lake
So...what are your suggestions for isolated, beautiful single-day destinations? (They don't have to be lakes, although lakes are my ideal.) Help me salvage what little I can from my mostly-ruined backpacking season!
![wink ;)](./images/smilies/wink.gif)
Thanks in advance,
Tom