High Sierra Topix

Great Post, and lots of fine insights, so thanks!

Off the top of my head, the most remote feeling places in my Sierra travels have been the Pinnacles Creeks, the overgrown bottom of Disappearing Creek, Kaweah Basin, and the Tunemah area. Of course, these have all been mentioned; however, even lesser traveled areas can be found just by turning up many steep side canyons, and plowing up into a high, trailless basin. This can be done all over the Sierra if real solitude is your desire; but I guess we are talking here of the sort of remote areas where we can cover many miles exploring, not just my sort of "hideouts." Winter travel too opens all kinds of areas for solitary travels. My longest period alone was 7 days in December, snowshoeing a circle in Yosemite which included Little Yosemite Valley, and Vogelsang Pass!

One remote and difficult area I have thought about is Silver Creek in the Middle Fork Kings/ Monarch Divide area. My idea was to climb up the creek from Little Tehipite Valley. Approaching via the Middle Fork would make this a real epic, probably only possible in September of a low water year. Crossing over Monarch Divde, probably south of Harrington Peak was the plan. I reckon this would be as heinous a route as one might conceive, and the level of fun off the chart!

Great thread and great ideas for future hikes.

Summit City Canyon in Mokelumne Wilderness, especially once you get past the 4th of July Lk trail fork, is pretty darn remote in terms of not seeing many folks. Part of the original TYT Winnett Route, but not a popular destination by any means.

dbargaehr1 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 8:51 am Great thread and great ideas for future hikes.

Summit City Canyon in Mokelumne Wilderness, especially once you get past the 4th of July Lk trail fork, is pretty darn remote in terms of not seeing many folks. Part of the original TYT Winnett Route, but not a popular destination by any means.

If I can get there by 9:30am from my car in winter, after driving up from San Mateo that morning, it probably ain't so remote. But yeah, it doesn't get a ton of use.

Which brings up the point that a place does not have to be remote in order to be rarely visited. There are lots of places in the SIerra that are just off the beaten path, easy to get to, and yet will give you all the solitude you could want.

Exactly. This gets to the root of the meaning of remoteness. Furthest from a road, or furthest from crowds…this is a subjective criteria. There are documented options in either regard.

ironmike wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 10:32 pm Exactly. This gets to the root of the meaning of remoteness. Furthest from a road, or furthest from crowds…this is a subjective criteria. There are documented options in either regard.

If I see people, it’s a sure sign I’m in the wrong area. Last year we had a 36hr period not far from Reds Meadow that we didn’t see a single other person. That’s my idea of paradise, anyways.

My moonshot goal in the next 4-5 years is to do a modified Winnett -route TYT. Very little PCT overlap, a fair bit more XC than winnetts route, and some phenomenal fishing and views along the way. I spent a good month planning the route and it’s sitting in my caltopo account, waiting for me. I suspect the route I’ve chosen will be significantly more solitude than trail sharing.

Harlen wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 8:21 am There is one remote and difficult (impossible now?) area I have thought about is Silver Creek in the Middle Fork Kings/ Monarch Divide area. My idea was to climb up the creek from Little Tehipite Valley. Approaching via the Middle Fork would make this a real epic, probably only possible in September of a low water year. Crossing over Monarch Divde, probably south of Harrington Peak was the plan. I reckon this would be as heinous a route as one might conceive, and the level of fun off the chart!

Ian, there used to be a trail there

https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=36.8508 ... o=1900&n=1

Jimr wrote:

Ian, there used to be a trail there

Ian, there used to be a trail there
https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=36.8508 ... o=1900&n=1

So there is Jim, and it even leads to a crossing at "Happy Gap!" I guess I would have to move up the Middle Fork to "The Gorge of Despair" for my sufferfest. What do you think it would be like hiking up the Middle Fork? Good fishing holes and Rattlesnakes?

A good sufferfest for you (who has the required experience) in low flow conditions. Undoable in high water,, which may mean undoable this year.

Nice get Jim! I suspect that one could keep plenty busy trying to trace lots of those old trails which undoubtedly have fallen into disrepair either because they are no longer maintained and/or because they have been replaced by a trail taking a different route. After a very long gap between visits, I went looking for the old trail to/from Sawtooth Pass out of Mineral King. The new trail runs along the southern wall of the canyon before reaching Monarch Lakes and the final climb to the pass, whereas the old trail ran along the Northern side of the canyon. It took me a while to find the old trail and it was interrupted frequently by rock-slides which undoubtedly led to the re-routing. It spite of that, there was plenty of evidence of foot traffic on that route. It's more direct, but definitely more cumbersome these days.

For those with more IT moxie than I have, it seems that one could undertake an objective survey of "remote" locations based on the rarity of reports (like, TRs) of folks having ventured to said location. For instance, on that same trip out of Mineral King, I was somewhat surprised to find very few TRs on HST that mentioned Amphitheater Lake. Yes, the one that's all of two miles (or so) as the crow flies from the Mineral King parking lot. This continues the theme that proximity to "civilization" does not necessarily diminish tranquility. Still, it's been my experience that the more distance between you and a trailhead, the fewer folk you run into (unless you're on Roper's route). Cameron