High Sierra Topix

Not really against going, but I know from the other thread "Trail Etiquette", I might just smile and walk on.

I have two other trips tentative during the year, and this would infringe work-wise. Also, I know where everyone else will be, so more of the rest of the Sierra to myself.

maverick wrote:Thanks Jimr. Those of you interested in the HST meet-up between 7/22-7/27
in Wallace Basin and are starting your hikes from Inyo NF, please secure your
wilderness permits now. If your starting point is within the NP you will have
to wait till March 1st to do so. If you are a new member on HST please do not
hesitate to join us, this is for all members new and old.

Mav,
Are the dates and location confirmed?

Rockchucker wrote:

DoyleWDonehoo wrote:Woah. Wallace/Wright Lakes Basin. Some guaranteed suffering to get there. Two to three days minimum for most.

From the East?? Steep climb but not too far....

Using Shepherd Pass: ~17 miles if you stay mostly on trails, about ~12 miles if you take the shortcut over the ridge, but the real killer is the 6000+ ft elevation gain, and rule of thumb is that you add a mile of effort for every 1000 foot gained. Death-marchers and Iron Man triathletes may not think that much of a challenge, but for mere mortals like myself past their use-by dates, its nothing to sniff at. Two days at least using Shepherd, more from other entry points.
I think it might be more fun (and easier) going from Cottonwood or Kearsarge, and go out Shepherd.

That's what I'm doing. Over Old Army pass, up through rock creek over crabtree pass, down crabtree lakes to trail, around whitney zone and up wallace creek, over to wright, then tyndall then shepherds pass.

Orbitor wrote:
Are the dates and location confirmed?

Yes, this is the location and the dates for our 2014 HST meet-up.

This sounds like an awesome trip. I would love to make it, but I"ve already got a ton of other things goin on (two young kids) and thats during my wife's birthday.

These days I mostly do bonzai overnighters or quick weekenders. I do plan on taking my 4 year old daughter on her first backpacking trip. I cant wait!

If someone organized a "smaller" trip I'd be interested.

maverick wrote:

Orbitor wrote:
Are the dates and location confirmed?

Yes, this is the location and the dates for our 2014 HST meet-up.

Mav, what days are you expecting people to be around the Wallace region? I'm planning on doing the same exact hike as Jim:

Mon 7/21 Day 0 - drive up from OC, shuttle car @ Shepherd, get dropped off @ Horseshoe around 4-5pm, hike to Cottonwood #3 (5.5 miles) [This should also miss the early morning marathon traffic]
Tues 7/22 Day 1 - go over Army, hike up Langley shoulder, drop into upper Soldier, hike past SBL and over Crabtree pass to lake #3 (11.4 miles)
Wed 7/23 Day 2 - follow trail down to PCT @ Crabtree mdw, head up PCT to Wallace jct & hike up to Wallace lake (10.6 miles)
Thurs 7/24 Day 3 - lollygag around Wallace (fish, etc) and then head off to WLB in the afternoon (4.0 miles via x-c shortcut)
Fri 7/25 Day 4 - go over Rockwell pass, catch trail to Shepherd and head to Symmes TH (13.2 miles). Get cleaned up @ the hostel, drink some beer, scarf some food and crash.
Sat 7/26 Day X - Get up early and head back to LA around 6am - home by 10am

Total miles: 44.7

If anyone like Jim, Bluewater, Doyle or others are interested in dropping off their cars at Shepherd, I can arrange a shuttle with a guy I know who would probably comp the rate. It doesn't really matter if any/every one wanted to head out someplace other than Horseshoe either; Onion, Portal, etc would all be fine as long as the initial drop was @ Shepherd. Just PM if interested.

Also, once your car is @ Shepherd, and if you do decide to head out via HM, there isn't any obligation of course to follow the same path, pace, etc. The key is having your car at your desired exit point and do your own hike exactly how you wish.

On that note, if someone with experience wanted to exit via Carillon and E-ledges down to Portal, I'd be open to following. Once @ Portal, I'd just have to figure out a way to retrieve my car @ Shepherd.

Hi Hobbes,

Would say that most folks will need 2 full days to get to Wallace Basin so that means
we all should probably expect to spend the 24th-25th together in Wallace Basin, and
then for those who are heading out use part of the 26th and 27th to get back to the car.

Just to reiterate, even if you joined today, your a HST member and are invited to this
meet-up.

I put together a spreadsheet for a Cottonwood to Shepherd hike via Wallace that lists major milestones, daily miles, total cumulative mileage, etc:



(Just click on the blank image place marker.) It might be useful for anyone interested in doing part or all of this hike, whether or not they make the meetup.

A note on day 1 - the Langley shoulder where you start descending to upper Soldier is around 12,450. That means you start from 11,150, hike up to 12,450, drop back to 11,150, go over Crabtree @ 12,550, then drop to 11,300 at lake #3 for a total of approx 11.4 miles.

It's a lot of up and down, but I've done it twice before, and if there was ever an easy use trail/x-c route, Langley, Miter and Crabtree are about as good as it gets. No talus (except for minor amounts on the north side of Crabtree), with hard ramps and no trees/bushes to interfere with clear lines-of-sight.

The mph and total hours are based on records I've kept from previous trips throughout the area - YMMV. I think I've hedged them slow to deal with the usual mucking around with snacks, rest breaks, water replenishment (I don't filter - I either drink straight up or use chlorine tabs), etc.

Even if day 1&2 pushed out to 6+ hours, you could still pull in by 2pm if you left by 8am. The last day doesn't really matter, since it's all downhill after Shepherd (except for a re-gain of 500'), and you've basically got all day to get to your car.

The last time I did Shepherd, I hiked from upper Vidette & over Forrester before heading down to Symmes for around 18+ miles. It's hard, but not that hard, especially since there's beer & food waiting in Lone Pine. Bottom line, this all very doable.

It's pretty easy to get to Soldier Lake (the lower one) from Horseshoe Meadows in one day. The easiest route is via Cottonwood Pass. Also, if I had to pick between New Army and Army Pass, I would go over New Army Pass. Getting to Soldier Lake in the first day would give you more time to enjoy the rest of the journey, but that's just my take on things.