Happy Campers from San Diego

[apieceofzmind]

Greetings all and thank you for accepting me to this wonderful forum.

I have a group of 6-8 friends of varying camping/backpacking skill levels that are adventuring North from San Diego from June 18th - June 22nd. Ideally, we would be driving up Thursday after work, finding a place to crash for a night and starting our real adventure Friday morning. We will conclude our trip and drive back the following Monday. My real need is to create an itinerary for our trip.

Ideally, we would like to backpack to remote camp sites that allow campfires, star gazing, etc. We want to see the Gen Sherman and maybe participate in water sports/fishing. We are not opposed to a mix of car camping and backpacking, but are most likely limited shorter legs of 6 miles with full packs. Breathtaking greenery is a must as we are in a drought and have grown quite tired of desert camping.

Seeing that we will be driving up from San Diego, we will be spending a lot of time in the car. If we minimize our drive time, we can maximize our adventure time. Please keep this in mind when making suggestions.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I appreciate any and all itineraries and suggestions anyone has.

Z

[maverick]

Hi Z,

Welcome to HST! Please read: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4205
Also an intro would be appreciated : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9329

[apieceofzmind]

Sorry for acting like such a newbie... though this is my first forum post ever

This should clear things up a bit..

What level of backpacking experience do you have?
Level 2- Some backpacking trips, using trails

What terrain are you comfortable/uncomfortable with?
- Class 2 terrain/pass/x-country
- River crossings

What is your main interest?
- Lakes
- Forests
- Big Mountain scenery
- Photography
- Fishing
- Climbing

How many days/nights is your trip, not including travel to trailhead?
3 Days / 3 Nights

How many miles did you want to do a day, any layovers?
At the most 10 miles, but more comfortable with 6 miles.

Do you have a route logistics preference: loop or point to point, we have 4WD vehicles.

Is there a particular area in the Sierra that your most interested in(Yosemite, SEKI
western sierra start or eastern start ect.)?
Sequioa National Park or King's Canyon are ideal. We would like to see Gen Sherman.

Will you be hiking with a dog?
Ideally yes, but it is not a deal breaker.

[AlmostThere]

If you are going to national parks, dog stays at home. Not allowed on wilderness trails.

Schedule a day to camp and visit frontcountry things, like the Giant Forest and Gen. Sherman. And pick up a permit.

2 days/1 night options: Pear Lake, in and out. Twin Lakes/Silliman Pass, in and out. Jennie Lake Loop (this is the only option totally outside the national park boundary, so there are no permits needed, and dogs are allowed.) Redwood Canyon, either the loop or take the trail down the canyon out toward the springs.

3 days/2 nights: get a permit for JO Pass entry into Sequoia NP, drop a car at Lodgepole, and hike Jennie Lake, Twin Lakes, and out to Lodgepole (no dog - travels into the park). Head up from Roads End, camp at Junction Meadow and day hike out to Lake Reflection for some fishing and scenery, reverse back to the trailhead. Mineral King - if you are not allergic to rapid ascents, head up Franklin Pass and around to Black Rock Pass, visiting Five Lakes - but this would be a total whirlwind tour. An out and back with a day hike ascent of Sawtooth Peak from Monarch Lakes would be the one trip with all your needs met (except the dog).

There are really great loops but you need more time to do them. 5 days would be my suggested minimum for a long loop through Deadman Canyon, for example. One could spend many days on Mineral King and not exhaust the possibilities.

[apieceofzmind]

Wow, thanks @AlmostThere!!! This sort of description was exactly what I was hoping for when I requested sample itineraries. I have a bit of research to do based on your recommendations. We might just leave Fido home for this trip.

[MountainMinstrel]

Jennie Lake Loop (this is the only option totally outside the national park boundary, so there are no permits needed, and dogs are allowed.)

I don't have my maps with me but if memory serves me correctly the Jenny Lake loop takes you over JO pass which is in the NP so dogs would not be allowed. You could still do an out and back though.

[AlmostThere]

Jennie Lake Loop (this is the only option totally outside the national park boundary, so there are no permits needed, and dogs are allowed.)

I don't have my maps with me but if memory serves me correctly the Jenny Lake loop takes you over JO pass which is in the NP so dogs would not be allowed. You could still do an out and back though.

The JO pass is not part of the loop. The loop takes you around poop out pass, to Jenny Lake, and back around to Weaver Lake on the way out. The entire loop is within national Forest boundaries.

[MountainMinstrel]

Jennie Lake Loop (this is the only option totally outside the national park boundary, so there are no permits needed, and dogs are allowed.)

I don't have my maps with me but if memory serves me correctly the Jenny Lake loop takes you over JO pass which is in the NP so dogs would not be allowed. You could still do an out and back though.

The JO pass is not part of the loop. The loop takes you around poop out pass, to Jenny Lake, and back around to Weaver Lake on the way out. The entire loop is within national Forest boundaries.

It was 2006 when I took that loop so my memory was a bit foggy. However, the only loop I see on my map (Harrison Mt Whitney High Country) does take you East to JO pass and then down the Rowell Meadows trail--across to Weaver and out. It does not however, go out of Jenney Lakes wilderness, but parallels the boundary 'tween it and SEKI. I had remembered seeing the sign for SEKI on that trip, but we obviously did not cross it.

Is there another trail that does not go to JO?

[AlmostThere]

Jennie Lake Loop (this is the only option totally outside the national park boundary, so there are no permits needed, and dogs are allowed.)

I don't have my maps with me but if memory serves me correctly the Jenny Lake loop takes you over JO pass which is in the NP so dogs would not be allowed. You could still do an out and back though.

The JO pass is not part of the loop. The loop takes you around poop out pass, to Jenny Lake, and back around to Weaver Lake on the way out. The entire loop is within national Forest boundaries.

It was 2006 when I took that loop so my memory was a bit foggy. However, the only loop I see on my map (Harrison Mt Whitney High Country) does take you East to JO pass and then down the Rowell Meadows trail--across to Weaver and out. It does not however, go out of Jenney Lakes wilderness, but parallels the boundary 'tween it and SEKI. I had remembered seeing the sign for SEKI on that trip, but we obviously did not cross it.

Is there another trail that does not go to JO?

Yes, there is the loop trail. It goes to Weaver from Jenny. I have hiked it before. It does not cross the park boundary. Crossing JO would take you into the park, not crossing it keeps you inside Jenny wilderness.