High Sierra Topix

acvdmlac wrote: 1. In September 2012, are we likely to encounter enough snow on Shepherd, Harrison or Junction Passes to require ice-ax, crampons? Or is kick-stepping w/trekking poles & wise route selection likely to be enough?

This photo shows the Shepherd Pass crossing in August 2012. No need for special equipment here.

You might want to consider hiring a packer (highly recommended for nubies) to take you up to Anvil Camp (almost 6K feet elevation gain). You can get there by lunch and if you want to, do what we did and hike the rest of the afternoon to the lake just over the summit. My friend Joe and I visited by day hike and fished the lakes in the Williamson basin while my wife stayed with the packs (her choice) and read. I recommend it. Hiking from the summit to Wallace through Wright is (too) easy. If you stay at Wallace you might consider staying below the lake on the beautiful creek. The Lake is a natural wind tunnel. I remember Wales Lake as being very rocky. As most here know, I like trees (preferable near the timberline) and I don't remember any at Wales.

Has anyone camped at any of the lakes or streams along the eastern of Diamond Mesa, west of Shepherd Pass? We're thinking of camping there for a night or two, guessing there's probably a flat spot for a couple of tents somewhere around there, but sometimes I've been surprised at how hard it is to find enough level space in really rocky or tussocky terrain...